Research Articles

Research articles describe research and creative projects in all the disciplines and are authored by UNH undergraduates or recent graduates in collaboration with Inquiry student and staff editors. They should not exceed 2500 words (excluding bibliography). These articles are based on research reports or essays written for a course or independent study. Because of the relatively short length and general audience of research articles, their authors often choose to narrow or refocus their original text. The research experience is held to be as important as research results.

Experiences of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients with Nonhealing Wounds in Ghana

—Lauren Barker (Mentor: Gene Harkless, Martin Agyei)

Lauren’s interviews with diabetes patients at a hospital in Ghana reveal the need for more education about diabetes prevention and self-care.

Student Commuters: Unpacking the Factors That Influence How High School Students Travel to School

—Alexander Chase (Mentor: Cliff Brown)

An avid cyclist, Alex set out to discover how local high school students decide how to travel to school and what communities could do to increase the number of students who walk or bike.

The Healing Power of Storytelling: An Exploration into the Autoethnographic Process

—Amanda Cote (Mentor: Barbara Jago)

Through challenging research and reflection, Amanda discovers the power of autoethnography in battling depression.

Exploring the Recent Abundance of Spiny Dogfish in the Gulf of Maine

—Benjamin Gallo (Mentor: Erik Chapman)

Ben worked alongside local fishermen to gather important information about the spiny dogfish, a species that has risen in abundance as traditional groundfish, like cod, have declined.

Exploring the Diversity of Tropical Pumpkin in Costa Rica

—Lizzie Gill (Mentor: Andrew Ogden, Walter Barrantes Santamaria )

Known for being a country rich in biodiversity, Costa Rica provided the perfect location for Lizzie to conduct research on the wide variety of tropical pumpkin grown there.

Farm to Restaurant: Exploring the Availability of Locally Grown Food and Obstacles to Its Use in Seacoast New Hampshire Restaurants

—Lily Harris (Mentor: John Halstead)

Some local farmers sell products to restaurants in the Seacoast area, but Lily investigated how they could build their market relationship even more.

The Evolution of Senses: My Research Journey into the Nervous System of Cnidaria

—Molly Hartley (Mentor: David Plachetzki)

Molly’s four-year undergraduate research journey into the nervous system of cnidarians helped to change our understanding of when the sense of taste evolved by hundreds of millions of years.

Does Foam Rolling Really Work?

—Margarethe Hauschildt (Mentor: Summer Cook)

Foam rolling has become a popular component in exercising and physical therapy, and Margarethe wanted to find out whether it really works for alleviating post-exercise soreness and muscle fatigue.

Social Behavior and Personality Patterns of Captive African Elephants

—Alison Jeffrey (Mentor: Andrew Conroy, Vanessa Grunkemeyer, Debbie Young and Clare Padfield)

At a park for displaced wild elephants in South Africa, Alison observed and analyzed elephant behaviors to suggest best practices for the care of elephants in captivity.

The Pragmatism of Politics: Senator Norris Cotton and the Civil Rights Legislation in the 1960s

—Ryan Sanborn (Mentor: Stephen Pimpare)

Ryan discovered the wealth of information available at the University of New Hampshire Archives while conducting civil rights research for his senior colloquium in history.

Pain Perception: Investigating Links Between Pain Transmission and CCK(+) Neurons, with Regard to the Opioid Crisis

—Zachary Tepper and Sumeet Panesar (Mentor: Arturo Andrade)

Zachary and Sumeet try to shed light on neurons connected to withdrawal symptoms of opioid dependence.

Using Radio Telemetry and Geographic Information Systems to Map and Estimate the Home Range Size and Daily Movement Patterns of Female Cheetahs on Namibia’s Commercial Farmland

—Elisabeth Wise (Mentor: Andrew Conroy, Laurie Marker)

Elisabeth’s passion for wildlife led her to Namibia where she could observe and study cheetahs in their native habitat.

Inquiry Journal

Undergraduate Research Journal : Spring 2017

Research Articles