Four OC political science students’ research proposals accepted by OPSA

Undergraduate student proposals were accepted despite going up against graduate students and researchers.

November 12, 2020

Four students from the Political Science program at Oklahoma Christian University, as part of a class requirement, submitted independent research to the Oklahoma Political Science Association. Due to their excellent research and hard work, students Jonathan Hernandez, Abigail Kirkwood, Kaitlyn Maker and Stephanie Mathiasen had their proposals accepted by OPSA.

OPSA is a professional organization in the state made up of political scientists and political professionals. The criteria for a proposal to be accepted was that the research is useful, interesting and worthwhile. The research should also push the field forward. Although it is a highly competitive organization, four undergraduate students from OC had their proposals accepted. 

Trey Orndorff, OC’s associate professor of political science, expressed his pride in the four students. 

“Some of the things that these undergraduate students are able to do with methods are on par with what a lot of first-year graduate students are doing,” Orndorff said. “I think that’s why they got accepted; their material was superior. I know our undergraduate students bumped out some graduate students. I think that speaks really highly of our OC political science students.”

The students researched various topics relevant to the political science field. Hernandez focused his research on immigration and the effects of economic outcomes. Kirkwood originally focused her research on the statistical process on foster care; however, she found that data sets in each state did not match up. So, she decided to construct a qualitative investigation to answer why the numbers were not matching up. Maker focused her research on possible connections between economic success and how likely countries are to observe human rights. Mathiasen created a statistical analysis to determine what factors are present in the increased likelihood of individuals winding up in foster care. She ran a multivariate regression model to distinguish what impacted a child who ended up in foster care, and she was able to find some significance in her research. 

“I am so proud of them all,” Orndorff said. “I am deeply impressed by the amount of original research that OC students are capable of. It’s going to push them so far in graduate school, law school and in other areas.”