Lynley Bowen

Author: Lynley Bowen | Major: Communication Sciences and Disorders | Semester: Spring 2024

My name is Lynley Bowen, and this semester I have started the steps to collecting research for my Honors Thesis. I am a student in the College of Education and Health Professions. I have just completed my sophomore year, but I am on the track to graduate in the spring of 2025. I am majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders and minoring  in Medical Humanities and Human Development and Family Sciences. Dr. Andrew Bowers is my mentor in the Communication Sciences and Disorders department. This semester was a precursor to the future research I am going to complete. This spring, I spent time attending Head Start programs throughout Northwest Arkansas to administer the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 4th Edition (PPVT). This is a quick and easy receptive language assessment. Next semester, I plan to collect Language Sample Analyses at the Head Start programs. A Language Sample Analysis (LSA) is used to measure specific components of one’s language. This will help determine students who have a possible speech or language disorder. An LSA is a natural way to obtain utterances of speech. They are performed in a natural setting, such as a playroom. It is important to ask open-ended questions in order to get as many utterances as possible. I will then upload the transcript to the Computerized Language Analysis Program (CLAN). CLAN will perform an analysis on the transcript and compare the data with other children of the same age and gender.

I chose my topic based on my fascination for fluency. I have performed research on fluency for a previous course I took and it really stood out to me. I found my mentor by reading their research and seeing what aligned with my own interests. I also set meetings with possible mentors to see what research opportunities they had to offer and if they aligned with my interests. I learned that my research topic is very rewarding. It is a great opportunity to be able to work with children within the community and interact with them. Being involved in this project has helped push me as a person. I feel as if it has helped me grow. It is meaningful to get to interact with the Head Start students and have a positive impact on them. It has helped with time management as well. Dr. Andrew Bowers helped keep me on track and provide me with reading materials to supplement my research. Dr. Lisa Bowers helped make arrangements with the Head Starts and helped train us for the PPVT. I also worked with a group consisting of three other girls. This was helpful, as we all figured out our different roles and specialties. This helped further the meaning of collaboration and teamwork for me. My next steps are to continue researching over the summer for my thesis paper. In the fall, I will collect the language samples and use CLAN to analyze them. I plan to defend my thesis at a convention with my group mates in December.