My Journal
Week of: January 27th-Feb 2nd
I started training this week in the Brain Imaging Lab. The PI went over how to work with the EEGs with me as well the other students I am conducting the research with. We learned how to take appropriate measurements of a person’s head, how to choose which appropriate brain cap to put on them, and how to attach the electrodes to the cap. From the training, I can gage that working with EEGs will take more practice for me to get comfortable with. Luckily, the PI will be there to help us with the subjects as the weeks progress.
Week of: Feb 3rd-Feb 9th
This week was my first official week completing the research. On Monday, I worked with a fellow student to set up the EEG and completed the whole study with our first participant. The process was long and cleaning the equipment took longer than expected so we ended up having to stay 30 minutes later. During the experience, seeing the brainwaves of our first participant was interesting because even if the participant moved, a wave would be produced on the computer to show us. On Friday, I worked with a different student and the process went smoothly. We were able to get through the cleaning more quickly and since it was my second time completing the entire process, I felt more comfortable doing it. Something that I had to do on Friday that I didn’t experience on Monday was reading the consent form to the participant and making sure they signed it appropriately. That added an extra responsibility to the job that I think I handled well. The participant was very enthusiastic about the EEG as they were really into neuroscience, so it was fun getting to see her view her own brain waves. In addition, this week we had our first team meeting on Wednesday where we worked with the computer program, MATLAB that the PI will show us how to use more of in subsequent weeks. Overall, I believe this week was successful and I believe that I will only get better from here.
Week of: Feb 10th-Feb 16th
On Monday, I had a unique experience. The participant started feeling sick during the tasks so the PI helped us with how to handle the situation. The participant insisted on continuing with the study so we got her a glass of water and I pulled the trash can over to the participant just in case they had to throw up. Fortunately, the participant was able to finish the task without physically getting sick and then a student and I cleaned up. On Wednesday at the team meeting, the PI informed us of what to do in a variety of situations such as if the participant started seizing or if the equipment fails. Then he went over basic computer functions and gave us definitions on the different components of computer storage. On Friday, there was no participant signed up so we didn’t have to come in that day.
Week of: Feb 17th-23rd
This week, I became more fluent with the procedure. Monday and Friday both went well. The participants were able to complete the tasks efficiently and there were no problems with the equipment. Every day, I came in this week I made sure to set up the materials so that it could be a much smoother process for me and for the participant. I got to learn more about the other students as we worked together. On Wednesday, the PI taught us the basics on computer data and storage such as the meaning of RAM, gigabytes and computer memory. It was educational and helped me to learn more about computers. In addition, he showed us how to copy data into the computer program, MATLAB.
Week of: Feb 24th-March 1st
On Monday, we talked with the participant trying to keep them entertained and it’s always interesting hearing the types of clubs people are in and what majors they are because it all varies so much. Most of the time, they ask us what majors we are, and they always assume Psychology but then I have to say "no, Biology". On Wednesday, the PI went over EEGs, the purpose of them and how they are used to study the brain. He even told us the case about this one guy who went through a traumatic event and impaired his Broca’s area in his brain, which is responsible for speech, but was still able to talk. He would do it by looking at the forehead of the person he was talking to and imagining the words being written on their forehead and then reading them. That was how he was able to still speak! This is how medical professionals knew that not just the Broca’s area but the entire brain has a part in helping us to speak. It was really interesting to learn about. On Friday, the participant was a freshman and unsure of what to major in so the other student and I were able to give him some advice as we applied the gel to the cap. During application of the gel is when we get to talk the most to the participant and learn more about them. Friday went smoothly except for the fact that we had some technical issues such as the computer program we use being in a different configuration and the water in the sink turning yellow when we were trying to clean the equipment. All of these issues were able to be resolved and we still made it out on time.
Week of: March 2nd-March 8th
On Monday, the participant showed up late so we were able to prepare all the equipment and waited until they showed up. Once they showed up and we started applying the gel, it was not working with their hair and we concluded that the EEG was just not compatible with their head. The PI explained this to the participant so we learned how to handle situations of this type by seeing how he dealt with it. On Wednesday, there was no team meeting since the PI unfortunately was sick. Therefore, I spent the time catching up on some extra homework. On Friday, the PI was still sick so I worked with another student and we handled the whole study by ourselves. He read the consent form to the participants as I applied the electrodes to the appropriate cap for the participant. I found this part to be slower because usually I have the other person to help apply the electrodes with. Nonetheless, we stayed focus and worked well together to get the service done, and even finished a little early! It felt empowering to complete the lab by ourselves and to have everything run smoothly. I now feel confident enough to handle the lab without the PI.
Week of: March 9th-March 15th
On Monday, we were able to prepare everything before the participant came in. The PI was back and was able to assist with the lab again. He was happy to see that everything was running smoothly. On Wednesday, we had our team meeting via Skype due to the increase need to social distance. We went over basic information of EEGs and then shortly after, our Friday session was cancelled. I didn’t know before that Monday was going to be my last time assisting with the study and working with the participants, but nonetheless it was a rewarding experience.
Week of: March 16th- March 22nd
SPRING BREAK!
Week of: March 30th- April 3rd
This week was the first week of online classes and it was a huge adjustment. We still had our weekly meeting on Wednesday at 2pm, but it was on Zoom. The PI was able to explain to us the importance of brain wave editing. He went over how to identify blinks and movements on the brain wave chart, which are marks that can interfere with analyzing the brain data.
Week of: April 6th-April 12th
This week our team meeting focused on a new side of the PI’s research. He explained how another one of his interests is culture and how he wants to study the differences within a variety of cultures. He went over the different theories related to culture and one theory I found interesting was the relational models’ theory. This focuses on the the idea of communal sharing, the hierarchy, the reciprocation and the utility that all define a culture.
Week of: April 13th- April 19th
In our team meeting this week on Zoom, we had an intellectual talk about the relational model that the PI introduced to us last week. The relational model theory states that every social relationship can be defined as either communal sharing, equality matching, market pricing or authority ranking. We discussed several examples like the relationship between a crossing guard and a pedestrian as well as the relationship between the president and Americans. We were all able to offer our thoughts for each scenario and we found that as we kept discussing a scenario, it didn’t quite fit in any of the four components or that it fit into more than one. Overall, the conversation was very intellectually stimulating as it allowed me to start thinking of my own relationships with people.
Week of: April 20th- April 26th
The team meeting was on Friday this week. We had another intellectual talk on the relational model, focusing on the differences between Authority Ranking and Market Pricing. We discussed the role of a scientist and how the knowledge they have on science is what makes them a scientist and not someone who is an expert in cars for example. It’s the idea of market pricing where a doctor’s opinion would not necessarily be the best advice on whether or not a car is a good car to invest in. The PI also told us of a case from Texas about two feuding families that had a brawl and one family was injured and the doctor helped to patch that family up. The other family found out and shot the doctor. In this example, the doctor would be the authority figure but because of market pricing, the feuding family saw that as a “price”. We also discussed the role of doctors more as well as other examples of more aspects of the relational model. After that conversation, we are going to revise more questions for the culture questionnaire.
I started training this week in the Brain Imaging Lab. The PI went over how to work with the EEGs with me as well the other students I am conducting the research with. We learned how to take appropriate measurements of a person’s head, how to choose which appropriate brain cap to put on them, and how to attach the electrodes to the cap. From the training, I can gage that working with EEGs will take more practice for me to get comfortable with. Luckily, the PI will be there to help us with the subjects as the weeks progress.
Week of: Feb 3rd-Feb 9th
This week was my first official week completing the research. On Monday, I worked with a fellow student to set up the EEG and completed the whole study with our first participant. The process was long and cleaning the equipment took longer than expected so we ended up having to stay 30 minutes later. During the experience, seeing the brainwaves of our first participant was interesting because even if the participant moved, a wave would be produced on the computer to show us. On Friday, I worked with a different student and the process went smoothly. We were able to get through the cleaning more quickly and since it was my second time completing the entire process, I felt more comfortable doing it. Something that I had to do on Friday that I didn’t experience on Monday was reading the consent form to the participant and making sure they signed it appropriately. That added an extra responsibility to the job that I think I handled well. The participant was very enthusiastic about the EEG as they were really into neuroscience, so it was fun getting to see her view her own brain waves. In addition, this week we had our first team meeting on Wednesday where we worked with the computer program, MATLAB that the PI will show us how to use more of in subsequent weeks. Overall, I believe this week was successful and I believe that I will only get better from here.
Week of: Feb 10th-Feb 16th
On Monday, I had a unique experience. The participant started feeling sick during the tasks so the PI helped us with how to handle the situation. The participant insisted on continuing with the study so we got her a glass of water and I pulled the trash can over to the participant just in case they had to throw up. Fortunately, the participant was able to finish the task without physically getting sick and then a student and I cleaned up. On Wednesday at the team meeting, the PI informed us of what to do in a variety of situations such as if the participant started seizing or if the equipment fails. Then he went over basic computer functions and gave us definitions on the different components of computer storage. On Friday, there was no participant signed up so we didn’t have to come in that day.
Week of: Feb 17th-23rd
This week, I became more fluent with the procedure. Monday and Friday both went well. The participants were able to complete the tasks efficiently and there were no problems with the equipment. Every day, I came in this week I made sure to set up the materials so that it could be a much smoother process for me and for the participant. I got to learn more about the other students as we worked together. On Wednesday, the PI taught us the basics on computer data and storage such as the meaning of RAM, gigabytes and computer memory. It was educational and helped me to learn more about computers. In addition, he showed us how to copy data into the computer program, MATLAB.
Week of: Feb 24th-March 1st
On Monday, we talked with the participant trying to keep them entertained and it’s always interesting hearing the types of clubs people are in and what majors they are because it all varies so much. Most of the time, they ask us what majors we are, and they always assume Psychology but then I have to say "no, Biology". On Wednesday, the PI went over EEGs, the purpose of them and how they are used to study the brain. He even told us the case about this one guy who went through a traumatic event and impaired his Broca’s area in his brain, which is responsible for speech, but was still able to talk. He would do it by looking at the forehead of the person he was talking to and imagining the words being written on their forehead and then reading them. That was how he was able to still speak! This is how medical professionals knew that not just the Broca’s area but the entire brain has a part in helping us to speak. It was really interesting to learn about. On Friday, the participant was a freshman and unsure of what to major in so the other student and I were able to give him some advice as we applied the gel to the cap. During application of the gel is when we get to talk the most to the participant and learn more about them. Friday went smoothly except for the fact that we had some technical issues such as the computer program we use being in a different configuration and the water in the sink turning yellow when we were trying to clean the equipment. All of these issues were able to be resolved and we still made it out on time.
Week of: March 2nd-March 8th
On Monday, the participant showed up late so we were able to prepare all the equipment and waited until they showed up. Once they showed up and we started applying the gel, it was not working with their hair and we concluded that the EEG was just not compatible with their head. The PI explained this to the participant so we learned how to handle situations of this type by seeing how he dealt with it. On Wednesday, there was no team meeting since the PI unfortunately was sick. Therefore, I spent the time catching up on some extra homework. On Friday, the PI was still sick so I worked with another student and we handled the whole study by ourselves. He read the consent form to the participants as I applied the electrodes to the appropriate cap for the participant. I found this part to be slower because usually I have the other person to help apply the electrodes with. Nonetheless, we stayed focus and worked well together to get the service done, and even finished a little early! It felt empowering to complete the lab by ourselves and to have everything run smoothly. I now feel confident enough to handle the lab without the PI.
Week of: March 9th-March 15th
On Monday, we were able to prepare everything before the participant came in. The PI was back and was able to assist with the lab again. He was happy to see that everything was running smoothly. On Wednesday, we had our team meeting via Skype due to the increase need to social distance. We went over basic information of EEGs and then shortly after, our Friday session was cancelled. I didn’t know before that Monday was going to be my last time assisting with the study and working with the participants, but nonetheless it was a rewarding experience.
Week of: March 16th- March 22nd
SPRING BREAK!
Week of: March 30th- April 3rd
This week was the first week of online classes and it was a huge adjustment. We still had our weekly meeting on Wednesday at 2pm, but it was on Zoom. The PI was able to explain to us the importance of brain wave editing. He went over how to identify blinks and movements on the brain wave chart, which are marks that can interfere with analyzing the brain data.
Week of: April 6th-April 12th
This week our team meeting focused on a new side of the PI’s research. He explained how another one of his interests is culture and how he wants to study the differences within a variety of cultures. He went over the different theories related to culture and one theory I found interesting was the relational models’ theory. This focuses on the the idea of communal sharing, the hierarchy, the reciprocation and the utility that all define a culture.
Week of: April 13th- April 19th
In our team meeting this week on Zoom, we had an intellectual talk about the relational model that the PI introduced to us last week. The relational model theory states that every social relationship can be defined as either communal sharing, equality matching, market pricing or authority ranking. We discussed several examples like the relationship between a crossing guard and a pedestrian as well as the relationship between the president and Americans. We were all able to offer our thoughts for each scenario and we found that as we kept discussing a scenario, it didn’t quite fit in any of the four components or that it fit into more than one. Overall, the conversation was very intellectually stimulating as it allowed me to start thinking of my own relationships with people.
Week of: April 20th- April 26th
The team meeting was on Friday this week. We had another intellectual talk on the relational model, focusing on the differences between Authority Ranking and Market Pricing. We discussed the role of a scientist and how the knowledge they have on science is what makes them a scientist and not someone who is an expert in cars for example. It’s the idea of market pricing where a doctor’s opinion would not necessarily be the best advice on whether or not a car is a good car to invest in. The PI also told us of a case from Texas about two feuding families that had a brawl and one family was injured and the doctor helped to patch that family up. The other family found out and shot the doctor. In this example, the doctor would be the authority figure but because of market pricing, the feuding family saw that as a “price”. We also discussed the role of doctors more as well as other examples of more aspects of the relational model. After that conversation, we are going to revise more questions for the culture questionnaire.
A Note from the Author
I decided to present my journal entries because it shows my progression throughout the semester and how I have gotten more comfortable overall with conducting research and working with EEGs. From the first journal entry, you can see how I wasn't comfortable with the process in the beginning and I found it a lot to have to get used to at once, but by the last journal entry of the in-person lab, I was able to confidently run the lab without the PI. This really shows my growth throughout whole process and how the more we do something or practice something, the better we get at it. I also realized that I shouldn't underestimate myself because I eventually learned the whole process like the back of my hand. If I could go back and give myself advice on the first day, I would tell myself that everything is going to be okay and to just trust yourself!