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  4. Alyson Otañez

I Am a Researcher

Alyson Otañez

Alyson Otañez.jpeg

Major(s): Political science - data analytics

College: Seventh College

UC San Diego graduation year: 2025

URH Research Programs: Regents Scholars Research Initiative (Fall 2021), TRELS (Summer 2023)

What are you researching (or did you do in the past)?

My research seeks to understand the role that local governments play in facilitating the growth of warehouse and industrial spaces in the Inland Empire, CA. To determine what programs, projects, and proposals these local governments prioritize, I analyzed the textual data of the city council agendas utilizing a Structural Topic Model.

Why and how did you decide to get involved in undergraduate research?

Through the Regents scholarship I had the amazing opportunity to be mentored by Dr. Marisa Abrajano in my first quarter at UCSD through the RSRI program. Prior to beginning the RSRI program I had the preconceived notion that research was exclusive to lab work seen in the physical and natural sciences. With the guidance of Dr. Abrajano, my mindset quickly changed as I became aware of the immense research conducted by political scientists, and the plethora of remaining questions to be answered. Having the ability to develop my own question, create my own research design, and develop my own answers has become a passion of mine, and something that I can see myself pursuing in the future.

What has been the most exciting/interesting thing you've discovered through your research?

Given that I have grown up and experienced the effects of warehousing in the Inland Empire, being able to conduct my own research, and answer questions that I have had for years has been the most exciting aspect. I am especially thrilled to be able to share my findings with other researchers, shedding light on the social and environmental injustices facing my community. My research has allowed me to contribute to an understudied issue, as I enhance my computational, experimental, and verbal skills.

What advice would you give to students starting research?

Research can be tedious and complex, I recommend narrowing down your research question early on and creating a rough timeline to sketch out your weekly plan and goals. Along with your research question, have a clear set of hypotheses that reflect what you are seeking to answer. It is perfectly fine to be wrong in the end, if you knew all of the answers from the beginning, you would not be doing research in the first place. Undergraduate research is an exceptional opportunity to answer the questions you are passionate about, to make and learn from your mistakes along the way, and contribute to your field in your own way. I would also advise you to be open to change, while conducting research you might realize your major and current path might not be for you, explore topics you are unfamiliar with and challenge yourself to find your passion.

What are your future plans?

After graduation I plan to go to graduate school, either law school or a PhD program in computational social science.