Field Work
Our researchers dig deep and get their feet on the ground through our field work projects.
Nebraska State Parks
The Bureau was hired by Nebraska Game and Parks to gather parkgoer feedback on how the parks are used, needed park amenities, the permit system, and potential improvements. Twenty-eight BOSR staff visited 22 Nebraska State Parks, State Recreation Areas, and State Historic Parks two to three times during the spring and summer of 2021, including Ponca, Platte River, Smith Falls, Eugene T. Mahoney, Fort Robinson, Chadron, Lewis and Clark, Johnson Lake, Lake McConaughy, Branched Oak, Medicine Creek Reservoir, Mormon Island, Fort Kearny, Fremont Lakes, Merritt, Calamus, Louisville, Lake Minatare, Summit Lake, Fort Atkinson, Ash Hollow and Buffalo Bill Ranch. Take-home survey packets were handed out to park users allowing the users to complete the survey through a paper survey provided with a business reply envelope or through the online survey option. Surveying so many parks across the state multiple times required a large team. In addition to 14 existing BOSR staff members who worked on the project, BOSR hired and trained 14 temporary employees specifically for this project. Of course, the project included an extensive COVID plan to protect both parkgoers and BOSR staff. In total, around 7,600 survey packets were handed out and over 3,000 completes were collected. BOSR will produce an overall report for Nebraska Game and Parks and 22 park-specific reports for the park superintendents of the parks visited.
Nebraska Polling Project
Thirty BOSR team members observed 15 polling locations across Douglas and Lancaster Counties on Election Day, November 3, 2020 from 8am when the polls opened until the polls closed that evening at 8pm or later depending on the line of waiting voters at 8pm at each location. The research efforts led by Jennifer Lather, an Assistant Professor of Architectural Engineering at UNL, were part of the University of Rhode Island VOTES Project. The research involved pairs of staff and student observers recording how long it took the voters to check-in and ultimately cast their vote. The goal of the research is to record data which could be used to create new layouts and procedures to accelerate the voting process. In addition to 14 BOSR staff members, 16 additional observers were hired specifically for the project. The project was certainly unique in that all data were collected in one day with no ability to go back later. Taking no chances, BOSR had support staff in both counties to help cover as needed, find last minute supplies, and strategize throughout the day. Again, BOSR followed an extensive COVID plan to keep BOSR team members and voters safe.
Seat Belts
BOSR was commissioned by the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) to send observers to 72 locations in nine counties throughout the state to record seat belt use in passenger vehicles. This information is used to determine Nebraska’s “belted rate” which is then reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This information is important as it allows for more strategic efforts on behalf of the state to encourage and enforce seat belt laws. 2021 was the third year the BOSR completed these observations and the first year involved with reporting the results, including calculating variance estimation, to NHTSA. Over 38,000 motorists were observed during data collection in summer 2021 by eight observers. During FY 2022, BOSR will help NDOT draw a new sample for observations over the next five years.
Projects with a Purpose
We collaborate with a variety of university and external partners to conduct purposeful research initiatives. A small selection of some of our most engaging and enriching projects completed this year are listed below.
Birth Outcomes and Water Study
About: The purpose of this research project is to study how mothers’ health and environmental factors are related to the health of their children.
Partner: University of Nebraska Collaboration Initiative Seed Grant on behalf of the University of Nebraska Medical Center
Audience: Mothers who have given birth between 2014-2015 Methods Completed: Paper and web survey
BOSR Contribution: Question development, methodology development, survey programming, communications writing, project management, methodology report
Intended Outcome: This project studied whether a woman’s exposure to agricultural chemicals in drinking water can affect the outcome of her pregnancies. The results of this survey will help develop strategies to prevent or reduce the impact of exposure to nitrosamines on birth outcomes.
Student Health and Risk Prevention (SHARP) Surveillance System
About: SHARP is the umbrella uniting the Nebraska Risk and Protective Factor Student Survey (NRPFSS), Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) and the Youth Tobacco Survey (YTS).
Partner: Nebraska Department of Health and Human’s (NDHHS) Division of Behavioral Health, Nebraska Department of Education (NDE), Tobacco Free Nebraska (TFN)
Audience: Nebraskan students in grades 8-12
Methods Completed: Web and paper surveys
BOSR Contribution: Question development, communications writing, web survey programming, paper questionnaire design, recruitment, data collection, data processing/cleaning, project management, report writing
Intended Outcome: The results of the three SHARP surveys are used in local and state prevention planning efforts, prevention program applications and grant applications.
Native Student College Vision Quest
About: This study is an evaluation of the Native Student College Vision Quest program, which helps prepare kids for the future and helps develop career and college aspirations.
Partner: Ho-Chunk Community Development Corporation
Audience: Native Student College Vision Quest participants (students in grades 5-8 on the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska’s reservation) and their families
Methods Completed: Web survey, phone interviews, focus groups
BOSR Contribution: Question development, web survey programming, communications writing, quantitative and qualitative data collection, project management, data analysis, summary reports
Intended Outcome: Assess the impact of the Native Student College Vision Quest strategy, the efficacy of the evidence-based practice that was replicated and implications for future programming on the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska’s reservation.
Fostering Education Success
About: A program to help children in the foster system
Partner: College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Audience: Caregivers and their youth in foster care
Methods Completed: Web survey, focus groups, and interviews
BOSR Contribution: Survey formatting, methodology report, project management, data collection, focus groups, interviews, data processing
Intended Outcome: The results of these surveys will assist in helping the researchers determine how to best serve these transitioning families.
Practices and Priorities on a Farm-Ranch (Farmer Safety)
About: Focusing on ways to improve the safety practices among farmers
Partner: Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (CSCASH) on behalf of the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC)
Audience: Midwestern farmers
Method Completed: Mail survey
BOSR Contribution: Question development, methodology development, paper survey formatting, communications writing, sending mailings data entry, project management, methodology report
Intended Outcome: The results of this survey will help the Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health find the cause of farm/ranchrelated injuries and the best ways to prevent them.
McNair Scholars Program
About: Encouraging undergraduates to attend graduate school
Partner: Graduate Studies at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Audience: Underrepresented undergraduate scholars
Method Completed: Web survey
BOSR Contribution: Survey formatting, communication language, sending emails, methodology development, project management, methodology report
Intended Outcome: The results of the surveys reflect growth—if any—from the beginning of the program to end of the program among scholars. The survey also provides the researcher(s) with feedback as to what is working and encouraging the scholars to become successful and what may need to be reassessed.