Researcher of the Week: Queenie Tran

After my first semester at UMBC, I knew I wanted to get involved in research. I went to the Psychology department’s website and read every faculty members page to see whose research appealed to me. I was really interested in Dr. Charissa Cheah’s work so I e-mailed her and the next thing I knew, I was scheduled for an interview.

Both of my parents immigrated to the United States, and growing up, I noticed a lot of differences between myself and other kids at school, especially how our parents approached our social lives. For instance, it really upset the 10-year-old me that I could not sleep over at my friends’ houses! For my project, I wanted to look at common characteristics in Chinese immigrant children’s social networks, how involved parents are when it comes to their children’s play dates, and how those two things are associated.

Yes.

I registered for 2 credits last semester, so I was required to complete 90 hours of lab work by the end of the semester—about 6 hours a week. I was in the lab about 4 hours during the week, though that changed from week to week depending on what assignments I was working on. I also went to a lot of home visits, which is when we actually collect our data. Those would take up 3-5 hours at a time on Saturday or Sunday mornings or afternoons. Now that I’m working on my own independent research in addition to the things I do as a research assistant, I know I’m going to need to put in extra time for my project.

When I first sat down to look at the application, I was pretty overwhelmed and I had no idea where to start. I typed up some of my answers, hoping I at least somewhat sounded like I knew what I was talking about, and sent it to Dr. Cheah. I was pretty far off the mark, and that first draft was full of red marks and comments! Thankfully, Dr. Cheah gave me a lot of guidance so I was able to better understand what I needed to convey. After that, it was just a matter of forcing myself to sit down and work on it, work on it, and work on it some more. I spent a lot of time staring at my computer, wanting to bang my head on the table, but it really does not seem that bad when I look back. Writing is a huge part of research and is something that (in my experience) never gets easier, but the process flows more smoothly each time you do it. Plus, the relief you feel when you finish makes it all worth it!

When I went to Dr. Cheah with my project proposal, it was big and broad and vague and unsure. With her help, I was able to narrow it all down into something manageable. She talked me through pulling this idea from out of the clouds down into a project I could actually complete, which was amazing. Dr. Cheah helped me with the application itself by untangling this huge jumble of words I wrote and magically turning it into something coherent. Even though I completed the application myself, her guidance made a world of a difference.

There is a difference between doing the bare minimum and actually getting involved. If you want to get involved, it takes a lot of time and a lot of hard work, but if you enjoy it, even the tedious parts can be fun. Also, be brave and volunteer for opportunities! I was always the quiet student in class, but my experience became a million times better when I stepped out of my comfort zone.