Undergraduate and Post-Baccalaureate Research Assistants
I typically have several undergraduate research assistants (RAs) in the lab during any one academic semester. I prefer to recruit new RAs during the Spring term to begin in the lab the following Summer or Fall. For students who work out well, including meeting their own training needs, I prefer to have them stay on for two or more semesters; occasionally, students are invited to stay on far longer. The formal agreement is part of PSYC 485, or Independent Study. Most students opt to earn formal course credit in PSYC 485, some finite number of credits of which may be applied to the Departmental requirements for upper-level Psychology Electives toward the Bachelors degree. However, and as long as the NIU administration allows it, I am willing to accept volunteer RAs if that suits their credit-needs better. The basic role of the undergraduate RAs is to become familiar with the process of performing empirical research through hands-on experience. RAs are expected to attend our weekly lab meeting (typically Fridays and typically 11am-12pm), read assigned journal articles to be discussed as a group, learn the protocol for one or more of the studies being performed in the lab, proctor data collection sessions within the Psychology Building, and sometimes make presentations to the lab. Less frequently, students design their own projects, including for Capstone or Honors Projects. A newer development is that I have all RAs co-author a poster presentation at the Psychology Undergraduate Research Conference (PURC; in Fall) and Conference on Undergraduate Research and Engagement (CURE; Spring). My view is that these experiences are important for those students who plan to pursue graduate training in Psychology, but also are an important part of general training toward a well-rounded undergraduate education. One aspect of the lab environment of which I am particularly fond is the interaction between the graduate and undergraduate students. We set aside time to discuss professional issues, including what it's like to be a graduate student and everyone's favorite topic of "getting into graduate school." My graduate students offer a wealth of information and access to them is extremely valuable. Below are some photos taken at various research settings, including the local NIU events.
I typically have several undergraduate research assistants (RAs) in the lab during any one academic semester. I prefer to recruit new RAs during the Spring term to begin in the lab the following Summer or Fall. For students who work out well, including meeting their own training needs, I prefer to have them stay on for two or more semesters; occasionally, students are invited to stay on far longer. The formal agreement is part of PSYC 485, or Independent Study. Most students opt to earn formal course credit in PSYC 485, some finite number of credits of which may be applied to the Departmental requirements for upper-level Psychology Electives toward the Bachelors degree. However, and as long as the NIU administration allows it, I am willing to accept volunteer RAs if that suits their credit-needs better. The basic role of the undergraduate RAs is to become familiar with the process of performing empirical research through hands-on experience. RAs are expected to attend our weekly lab meeting (typically Fridays and typically 11am-12pm), read assigned journal articles to be discussed as a group, learn the protocol for one or more of the studies being performed in the lab, proctor data collection sessions within the Psychology Building, and sometimes make presentations to the lab. Less frequently, students design their own projects, including for Capstone or Honors Projects. A newer development is that I have all RAs co-author a poster presentation at the Psychology Undergraduate Research Conference (PURC; in Fall) and Conference on Undergraduate Research and Engagement (CURE; Spring). My view is that these experiences are important for those students who plan to pursue graduate training in Psychology, but also are an important part of general training toward a well-rounded undergraduate education. One aspect of the lab environment of which I am particularly fond is the interaction between the graduate and undergraduate students. We set aside time to discuss professional issues, including what it's like to be a graduate student and everyone's favorite topic of "getting into graduate school." My graduate students offer a wealth of information and access to them is extremely valuable. Below are some photos taken at various research settings, including the local NIU events.