For the final project, I created an IRB-approved survey, analyzed the data, and created infographics explaining my findings. Ultimately, it is my hope that these will be distributed on campus or serve as templates for future infographics. The purpose of the infographics is to educate readers about food insecurity, reduce the stigma associated with it, and to encourage JMU community members to join in the fight to end student hunger. While these infographics are not being handed off to an organization right away, they will be used to recruit students, faculty, and administrators to form a new organization. I will be working alongside two Ph.D. candidates to establish this new public next semester. Further, the data I collected will be made available to the Cohen Center and the Graduate Student Association in order to make an argument to the Board of Visitors to establish funding for the Grad n' Go food pantry. (The IRB approved of my plan to share de-identified data with these entities.) I would also like to present on this topic - and my survey results - at May Symposium, if doing so will not violate conditions of my IRB approval.

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Getting IRB approval was both the greatest triumph and the greatest disappointment of this project. I went through three rounds of revisions before approval was granted, so the bulk email was not sent until the Monday following Thanksgiving break. The timing of the survey impacted the number and quality of responses I received. Most significantly, though, the IRB cut more than half of my demographics questions. I had intended to run statistical analyses in order to determine risk factors for JMU student food insecurity. But between small sample size and my limited pool of questions, this became impossible. It is my hope that more experienced statisticians/researchers (like the Ph.D. students I will be working with in the spring) can take the original survey I created, improve upon it, and get approval to run a more rigorous version of this study. 

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