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My Current Web Presence Analysis

Corey Nicholson

TWC301
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Table of Contents

Cover Page………………………….……………………………….……………………………1

Table of Contents………………………………………………………………………………....2

Executive Summary………………………………………………………………………...……..3

The Future Professional You…………………………………….……………………………..4-5

The Current You………………………………………………………………...………………..6

Conclusions: Bridging the Gap……………………………………………………………….…..7

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Executive Summary

The following report is an extensive analysis covering my personal achievements and

online-identity that directly relate towards the major of my choice- Applied Psychology.
Included are descriptions of my current and future selves, online-identification, evaluations of
current individuals in my field, criteria to determine my success in this field, and an overall
analysis bridging the gap between these factors. My goal is to determine what is required of
myself to be proven successful in Human Factors after my work accomplished while attending
Arizona State University.
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The Future Professional You

Deciding my major of choice was no simple task for me when I first began college. After
changing my major several times I finally found a program that suited my interests and actually
saw myself having a future within that line of work; thus I chose to be a part of the Applied
Psychology program at the Polytechnic Campus at Arizona State University. Finally my last
year of being in the Applied Psychology program has started and I am one step closer to
becoming that professional image I imagined myself a few years back.

The Applied Psychology major encompasses psychological research for human factors
engineering, the science of understanding the properties of human capabilities. Most of the
research in human factors recently have been employed for helping to design airplane cockpits,
interior designs of automobiles, and computer interface programs to just name a few.

I picture myself years from now maintaining a research laboratory working with
simulations including flight and automobile navigation. I will be able to determine the best
statistical layouts included in functions of these craft.

Three Professional Identities on LinkedIn:

Russell Branaghan: Applied Professor – Applied Psychology, Arizona State University

Professor Branaghan is actually my current Supervised Research (PSY399) professor and

is helping me do research that involves people’s perceptions when using driving simulators. He
has previously held jobs that were particular to applied psychology but also ran his own
company. He has also gone on to write and publish several articles and one book.

Brooke Castaneda: Human Factors Engineer at Intel

Brooke Castaneda is actually a graduate from the applied psychology from Arizona State
University. Currently she now works for Intel, performing user observations, task analyses,
heuristic evaluations, and focus groups.

Qiawen Wu: Human Factors Researcher at Cognitive Engineering Research Institute (CERI)

Qiawen is also an ASU graduate from the applied psychology program. At CERI, a
grant-funded program led by Professor Nancy Cooke, Qiawen develops usability analyses as
well as provides qualitative and quantitative synthetic data for heuristic evaluations.

All of the three people mentioned above all have a connection with Arizona State
University and have been contracted with different companies. Here are a few criteria to
evaluate what kinds of characteristics are qualified for this area of expertise.
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Five Evaluation Criteria:

1. Solid foundation in psychology

2. Develop research questions through a user-experience
3. Have a thorough understanding of different principles such as sociology, engineering,
computer science, and more
4. Have a thorough background in performing and detailing research projects through APA
standards
5. Be able to interpret user expectations from an observational stand-point
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The Current You

Using online search engines, you are able to find your online identity presence on the
internet. Mine however appears to be a small presence since I belong to very few online
subscriptions. I used Google, Bing, and Yahoo as my three primary search engines.
Honestly, most of my online presence is from this very class. Here is a list of all self-
identities found of myself:

Diigo: www.diigo.com/profile/cmnicho5

Facebook: www.facebook.com/coreymn87

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=111381795&trk=tab_pro

ASU: https://webapp4.asu.edu/directory/person/1317354

Criteria 1: Considering my major is in psychology and I have a good standing with most
of the professors in my program, I consider myself to have a solid foundation.

Criteria 2-5: The rest of my online identities have little to do with my major and
program. Considering this, I need to develop further with the online community of
professionals in my field, particularly starting with LinkedIn.
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Conclusions: Building the Gap

With my online identity primarily focused on this single class for social networking, one
of my skills I can use further for my professional future is to build off of my connections.
Many of my friends are in majors that have strengths that work towards my major. Utilizing
their skills can help create a name for myself when it comes time to find a job with my
degree. Second I have had experience with research projects I have presented at national
conventions but are not listed on the web. My weaknesses consist of not belonging to any
networks directly applicable to my career. Joining these will help me create a better online
presence that companies can view. Another weakness builds off my first with my online
presence consisting of primarily social networking with friends. A great career can build off
of well used professional references.