Behavioral and Social Sciences

Teen pregnancy and birth is a widespread issue that deeply affects young girls during the most vital stages of development. It can lead to dropping out of high school – a major drawback in the United States today – and impoverishment. Fortunately, there are measures that can be taken to equip students with knowledge to avoid situations of teen pregnancy ... Read More

We utilized data analytics to investigate potential inequitable practices and policies within the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) system that may negatively affect underrepresented and disadvantaged students. We analyzed large datasets to determine if CPS policies and practices contribute to low standardized testing performance across different schools in the district. We focused on factors that contribute to school rankings, standardized testing, ... Read More

Awareness about the disparity between living in urban versus rural areas is essential when considering the parameters that influence one's longevity. There are many factors that can impact an individuals' health, such as proximity to services, access to nature, occupation opportunities, and more. It is important to understand how living in areas classified as urban, suburban, and rural can offer ... Read More

Since the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, many have wondered if COVID-19 disproportionately affects minorities and low-income individuals. Studies have shown that minorities, especially Black and Latino, and low-income groups do in fact have higher COVID-19 transmission rates compared to White Americans. However, not much research has been conducted regarding the relationship between COVID-19 death rates and income ... Read More

My SIR project is concentrated on the effectiveness of Affirmative Action in College Enrollment and how it disproportionally disadvantages certain socioeconomic demographics in the U.S. It addresses the history of Affirmative Action and its role in the College Admissions process. This includes a chronological overview of major cases such as Brown vs. Board of Education to Fisher v. University of ... Read More

We used data analytics to find potential inequities within Chicago Public Schools (CPS) policies that negatively affect marginalized groups. Currently, there is inequity with the CPS system: there is a lack of educational opportunities for students of color and students of lower socioeconomic status. There is also an issue of heavy police involvement in schools through school resource officers (SROs). ... Read More

At the Illinois Math and Science Academy, almost everyone is familiar with the Student Inquiry and Research program (SIR). This program allows students to communicate with mentors and conduct research on topics ranging from neuroscience to psychology. However, this program had to go through many changes, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic which resulted in distance learning for the 2020-2021 academic ... Read More

This paper recapitulates a project that investigates racial, gender, and socioeconomic diversity as factors of academic success in the largest 4-year colleges in each state. By doing so, the project strives to change public perceptions about the role that diversity plays in college admissions. If direct correlations are found, the resulting inferences could have great influence over the future of ... Read More

This study seeks to find if there is a correlation between accessibility to education during the COVID-19 pandemic and student academic success. As COVID-19 continues to reach across the nation, causing many school districts to turn to distance learning. It is crucial that educational systems understand how the variability of access to quality education while at home can affect students ... Read More

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is the nation’s third largest school district and serves over 350,000 students within the city limits of Chicago. Yet, CPS draws scrutiny over its treatment of marginalized minority students as well as vast discrepancies in overall school performances. In order to spot potential inequities within the CPS system, we performed statistical analyses on publicly-available data and ... Read More

Self-determination theory (SDT) is a mega-theory about motivation. Basic Psychological Need Theory (BPNT), a sub-theory of SDT, claims that motivation is fostered when all three basic psychological needs - autonomy, competence, and relatedness - are satisfied. Need-Based Teaching is a theory that aims to furnish these needs by producing autonomy support, structure, and involvement. Furthermore, self-efficacy is defined as the ... Read More

The goals of my project have been to find the value of public transportation as it relates to quality of life. Public transit is an expensive piece of many cities, and the people who pay for it are the taxpayers, using income. I am hoping to see my data as clear visual representations of this relation. My data and the ... Read More

There are a variety of internal and external factors that can possibly affect the decision a voter makes on Election Day. The purpose of this research is to identify if there is a correlation between household income (among other variables) and gubernatorial elections in the Midwest, which could be useful for evaluating potential outcomes of an election in a given ... Read More

Many factors contribute to the success of presidential candidates. Variations in racial diversity, immigrant demographics, and financial status have all been found to play a role in how any given community decides to cast their ballots. However, one factor that continues to be overlooked is the population of foreign-language speakers within a region. This study aims to find if that ... Read More

In the United States, gender roles have always played a large part in economic growth. However, to what extent do they still affect the modern world, and how does it affect financial wellbeing? This project will explore if there is a correlation between the ratio of women to men and average annual income on a county-level, and examine possible trends ... Read More

Cities across the United States face severe challenges in housing all of their residents. Hundreds of thousands of people face homelessness throughout the US. It is well known and understood that there are four main contributing factors to homelessness: lack of affordable housing, unemployment, poverty, and mental illness and substance abuse. While these causes are well known, solutions vary wildly ... Read More