Professor Completes 2021 Guahan Survey with Undergraduate Researcher

During the summer, Ngoc T. Phan, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Political Science,  traveled to Guam to recruit and complete the 2021 Guahan Study (guamstudy.org). To date, this is the largest public opinion dataset of residents living in Guam, 18+, who self-identify as Chamorro. The survey recruited over 1,100 respondents and asked respondents about their identity and what they envision for the future.  

Her research team included HPU sophomore student Nikki Aubree San Agustin, a Computer Science student. San Agustin served as a team lead on the research project.She is passionate about advocating for indigenous rights and embracing her cultural heritage. 

San Agustin says, "I care about this project because I am a young CHamoru woman who cares about her land, people, and culture. This project does what I believe in personally; amplifying CHamoru voices, opinions, and concerns. I am invested in this because I believe the data collected from this project and the results will benefit the CHamoru people. I also want to use this project as a stepping stone into collecting data in the future. I have adopted Dr. Phan’s mindset of, “Data is power. Power to the people.” I want to be able to spread that mindset around, starting with this project." 

Professor Phan is always looking for undergraduate research assistants to work in her Behavioral Research Lab. If you are interested, please email her at ntphan@hpu.edu for research opportunities.