Jeanne (Lynch) Copeland, M.S.

She/her

Education: Bachelor of Science in communication sciences and disorders (May 1998)

Master of Science in communication sciences and disorders from Kansas State University

McNair Project: Phonation Rise Time Characteristics of Breathy, Simultaneous, and Hard Glottal Attacks (1997)

Mentor: Linda Hoag, Ph.D.

The fields of Speech Language Pathology and Audiology are centered around helping clients communicate more effectively. Clinicians are often required to ascertain a patient's level of speech acceptability with the use of objective measurements established by reliable and repeatable research methods. Phonation rise time is one such measurement that has not been studied since 1967 but could provide valuable information about several types of vocal pathologies, such as laryngeal cancer and vocal fold paralysis. Our goal is to answer the following question: What are normal phonation rise time values for the breathy, simultaneous, and hard glottal attacks? We believe this is important for two reasons: 1) a current and reliable objective measurement of phonation rise time will increase diagnostic abilities and give the client more feedback about his/her vocal pathology; and 2) significant advances in technology and research techniques have been made since this measurement was studied in 1967, but the findings are still cited in textbooks. We hope to improve upon the previous research in terms of both clarity and precision to accomplish this goal.