IN PROGRESS | VT Graduate Student Perspectives on Data Analysis Skills and Training

IGC Capstone Project | Interfaces of Global Change

VT Graduate Student Perspectives on Data Analysis Skills and Training

Student Members:

• Meghan Albritton, Geography
• Megan Gaesser, Biological Sciences
• Katie Hoffman, Biological Sciences 

Faculty Mentors:

• Dr. Kendra Sewall, Biological Sciences
• Dr. Leah Johnson, Statistics

In Progress (Initiated October 2024)

The aim of this project is to assess perceptions and skills surrounding basic statistics, qualitative and quantitative data analysis, coding and other software used for research by graduate students at Virginia Tech. Specifically, we aim to answer the research question: "What are the knowledge gaps and barriers surrounding data analysis and their methods among graduate students at VT?"

This will be assessed via a survey that is distributed to all graduate students at VT via email (e.g., from deans, department heads, and listservs). Questions will include themes such as, "Which software or methods are used?," Where were these methods learned?," "Were these skills required for admission into their current graduate programs?," and so on. 

Survey results will be quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed. We plan to evaluate if perceptions suggest the possibility of a lack of perceived proficiency in these skills, and if this may be a symptom of the Hidden Curriculum, i.e. expected but not explicitly taught skills.

Deliverables will include the survey questionnaire approved by the VT IRB, survey analysis, and suggestions based on identified data analysis needs of graduate students. As an additional resource, we will provide Quarto documents (i.e., code cheat sheets) rendered as HTML with analysis results that can be exported and distributed as a PDF and used by students to learn code such as R and Python, etc. Additionally, we plan to provide a qualitative learning resource based on the needs identified in the results of the survey.