Diving into the Project

My Week In Three Words: productive, eye-opening, and connections!

What I’ve been working on: This week I’ve been working through more paper review, meeting people in the other labs, and brainstorming for the our survey design. I’ve set up weekly meetings with Dr. Zhang and meet with Dr. Jhaver two times a week. I mostly discuss questions and ideas that have come up during my paper review and next steps during these meetings. Earlier this week, I went to the welcome meeting for all summer REU students. I am both in awe of all the amazing people around me and excited to get to know them better! We also had a DUB mixer, which is usually a self-organized event where faculty and students will host/attend meetings with topics of discussion on their choice. Unfortunately, not many people showed up for the mixer, since there was a conference, but I did get to meet two other REU students and hear about their work! Later on in the week I presented on papers I read to my project team, and we discussed which conditions we wanted to focus on for he survey as well as key ideas we wanted to ask about in terms of responsibility and ethical implications.

What I’ve learned:

1. Especially when working oniine but just in general, going to events where you can meet people is a great way to take a break from work and make connections!
2. It’s helpful to have a google doc or piece of paper where you can write down any miscellaneous thoughts you have–especially in the early stages of a project.
3. Microsoft To Do is nice if you’re more of a task-oriented person like I am. But Google Calendar is a must regardless.

What I’m curious about:

1. What methods do other people use to connect with those in their lab beyond going to organized events?
2. What work has been done around content moderation and accessibility?