Wilson College of Business students cited in a top-tier research journal
Wilson College of Business students cited in a top-tier research journal
How far can an undergraduate research project go? For several students at the Wilson College of Business, the answer is all the way into a top-tier academic journal, demonstrating that research experiences at UNI can serve as contributions to scholarly literature.
The paper, titled "Impact of Money Growth on Airline Passenger Traffic," was created for Robin Chen’s Economic and Business Forecasting course. During the spring semester, students (now graduates) Lexi Protzman, Haley Ceruzzi, Bailey Grover, Alan Streittmatter and Laney Bissell all contributed to the work, which was recently cited in “Research in Transportation Business & Management,” a highly respected, top-ranked academic journal.
This paper was probably the most fun and the best overall project that I had done in my time here.
The final report focused on domestic air travel, analyzing macroeconomic variables — such as interest rates, stock market trends and consumer confidence — against passenger numbers over a 20-year span. While the group confirmed an expected link between consumer disposable income and increased travel, they noted a surprising discovery: Interest rates did not have a significant impact on people's willingness to fly.
The team’s work involved extensive data gathering — including manual entry for stock market indices — and complex statistical analysis using R software. The project’s structure and mentorship from Chen were crucial to their success.
This was my first time doing a big research paper. We had checkpoints set up, and a midterm presentation that held us accountable throughout the whole semester, which I think was really helpful.
Chen stressed that the initial goal was simply to build foundational skills. The citation opportunity arose after the students voluntarily posted the "preprint" version of the paper online for extra credit. Being cited is often the first step in the journey toward achieving full academic publication.
“The good thing is that even at the preprint level, the researchers in the transportation area noticed this paper and then cited this paper as a preprint,” Chen said. “I think that’s why it's important to give students a stage. Give them an opportunity to shine. And then they will shine."
The students are already leveraging the skills gained. Grover, who now works as a financial analyst, emphasized she is using R coding in her professional role. Ceruzzi, who is pursuing data analysis through her current graduate assistantship, also found the experience invaluable.
“The prepping and running code were my favorite parts of the project, and that is something that I’ll be able to use in any interview that I go into,” Ceruzzi said.
The Wilson College of Business actively fosters these deep research opportunities, differentiating its curriculum by allowing students to gain industry-specific, scholarly knowledge.
“If you’re willing to do the work, UNI faculty are willing to help,” Grover said. “Even though this wasn’t our end goal, it brought us so much more than just a grade.”
