ODU
ResearchLink




Overview

Problem Statement

Undergraduate research opportunities are not effectively communicated to intended stakeholders.

Societal Problem

With a lack of Science and Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) professionals progressing into Graduate programs, there is a need to increase undergraduate participation in research opportunities. Prospective undergraduate researchers remain unaware of research opportunities due to a deficiency of resources and information, thereby contributing to the lack of participation in undergraduate research. Without an existing user friendly environment to present research opportunities as well as identify qualified participants, undergraduate students will not become aware of the opportunities that exist.

Problem Characteristics

  • Misdirected communication
  • Out of date opportunities
  • Missed research opportunities
  • Uninformed undergraduate students
  • Uninterested undergraduate students

Customers

  • Universities
    • Old Dominion University (Case Study)
  • Funding Agencies
    • National Science Foundation (NSF)
    • National Institute of Health (NIH)
    • National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

End Users

  • Students
  • Faculty
  • Administrators
  • Research Organizations

Solution Goal

Create a communication system to provide information to all stakeholders involved in undergraduate research. This solution would streamline student access to opportunities available within their degree area.

Solution Characteristics

  • Direct communication between organization and database
  • Time-line Management (expiration of posts)
  • Automatic Notifications
  • Customizable Profiles (Organizations & Students)
  • Data Mining
  • Searchable/Filterable
  • Research Proposal Submission
  • Contact Database
  • User Friendly UI

deliverables



Process Flow Charts


Current




Solution



Competition Matrix


Characteristics
Direct Communication
User Friendly UI
Internal
Department Centric
Research Proposal Submission
Internal Support
Customization
Customizable Profiles
Degree Specific
Data
Data Mining
Searchable
Filterable
Contact Database
Notifications
Automatic Notifications
Time-line Management



Functional Component Diagram




Work Breakdown Structure






Site Map






Database Schema






Algorithms



Login

Create Profile

Create Research Opportunity

Search




GUI Prototypes



Login

Create Student Profile

Create Opportunity

Prototype



Prototype Major Functional Component Diagram



User Stories



  • User Role: Student

  • S1: As a student, I need to receive an email notification of new research opportunities.
  • S2: As a student, I need to view research opportunities associated with my areas of study.
  • S3: As a student, I need to view research opportunities associated with my areas of interest.
  • S4: As a student, I wish to submit a research proposal.
  • S5: As a student, I wish to identify myself as a distance learner.

  • User Role: Faculty Member

  • F1: As a faculty member, I need to create research grant opportunity.
  • F2: As a faculty member, I need to filter student profiles.
  • F3: As a faculty member, I need to spotlight research student success.
  • F4: As a faculty member, I need to filter opportunity applicants by GPA.
  • F5: As a faculty member, I need to filter opportunity applicants by grade level.
  • F6: As a faculty member, I need to filter opportunity applicants by courses taken.
  • F7: As a faculty member, I need to associated keywords/tags with my research opportunity.
  • F8: As a faculty member, I wish to register under a particular department.
  • F9: As a faculty member, I wish to filter student profiles per completed courses.
  • F10: As a faculty member, I wish to have a reminder to input my opportunities.
  • F11: As a faculty member, I wish to be able to push an email out to all registered users.
  • F12: As a faculty member, I wish to identify my opportunity as being available to distance learning students.
  • F13: As a faculty member, I wish to add course prerequisites to my opportunity.

  • User Role: Registered User

  • R1: As a Registered User, I need to add my research interests to my profile.
  • R2: As a Registered User, I need to edit my profile.
  • R3: As a Registered User, I wish to view other profiles.
  • R4: As a Registered User, I wish to use a mobile device.
  • R5: As a Registered User, I wish to have the option of saving my login info for easier future login.
  • R6: As a Registered User, I wish to be notified of upcoming deadlines.
  • R7: As a Registered User, I wish to see the stipend and time period associated with the opportunity.

  • User Role: Opportunity Administrator

  • O1: As an Opportunity Administrator, I need to specify the type of grant an opportunity is related to.
  • O2: As an Opportunity Administrator, I need to add third party research opportunities to the database.
  • O3: As an Opportunity Administrator, I need to specify whether the opportunity is paid.
  • O4: As an Opportunity Administrator, I need to manage the keywords/tags in the database.

  • User Role: Developer

  • D1: As a developer, I need profiles to be stored in a database.
  • D2: As a developer, I need profiles to be accessed from a database.
  • D3: As a developer, I need research opportunities to be stored in a database.
  • D4: As a developer, I need research opportunities to be accessed from a database.
  • D5: As a developer, I need to add interested students in a research group based on GPA from the database.

  • User Role: Systems Group (External)

  • SG1: As an Administrator, I need to be able to manage CS accounts.




Documents






Prototype Milestones


Weekly Development Schedule


Risks

Impact

Probability

1 2 3 4 5
5 T1 C1
4 T4 T3 T2
3 T5 C2
2 T6
1 C3

Customer Risks

Description/Elaboration

The customer is not happy with the product and refuses to implement its usage.

Mitigation Strategy

Mentor involvement during development and use customer complaints as a template for future updates.

Description/Elaboration

The customer is unaware of the products' existence or difficulty level of use.

Mitigation Strategy

Advertise the product and ensure ease of use.

Description/Elaboration

The customer has issues with using the new system.

Mitigation Strategy

Provide helpful guides and tutorials for users.

Technical Risks

Description/Elaboration

The software solution is not protected from data breaches and other malicious attacks.

Mitigation Strategy

Follow best practices for information security.

Description/Elaboration

Searches are inefficient and non-customizable.

Mitigation Strategy

User result tracking & various search filter options.

Description/Elaboration

Storage space for related data becomes an issue.

Mitigation Strategy

Management of old opportunities to clear out unnecessary data.

Description/Elaboration

The system is down and not accessible to the customer.

Mitigation Strategy

Regularly scheduled system backups.

Description/Elaboration

System upgrades disable the functionality of the product for an undetermined amount of time.

Mitigation Strategy

Testing prior to making upgrades live and future proof design.

Description/Elaboration

Software solution is not compatible with current technologies used.

Mitigation Strategy

Ensure compatibility between databases utilized for transfer of data.

Team Members



Mentor:
Janet Brunelle



Asim Amjad



Kevin Ashley



Kitt Parker



John Raha



Matthew Redenius



Dinah Watkins





Presentations



Feasibility:






Design:






Labs


Lab 1:




Collaborative Outline v1




Collaborative Outline v2

Lab 1 v1:




Kevin Ashley




Dinah Watkins




Matthew Redenius




John Raha




Kitt Parker




Asim Amjad

Lab 1 v2:




Kevin Ashley




Dinah Watkins




Matthew Redenius




John Raha




Kitt Parker




Asim Amjad

Lab 1 v3:




Asim Amjad


Lab 2:




Section 1 Outline v1




Section 2 Outline v1




Section 3.1 v1




Section 3.1 v2

Lab 2 v1:




Kevin Ashley




Dinah Watkins




Matthew Redenius




John Raha




Kitt Parker




Asim Amjad

Lab 2 v2:




Kevin Ashley




John Raha




Matthew Redenius




Kitt Parker




Asim Amjad


Lab 4 User Manual:




Outline v1




Create Research Opportunity

Kevin Ashley




Create News

Dinah Watkins




User Registration

Matthew Redenius




Notifications

John Raha




Edit Profile

Kitt Parker




Admin - Add Department

Asim Amjad

References






Gilmore, J., Vieyra, M., Timmerman, B., Feldon, D., & Maher, M. (2015).

The Relationship between Undergraduate Research Participation and
Subsequent Research Performance of Early Career STEM Graduate Students.




Pfund, C., Mathieu, R., Austin, A., Connolly, M., Manske, B., & Moore, K. (2012).

Advancing STEM Undergraduate Learning: Preparing the Nation's Future Faculty.




Haigh, C., Hardy, P., & Duncan, F. (2011).

Six stages of doctoral study: A new model for PhD students.




Simon, R. A., Aulls, M. W., Dedic, H., Hubbard, K., & Hall, N. C. (2015)

Exploring student persistence in STEM programs: A motivational model.




Michelle Vieyra, Alison Carlson, Echo Leaver, Aiken Briana Timmerman (2013)

Undergraduate Research: I Am Not Sure What It Is, But I Don't Have Time to Do It Anyway