Studying Socio-Economic Trends in Rural America (REAP 2007)
Broadcast Media and Presidential Candidates: A Panel Study of Voter Reaction to TV and Radio Coverage of Senator Barack Obama (SURF 2008)
La?cité in France (IROP 2009)
Bridget Farmer (’10), a political science and international affairs dual major and Hamel Honors and Scholars College student, received her first grant from the Hamel Center in the form of a Research 188体育app_188体育在线-平台官网 and Apprenticeship Program (REAP) award, the summer after her freshman year. As such she became a research assistant at the Carsey Institute at UNH, learning about statistical analysis systems and creating surveys.
Building upon this experience, Bridget received a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) the following year to study the way different forms of media affected voter opinion in the months preceding the 2008 Democratic Convention. She administered questionnaires and surveys and evaluated voters’ responses to different audio and video clips. Bridget continued her undergraduate research experience the summer after her junior year with a grant from the International Research Opportunities Program (IROP) to explore the topic of secularism in France. There she conducted personal interviews to determine how the country’s law on secularism, which is much more extreme than similar laws in other parts of the Western world, impacts the integration of Muslim populations in Dijon. She also researched French law to observe any inconsistencies between the laws and their practice.
As Bridget reflects upon her experience, she notes how living in a foreign city such as Dijon, though intimidating at first, was essential to becoming familiar with the city, its residents, and its culture. After graduation, Bridget would like to continue doing research, with a focus on minority groups and children.
Bridget published her SURF and IROP research in Inquiry, UNH”s online undergraduate research journal. You may learn more about her projects at:
http://scholars.unh.edu/inquiry_2010/6/
http://scholars.unh.edu/inquiry_2009/4/
