Behind Closed Doors

Chapter 3

"So, how was your first night at UCONN?" Melissa asks me. We're in the research lab she showed me yesterday. Melissa asked me to come by in the afternoon to go over the research timeline.

"It was pretty good," I tell her. "My roommate is super nice. She gave me a full tour of campus and we went to this super cute cafe for coffee this morning."

"I knew you'd like it. That's great!" She pulls some glasses out of her purse, putting them on. Her attention focuses on the stack of files we briefly discussed yesterday. "So, these files. This is essentially all the information we're looking to obtain. Forms for participants, research entries, everything. We log it virtually but we like having hard copies." I nod, understanding what she's saying.

"But for now, I just want to give you a thorough explanation of what to expect going through this year of research. So, as you know, the target of the whole thing is to look further into the psychology of students who drink different types of drinks before academic and athletic performance. We want to know why, and we want to know what the effect is. How does it influence their decision-making skills? How is their performance altered? What made them choose their drink of choice? This will all be recorded," she once again motions to the stack of papers. "Sound pretty straightforward?"

I nod again. "Yeah, it sounds interesting."

She beams. "Good! I'm glad. We're excited. So to start, we need to identify the range of students we will be taking on as research participants. I put out an ad about the study a few months ago and we've already got a few groups on board, so we won't need to do any additional recruiting." She pulls out a bright green file from the stack and begins flipping through its contents.

"Yup, so we've got a second year psychology class, fourth year robotics class, the men's soccer team, and the women's basketball team." She looks up, waiting for my reaction. I smile big, trying to look enthusiastic. "Amazing!"

Of course the women's basketball team just had to be involved. It's okay, I tell myself, you're probably just working in the lab. I won't need to be around any of these people. Melissa interrupts my thoughts, expanding on her list's details.

"I know. We're really pleased with the participant turnout. Especially that women's team! You've probably heard a lot about the basketball program here at UCONN. It's a pretty big deal. So studying the team is a pretty big job for this study. I have to say, I was surprised when they signed up."

I nod along. "Oh, yeah, I'm sure they get pretty busy." Why did they have to be the basketball team to participate. Couldn't the men have pulled through?

"Oh, they do. That means they likely won't be able to do long visits to the research site or the lab. Instead, we'll probably just have to go to them. Sit in on their practices, be there for team meetings, things like that. I'm going to meet with their coach later today to get more details. The study starts in 4 days, so we just need to finalize that with him," Melissa says, standing up. She puts her palms on the table and leans on them, hovering over the folders. "If you're comfortable, I'd like you to attend most of their events to collect data. You're the closest in age to them of anyone on the research team, and I think it would make them feel most in place."

She's got a point, I guess. Even if I really don't want to do it. "Sounds good to me!"

"Great," she smiles, "I'll email the schedule to you as soon as I speak with their coach. First, we'll need to watch a regular practice they do and record insights on their performance. After that, we'll need to do a consultation with each player to kinda interview them in terms of their choice of drink and why. After that, we'll monitor their drink intake, watch another practice, and log results from that. Over the course of the next 4 months, that will be the process. The remaining 4 we will work more in the lab; we'll discuss that later on. Sound good?"