Amanda Olive

Email: oliveama000@stu.sumnersd.org

Class of 2021

There is a problem with how the coronavirus is being spread on university campuses. This is important as the spread of COVID-19 has negatively impacted students' education and it is necessary to know the extent to which students will use the contact tracing software as it requires majority of the population to participate in order for the service to be effective. 

Contact tracing:  state administered application via smartphones

College student: anyone enrolled in the university

Perception: measured through use of Likert scale 

One limitation of my research is the pandemic. Since everything is online, there will be barriers to data collection and contacting participants for debriefing purposes. Additionally, without the pandemic, I could have been able to access more potential participants with face-to-face communication as well as possible present my research proposal in person to university officials as I am conducting my study among their student population.  

Another limitation is that college students may not be willing to take the survey for fear that their name is attached to it. For example, if someone negatively views the contact tracing application, they may be less likely to share that perception for fear that the university may receive this data. However, through my study, every response will be anonymous and debriefing will take place with every individual as well as consent forms prior to participating that addresses the anonymity within my research. 

One final limitation is that not every student is a member of their college Reddit page. This prevents me from reaching a representative sample from each school and leaves out a portion of the student population in Washington state public, 4-year universities. 

The results of this study can be used by universities to help safely reopen in the upcoming fall and encourage students to utilize the software as there is a slight positive attitude towards the application. Since the vaccine has begun its rollout, the use of digital contact tracing may not be as widespread, however, there is potential for the contact tracing to be used for other purposes such as for sexually transmitted diseases [21] or for any possible future outbreaks of the coronavirus. Because less students were willing to keep their GPS on at all times, developers of digital contact tracing may be able to find an alternative method in tracking location in order to make the public more comfortable and willing to use the service.