Students shine and showcase their research at the Integrative Studies Research Forum

December 11, 2024 - Jalen Smith

As the semester comes to a close, over 80 students in the Center for Integrative Studies in Social Science at Michigan State University showcased their research at the fourth Center for Integrative Studies Undergraduate Research Forum. The event, which took place on December 6th in Berkey Hall, gave students from both the Interdisciplinary Research Methods and Research Capstone courses the opportunity to be recognized for their achievements by the Spartan community.

“The research forum is an opportunity for the students in the capstone courses for our majors to display and discuss their work. It is the culmination of a one or two semester long project for them. Each student has an easel to display a poster describing their research project. We invited people to come and discuss with the students individually to learn more about their work,” Brandy Ellison, Director of the Center for Integrative Studies explained. 

The students presented their research on a wide range of topics across politics, international relations, sports, health, psychology, communication methods and pop culture. 

Sydney Gatland, a fourth-year psychology student, presented her research on the impact of cultural background on brand loyalty. 

“I wanted to explore whether the values a brand reflects influence a customer’s decision to support or purchase from that brand, as I believe there’s a gap in the current economy in addressing these factors. I conducted a Google survey with participants primarily from Caucasian and Hispanic backgrounds. The results showed that participants prioritized the quality of the brand over its values. However, if a brand demonstrated culturally insensitive behavior, participants indicated they would stop supporting it.,” Gatland said. 

It is the work of students like Sydney that makes these research forums so important.

“This research showcase allows students to communicate their work in a public-facing manner, and this instills engaged learning and skills development in both critical inquiry and visual storytelling around complex social problems. I have seen a huge improvement in student outcomes in our courses as a result of the showcase event,” said Eddie Boucher, Associate Director of the Center for Integrative Studies and the event coordinator. 

The posters of the student research are still on display on the Berkey Hall second and third floors this week. To learn more about courses in the Center for Integrative Studies visit here.