Mentoring by an established researcher. Being a research assistant (RA) in any psychology lab at PFW can be a valuable experience and provide you with numerous unique opportunities. Since our department does not have a graduate program, our RAs receive direct mentoring from faculty, all of whom are established researchers. In contrast, at institutions with graduate programs, undergraduate RAs work with primarily with graduate students, and the grad students are mentored by faculty. While each psy lab at PFW offers unique opportunities and experiences, most of the benefits I note here apply to other labs (other research opportunities offered by our department are listed here).
Connecting with other students. My lab typically has 5-10 RAs, so joining is a great way to meet and make connections with other psychology students. In my lab, the emphasis is on maintaining a supportive, helpful, cooperative atmosphere. Most of the research projects require RAs to work both independently and collaboratively with other members of the lab.
Hands-on learning as you contribute to science. As an RA in my lab, you will have the opportunity to apply the basic scientific principles that you have learned in classes to create new scientific knowledge. In other words, you will be an integral part of the scientific enterprise, contributing to the advancement of psychology. You will, for example, be involved with (a) developing theoretical propositions and methodological strategies, (b) collecting and analyzing data, and (c) interpreting, writing-up, and disseminating our research findings. The extent to which you are involved in these activities depends on several factors, including your own level of motivation and how long you participate in the lab. While its certainly okay to work in my lab for a single semester, most students decide to stay for a year, and many stay longer. As part of these activities you will work with commonly used research and statistical software, including MediaLab, Qualtrics, MTurk, Sona, SPSS, and Process. All these experiences and skills will be great additions to your vitae or resume.
Attending and presenting at professional conferences. Every year my top RAs present our research findings at the Annual PFW Research Symposium and at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, held in downtown Chicago at the famous Palmer House! These are great, memorable experiences, and authoring a conference presentation will be a major addition to your vitae or resume, especially if you are considering graduate school.
Earn Credit for Your Degree. You can be a research assistant for credit by enrolling in PSY 496. Most students enroll for 3 credit hours, but you also have the option of enrolling for 1 or 2 credits. If you don't need to the credits, you can join the lab as a volunteer; the expectations and experiences will be the same.
Build-up your vitae or resume. As mentioned, all the experiences you have as a research assistant will make you a more attractive candidate when you apply for graduate programs, jobs, grants, or other endeavors.
Supportive reference and letter of recommendation. I am always happy to serve as a strong, positive reference for students who have worked in my lab and demonstrated favorable qualities. It’s almost always necessary to have several strong supportive letters of reference when applying to graduate school or a job.
First, let me emphasize that the basic skills you learn in my lab will be applicable to any area of psychology and, indeed, to wide range of other contexts. Broadly speaking, you’ll be advancing your understanding of how psychological issues are examined scientifically by being an active member of an actual researcher team that is striving to create new knowledge. As specified in other sections, as part of the process, you will learn how to use specific tools and techniques. I am a social-personality psychologist (PhD from Purdue University, 1996) and so am broadly focused on understanding the everyday social behaviors, thoughts, and emotions of adults. Most of my research is geared toward understanding the causes, dynamics, and consequences of positive and negative intergroup relations. This includes such topics as prejudice, stereotypes, discrimination, conflict and cooperation (social dilemmas), intergroup contact, social identity (aka group identity), and other group-based thoughts, behaviors, and emotions. Some recent publications and presentations associated with the lab are here. Much of my research is g in social identity theory, intergroup contact theory, and realistic group conflict theory. We (in the lab) also routinely integrate theories of personality into our investigations (e.g., five-factor theory, dark triad, authoritarianism, and social dominance orientation). Don’t worry! New RAs are not expected to be very familiar with these terms and theories! In my lab, we conduct experiments using face-to-face and online techniques, and we conduct correlational studies. My RAs typically work on both types of studies.
To be a research assistant in my lab, you just need to be eager to learn about psychological research, willing and able to work hard on a variety of tasks (some challenging, some tedious), and be conscientious (reliable, organized, etc.). Occasionally, there are more students wanting to join the lab than I have spots available. When that happens, I generally give preference to students who are closer to graduation, have completed PSY 201 (stats) and PSY 203 (methods), and have taken either PSY 420 (personality), or PSY 240 (social). It’s best to contact me as early as possible about being a research assistant.
You can be a research assistant for credit by enrolling in PSY 496, or you can be a research assistant on a “volunteer” basis. The experiences and expectations are the same. If you do it for credit, it works like any other class: You pay for the credit hours, the “class” shows up on your transcript, you get a grade, and the credit hours count toward your degree. You can take PSY 496 up to three times for credit. Most students enroll in PSY 496 for three credit hours, but you may also sign up for two or just one credit hour. I often have students volunteer to be an RA because the want the benefits that come with the experience, but they don’t need the credit hours for graduation. So, if you prefer not to register for PSY 496 for whatever reason, you can still be an RA.
My RAs normally work in the lab 6 - 10 hours a week on a semi-flexible schedule. Once the semester starts, you will complete an online “doodle poll” to indicate which days and hours you can devote to lab work. Then, we figure out schedules based on how schedules line up, what kind of tasks need to be completed, and so forth. Some tasks require RAs working together in teams and other tasks require working independently. The bottom line is that I know students have hectic schedules and numerous responsibilities, so I do my best to be accommodating. That said, once you have committed to a certain schedule it is very important that you reliably stick to that schedule, especially when running research sessions. Schedules may change a different points throughout the semester.
I normally have 5-10 research assistants working in my lab during any given semester. About half of the time will be spent working with others, and about half of the time will be spent working independently. One of the most important responsibilities of an RA is to run research sessions: When PSY 120 students come to the lab to participant in a study for course credit. RAs must prepare for the session, meet the participants, run the session, assign credits, and engage in related tasks. Most research sessions require 2-4 research assistants working together. RAs must also keep good records, back up data files, keep research stimuli organized, make copies, read key publications, work on experimental programs, code open-ended responses, conduct statistical analyses, summarize results, and develop conference presentations. If this sounds like a lot, don’t worry! You are not expected to know how to do any of these tasks. You’ll be trained by senior RAs and me, and you’ll be fine. :-). My aim is to provide students with the opportunity to learn while helping to contribute to the body of psychological knowledge. I want help students build on their research and communication skills and develop relationships with faculty and other research assistants. The experience is also designed to help you decide if a career in research is something you might like to pursue.
If you would like to join my lab or have questions, please contact me at jacksonj@pfw.edu. Before joining the lab, we will arrange a meeting. During the meeting, we can chat about details, you can ask questions, we’ll tour the lab space, and hopefully you’ll meet some of my current RAs (if they happen to be around when we meet). After our meeting if you are still interested and there is a spot open, we will take the next steps, including getting you enrolled.
