After six weeks in England, I am finally back in the U.S. To celebrate, we went to one of our favorite local places (Twin Donuts) for some coffee & donuts.
In exactly two weeks, I will be on to my next adventure in Punta Santiago, Puerto Rico. But in the meantime, I have a lot to catch up on (and look forward to).
As I outlined in my last post, in order to finish up my data collection & analysis with the Barbary macaques, I’ll need to do a few things. Most importantly, I will need to review all of the videos that I collected over the last six weeks, and complete behavioral coding for the videos.
Finally, I will write up three quick summaries about my work. Typically, once I finish data analysis, I write a brief summary about the results that goes to my adviser. We also usually meet so that she can double-check all of my statistics, and we talk about the implications of the results and how they fit with my initial hypotheses.
The two other summaries that I need to write for my project with the Barbary macaques are unique to this particular project. Earlier in 2018, I applied for a research grant through the Yale MacMillan Center, and received a grant that funded most of my trip. As part of the acceptance agreement, I get to take part in two neat science communication opportunities. The first is standard for most granting agencies, and involves a brief (two page) summary of the results of your trip and any results from the data you collected. My second summary for the MacMillan Center is for their website, where they feature student projects that were funded by the center. I will definitely share that on here once it has been completed and posted.
In my time spent not coding videos or writing about Barbary macaques, I have a lot planned. I have a few catch-up meetings with collaborators on other projects. This includes the projects I intend to run on Cayo Santiago when I travel there in two weeks, so at some point I would like to outline my intended projects on the blog for those of you following along. I am also copyediting a book (!!) about human and animal societies, so I need to spend a few hours a day reading that in order to meet my deadline. Outside of work, I picked up a few volunteer shifts at the Yale Peabody Museum, where I have been working in the science education and outreach department for the last three years. Last, but certainly not least, I hope to catch up with my running club, who I have missed *so much* while abroad. Eep!
Well, I still have some more reading to do before the end of the day, but thanks to those of you who are following along. I look forward to updating you again soon!