NACE Competencies

Communication: Conducting this study, writing its manuscript, preparing the poster, and presenting it at the Midwestern Psychological Association have all been excellent exercises for me in concise and effective communication. At every point, it was required that I find a simple way to convey a fairly complicated topic. In particular, I put effort into the poster's central figure to allow its primary findings, which consist of correlations, such that it could be interpreted quickly and without confusion. Moreover, I made sure to write in bullet points and to develop a concise script such that communication was effective and that my audience can understand my research.

Critical Thinking: The entirety of this study has demanded a high degree of abstract thought and nuanced consideration. Beginning data interpretation, it was necessary to determine what methods would be most effective in discerning our findings. 

Technology: This study was my first experience applied the statistics I have learned as a student. While I have read many scientific papers by this point in my academic career, this was my first project in which I had to make use of multiple statistical analysis software. Using SPSS, I first coded data into the variables we assessed and then ran correlation and regression analyses with an R script.