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.