Headshot of Alexis

Author: Alexis Garner | Major: Kinesiology

My name is Alexis Garner and I am in the College of Education and Health Professions pursuing a degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Exercise Science. I spent the Fall semester of 2021 working on my second semester of research under my mentor, Dr. Erin Howie Hickey, who is part of the Health, Human Performance, & Recreation department. I plan to complete my project and defend my thesis by the spring semester of 2022. After graduating, I aim to attend dental school in the fall of 2022. My research includes an evaluation of posture while working, which will be beneficial for me in my future career so I can best protect my body from work related strain.

My research evaluates students’ reported pain and their technology use to identify if there is any correlation. Based on images submitted by parents, the research will also assess the typical posture in which students use technology. An ergonomic professional will aid my team and me in assessing the joint angles of students to determine if those angles could be attributing to the pain that the students report. My research will not include any intervention, but I hope the data leads other researchers to try interventions in an attempt to reduce reported pain by students and better their overall health at a younger age.

I chose this topic because I feel it is relevant in the current remote learning environment and will continue to be relevant with the increased use and reliance on technology in educational environments. My mentor, Dr. Howie Hickey, helped me decide on this topic by aiding me in assessing my interests and making achievable plans to evaluate those interests. Dr. Howie Hickey became my mentor because our academic lives overlapped, and she is someone I work really well with. Dr. Howie Hickey was my professor and the advisor to the registered student organization I was in (and later became president of) before being my research mentor. I felt Dr. Howie Hickey’s research interest overlapped well with mine and that she would be a great mentor for me.

The biggest challenge I faced while working on my research project was gathering participants to get a large data sample. We wanted the survey to be extensive in the information it gathered so we could have a well-rounded view of the students, but we did not want it to take a substantial amount of time and possibly deter participants because of its long length. Our survey takes about 20-30 minutes. I think this time frame may have deterred some parents and student from choosing to participate, especially during such a busy time and when they likely spend a majority of their day using technology already. Throughout my time working on my project this semester, I have learned just how important it is to stay on top of important tasks. Pushing assignments or other activities aside to increase focus on a class with an upcoming test is not always possible. I had to learn how to balance studying for large tests while still leaving enough time in my schedule to fix details in my survey and recruitment material to get the best outcome for the research. My mentor was very helpful in checking in on me to make sure I was on task and that all of my questions were answered. She was a creative soundboard for me that allowed the best possible product to be made.

My next steps will be gathering data from the completed surveys. I will work with “posture professionals”, professors who focus on ergonomics, to pinpoint irregularities in the posture of the images the parents choose to upload. I will use the data I have gathered to start analyzing and identifying what trends, if any, are apparent between the reported pain of students and their technology use.