AP Research Oral Defense Questions

How did your review of the methods used by scholars in the field inform your selection of a research method/process that is aligned with your research question/project goal?

Almost all previous studies regarding public perception of nuclear energy only used one-time surveys to gather their data, leading me to understand that there was a gap in tracking the development of these opinions over time. However, I was able to draw inspiration from some of the questions included in those surveys.

How does your new understanding address a gap in the scholarly conversation?

Almost all previous studies regarding public perception of nuclear energy only used one-time surveys to gather their data, leading me to understand that there was a gap in tracking the development of these opinions over time. However, through my case study, I was able to gather pre and post-presentation data that would allow me to measure the impact of education on public perception of nuclear energy in high school youth.

What was the most important research skill you developed as a result of this process, and how might you apply it to your future endeavors?

Although I previously understood the format of a published paper, I didn't have much experience in actually writing in such a sophisticated yet succinct style. Through the creation of my own paper, I've gained valuable experience with synthesizing information with my own commentary and analyzing data. As someone majoring in a STEM program, I hope to use these skills in new research experiences.

Think back to the initial curiosity that sparked your inquiry. What other curiosities do you have and how has this process prepared you to explore them?

I have many scientific interests in medicine and biology that can be explored with a similar research process. With my new experience with analyzing previous research in the field, creating and executing an experiment, and writing my own paper, I believe I'm well prepared for these new challenges.

How did the choices you made when designing or implementing your research method impact your research process?

I knew from the beginning that my research method was going to have to be a case study, or else I wouldn't be able to manipulate a variable (education) to measure its impact. However one of the biggest choices that I had to make when designing my research method was determining how long my educational presentation should be. Making it shorter would likely increase participation, as the process would be more convenient, but would sacrifice an in-depth look at the subject. My 23-minute presentation seemed to be a bit too long for some and therefore impacted my research process by limiting my sample size, but I am satisfied with the amount of detail covered.

How did your initial exploration of the scholarly conversation lead to your final research question / project goal?

I knew that I wanted to research a topic related to nuclear energy, but as I explored the existing scholarly works, I knew that there weren't many feasible projects for a high school student to take on. Despite this initial discouragement, I noticed that many of the sources had listed public concerns and a lack of support as a major obstacle to nuclear development. This inspired me to focus on public perception of nuclear energy and the influential factors (specifically, education).

How did you determine which results generated by your research method were most important in informing your new understanding?

I prioritized the results that focused on the most prevalent concerns about nuclear energy. like safety fears, to see if education really made an impact on the strongest negative perceptions. More surprising findings, like the low change in siting context hesitations, were also emphasized due to their unexpected and odd nature. It should still be noted, though, that my entire questionnaire was designed to efficiently provide meaningful data and there were no frivolous or filler questions.

How did you handle the uncertainty of the research process?

I relied a lot on my teacher to guide me through the process, but I also learned from other studies and used those papers as examples. For example, I was very inexperienced and unsure about my method section, so I reviewed other papers in my field to gauge what was expected of me.

If you could revisit your research process, what would you do differently and why?

I would make sure to have a larger sample size by reaching out to even more teachers. One science teacher was going to give class time for her students to complete the process, but wasn't able to fit it in her schedule. By reaching out to her earlier, I would have been able to get many more responses.

What are the real-world implications or consequences related to your findings?

Many previous attempts to educate the hesitant public focused on presented statistics related to costs and efficiency, but found that their approach was unsuccessful. My findings indicate that a more holistic education, including an explanation of the scientific process, had more of an impact. These findings could provide future public outreach or education efforts with a guide for maximum efficiency and deter them from making the same mistakes as others in the field.

How do your findings provide directions for future research in the field?

My findings encourage more exploration of siting context fears, as they were not significantly changed by the educational presentation. Future researchers could continue this case study method and look at this specific phenomenon with more depth. Additionally, I encourage future researchers to increase their sample size and add more diversity to their participants to avoid underrepresentation.

How did the limitations of your method or data influence your new understanding?

The main limitation to my method was that the relative length of the process, compared to a simple survey, discouraged students from participating in the case study. A small sample size, such as mine, requires more research to confirm the findings and prevent underrepresentation. Therefore, this limitation has impacted my understanding by adding a little bit of caution to the universality of my findings.