O'Neill School Undergraduate Thesis Blog – Page 16 – O'Neill Thesis Writers Sharing What They've Learned

Make a Plan and Track Your Progress

Posted on April 26, 2023 by zoeswans

Congratulations! You have just begun your journey in the development of your honors thesis. Over the course of the next few months, you will learn how to develop and carry out a research project, as well as how to present your findings through a written thesis manuscript and a spoken presentation. This is an exciting opportunity to grow as a researcher and person, and you will develop numerous skills over the course of your project. To help guide you through the process, I have a few words of advice.

Take it one step at a time

I tend to get really excited about starting new projects, and oftentimes underestimate the amount of time and energy I will need to invest in them. Rather than breaking projects down into steps, I often jump right in and start working before doing a lot of planning. While this worked somewhat well at the beginning of writing my thesis, it did not work as well towards the end. I quickly became overwhelmed looking at the amount of work I would need to complete as the deadline was rapidly approaching. Once I realized the need to break the project down into steps, it became significantly more manageable. I used sticky notes to color-code the work that still needed to be done, allowing me to visualize the progress that I was making. By being able to physically cross off items on my lists, I was able to feel a sense of accomplishment each time I completed a step, rather than focusing on how much more there was to complete.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help

My thesis advisor was a huge help to me throughout this process. I knew that whenever I had a problem that I couldn’t solve on my own, I could reach out to my advisor for advice about how to proceed. It was very reassuring knowing that someone was there to help me when I faced challenges throughout the research and writing processes. I picked my favorite professor as my thesis advisor, and doing this was helpful because my advisor knew me well and was able to help guide me through the research journey. I made sure to ask questions as they arose, rather than waiting until the last minute to ask for help. This helped me stay on track, and gave me reassurance that my project was heading in the right direction. I also asked my thesis professors and classmates for advice throughout the course of the thesis development process. It was really helpful for my classmates and I to bounce ideas off of each other, and it helped me gain new perspectives on my project.

Take notes throughout the research process

One thing that I wish that I had done is take more notes when I was conducting my research. My data collection process consisted of conducting a literature review, which involved me reading a significant amount of research papers. Since I did not take many notes at the beginning of the research process, once I was a few months into it, I had trouble remembering papers that I had read at the beginning. This was especially the case for papers that I read and chose to exclude from my data. Since I did not keep track of what papers I had and had not read, I sometimes found myself halfway through research papers only to realize that I had read them already. If I had taken the time to write down a little bit about each paper I had read, I could have saved myself time in the long run by avoiding having to re-read papers. Being organized will make a huge difference, trust me.

The idea of writing a thesis probably sounds intimidating, and to some extent, it is. It requires a lot of hard work and time, and there will be challenges and frustrations throughout the process. It is also an incredibly rewarding experience that will allow you to grow as a researcher, writer, and person. This is an exciting opportunity, and it is worth it! Good luck, you’ve got this!

Zoe Swanson is a junior majoring in Environmental Science and minoring in Spanish. She plans to continue her education to study marine ecology.

Thesis Tips: From Procrastination to Graduation

Posted on April 26, 2023 by lingold

Students frequently face procrastination, self-doubt, and worry when writing a thesis since it can be a difficult endeavor. However, from my perspective, writing a thesis can be a joyful and gratifying process with proper organization, time management, and the correct perspective.

Choosing the Right Thesis Advisor

Finding your ideal adviser is a crucial component in writing a thesis. This was one of the largest problems I faced in my writing experience, as I had to find a new advisor halfway through the process. This aspect is so important to your thesis because your adviser can offer direction, encouragement, and critique. They can also assist you in overcoming any difficulties or obstacles you may have. When choosing an adviser, it’s crucial to take into account their areas of expertise, availability, and communication style, as well as their suitability for your personal goals and working style. In the end, I had the best advisor that was able to guide me through this process effortlessly.

PROCRASTINATION

Procrastination is one of the biggest problems that I went through when writing my theses, and this is common. When you are not feeling particularly inspired or motivated to work on your thesis, it might be easy to put it off in favor of other things. But the longer you wait to start writing, the more difficult it is to do so, trust me. Setting reasonable deadlines and goals is crucial for overcoming procrastination. You should also make a timetable and try to keep to it. The writing process may be easier if divided into smaller, easier-to-manage activities, such as planning, research, drafting, and editing.

Crush Your Thesis to Pieces

In addition to selecting the ideal adviser, it’s critical to build a network of peers, coworkers, and mentors who can provide advice and support. My thesis writing group, Crush Your Thesis to Pieces, was an important support system that got me through writing my thesis. I cannot thank them enough for encouraging me to keep going, especially when I was very behind on my work, and being there to just chat about our daily lives and more.

The Importance of Self-Care

Prioritizing self-care and balance throughout the writing process is one of the most crucial pieces of thesis writing guidance. It’s crucial to prioritize your physical and emotional well-being, take pauses, and partake in enjoyable activities since writing a thesis is exhausting. This could be engaging in physical activity, like going on long- walks (which I did a lot), practicing meditation, spending time with friends and family, etcetera. Anything that makes you feel good!

Embracing the Climb

Finally, it is crucial to keep in mind that creating a thesis is a learning process and that it is 100% OKAY to have difficulties, make mistakes, and update your work as necessary. Your thesis is a chance for you to gain new knowledge about a topic you are passionate about, and the writing and revision processes may hone your research, writing, and critical thinking skills. Be gentle to yourself, stay committed to your passion, and recognize your successes along the way.

I will conclude by saying that writing a thesis can be difficult, but it is ultimately rewarding. You can successfully handle the process of writing a thesis by being focused on the big picture, being open to feedback, and enjoying the learning process.

Lindsey Goldstein is a senior in the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs studying law and public policy.

Congratulations, it’s a Thesis!

Posted on April 26, 2023 by aecomer

If you’re reading this, that probably means that you’re a first time thesis parent. First, let me say congratulations! This is an exciting time in your life, and although you may be feeling some (or a lot) of anxiety, don’t let that overshadow the work it took to get to this point in your academic career. Like all first-time parents, though, you probably have some questions. Don’t fear! I was once in your shoes. In the last year or so, I’ve learned a lot that I wish I’d known before being thrown head-first into thesis parenthood. You can take my advice or leave it, but here are some of the things I found most helpful when it comes to raising (writing) a thesis.

First things first. I know you’re probably going to hear this from almost everyone, but there’s probably a reason for that: To the best of your ability, do not procrastinate! There are a lot of ups and downs when it comes to writing a thesis. One day, it’s possible that you’ll find your groove, and everything will just flow onto the page. More likely than not though, that won’t be the case. In that case, it’s important that you have a plan. Make a writing schedule and stick to it. At the same time, don’t give yourself unmanageable goals like finishing an entire section of your thesis. A manageable goal might be revising your work in the introduction with a specific focus (like sentence flow) or working on one (small) piece of analysis.

Another note about procrastination. Don’t put off data collection until taking V-499 (assuming you’re reading this as a V-491 student). My thesis advisor put a lot of pressure on me to have all of my data collection done before starting V-499. Although I was definitely not happy about the added work during V-491, it put me in such a better position in the long run because I was able to focus on data analysis and the actual writing process for the entire four months of V-499, which really helped to alleviate stress and reduce my workload.

Another piece of advice I think everyone writing a thesis should be aware of is to use your resources. I was lucky enough to work alongside someone in my cohort who had a similar research topic and had the same mentor as me, and being able to share ideas or even just know that someone else was struggling just as much as me gave me motivation to keep working. Even if you don’t have that, don’t be afraid to talk to your classmates, professors or mentors. They really are there to support you.

Last thing I will say. One of the most important things I learned from this entire process is that it’s okay to not know what you’re doing. I struggled with imposter syndrome going into writing my thesis, but I quickly learned that everyone else had the same feelings as me. This is probably your first time taking on a project of this size. You are going to make mistakes along the way, and that’s okay! Especially if you aren’t familiar with the research process, this can all feel like a lot. Just know that you are not alone in this!

Abigail Comer is a senior in the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

Data Analysis: Be Open to Unexpected Results

Posted on April 26, 2023 by rogermar

When I began my thesis, I approached my research question with a strong focus that my hypothesis would be clearly correct or incorrect. I didn’t anticipate the potential for the outcome to be somewhere in the middle. This made interpreting my results all the more difficult. Of course you will have an idea in mind of what you expect to see in your results. However, my advice to any thesis writer is to approach your results with an open mind when you are analyzing your data.

My research question addressed the gender equity impacts of Name Image and Likeness (NIL) in college athletics and I hoped to be able to take a stand of whether Title IX should be applied to NIL benefits. I wanted to find out (1) if NIL disproportionately benefits male or female athletes, (2) what factors in university spending contribute to an athlete’s NIL value/potential, (3) how differences in fan and spectator engagement with male and female sports teams impacts an athletes ability to be compensated through NIL, (4) the role of potentially disproportionate television and sports broadcasting benefits impacts NIL compensation, and (5) if universities have the tools in place to support equitable NIL benefits for student-athletes.

I entered my research assuming I would find disproportionate opportunities for male and female athletes, which I did: almost 75% of the NIL deals coming from Division I NIL Collectives are made with male athletes. What confused me, however, was the results I found regarding the factors that contribute to this difference. I expected to see that increased spending for and fan engagement with male athletics would both have a strong, positive correlation with the number of NIL opportunities for male athletes.

My results were not as clear as my hypothesis. My advice to anyone doing research is to be okay with your results not being as clear as you anticipated. Of course you will attempt to make your research question and methods as comprehensive as possible, in order to understand intervening variables. But still, you may not be able to explain everything you hoped to in this study.

Since my results were not what I expected for each variable I tested, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what was wrong with my data and my analysis. Your time in this process is precious and important to manage. If you become stumped because a few of variables you are studying did not yield the results you expected, you may loose critical time you have to understand the results of your thesis.

In hindsight, what I wish I had done was pretend that I did not have a hypothesis when I was analyzing my results the first few times. This would have allowed me to spend more time understanding the relationships I saw from my data, rather then spending too much time frustrated that my results weren’t what I thought I would see.

After deciding to drop the view of my hypothesis during my initial analysis, I was finally able to make progress in interpreting the results and relationships I found in my data. There are so many things I could give advice on as you take on this awesome task of writing a thesis, but what I wish I realized earlier is that it is okay if your hypothesis is not correct and you will find other important relationships in your data that you didn’t think to look for by approaching your analysis with an open mind.

Margo Rogers is a senior in the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

Re-Evaluating History: The Wave of Neoliberalism? Or The Wave of Financialization?

Posted on December 14, 2022 by ealgeri

The later decades of the 20th century (late 1960s onward) are cited as the period in U.S. history in which neoliberalism rose to dominate the policy-making process. Previous literature on this period has largely failed to offer sufficient attention to the forces which drove the rise of neoliberalism in American politics; in effect, there exists a gap in our overall understanding of the “wave of neoliberalism.” The conventional trajectory of neoliberalism’s emergence in the U.S. cites the Republican party as its driving force and financialization as its byproduct. My research, however, suggests that this trajectory is flawed in two main respects, with my findings indicating that: (1) both the Republican and Democratic party alike promoted the rise of neoliberalism and (2) the rise of financialization and corporate power is not a byproduct of neoliberalism but rather was a driving force behind the rise of neoliberalism.

“Reagan laid the neoliberal order’s foundations.” This quote comes from a New York Times article, written this year, where it serves to paraphrase a section from historian Gary Gerstle’s recent book on the rise of neoliberalism in America. Purporting that republican political leaders–especially President Ronald Reagan–paved the way for the rise of neoliberalism is the norm in scholarly and general narratives on the wave of neoliberalism. A review of policy memos from this period, however, indicates that major neoliberal policy reform was carried out nearly 5 years before President Reagan even took office. In fact, the presidential administration to carry out the first major neoliberal policy reform was not even a Republican administration but was rather Democratic President Jimmy Carter’s administration.

The defining characteristics of neoliberal ideology include the promotion of free-market capitalism, market-competition, and a culture of individualism. As policy, neoliberal ideology most-commonly manifests as market-deregulation, free-trade, and privatization policies. For the purposes of my research, I focused exclusively on analyzing market-deregulation policy archives. Through a comprehensive review of archival data–policy memos, political statements, journalistic accounts, and secondary case studies–from this period, I found that the political rhetoric and policy initiatives of democratic political leaders aligned as closely with neoliberalism as that of Republican political leaders. Democratic Presidents Carter, Clinton, and Obama adopted neoliberal rhetoric throughout their presidencies as they made promises for market-deregulation and the liberalization of capital. President Carter, for instance, used his 1978 State of the Union address to promote neoliberal principles, stating:

“Bit by bit we are chopping down the thicket of unnecessary federal regulations by which the government too often interferes in our personal lives and our personal business.”

Using data from the Fraser Institute, I performed a simple time-series analysis to visually represent how the fluctuation of neoliberalism in the U.S. has intersected with the fluctuation of the party identification of policy-makers throughout time. The Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom Index is an aggregate measure of neoliberalism based on 42 different variables that target the 5 aspects of neoliberal economic policy (market-regulation, government size, pro-trade policies, property rights, and monetary policy).

Through this time-series analysis, I found that the rise of neoliberal economic policy-making prevailed through both Republican and Democratic presidential administrations with Democratic presidential administrations actually leading 4 out of the 8 largest increases. Similarly, the relationship between the Congressional majority and the rise of neoliberal economic policy reveals little to no correlation.

Having found that the Republican party can not reasonably be considered the driving force behind the rise of neoliberalism, I endeavored to consider other historically relevant factors as possible explanatory variables. While financialization is commonly regarded as a byproduct of neoliberalism, my research found that the rise of financialization actually predated the rise of neoliberalism. Financialization can be understood as the process by which financial markets/institutions gain greater political influence and priority.

In the 1960s, the United States economy was facing a lethal cocktail of poor economic conditions and international economic upheaval (i.e., the collapse of the Bretton Woods System). By the late 1960s, U.S. corporate and financial institutions began conjuring strategies to evade market-regulations in order to increase their profitability and survive poor economic conditions. In essence, U.S. corporate and financial institutions began deregulating themselves years before neoliberal policy-making arose.

Through further analysis of the rise of financialization in the United States, I found that the political influence of corporate/financial institutions increased dramatically years before the rise of neoliberal policy-making. The most prominent evidence of increases in corporate/financial political power (all occurring before 1974) includes:

Registered corporate lobbyists doubled from 8,000 to 15,000
CEOs of Fortune 1000 companies reported doubling time dedicated to political lobbying
Corporate Sponsored PACs increased from 89 to 784

The political rhetoric of corporate/financial lobbyists in the years leading up to the rise of neoliberalism strongly indicates that the rise of financialization was a driving force behind the rise of neoliberal policy-making. I found that corporate lobbyists shaped their argument for deregulation of the marketplace around the neoliberal principles of embracing greater market-competition and freer markets.

The findings of my research ultimately suggest that financialization (corporate/financial political power), rather than the Republican party, was a driving force behind the “wave of neoliberalism” in the American political economy. Contemporary scholarship commonly condemns neoliberal policy for contributing to soaring inequality rates, reduced market-competition, and even, the 2008 financial crisis. While corporate/financial elites were evidently responsible for driving the adoption of neoliberal policy, they are not held accountable for the negative consequences such policy had on average Americans.

Elizabeth Algeri is a senior at Indiana University’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs majoring in Policy Analysis with a minor in Spanish.

The Emotional Roller Coaster Called Research

Posted on December 14, 2022 by ealgeri

Wild Water West plans to add roller coaster - SiouxFalls.Business

With extensive works of research–like a thesis–comes passion. It may be positive passion (think strong devotion to uncovering the truth or a genuine interest in your topic). It may be negative passion (think unmatched anger when your R code fails for the 11th time).

But in any case, I have found that powerful emotions are bound to accompany most all year-long efforts to derive meaning from mounds of data and translate months of research into a coherent paper. The advice I offer here is a reflection of the tips I wish I would have known before writing my thesis–tips that I am confident would have made my own emotional journey throughout this process much smoother.

(1) NARROWING YOUR RESEARCH ≄ NARROWING YOUR MAIN POINT

“You need to narrow the scope of your research.” I cannot count how many times I, and many of my thesis-writing peers, were told this throughout the process. Every time I was told this, I would revisit the drawing board and mull over ideas for how I could make my scope more focused while still being able to say what I wanted to say. I was passionate about the topic and I wanted to leave no rock unturned. It took me a while before I realized that… my ultimate research topic did not need to encompass every rock (evidence/idea) in order for me to turn the rocks over at some point in my paper.

Poor analogy aside – this is to say that there is room in your work for “honorable mentions.” So, I recommend not stressing too much about losing your main point when narrowing your focus; as writers, I think we all always find a way to send the message we were looking for.

(2) NOT ALL FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS SIGNIFY SKEPTICISM

Throughout this process, you are going to share your research with professors, advisors, experts, and peers. Most of them are going to ask questions. And if you are like me, you tend to read into things a little too liberally. I wasted a lot of time mulling over pieces of my data or my writing (that did not warrant mulling) simply because when someone questioned why I was doing what I was; I just assumed they were casting doubt. Needless to say, this was not the case. People ask questions for all sorts of reasons and you know your work better than anyone else!!

(3) IT IS OKAY IF A SOURCE SEEMS TO CONTRADICT YOUR FINAL ARGUMENT

This one goes hand and hand with “not wanting to leave any rock unturned.” You are passionate about your work and invested in the output of it. And it is good to be a diligent truth-seeker. However, to paraphrase my awesome thesis advisor, there comes a point when you have done your due diligence. If a source/evidence surfaces that makes you double-think the mounds of other sources you have proving your argument, it is not the end of the world and if anything can make an interesting addition to your paper.

You could add a section titled “Exceptions” and use it to discuss how the contradiction relates to your work. And even if you don’t add this section, you CAN move forward with your argument in good faith.

(4) YOUR THESIS JOURNEY WILL BE DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF YOUR PEERS

Your progress does not need to align with that of your peers. The gravitas of your topic does not need to align with that of your peers. And your approach does not always need to align with that of your peers. You all are writing on different subjects, using different types of methodology, and possess diverse styles of working. It is beyond valuable to connect with your thesis-writing peers. However, make sure to remind yourself that this journey is a little bit different for everyone, and there is no need to stress if others seem to have done more or less.

Elizabeth Algeri wrote her thesis in the fall of 2022.

Where Are FEMA Dollars Really Going?

Posted on December 14, 2022 by kjs11

Over seventeen years ago Hurricane Katrina devastated the City of New Orleans causing 186.3 billion dollars in damage and taking 1,833 lives (U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather & Climate Disasters 1980-2022, 2022). This tragedy instigated public discontent with the way the government handled environmental disasters in areas that are primarily populated by minorities. Many people believe that the multitude of government failures that led up to Katrina and after it made landfall would not have happened in a city populated with white residents. Environmental justice and activism groups have fought over the years to combat racial disparities in disaster recovery.

After looking into the mountain of news articles, first hand accounts, and prior academic research to suggest that Federal Emergency Management Agency provides favorable funding to communities with a lower percentage of non-white residents, I presumed this to be true. I hypothesized that as the percentage of non-white residents within a county increases Federal Emergency Management Agency aid for hurricane recovery will decrease.

Using Federal Emergency Management Agency aid allocations solely from public assistance-funded recovery projects I looked at distribution at the county and state level as well as over time. The funding in this data set went to public lands and facilities damaged in a hurricane. This led me to two key findings.

First, Federal Emergency Management Agency aid is generally distributed based on damage incurred. At the state level there are no patterns of disproportionate funding based on the racial composition of a state. The most interesting thing at the state level of analysis is that Louisiana and Mississippi are major outliers, receiving over twice as much funding at the third highest per capita funding in a state. These two states are unsurprising as they have borne the impact of many high intensity hurricanes from 2000-2020. It is also important to note that both states have a non-white percentage higher than the national average. In addition, over time hurricane funding spikes in years that correlate to some of the costliest hurricane events in the United States; Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy. To break down the funding by year I grouped counties by 0-19.99%, 20-39.99%, 40-59.99%, and 60-82% non-white residents. In these two years where there was increased funding, all demographic groups have increased aid allocated to them but not all at the same rate. The amount of funding given to a grouping was in large part determined by the racial composition of the counties that experienced the greatest hurricane damage. In summation, although certain areas receive significantly greater funding than others at the state level and over time, it appears to be driven by counties that received the greatest damage.

Secondly, when looking at the Federal Emergency Management Agency public recovery projects at the county level there may be some bias at certain levels of funding. Similar to the other findings, counties that receive the highest amount of aid represent counties with the greatest amount of damage, such as Orleans Parish, Louisiana where the City of New Orleans is located. However, when looking at counties with mid-range funding (between $50 and $200 per capita) there does appear to be less funding awarded to counties with a higher percentage of non-white residents. Looking further at counties below $50 in per capita aid this pattern no longer exists. This finding suggests that at certain ranges of funding the Federal Emergency Management Agency could demonstrate biases.

Although this may seem promising for equality in hurricane disaster aid, this is just one small piece of the puzzle that creates the bigger picture of what goes into recovery aid. Public recovery projects are just one type of ex-post facto mitigation provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. There are also proactive mitigation grants that can be applied for before a disaster event occurs that help to curb future damages. Another limitation of this study was the ability to control for other social factors such as income and education that may have had an affect on the amount of aid received. Lastly, breaking down demographics into more specific racial categories and ethnicities would create a more encompassing study on the relationship between racial demographics and Federal Emergency Management Agency’s aid distribution.

Kendyl Smith is a Senior at Indiana University studying Public Affairs at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Kendyl is majoring in environmental management with minors in political science and nonprofit management. Next year, she hopes to gain experience at an environmental nonprofit before continuing her education to obtain her law degree with a focus on environmental law

This One Is For My Fellow Functioning Procrastinators

Posted on December 14, 2022 by kjs11

When I was sitting in V499 at the beginning of the semester I thought everyone had their thesis figured out and I was just faking it. I thought I was far behind but at the same time, it still felt like a problem I could put off until the assignments were due. I didn’t want anyone to know that I didn’t know what I was doing because I felt embarrassed and ashamed that I wasn’t further along. Trust me, if you feel this way, you’re not alone. These are the top three things I wish I had known going into the semester and what helped me throughout.

1. Set Up a Weekly Meeting With Your Advisor

If you haven’t done this already do it now…seriously do it right now. Stop reading this and email your advisor your availability. This is the number one thing that helped me get through writing my thesis. As a functioning procrastinator, it is very easy for me to put things off until the last minute, but meeting with my advisor forced me to make notable progress every week. Additionally, if you don’t already know your advisor well this is a great way to get familiar with them and feel comfortable asking for help. Your advisor is your biggest supporter and they are there to help you with this process.

2. Speak Up

This is one piece of advice I did not follow myself and I later realized I could have made my life much easier if I had. I was initially too scared and embarrassed to admit that when it came to certain parts of data management I had no clue what I was doing. I thought that I would eventually figure it out for myself. I did not. When I asked for help it was not as big of a deal as I thought and I could work with graduate students to get my data together. I guarantee the more you communicate your struggles and concerns with your advisor and professor the less stress you will have. The earlier you do this the better. Being a top student can make it difficult to admit when you need help but writing your thesis is one of the hardest things you’ve had to do academically. It’s okay to not know what you’re doing.

3. Change Your Mindset

If you’re like me I avoided thinking about the thesis until I was forced to. It wasn’t something I wanted to do but something I had to do. Start thinking about your thesis as separate from your other homework. Although changing your mindset can be really difficult to do, making this change made working on my thesis significantly more enjoyable. I started to get excited about working on my thesis at the end of the day and it was like a reward after my other work was done. Once I was excited and invested in my thesis it felt more like a hobby that I was doing because I wanted to not just because I had to.

You can do this. Just keep taking it one step at a time. Good Luck!

Expanding Medicaid’s Mental Health Care: State Waivers Appear to Have Different Effects

Posted on December 13, 2022 by madmusta

State waivers aimed at expanding mental health care for Medicaid beneficiaries have been largely successful in doing so. However, my research finds that state waivers aimed at removing the Institutions for Mental Diseases Exclusion appear to have different effects by state.

Mental illnesses are more prevalent among Medicaid enrollees, so it is important that Medicaid provides coverage for mental health care. Of the individuals insured through Medicaid, 29% have mental illnesses, compared to 21% of individuals insured through private insurers and 20% of individuals that are uninsured. However, Medicaid enrollees face some barriers to mental health care, including the Institutions for Mental Diseases Exclusion.

The Institutions for Mental Diseases Exclusion is a federal law prohibiting Medicaid from paying for services delivered to nonelderly adults in large mental health treatment facilities. In 2018, states were given the opportunity to apply for a Section 1115 waiver that removes the exclusion, allowing their states’ large health treatment facilities to accept Medicaid for services delivered to nonelderly adults. Ten states have received this waiver, but the waiver’s effects are largely unknown.

Because the waiver allows large health treatment facilities to accept Medicaid for services delivered to nonelderly adults, my research analyzed the waiver’s effects on Medicaid acceptance in large health treatment facilities that serve nonelderly adults. I used data from the National Mental Health Services Survey assess Medicaid acceptance in facilities. Based on previous research and because facilities were allowed to accept Medicaid for a larger portion of Medicaid enrollees, it was expected that states with waivers would experience increased Medicaid acceptance in facilities.

I found that the waiver’s effect on Medicaid acceptance in facilities appears nuanced. Surprisingly, states with waivers appeared to experience smaller increases in the percent of facilities accepting Medicaid compared to states without waivers. The graph below shows the waiver’s effect on Medicaid acceptance in facilities for states with waivers and states without waivers:

However, when analysis was limited to states with a high baseline percent of facilities accepting Medicaid, states with waivers appeared to experience relative increases in the percent of facilities accepting Medicaid. When states with waivers were compared to states with pending waivers, states with waivers also appeared to experience relative increases in the percent of facilities accepting Medicaid. Thus, waiver effects on Medicaid acceptance in facilities appears nuanced by state characteristics.

Furthermore, I found that the waiver’s effects on Medicaid acceptance in facilities appears different by state. Of the three states I examined, Washington D.C. appeared to experience an increase in the percent of facilities accepting Medicaid, while Indiana and Vermont appeared to experience a decrease in the percent of facilities accepting Medicaid. The graph below shows the waiver’s effect on Medicaid acceptance for individuals states with waivers:

While the aggregate of states with waivers showed an increase in in the percent of facilities accepting Medicaid, this was not representative of the waiver’s effect for each state. Thus, individual state differences may have been more important in determining Medicaid acceptance in facilities than waivers.

My research aimed to start examining the waiver’s effect on Medicaid acceptance at large mental health treatment facilities that serve nonelderly adults and found that the waiver’s effect differs by state. Further research should reassess these findings, examine incentives that determine a facilities’ decisions to accept Medicaid, and investigate differences between states’ mental health treatment facilities.

The waiver removes the Institutions for Mental Diseases Exclusion, allowing large mental health treatment facilities to accept Medicaid for nonelderly adults, which may be a useful step in removing a barrier to mental health care for Medicaid enrollees. However, because the waiver’s effect appears to differ by state, further research is needed to determine if waivers are sufficient to encourage large mental health treatment facilities to accept Medicaid.

Madelyn Mustaine is a junior Wells Scholar at Indiana University studying Policy Analysis at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Madelyn is a Health Policy Research Assistant for Dr. Kosali Simon, and is passionate about Medicaid, reproductive healthcare, and mixed health systems. Next year, she plans continue her education at the O’Neill School with a Master’s in Public Affairs, concentrating in Policy Analysis and Health Policy.

Yes, YOU can learn R Studio

Posted on December 13, 2022 by madmusta

I didn’t think I could do it either. Learning R Studio was one of the most daunting task for my thesis, and arguably the most rewarding. I now feel sufficient in my ability to use R Studio, and, more importantly, in my ability to figure things out when I get stuck. As is learning any new skill, learning R Studio is challenging. Do start early. Do expect to get frustrated. Do ask for help. And do know that you can learn how to use R Studio.

Below are steps that helped me learn R Studio:

Get a book: Get a physical copy of a how-to R Studio book. You’ll be spending a lot of time staring at a computer screen, so staring at a physical book is a nice change. I recommend R for Data Science. It’s an introduction to R Studio that’s organized by function and includes coding exercises. It helped me to form a basic understanding of R Studio.

Find a mentor: Find someone who can help you troubleshoot. Chances are that your thesis will have nuances that can be best addressed by someone well-versed in R Studio. I recommend reaching out to an O’Neill Professor. Even if a professor cannot help you, they may know a PhD student that can. A professor helped me learn how to run the model I specifically needed for my thesis.

Use online resources: Use online chat sites for questions. If you are running into an issue with your code, someone else probably has an answer for how to fix it. I recommend Stack Overflow. It’s a site dedicated to answering coding questions, and you can ask your own questions or sift through already answered questions. Sites like this helped me learn how to clean my data.

Search the internet: Search your R Studio questions online. There are many free online tutorials and pre-made codes that can be found through search engines. I recommend simply using Google. A million answers to your a million questions will pop up in seconds. Google helped me find answers to my broad questions of how to use R Studio.

Just try things: Just try, try, and try again until something works. Most of my learning occurred by trial and error in coding exercises. I recommend Geeks for Geeks. The site has coding practice questions and answers organized by function. Coding exercises helped me learn details of the R language, so I wouldn’t forget a parentheses here or a comma there.

These steps helped me take learning R Studio from a seemingly impossible task to an accomplishable challenge. I was able to learn R Studio for my thesis, and so can you. Yes, you can learn R Studio.