What did I do for my practicum?
For my practicum, I took the Discovery Research class at the University of Maryland. This class served as a guide in the process of creating a research question and showcasing the findings of such research. We started with choosing a topic we were interested in and created a question. The research process began by gathering literature on the topic, creating an Annotated Bibliography and Literature Review. We then synthesized all of our research and portrayed its significance through a Prosepctus and Research Presentation. Throughout the research process, the use of feedback from peers and especially Dr. Dave Eubanks was utilized to improve projects.
What was I researching?
For my research project, I was interested in a topic that showed an intersection between my major and my scholars class and was also relevant to my daily life. I decided to look into the effect social media might have on political polarization between the Democratic and Republican parties. My research question was:Â
Do the emergence of filter bubbles and echo chambers on social media apps, such as Twitter, contribute to an increase in political polarization between the Democratic and Republican parties?