What Research Assistants (RAs) Do

General

The stages of our research process are: 

  1. Brainstorming and idea generation (usually not RAs)

  2. Literature search

  3. Planning methods and materials

  4. Submitting Institutional Review Board (IRB) application (usually not RAs)

  5. Building study materials on paper or online

  6. Running participants

  7. Data entry

  8. Verifying and cleaning data (usually not RAs)

  9. Statistical analysis (usually not RAs)

  10. Sharing the results in a poster, talk, or manuscript (usually not RAs)

Your involvement in these processes will depend on your skills and motivation.

What you get out of this experience will depend on your effort and engagement. If you are genuinely interested in research careers or grad school, take responsibility for your participation by communicating what you’d like to work on and getting more tasks from us if you finish one early. The more responsible and responsive you are, the more interesting tasks you will receive.

Study Materials

We primarily use Qualtrics to build and deliver studies. I may ask you to edit surveys there.

Data Entry

Data entry is when you are adding to existing data files, either from a log or a questionnaire. Usually, you will enter numbers into a spreadsheet in preparation for analysis. I will train you in this process and introduce you to the software. We mostly use Google Docs, Excel, and SPSS. Accuracy is paramount. Go slowly and be aware that your work will be checked.

Scheduling

When it’s time to start the study, schedule Google Calendar slots about two weeks in advance, avoiding intro psych lecture times if possible. Create slots in Google Calendar for a particular research room for as many weeks as you can anticipate your schedule. Call each event “[your first name]". Next, we use SONA to schedule and communicate with research participants. Contact me for a login to use with our lab. Seven or more days ahead, make slots in SONA for when you’re available to actually run. Then, delete any unfilled Google Calendar spaces. They should agree completely.

PAPERS

I would like you to pick one that's useful for you. If you don’t like any of these, propose something else to me: anything that is useful or interesting to you, so long as it is original, new work. Papers are due Monday of finals week at 4pm by email.

Often I assign some research article that is relevant to the study/studies they are running for me and then ask them to write a research proposal that is related to/inspired by what they read. Should be about 3 or 4 pages.

OR:

Write a complete job description and CV (curriculum vitae) or resume.

CV and resume: Pick two "pretend job positions" to which you are applying and briefly describe it at the beginning so I know the goal of your CV/resume. These should be two different positions you are applying for when you submit either a CV or resume (different jobs require each). You could use any of the careers you described above, but realize that the positions you pick should correctly reflect your understanding of the difference between when a CV is appropriate and when a resume is appropriate. A CV is an "academic resume" and has different content. A resume, on the other hand, is for more professional positions and requires more description of duties. Both should include all relevant experience you'd had up to this point as an undergraduate, but don't worry if you don't have too much experience to report. You can find out how to write these here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/641/01

You might have a CV/resume written already, but I want you to go through these websites in detail and make as polished of a CV and resume as possible, as if you were actually turning these in with an application. Remember all this is to your benefit so I want you to want to do the research and reading for this. Hopefully it'll be fun, but most of all, informative. Let me know if you have any questions at any point.

OR:

Career Research: Research different careers. Pick at least 1 "research" position and 1 "applied" position. It doesn't have to be in psychology, but it obviously should be a career where you can use your Psych B.A. Most of the jobs you'll find on the site are more applied/professional positions, but remember that in research you can study basically anything you want.

For each, I want you to address in 2-3 pages double spaced each the following: summarize the career you envision specific to your interests (beyond the general description provided on that website), how you can start catering your undergraduate from THIS MOMENT to prepare and gain experience for this position, and the training and credentials required after undergraduate (i.e. grad or professional school) to obtain this position. You might have to do some outside research on your own to learn more about these careers. In the essay, please provide links back to the website for each career so I know which ones you picked.

In my view, this assignment is for your benefit. What would you like to pursue? If you'd like a fourth option, propose another task.