Research in Cognitive Development
Faculty Sponsor: Catherine Sandhofer
Department: Psychology
Contact Name: Nikhita Prabhu
E-mail: nprabhu@g.ucla.edu
Room Number: 2329 Psychology Building
Website: https://babytalk.psych.ucla.edu/undergraduates/
Description of Research Project:
Research in Cognitive Development
Description of Student Responsibilities:
The responsibilities of a Research Assistant (RA) are highly project-specific. Core research duties involve direct participation in the experimental process, including participant interaction through the active recruitment, screening, and scheduling of research participants (e.g., parents and children), and running experiments while strictly adhering to established protocols. RAs also contribute to project logistics by designing and making research stimuli, and managing data through systematic coding of videotapes or other observations, assisting with analyzing data, and maintaining the integrity of datasets. To ensure the continuity and benefit of training, RAs are required to maintain a minimum 7 hour per week commitment to the lab's work for at least 3 consecutive quarters. Furthermore, RAs must participate in mandatory weekly meetings to discuss research progress and collaborate with the lab group.
Teaching, Learning, and Communication Research
Faculty Sponsor: Melissa Paquette-Smith
Department: Psychology
Contact Name: Melissa Paquette-Smith
E-mail: Paquettesmith@psych.ucla.edu
Website: https://tlclab.psych.ucla.edu/
Description of Research Project:
Teaching, Learning, and Communication Research
Description of Student Responsibilities:
The TLC lab investigates teaching, learning, and communication from multiple angles. Much of our work explores how people understand and produce speech, how these processes develop and change over time, and how they influence our everyday interactions. For more information about our research please see our lab website: https://tlclab.psych.ucla.edu/
Our lab uses a variety of methods to explore how people learn, speak, and interact. Many of our studies involve computerized tasks where participants respond to different types of speech or language-based stimuli. The responsibilities of undergraduate research assistants may vary depending on which project they are working on. Typical responsibilities include helping to set up experimental tasks and test participants through the SONA system. Students are also trained to code and analyze data.
National Neuropsychology Network
Faculty Sponsor: Robert Bilder, Ph.D.
Department: Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences
Contact Name: Kristen Emanuel
E-mail: kenriquez@mednet.ucla.edu
Description of Research Project:
Please contact directly for research project description.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
-Complete training on database entry procedures
-Accurately input item-level neuropsychological test data into the research database
-Learn and identify specific neuropsychological tests administered
-Understand testing methods, scoring procedures, and scoring interpretation
-Participate in data analysis (including statistical analyses)
-Assist in formulating research hypotheses
-Contribute to writing abstracts for presentations/publications
-Conduct literature reviews to support ongoing research
-Support preparation of research posters
Cognitive and Perceptual Abilities in Card Game Players
Faculty Sponsor: Zili Liu
Department: Psychology
Contact Name: Lucy Cui
E-mail: lucycuilabRA1@gmail.com
Description of Research Project:
We will assess the cognitive and perceptual abilities (e.g., reasoning, numeracy, visual memory, visual attention) of Magic the Gathering players and compare them to non-Magic players.
Students will be responsible for creating/collecting stimuli, modifying images in photoshop, making/modifying psychopy experiments and pushing them to Pavlovia, maintaining a log of participants and/or email correspondence with them, and/or data cleaning and data analysis.
Students should have taken Psych 100A already. Preference for students who have taken Psych 120A, 120B and/or 186C, have played tradition card games, such as Magic the Gathering, Legends of Runeterra, Hearthstone, etc., or have worked with Psychopy and Pavlovia. Students should be familiar with data cleaning and data analysis in R and/or Python, as well as as data analysis methods such as correlation, linear/logistic regression, and ANOVA/ANCOVA.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
Students must be able to commit a minimum of 8 hours a week for a minimum of 2 quarters. If interested, please email Lucy (lucycuilabRA1@gmail.com) your resume, unofficial transcript, and graduation term/year.
User Experience Design and Research
Faculty Sponsor: Zili Liu
Department: Psychology
Contact Name: Lucy Cui
E-mail: lucycuilabRA1@gmail.com
Description of Research Project:
We will study the methods used in user experience research and develop subjective and objective measures to track user journeys, usability and customer satisfaction.
Students will be responsible for creating Figma designs, conducting usability tests and user interviews, qualitative coding, and/or data analysis.
Students should have taken Psych 100B already. Preference for students who have taken Psych 124B (Fundamentals of User Experience) or equivalent courses through the Computer Science or Digital Humanities departments and Psych 121 (Cognitive Psychology Laboratory). Data cleaning and analysis experience in R and/or Python is preferred but not required.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
Students must be able to commit a minimum of 8 hours a week for a minimum of 2 quarters. If interested, please email Lucy (lucycuilabRA1@gmail.com) your resume, unofficial transcript, and graduation term/year.
Research on Diverse Ethical Perspectives
Faculty Sponsor: Eugene Caruso
Department: Business (Anderson School of Management)
Contact Name: Medha Raju
E-mail: medha.raju@anderson.ucla.edu
Description of Research Project:
How can individuals and institutions effectively manage complex ethical issues when stakeholders have different perspectives and preferences? The pressing problems of ideological polarization and conflict often lead people to engage in short-sighted tactics that inhibit leaders and organizations from actually listening to, and learning from, one other. Decades of research on intergroup dynamics, the basic needs that underlie human motivation, and the various biases that result from the bounded nature of human cognition all offer some insights into the many barriers that prevent people from engaging with, and reaping the benefits of, the diversity of human perspectives—and why these barriers seem particularly intractable when it comes to ethical disagreements.
The work of our Inclusive Ethics Initiative supports researchers, educators, and the general public in exploring how an inclusive approach to ethics— which entails the equitable participation for all stakeholders in the establishment, evolution, and enforcement of ethical norms—can help people across the globe to successfully address their differences. Research assistants are sought to work on projects that address topics like:
- Stakeholder agency in the use of benefit programs (e.g., food assistance programs like SNAP)
-Conversational dynamics in interpersonal conflict
-Determinants of intrinsically motivated participation and support for EDI activities
-The difference between dialogue and debate goals in shaping encounters with difference
-Gratitude as an experience and an asset in encounters with difference
-Ethics of consent procedures
Description of Student Responsibilities:
RAs will work on a variety of research-related tasks, including literature reviews, study design, stimuli creation, archival data analysis, and statistical coding. Students should be independent, organized, reliable, and clear communicators. We want RAs who are not only hardworking but also interested in investigating the social, motivational, and cognitive processes that are involved in discussion, debate, and decision making among stakeholders with different perspectives.
Quantitative Research Collaboratory
Faculty Sponsor: Montoya, Amanda
Department: Psychology
Contact Name: Amanda Montoya
E-mail: Psychology
Room Number: LSB 5324
Phone: 310-794-5069
Website: http://akmontoya.com/QRClab
Description of Research Project:
The QRClab focuses on developing and evaluating statistical methods and research practices used to answer psychological research questions. We develop new statistical analyses to be used for testing questions of mediation, moderation, or moderated mediation with complex data structures. We review published research to understand current practices and develop new guidelines for research practice. We conduct qualitative and quantitative research to understand new publishing mechanisms, such as registered reports. We develop tools (e.g., R packages, SPSS and SAS macros) to help researchers implement new statistical methods.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
Students may contribute to these projects in multiple ways. For example, finding research articles with specific data structures or from specific domains. Conducting data analysis to demonstrate novel statistical methods or using specific tools. Quality testing of newly developed statistical tools in SPSS, SAS, or R. Literature searches and coding of academic papers to describe how they use certain statistical methods. Searching for useful or interesting datasets to be used in analysis. Students often come to the lab from a wide range of backgrounds, but the most important qualifications are an eagerness to learn, interest in quantitative psychology, and confidence in your analytical and mathematical skills. Students particularly interested in statistics and research methods are highly encouraged to apply.
To apply to the lab go to akmontoya.com/QRClab, download and complete the lab application, and email it to qrclab@psych.ucla.edu.
Graph Perception and Data Visualization
Faculty Sponsor: Zili Liu
Department: Psychology
Contact Name: Lucy Cui
E-mail: lucycuilabRA1@gmail.com
Description of Research Project:
How do people interpret preexisting and novel graphs and data visualizations? What misconceptions and misperceptions do they have? What does this tell us about people’s understanding of data and statistics? We will explore these questions using mixed-methods.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
Research assistants will help with data collection by running participants through experiments and will help pilot-test those experiments. Opportunities will be available to get involved in data analysis and experiment development/material creation. Applicants with experience in data analysis (e.g., Excel, SPSS, R) and programming (e.g., python, matlab, javascript) are preferred and will be given priority. Students must be able to commit a minimum of 8 hours a week for a minimum of 2 quarters. If interested, please email Lucy (lucycuilabRA1@gmail.com) your resume or CV, unofficial transcript, quarter availability and planned graduation date.
Moral Decisions & Rational Altruism
Faculty Sponsor: Falk Lieder
Department: Psychology
Contact Name: Zahra Tahmasebi
E-mail: rationalaltruismlab@gmail.com
Room Number: 7525 Pritzker Hall
Phone: (424) 259-5300
Website: https://ralab.psych.ucla.edu/
Description of Research Project:
Note: The early-bird application deadline for Summer and/or Fall 2024 is May 15, 2024. The application remains open until May 30, 2024.
The Rational Altruism Lab is a purpose-driven team with the mission to strengthen the scientific foundations for improving the future of humanity. We conduct fundamental research on crucial questions about morality, altruism, rationality, learning, and decision-making. Our core values include altruism, rationality, scientific rigor, precise theories and models, intellectual humility and open-mindedness, working hard and smart, taking responsibility, open communication, seeking and providing constructive feedback, continuous learning and improvement, publishing our findings, and open science.
The Rational Altruism Lab conducts research in four core areas:
Moral learning and moral decision-making
Identifying the most impactful questions that psychological science can ask by developing a general method for predicting the social impact of scientific research on different topics.
Understanding and promoting effective well-doing
Improving institutional decision-making.
We are looking for research assistants who will contribute to one of the following projects:
Decision-making in social dilemmas. This project investigates how people make decisions in situations where their self-interest is in conflict with the welfare of others. Undergraduate research assistants can contribute to this project in one or more of the following ways: analyzing participants' verbal responses, statistical data analysis in R, setting up Qualtrics surveys, writing descriptions of social dilemmas, and scientific writing.
Promoting altruistic decision-making through systematic reflection. This project investigates whether systematically reflecting on people's decisions can help them learn to become more altruistic and more farsighted. Undergraduate students can contribute to this project by evaluating our systematic reflection intervention in cognitive interviews, creating Qualtrics surveys, writing descriptions of social dilemmas that will be used in the experiment, analyzing written responses, data analysis in R, and scientific writing.
Obstacles to learning how to make better decisions in social dilemmas. This project investigates why people don’t always learn the right lessons from the outcomes of their decisions. In particular, we investigate what can prevent a person who made an overly selfish and/or irrational decision from realizing how bad their decision was for others. Undergraduate students can contribute to this project by analyzing participants’ written responses to questions probing how they evaluate the outcomes of their decisions.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
Research Assistants will be routed to one or more of the lab research projects based on their interests and needs of the projects. Primary mentor will depend on the project assignment. Responsibilities (depending on the projects) may include attending project meetings, creating experimental materials, literature research, data collection, study coordination, data analysis, and manuscript preparation. All projects are designed to produce or contribute to scientific articles. All projects will give you the opportunity to earn a co-authorship on one or more publications that your work contributes to.
At least a basic knowledge of psychological research methodology and statistics are necessary for the position. Prior experience working in lab settings is beneficial but not required. The research assistants should be professional and organized, with good communication skills, a desire to learn and dedication to the Rational Altruism Lab core values. A commitment of at least two quarters is expected.
By joining the Rational Altruism Lab, you will benefit from working with a team of skilled and passionate researchers. This will give you the chance to expand your knowledge of psychological research methodologies while providing hands-on experience in various research domains, such as designing and developing research materials, data collection, data analysis, and reporting.
Time Commitment per Week: 12 hours or more
Research Credit Available: Y/N Y
How to Apply: Please complete the Rational Altruism Lab Interest Form: https://forms.gle/td9uvXbykFWaqEkR9
Neural Mechanisms for Empathy and Social Reasoning
Faculty Sponsor: Marco Iacoboni
Department: Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences
Contact Name: Akila Kadambi
E-mail: akadambi@ucla.edu
Website: https://iacoboni.bol.ucla.edu/
Description of Research Project:
The neural basis for human social connection is complex and multidimensional. In a series of experiments, we examine systems-level brain markers for different dimensions of empathy, social reasoning, and self-awareness. To explore these questions, we use a combination of behavior, non-invasive brain stimulation (TMS), and functional neuroimaging (fMRI). Much of the research is rooted in principles of embodiment, in that social cognition is built upon- and derives from- our bodily and motor functions.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
The research assistant will assist, and potentially lead, aspects of: general study coordination, participant recruitment, and data collection. Prior experience working in lab settings with human subjects, clinical populations, and/or functional neuroimaging is preferred. The research assistant should ideally be able to commit a large portion of time to the project, have excellent organizational skills, and provide at least a two quarter commitment. Programming, 3D modeling, and VR integration are responsibilities as well. An interest in neuroscience is a must. If interested, please email your CV/resume and a brief statement of interest to Akila Kadambi, akadambi@ucla.edu.
Legal Corpora: A Computational and Cognitive Approach to Copyright and Legal Argumentation
Faculty Sponsor: Keith Holyoak
Department: Psychology
Contact Name: David G. Kamper
E-mail: davidgkamper@ucla.edu
Room Number: Pritzker Hall 7570
Phone: (218) 576-6144
Website: https://reasoninglab.psych.ucla.edu/
Description of Research Project:
How do legal precedents develop? What kind of computational approaches can be taken to better understand how legal concepts develop and are used in courts of law? Our lab examines the impact of analogy, that is the mapping between two concepts, and networks. By leveraging these cognitive and computational tools, we delve into the creativity within intellectual property law. Our research focuses on the genesis and development of intellectual property, including the emergence of new ideas for artistic works and inventions, and more broadly, how human cognition influences legal frameworks.
We are engaged in a variety of research projects. One such set of projects investigates legal corpora, including case law, patent filings, and legal opinions. Utilizing natural language processing and network analysis, particularly through the lens of legal citations, we aim to unravel the development of specific legal concepts and their development. Our work in copyright law leverages large datasets to identify the key terms and concepts that underlie the principle of transformativeness—an essential doctrine within the fair use defense. Additionally, we conduct in-person studies with both laypeople and experts, such as artists, to explore how they perceive art. By employing neuroscientific and computational methods, we compare their responses to existing legal standards. This approach allows us to advance our understanding of aesthetics and creativity and their impact on legal interpretations and outcomes.
Furthermore, our lab investigates the dynamics of persuasion and argumentation within legal contexts, focusing on what narrative structures and concepts are most compelling. This includes examining causal language, counterfactual thinking, and the concept of mens rea (the state of mind) and its influence on legal outcomes and the establishment of precedents.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
The research assistant’s duties encompass multiple aspects of current research endeavors, such as participating in lab meetings, conducting literature searches, designing studies and developing stimuli, editing, gathering and programming data, analyzing data, preparing presentation slides, and writing up findings. A significant task will involve constructing legal corpora for further research.
Students are expected to dedicate at least 7 hours weekly to these tasks. Ideal candidates should have experience with R, Python, or MATLAB, and be keen on advancing their research careers in graduate school or law school. Interested individuals should send their resume or CV and an unofficial transcript to David at davidgkamper@ucla.edu.
The Effect of Social Identities on Person Perceptions in the Workpla
Faculty Sponsor: Margaret Shih
Department: Psychology & Anderson School of Management
Contact Name: Margaret Shih
E-mail: margaret.shih@anderson.ucla.edu
Website: https://www.psych.ucla.edu/faculty-page/mjshih/
Description of Research Project:
How does one's social identity influence their perceptions, behaviors, performance, and well-being in organizations? Our lab examines the impact of social identities-related inequities on people's experiences in organizations.
We have a series of research projects going on in our lab, such as work-related outcomes of Asian employees at the middle of the racial hierarchy, the impact of various diversity ideologies on intergroup relations, backlash against middle performing female employees asking for promotions, and audience perceptions of policy advocacy when the advocator directly benefits from their advocacy.
We use a variety of methods, including online and in-lab surveys and experiments, archival data analyses, natural language processing, data-scraping and more.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
The research assistant will be involved in various stages of ongoing research projects, including attending lab meetings, literature reviews, study design and stimuli creation, proofreading surveys, data collection, data coding, data analyses, creating slides for presentations, and drafting results.
Students must be able to commit a minimum of 8 hours a week for a minimum of 2 quarters. Preferred/desired skills: Experience with R, interest in pursuing research in graduate school. If interested, please email Margaret (margaret.shih@anderson.ucla.edu) your resume or CV and unofficial transcript.
Interleaving in Mathematics
Faculty Sponsor: Steve Bennoun
Department: Psychology
Contact Name: Steve Bennoun
E-mail: bennoun@ucla.edu
Description of Research Project:
What is the best way to design homework sets in order to best support student learning? Is it better to practice one topic at a time or to mix different topics? If so, how should the topics be mixed?
In this project we will compare different homework designs and evaluate their impact on student learning in the context of a mathematics course. We will also explore what other factors could explain differences in learning.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
Students will participate in a variety of research-related tasks that may include data collection and data cleaning, assisting with statistical data analysis or qualitative data analysis, and literature review. We look for students who are reliable, well organized and comfortable with math and stats. Eagerness to learn is a must. You also need to have taken at least one statistics course. Having taken LS30A is a big plus and knowing R is a plus.
If interested please email your CV, unofficial transcripts and a brief description (just 1 or 2 brief paragraphs, not a letter) of what makes you interested in this project.
Research on Decision Making and Behavioral Science
Faculty Sponsor: Hal Hershfield
Department: Psychology & Business (Anderson)
Contact Name: Megan Weber
E-mail: mailto:meweber13@gmail.com
Description of Research Project:
How does thinking about time and our future selves transform emotions and alter the judgments and decisions we make for ourselves now? How do different communications and interventions change perceptions, intentions, and behaviors such as choosing to invest (or withdraw from the market), getting vaccinated, saving money, planning for retirement, or confronting the aging process? Research methods for investigating these and related questions include online and in-person experiments, neuroimaging, eye tracking, archival and big data analyses, and even virtual reality.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
RAs will work on a variety of research-related tasks, including literature reviews, study design, stimuli creation, archival data analysis, and statistical coding. Students should be independent, organized, reliable, and clear communicators. We want RAs who are not only hardworking but also interested in investigating the cognitive processes that are involved in decision making and behavior change.
Analysis of MRI Data using BrainSuite
Faculty Sponsor: David Shattuck
Department: Neurology
Contact Name: Yeun Kim
E-mail: yeunkim10@engineering.ucla.edu
Room Number: NRB225
Website: http://shattuck.bmap.ucla.edu
Description of Research Project:
The Shattuck Lab develops computational methods for analyzing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data of the human brain and applies these techniques in brain research. One of our software packages, BrainSuite (http://brainsuite.org), provides an open-source collection of tools for the automated and semi-automated processing of human brain MRI data. As part of our ongoing efforts to improve the software, we need to perform manual labeling of imaging data to provide training and evaluation datasets for machine learning algorithms. Additionally, we are applying these software tools to extract and analyze information related to brain structure and function in several research areas.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
Students working on this project will use the BrainSuite user interface to visually examine MRI data and delineate neuroanatomical structures and boundaries in the data. They will also perform computational tasks using the BrainSuite software to process and analyze the data. This processing will be performed through both the graphical interface and on the command line using scripting tools. Students will also perform visual inspection of program outputs to ensure that processing has been performed correctly. Students will also perform statistical analysis using R. Experience with bash and Python is preferred.
Learning and Mentorship Study
Faculty Sponsor: Naomi Eisenberger
Department: Psychology
Contact Name: Akila Kadambi
E-mail: akadambi@ucla.edu
Description of Research Project:
The study is conducted remotely and is a collaboration effort across research groups (Eisenberger and Bjork Labs). The project involves pairing together adoptive foster youth (ages 9 -16) and undergraduate students at UCLA as part of a larger mentorship intervention. Each participant pair will meet once a week via zoom to discuss pre-determined learning and humanistic education topics, over a longitudinal period (six weeks per participant pair).
Description of Student Responsibilities:
The research assistant will assist on, and potentially lead, aspects of: general study coordination, participant recruitment, and data collection. Prior experience working in lab settings with human subjects and clinical populations is preferred. The research assistant should ideally be able to commit a large portion of time to the project (including weekly meetings), have excellent organizational skills, and provide at least a two quarter commitment. An interest in learning, mentorship, prosociality and/or foster youth is a must.
If interested, please email your CV/resume and a brief statement of interest to Akila Kadambi, akadambi@ucla.edu.
Effect of video games on visual learning
Faculty Sponsor: Zili Liu
Department: Psychology
Contact Name: Maggie Yeh
E-mail: maggieyeh@g.ucla.edu
Room Number: 8505 Pritzker
Phone: 4153738678
Description of Research Project:
This research project aims to quantify and evaluate the utility of action video games (first-person shooters) as training for visual skills. Video game players have been generally shown to demonstrate enhanced visual skills, especially relating to attention. However, the question remains: is this benefit due to the video games, or are the players self-selecting by choosing to play games because they are already better at visual skills? This project will compare video games to other methods of visual learning training, and evaluate potential limitations.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
Research assistants will assist with data collection. Previous experience with coding in Python, Matlab, or similar is not required, but is appreciated. The specific tasks involved may vary based on individual student interest. Research assistants will be required to attend a weekly RA meeting.
Culture and Contact Lab (CCL) Research Group
Faculty Sponsor: Brannon, Tiffany
Department: Psychology
Contact Name: Tiffany Brannon
E-mail: tbrannon@psych.ucla.edu
Room Number: Pritzker 5522
Description of Research Project:
The UCLA Culture and Contact Lab studies social inequalities tied to systemic oppression and discrimination including disparities related to academic achievement and well-being. Theories and approaches tied to cultural psychology and intergroup relations are integrated to investigate psychological interventions.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
Students in the research group participate in a variety of tasks that are designed to further exposure and experiences with research methods and opportunities for mentorship. In particular, students help with all stages of the research process including providing feedback on study materials, working as an experimenter for studies, assisting with literature reviews and data coding for research reporting and dissemination.
Evaluate Retinal Neural Circuits for Visual Processing
Faculty Sponsor: Yi-Rong Peng
Department: Ophthalmology
Contact Name: Yi-Rong Peng
E-mail: yirongpeng@mednet.ucla.edu
Room Number: Jules Stein Building B-200
Phone: 310-825-7883
Website: http://www.yirongpeng.com
Description of Research Project:
The visual system operates in over 12 orders of magnitude of light intensity and allows for robust discrimination of color, movement, and fine detail. The complex neural processing originates from the circuitry of the retina. In the retina, over 100 types of cells are selectively wired together to form multiple processing circuits, within which achieved parallel processing of visual information. This project is to dissect the functions of individual retinal circuits and understand their roles in processing visual information.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
During the quarter, the student will learn about the morphological and functional features of retinal circuits. Under the supervision of the PI, the student will assist in rodent maintenance, eye-tracking experiments, visual behavior assays, data analysis. She/he will also attend relevant seminars and conduct literature search to better understand the process of visual perception and high-acuity vision. In addition, the student will learn and perform basic bioinformatics using R and python, and histological and molecular techniques, and flow-cytometry, in order to participate in the project.
Learning by Research – HCI
Faculty Sponsor: Chen, Xiang
Department: Electrical & Computer Engineering
Contact Name: Professor Xiang 'Anthony' Chen
E-mail: xac@ucla.edu
Room Number: 1538 Boelter Hall, 580 Portola Plaza
Description of Research Project:
Learning by Research program (LbR) is a quarter long program for UCLA students created by the HCI (human computer interaction) research group in UCLA. It is a quarter-long program for UCLA-wide undergraduate students to pragmatically participate in research with specific learning objectives with a specific focus in HCI related research.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
Students are responsible to either partake as a expeditionist or a specialist in the research projects, either taking on specific roles in programming, hardware building, designing user interfaces for specific roles or exploring a new research projects that lay the groundwork for future development. The student need to utilizes skills in cognitive science such as psychology and programming to undergo extensive user research and build a functional physical or digital prototype related to HCI at the end of the quarter in order to complete the research project.