What has been your proudest moment in the RA program this semester? What do you hope to learn next semester?

My proudest moment has been when my mentor has told me that I'm doing an excellent job. While I know that as an undergraduate it is difficult to assist in the work of my professor's work, knowing that he believes that I am doing a good job makes me happy. Assisting someone as accomplished as Professor Santoro, who has given advice to the US Senate about international matters regarding China, has really made me stay on top of my game in terms of research. To know that my work is appreciated and it helps him, no matter how little it actually does, makes me feel like I really am making a difference. I believe that he has used a couple of slides that I made for a presentation in California, which also made me proud to know that my work was good enough to be used by a graduate business school professor. I hope I am given more opportunities to assist him in his work.

Tell me about what you've learned this semester from other people in your RA peer group.

I've learned that my fellow peers have been facing problems similar to mine. They have confirmed that research is not an easy process. It requires patience as well as perseverance. I am thankful that I have had the time to talk with them so that I can relate to their work.

I've learned to be thankful for the research I'm doing because after seeing Michael's spreadsheet and data compilation, I know that I would never be patient enough to do that. My readings are easy and straightforward. Furthermore, I learned through my Aresty peer group that there are many different types of research. As stated before, I'm just doing readings while others are compiling data.

-Bharat

Tell me about what you've learned this semester from other people in your RA peer group.

I have learned that the government changes its around its statistics for its agencies etc. That it is very difficult to get the information on a very clear cut consistent basis. This is something that I have noticed not only in my project but other peoples projects as well particularly within my own specific group.

If you were talking with a prospective student, how would you describe what happens at a research university? How would you explain the importance/relevance of your own project to the "real world"?

If I was talking to a prospective student that at a research university, students and professors at all levels collaborate with each other. Also, that professors from different fields within their field or different fields come together to collaborate on research together. I would also say that everyone learns something everyday because they have the opportunity to interact with people that really know their particular field really well.

My project is very relevant to the real world as we are going through the worst financial crisis that the world has experienced since the Great Depression. In my project, we are trying to look at historical statistics and see if we can come to conclusions on how to improve the financial regulatory system.

If you were talking with a prospective student, how would you describe what happens at a research university? How would you explain the importance/relevance of your own project to the "real world"?

If I were talking to a prospective student, I would tell them that at a research university, professors, graduate students, and undergraduate students all work together on a variety of different kinds of research projects. The professors and graduate students teach while also doing research. I would tell the students about the cool things you can speak to the professors or graduate students about. These researchers are always happy to talk about their research. Talking to research professors and graduate students is also a great way to also get yourself into research. I would explain that my project relates to the real world because we are looking at immigration and crime rate. Since there are many immigrants who come into the United States everyday, it is important to look at their influence. Also, since there are many illegal immigrants in the US, the findings from my project could support or oppose allowing illegal immigrants into the US.

If you were talking with a prospective student, how would you describe what happens at a research university? How would you explain the importance/relevance of your own project to the "real world"?

If I were talking to a prospective student, telling them about what happens at a research university, I would describe it as follows. At a research university you are dealing with professors who are required to do research in their field on top of them teaching students and like you and me. These professors are required to engage in research because it encourages growth their respective field and it creates a deeper insight into the field that cannot be brought by other means. Some of these professors ask students to help them with their research, given that they are qualified and are eager to take on the task of doing so. I would explain the importance and relevance of my project to the real world as follows. Since my project deals with the trucking industry and so much of our economy is reliant on the trucking industry as well as global logistics itself (the transport of goods through freight and other means), it is important that one understands why the price of produce and goods delivered by trucks has experienced an increase. The amount of time spent delivering the goods, the amount of money spent on the truck, as well as the salary paid to the trucker are all intertwined in the price of the goods we buy.

If you were talking with a prospective student, how would you describe what happens at a research university? How would you explain the importance/relevance of your own project to the "real world"?

I am assuming that this question is asking how would you describe "how research" happens at a research university. From my perspective, the way in which research is conducted is contingent upon the professor primarily. I am aware that professors in the Econ department have collaborated and that is a reflection of the general interests of that particular department. A prospective student should bear in mind that at any research university there are professors with particular interests who are conducting research which interests them. So the most important point to recognize is that you must find a professor with whom you have shared interests.

In regards to the second question, my research project is tremendously relevant to the "real world." Philosophically, I do not see the point of conducting research unless it has "real world" relevance. Specifically, my project is dealing with the issue of bank regulation and supervision in the United States since 1863. There is no greater issue to address from both a monetary policy or fiscal policy perspective than this. In particular, my professor was on Nightly News Hour with Jim Lehrer to draw comparisons with the financial crisis we are currently facing and the Great Depression. Thus, it is difficult to not find any relevance to the "real world."

If you were talking with a prospective student, how would you describe what happens at a research university? How would you explain the importance/relevance of your own project to the "real world"?

If I were talking with a prospective student, I would really encourage them to get involved with research especially when the opportunity is so accessible at a research university. In fact, it would be a bit of a waste to go throughout your four years at a research university without at least attempting to do research.

No two research projects are the same, and I would stress that when speaking with the students, because I know that even my own project is very different from what some of my Aresty peers are doing. There are a lot of misconceptions about research that cause people to become hesitant when trying, but I, myself, actually enjoy research. I like the freedom I have. I mean, don't get me wrong, I still receive my assignments from Professor Santoro, but at the same time, I am given free reign to go about completing these assignments however way I like.

I chose Sanotoro's project because I knew how relevant it was to today's world. The book that Santoro is working on attempts to answer many questions about China and its position in the world as a country with one of the fastest growing economies (on one hand), but also some of the worst human rights records (on the other hand).

I enjoy learning about business ethics in China, it is totally relevant since China's has one of the biggest global markets of the twenty first century. How can foreign companies that are doing business in China act responsibly and ethically? What responsibility do these companies have? Should they trade with China, encourage reform, or what? These are all relevant questions for China in today's world.

If you were talking with a prospective student, how would you describe what happens at a research university? How would you explain the importance/relevance of your own project to the "real world"?

I would say that things in a research university occur because of your own drive to get things done. My professor's approach, as it seems with many other people in our research group, is very hands off and more a guide than an actual mentor. This helps because learning along the way requires making mistakes and asking questions under circumstances in which we are normally accustomed to having our instructor spell out things for us. I think a research university like Rutgers prepares us for the real world in the sense that in order to get to where want to be and do the things we want, it takes initiative.

I believe my project is extremely relevant, especially today. China is becoming a big player in the international market and the roles of businesses in the global community is constantly changing due to globalization. By assisting my professor and helping him prepare for talks and give recommendations, I hope that this influences policy holders of our country. This hope is not naive or misguided as Professor Santoro has testified in front of the US Senate regarding business practices in China.

Have you had to critique the work of someone else? Have you seen other people's work get critiqued? Have you had to read conflicting texts? If so, what was that like for you?

I have not had to critique the work of anyone else. As of now, Professor Sanotoro's book is more or less complete anyway. I have not seen anyone critique his work as of yet.

In terms of what I have been doing, I have seen a few conflicting texts. There hasn't been anything horribly contradictory, but it has been interesting tracking down the English version of a law originally written in Chinese. I have found "unofficial translations" and other translations. Despite a few minor grammatical differences, sentence structures, and wording, they all pretty much say the same thing, but I wish there was a definite source that I could draw from.

Research involves lots of disagreement before we settle on answers ... even on methods! Have you had to critique the work of someone else? Have you seen other people's work get critiqued? Have you had to read conflicting texts? If so, what was that like for you? (This should get you thinking about what you'd include in your literature review)

I think I should say the work I need to "critique" on is Professor's book since I've been asked to comment according to my perspective. However, due to the insufficient research skill and knowledge, what I basically did was fact-checking and first-hand-resource-searching to come to some comments. I haven't seen other people's work get critiqued or have to read conflicting texts.

Research involves lots of disagreement before we settle on answers ... even on methods! Have you had to critique the work of someone else? Have you seen other people's work get critiqued? Have you had to read conflicting texts? If so, what was that like for you? (This should get you thinking about what you'd include in your literature review)

At this point in time I have not critiqued the work of someone else. Likewise, my fellow researchers' work has not come under serious scrutiny. In regards to conflicting texts, my issue has been trying to reconcile data and simply just track it down. Given that the Fed and other government organizations publish such a substantial amount of data, it is difficult to determine which are correct and what I am looking for. It was difficult to determine exactly what I wanted to include, but Professor White has guided me with regards to choosing specific data in spite of conflicting texts.

I haven't encountered conflicting texts or literature critiques in the research that I am doing. But I have critiqued other people's essays and other people have critiqued my resume. When I critique other people's work, I try to be nice but also honest. So I like to say some nice things and then some things that need improvement. When other people critique me, it's hard when people don't like what you have done. But it's good because it makes your work better. When career services critiques my resume, I like when they tell me how to change something or delete something because I know that these tips will help improve my resume. In research, critiques are critical because that is how you can improve and become more efficient.

Research involves lots of disagreement before we settle on answers ... even on methods! Have you had to critique the work of someone else? Have you seen other people's work get critiqued? Have you had to read conflicting texts? If so, what was that like for you? (This should get you thinking about what you'd include in your literature review)


No I have not had to critique the work of someone else. However, I critique myself as I do work, to make sure that my methods and data collection is not biased. Also, that my information categorization is consistent from year to year. As I deal with annual reports from a government agency, I don't really have to deal with critiques and conflicting texts. However, I do have to deal with conflicting ways of reporting information, as my government agency likes to change its mind every random set of years and change its method of reporting data or choosing to stop reporting it and then continue later on. Overall, these conflicting methods are being sorted out as I figure out how the agency works.


Daniel Esposito

Research involves lots of disagreement before we settle on answers ... even on methods! Have you had to critique the work of someone else? Have you seen other people's work get critiqued? Have you had to read conflicting texts? If so, what was that like for you? (This should get you thinking about what you'd include in your literature review)

Through my research I have not had to critique the work of others. I have not had to read more than one text and I haven't seen anyone get their work critiqued. In the past, I have had to critique the work of others but not in the context of research. My research is more of just reading my professor's book that will be published next semester about China and business in the country, as well as how human rights intersects the issues he talks about in the corporate world.
I don't think I'll have to read conflicting texts or have work critiqued throughout this semester or even next semester.

What has been your biggest challenge in the Aresty RA program so far? What do you find most frustrating about what you're doing? How do you address those challenges?

The biggest challenge I have faced so far in the Aresty RA program so far is doing my actual research. So far my research has dealt with finding articles from credible resources and sifting through what information pertains to my outline and guiding question(s). I find that sifting through the articles is the most frustrating because it takes substantial amount of time trying to find the information but after you actually analyze the information, and find that the article really does not hold the information you are looking for, it only makes matters worse. I address these challenges by making sure I know what inquiries hold what results; given that I search for a particular piece of information and I am not successful in discovering that information, then I understand that this is not the way to gather such information.

What has been your biggest challenge in the Aresty RA program so far? What do you find most frustrating about what you're doing? How do you address those challenges?

My biggest challenges have been trying to classify data that keeps changing the category its in every year. The FDIC keeps changing its standard and what it discloses for financial statements for every year after 1950! How do you classify data that keeps getting changed every year in terms of the category its reported under, this has been frustrating me. Not directly related to the project though, this project has made me become better at managing my time which was a challenge for me at the beginning! The most frustrating thing for me is the challenge that I mentioned above. I am addressing those challenges by communicating with my professor and then trying to put data within certain general patterns instead of being extra specific. Once I figure this challenge out I'll be good. I am definitely happy that my project is definitely moving along.

Have you made any mistakes so far? Has anything gone differently than you've planned? How did your mentor react? Were you surprised by the reaction? Has your faculty member told you about mistakes they've made, or ways in which they had to re-tool, based on things going differently than planned?

We’re too early into the research to have made any mistakes. We’re just searching for data online and I’ve gotten feedback about what I should look for next time, new directions I should pursue, etc. but nothing that would be considered a mistake. My mentor and his graduate assistants have been working on the project for a long time, so I’m guessing that most of the early mistakes have already been made and corrected. He did tell us that at the beginning of the project, he started with a different hypothesis, but during the course of the research, that hypothesis was proved wrong and he changed direction. I guess this could be considered a “mistake”, but this shows that such mistakes are an important part of the research process in order to learn meaningful new information.

My biggest challenge so far is finding time to do the data entry. Since I need to use the library's microfilm machines, I need to bring my laptop in order to enter the data into the spreadsheet. I commute and must bring my laptop with me all day if I want to do my project between or after class. Sometimes, I find time but don't have my laptop with me becasue I didn't plan on doing my project that day and it gets very frustrating. But I now, just copy all the data onto a piece of paper and just enter it into the computer whenever I have time. But sometimes this does not work as well. Once I copied data for 230 prisoners and I did not need to have data for those people. I was very mad when I found out I wasted time. To avoid this problem, I started printing out blank spreadsheets and filling in only the data that I need. I guess all of this problem solving is part of the research process. I know next time if I ever encounter a similar situation.