Katharine Becker

Contact Information

Hello, my name is Katharine Becker.

Hi! I am a third year research student in the PHS Research Program. My research aims to look at the likelihood of athletes to report concussion symptoms based on a variety of external factors. It is hypothesized that factors like school location, future in athletics, and sports participated in will all impact the likelihood of an athlete to report a concussion. I hope to create targeted education plans for athletes who are deemed “high risk” for not reporting concussion symptoms.

Overview

With the increased rate of concussions in adolescent athletes, research projects are beginning to look at what external variables (race, sex, etc.) affect the chance of an athlete to sustain or report a concussion. The discrepancy in officially diagnosing a concussion has caused an increase in underreported symptoms, as well as other motives to underreport incidents. It is important to identify relationships and correlations between certain variables including sex, race, sport, and likelihood of that athlete to sustain or report a concussion. This study will be conducted using an online survey that will be administered to high school athletes, collegiate athletes, and post-collegiate athletes. The survey features 31 multiple choice questions, as well as a few fill in the blank questions that ask participants to recall symptoms, etc.

Current progress

I have just concluded my data collection and have begun data analysis. My survey was distributed to some athletes at my high school, and was posted on MTURK and Prolific with specific demographic settings applied. My preliminary findings support my hypothesis that certain variables impact the reporting environment created around student-athletes. I will be using linear regression as well as other statistical tools to determine which responses have a correlation.

Presentations

I plan on presenting my research at the following symposiums in 2022: Mercer County Science Fair, Regeneron Science Talent Search, New Jersey Junior Science & Humanities Symposium

Please find my survey at this link: https://forms.gle/takLsKP7ZLhCqSWx6