DSSRF17 ended a week ago, and since then I’ve been trying to gather my thoughts about the summer (and our spring prep work), and cohesively reflect on the past eight weeks. It may sound cliche, but DSSRF has truly been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career as a librarian. Courtney pointed this out early in the summer, but it bears repeating: one of the best parts of our program was getting to see the students work through the research process from beginning to end. As librarians, we so often see students for a one time research appointment, and we don’t know where the research goes after they walk out of our offices. In this case, we got to the point of seeing completed projects, which was truly gratifying. I’m also so heartened to know the students each have an idea of some way in which they can continue their research beyond the summer program, and that they don’t see this research as merely existing in a vacuum or as coming to an end as they might with a research paper in a semester long class.

Another great aspect of DSSRF has been the collaboration, which is a prominent theme in digital scholarship and digital humanities. I’m so pleased that we were able to bring that to fruition through this program: our students were great collaborators, in helping each other learn intricacies of different methods and platforms, and in making suggestions for how projects could be improved upon. The value of collaboration really showed itself in our visit to Gettysburg, as they were able to collaborate not only with each other, but also with students in another digital scholarship program and build on the idea of creating a community of practice. I know from talking to students both at Bucknell and Gettysburg that they enjoyed that experience, and I hope that can serve as a groundwork for future collaborations between our schools and reaching other institutions.

Speaking of collaboration, DSSRF was truly a collaborative effort between Library and IT staff. It would not have been possible without the generous help and expertise of so many of our colleagues in Research Services, Digital Pedagogy and Scholarship, and from other areas of the organization. It is remarkable that the vision we had for this program when we first started talking about it in January could come to fruition so quickly, and that is due in large part to the support we received from our Library and IT colleagues. And I could not have asked for a better co-facilitator for DSSRF than Courtney!

Finally, our students: we could not have asked for a better cohort – thank you Justin, Rennie, Tyler, and Minglu for a great summer!! Whether they knew it or not, they were our guinea pigs in DSSRF, and I’m so glad they decided to pursue this program. They embraced flexibility and a willingness to learn at every turn, and taught us so much about their research topics. They are energetic, inquisitive, driven young scholars who have proven that undergraduates can conduct meaningful, rigorous, independent research. And also, that you can have fun while doing research! My sense is that this was a transformative experience for our students, and something that we can build upon as we look for more ways to engage students in research.

The DSSRF17 cohort on their last day! L-R: Carrie Pirmann, Justin Guzman, Rennie Heza, Tyler Candelora, Minglu Xu, and Courtney Paddick.

As the summer comes to a close, I find it difficult to fully reflect upon my time in the DSSRF17 program. Each week, I’ve reflected on particular hardships and decisions made. For the final week, I’d like to promote the program that has consumed my tim over the last 8 weeks.

First, the program is an excellent opportunity to expose oneself to undergraduate research. In particular, the program allows students to investigate questions that on which faculty may not be focused. For example, my research was in hockey analytics, and my peers investigated topics in art history, Chinese economics, and LGBTQ+ representation in film. Individuals, with the help of our facilitators, were able to tackle research questions in all of these areas, no matter how unique the area of research may have been.

Another great aspect of the DSSRF program is the availability of professional help. Although individuals conduct the research, Bucknell faculty made themselves available, along with Bertrand Library and IT staff. The program facilitators dedicated their busy summers to providing any and all support we needed. From putting us in touch with industry professionals to giving tutorials in a variety of digital tools, Carrie and Courtney went out of their ways to provide us with the help necessary to conduct well document research. Research professionals and mathematics professors also contributed to the summer research, and I found everyone involved to be very willing to help. This program put me in touch with individuals who I plan to stay in touch with long beyond the DSSRF17 program.

Lastly, spending a summer in Lewisburg is great. The campus is quiet, and great camaraderie results. The same amenities available during the school year are available to students throughout the summer, and the weather is fantastic. A summer on campus is a great chance to explore the local area. I’ve floated down the Susquehanna River, sightseen both Harrisburg and Scranton, experienced minor league baseball games, played recreational sports, and tried many local restaurants. The weekends are free, so I had plenty of time to adventure through Central Pennsylvania.

I am envious of my peers, all three of whom are younger than I. Every other member of the DSSRF17 program have at least one chance to spend another summer conducting research in Lewisburg. And though they might not be involved in the same program in the future, the DSSRF program has allowed us all a chance to see how great the experience can be. I encourage anyone interested in research to apply, even if you have not identified a research question. The program facilitators will help you along the way, from identifying this question, to presenting findings to a plethora of Bucknellians eight weeks later. I am so thankful to have found this program before my time at Bucknell has ended, and I hope future Bucknellians have an opportunity to do the same.

http://scalar.usc.edu/works/lgbt-representation-in-cinema-hollywood-vs-indie/index

Having finished the program and presenting my project it’s interesting to see how far my project has come. It feels like yesterday when my project was originally analyzing the social impact of film. I remember my scope being massive and what I limited my scope to is still pretty huge. It did feel like for a while my project had no real direction and I had no sense of what it would look like when it was done. With the help of Courtney, Carrie, Rennie, Minglu, and Tyler my project turned out to be way better than I thought it could be. All of the feedback on the direction I was taking my data and case studies in was extremely helpful and I couldn’t be more grateful for it because without the feedback I received I probably wouldn’t like where my project ended up.

Overall, the help of L&IT and the research staff made me feel comfortable with research. This is the first time I’ve really created something based on film rather than making a film itself. This reaffirmed my love for the field because with digital tools there are so many more ways to look at film rather than just watching it. Tyler spoke a lot about the different types of reading and I’ve attributed some of that to how I watch films now.  I do wish we had more time to learn certain tools more in depth because I do believe there are some that would have truly helped improve my project, but in the 8 weeks we had we got through a lot of material.

I had never realized how large of a field Digital Scholarship is until we visited Bryn-Mawr and Gettysburg, but it was definitely interesting to see how many different passions people were bringing into the field. I’ve started viewing Digital Scholarship as this range of scholarly work that is all-inclusive of individual passions and interests.

I feel comfortable conducting research especially on cinema which is something I’ve never really experienced. Research has always seemed daunting and even impossible for me to conduct sometimes since I never really learned how. I’ve always been taught to analyze and use that analysis to create, but in this sense I was analyzing to present and it’s different from making an actual film obviously. Creating this site allows other people to discuss cinematic representation of minorities which is a conversation I truly believe should happen more. I always imagine the types of films I plan to make being films that start some type of real social discussion and I feel like I got a taste of that with my project.

I loved this program and it really brought me closer together with the medium I’m passionate.