Jennifer Noveck

Research: I received a Fulbright grant to live in Nanjing, China, and study how rapid economic development and re-emerging traditional cultural beliefs are currently affecting Chinese women’s work. My project involves fieldwork, designing qualitative and quantitative methods to get information from people, and working with NGOs and government bureaus.

Undergrad connection: Most of my undergraduate research at Northeastern was on China, and on topics that affected women more than men. My Fulbright work isn’t directly related to my undergraduate research, but is a step along the same research continuum.

Boston to China: My research at Northeastern was library-based and archival. What I did in China is a different kind, but my undergraduate experience had given me basic ideas of what to do in Nanjing by myself. At Northeastern, I learned to be independent, to find outside sources. Nobody held my hand: I had to do it on my own.

Lesson learned: Every time I chose a research topic at Northeastern, it would always change. I set my topic based on assumptions, but then would find a more complex situation. Undergraduate research enabled me to think outside my expectations.

Educational value: Undergraduate research lets students focus on something that’s not in the syllabus. They can learn about a topic in greater depth; they get to choose their area of expertise.