Essay:
This practicum project was about analyzing the data gathered from collars on Scimitar Oryx (Oryx dammah) which had been reintroduced to the wild. My role was in identifying how long it may take for a captive oryx to calm down once released, and so dozens of oryx were compared to find underlying patterns in their movement over several months. No official title for my project, but I think "Analyzing Oryx Movement after Release" fits well. On a normal day I would be working on a program to organize the data into various smaller understandable graphs which would provide clearer info on an Oryx’s movement. The project was done by myself. While I met with other students and the professor every week, they were working on their own small sections.
Some analytical and critical thinking skills which I applied onto the project from colloquium were those related to standing back and taking in the bigger picture. It was quite tempting at times to notice a pattern in an oryx or two and try to extrapolate it as something that would be applicable to all the specimens, and I had some underlying biases about what exactly that pattern might be. However, I had to make sure that I was aware of my underlying assumptions and that they did not interfere with the work I was doing, or alter it in any way. I made sure that I wasn’t lumping the myriad of patterns into a single easy explanation that would make clear sense, but that I was actually interpreting the data in a manner which provided an accurate representation of the movements of an oryx after release.
One thing I learned was that I found data analysis to be quite difficult, yet fulfilling. Seeing patterns develop was fascinating, and helping to aid a project with real-world importance was enriching. I’ve learned that applying my skills in computer science to topics in the natural sciences is something that I really enjoy, and likely something that I will do more of in the future. There were some ways in which I could have better prepared for this practicum though. I think investing a bit more time into learning the programming language, reading the literature a bit more, and budgeting my time a bit better would have allowed me to accomplish more over the past semester. I don’t really know what the future holds for me, but I do believe that this experience was quite beneficial overall, and has helped me to get a chance to be a part of something that I would have overlooked otherwise. It is for the above reasons that I recommend future SGC scholars, provided they properly prepare, take part in a similar research project. I believe it was well worth the time.