revise

Date: February 12, 2016

To: Dr. Mark McBeth, Dr. Kandi Turley-Ames

From: Ahmad Alobaidali, Electrical Engineering major

Husina Aldossary

Karlie Kjerstad, Health Education major

Taylor Raschke, Health Science major

Subject: Recommendations for ways to conduct interdisciplinary research using the EEG

and Eye Tracker machine, and to increase the usage of these machines.

Purpose

The purpose of our proposal is to recognize different ways that students can conduct

interdisciplinary research by using the EEG cap and Eye Tracker machines. We have also

included ways in which we can increase the amount of research that is done using these

machines.

Summary

There are big problems in the world such as: healthcare, education, and climate change,

to name a few. Mark McBeth and Kandi Turley- Ames deans of the College of Arts and Letters

at ISU, and founders of the Integrated Research Center, have proposed a plan to solve these big

problems. Through Integrated research and collaboration between professionals from many

fields. By taking down these "silos", integrated research is able to take place and open up so

many more doors than ever imagined. This is an exciting new center, and with access to state of

the art technologies such as the EEG cap and Eye Tracker there is incredible potential for users

at the IRC.

An EEG cap is a piece of technology that can greatly benefit the department of

psychology and health sciences by studying the impact of the brain and learning about many

brain disorders. An Eye Tracker can be used in a variety of fields such as computer science,

psychology, linguistics, neuroscience, advertising, and much more.

Several students at ISU have worked together to present this proposal, Ahmad Alobaidali

majoring in electrical engineering, Husina Aldossary, Karlie Kjerstad majoring in Health

Education, and Taylor Raschke majoring in Health Sciences. By hiring full-time staff members

for the IRC, this will make the center more accessible to students. Training multiple employees

on how to use the EEG and Eye Tracker will be crucial, so they can help avoid any conflicts with

the equipment. Having the IRC create a video tutorial and website with step by step instructions

on how to use these technologies will increase awareness of the equipment available and make

them more useful on our campus. Finding volunteers to spread the word about this center and

what it has to offer through social media will help get the Integrated Research Center up and

running in no time.

Introduction

The problem that lies within the IRC, is not the potential that can be done within the

center, but it is that not enough people are aware of the IRC. The IRC hosts many high-scale

technological machines that can be used to do numerous types of research. The problem with

these machines, is that users are unaware of how to use them, and what can be done with them.

The purpose of this proposal is to inform Dr. Kandi Turley-Ames, and Dr. Mark McBeth

about all of the types of interdisciplinary research that can be conducted using the Eye Tracker,

and the Electroencephalogram (EEG) Cap. We would also like to persuade these two on ways to

increase the usage of these machines, which would be hiring staff to work in the IRC. The staff

members would then be able to create videos and a website on how to use these machines.

Since not many people know about the IRC, and these two pieces of equipment

specifically, there is not a lot of interdisciplinary research being done. If we take the opportunity

to hire staff, and create numerous sources on how to use these machines, we can increase the

amount of research that is being conducted here at ISU.

Our sources of information come from numerous different websites and people. These

sources include: a research paper about eye tracking in education, a director of the Eye Link

1000 eye tracker machine, an article from the Johns Hopkins Medicine staff, an article from the

staff at the Mayo Clinic, and lastly a website that was created to inform users of the Eye Tracker

machine.

The scope of this proposal is to recommend a few ways in which Dr. Mark McBeth and

Dr. Kandi Turley- Ames can increase the amount of interdisciplinary research conducted by

using the Eye Tracker and the EEG cap. This proposal will also inform different ways that these

machines can be used. By recommending ways to increase the usage, the IRC will see a growth

in students using their research center.

We will be using an informative organizational pattern on ways to conduct

interdisciplinary research using the EEG cap and the Eye Tracker. We will also be using a

persuasive organizational pattern to propose ways that the IRC can increase the amount of people

using these machines.

The key terms that will be used in this proposal include: IRC= Integrated Research

Center and EEG= electroencephalogram cap.

Proposed Plan

Research on ways to conduct interdisciplinary research using the EEG and Eye Tracker

machines:

1. The Eye Tracker has been studied in non-computer fields.

According to the article “Eye Tracking in Computing Education,” these fields include:

reading, chess, mammography, piloting, and even surgery. Knowing that eye tracking has

been used in areas rather than the general computer fields, it will open up a wider range

of ideas for students who are interested in using the machine.

2. Eye tracking is also used for research across multiple academic disciplines.

According to William Schmidt, director of sales of the EyeLink 1000, the Eye Tracker

has been used in the fields of: psychology, linguistics, and neuroscience. This machine

would be beneficial to do interdisciplinary research within the College of Arts and

Letters, and would be a great way to link the two sections of the College.

3. Eye tracking has also been used by numerous industries, all of which have benefitted

greatly by using the eye tracker.

The article, “What Is Eye Tracking?” states that the automotive, medical, and defense

industries have applied the eye tracking process to make us safer. Also, the advertising,

entertainment, web design, and packaging industries have all benefitted greatly by

studying the visual behavior of consumers. Even though we wouldn’t benefit from all of

these things at ISU directly, it is nice to see how others have used the Eye Tracker.

Knowing all of the different ways eye tracking has been used, will create more

opportunities for interdisciplinary research here at ISU.

4. The EEG cap has been used in several ways other than detecting abnormalities in the

brain.

The article “The Electroencephalogram (EEG)”, by Johns Hopkins Medicine, states that

EEG cap has been used to: evaluate blood flow during surgery, evaluate brain trauma,

determine drug intoxication, and evaluate extent of brain damage for patients in a coma.

Lastly, continuous EEG testing may be able to find the right level of anesthesia of

patients in a coma as well.

5. Lastly, an EEG test can be used to diagnose disorders that have an impact on brain

activity.

The Mayo Clinic staff states that these disorders may include: Alzheimer’s disease, sleep

disorders, inflammation of the brain, stroke, dementia, certain psychoses, epilepsy, and

brain tumors. The EEG cap is a great tool for the students in the department of

psychology, but it can also be used by students in the health sciences field. By

combining these two areas of study, students within these disciplines could benefit

greatly in their interdisciplinary research by using this machine.

Ways to increase the usage of these machines:

Task1: Hire a few staff members for the IRC that are able to work down in the research

center.

By hiring someone, there will always be help available to the users if questions arise

about using the EEG and eye tracker.

Task2: Begin training staff members on how to use the EEG and eye tracker.

Training staff properly on how to use the machines will be crucial for the IRC, and will

promote more effective use of these machines, as well as a faster time for projects to get

done.

Task3: Make a “how to” tutorial video on how to use the EEG and eye tracker.

Once the video tutorial is made, students, faculty, and community members will be able

to watch the video before they begin to use the machines. This video will be helpful for

the users because they will get a visual representation on how they work, which will help

avoid damage to the machines from improper use.

Task4: Create a word processed document with pictures and step-by-step instructions on

how to use the eye tracker as well as the EEG.

Even though there will be a video tutorial, having written instructions posted by the

machines will be useful in case the people who are using the machines get lost, or forget

instructions. By having the directions posted, the users can refer back to a written

document in case they get stuck.

Task5: Create a website for the IRC with links for each piece of equipment.

On this website include the tutorial video, the word processed documents, as well as any

external references on professors or faculty members who are familiar with the

equipment. Also on the website, post ways in which the eye tracker and the EEG have

been used across the different fields of study, that way users have multiple ideas on how

they can conduct research.

Task6: Find volunteers who would be willing to explain more about the process of eye

tracking, and the EEG cap to the people on campus.

These volunteers could set up information booths around campus (in areas such as the

sub and the rendezvous.) The volunteers could also post ads about the machines on social

media sites such as: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. By doing this, more people will

become aware of the IRC, which will increase the usage of the IRC.

Experience/Qualifications

There are a lot of experienced college students who put together this proposal. They

come from all different educational backgrounds, which helps to get a better look at conducting

interdisciplinary research. Electrical Engineering major: Ahmad Alobaidali, is a senior who is

currently enrolled in all upper division courses here at ISU. Health Education major: Karlie

Kjerstad, is a junior who is taking upper division courses such as ENGL 3307, Professional and

Technical Writing. Karlie is looking to apply to the Masters of Public Health Program next year.

Health Science major: Taylor Raschke, is a sophomore who is taking an upper division course

such as, ENGL 3307 Professional and Technical Writing. Taylor is looking to apply to the

Master of Occupational Therapy program next fall.

References

Antropova, M.,Bednarik, R., Begel, A., Busjahn, T., Hansen, M., Ihantola, P., …Simon. (2014).

Eye tracking in computing education. ICER, 14, 3-10.

Eye Tracking. (2011).What is eye tracking. Retrieved February 8, 2016, from,

http://www.eyetracking.com/About-Us/What-Is-Eye-Tracking.

Johns Hopkins Medicine. (n.d.). Electroencephalogram (EEG). Retrieved February 8, 2016, from

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/test_procedures/neurological/electroencep

halogram_eeg_92,P07655/

Markel, M. (2015). Technical communication (11 ed.). Boston: Bedford/ St. Martins.

Mayo Clinic Staff. (n.d.). EEG (electroencephalogram). Retrieved February 12, 2016, from

http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/eeg/basics/why-its-done/prc-20014093

Schmidt, W. C. (2013.) Sole source eye link 1000 plus [Letter written August 15, 2013].

Retrieved February 8, 2016, from http://www.sr-research.com/publications.html

Appendixes

Tasks Date of Tasks (by weeks)

Task 1:

Hire staff

Members(s)

for IRC

Task 2:

Train staff

on how to

use

machines

Task 3:

Make a

“how to”

video

tutorial

Task 4:

Create a

step-by-

step word

document

Task 5:

Create

links on

College of

Arts and

Letters

website for

equipment

Task 6:

Find

volunteers

to explain

about EEG

and eye

tracker

Weeks 1 2 3 4 5 6