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THE PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH COMPANION The Psychology Research Companion: From student project to working life not only gives you the skills and confidence to conduct your psychology research project at university but also is the first book to show how these skills will help you get ahead in your first job in the workplace Jessica S Horst, an American psychologist teaching in the UK, takes you through every step of the research process: from conceiving your research question and choosing a research methodology to organizing your time and resources effectively The book includes sections on ethics, data management, working with research participants and report writing, but each chapter is also informed by the wider aim of providing a toolkit for working life Each chapter is packed with tips and skills that can be taken into the workplace, including working collaboratively and organising your workload, as well as discussing your research project in interview situations and when applying for jobs This invaluable guide will appeal to all undergraduate and postgraduate psychology students whose aim is to learn a set of transferable research skills as well as to obtain a good degree result Jessica S Horst is a faculty member at the University of Sussex, UK She has won a teaching award for her supervision of psychology research projects and also received a number of awards for her own research, including the American Psychological Association Dissertation Award in Developmental Psychology This page intentionally left blank The Psychology Research Companion From student project to working life Jessica S Horst First published 2016 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2016 Jessica S Horst The right of Jessica S Horst to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 All rights reserved No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Horst, Jessica S  The psychology research companion : from student project to working life / Jessica S Horst — 1st Edition   pages cm  Includes bibliographical references  1. Psychology—Research. I. Title  BF76.5.H664 2015  150.72—dc23  2015010237 ISBN: 978-1-138-78531-1 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-138-78532-8 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-76791-8 (ebk) Typeset in Palatino by Apex CoVantage, LLC To James This page intentionally left blank Contents List of figures  xiii List of tables  xv Acknowledgements  xvii Introduction and starting out  1 This is a book about transferable skills  1 Structure of the book  3 Pick and choose  5 Choosing a supervisor and mentor  5 Choosing a topic  7 Feasibility  9 Research with other populations  10 Ethical approval  12 Science is collaborative: working with other people  14 The golden rule  14 Handling conflicts  15 Preventing conflicts  15 When conflict is unavoidable  15 Dissertation checklist  17 Before you officially start (e.g the spring before)  17 When you officially start  18 Data collection phase   19 Post-data collection phase   19 Primary writing phase  19 Methods  19 Results  20 Introduction  20 Discussion  20 Final steps  20 Polishing  21 Turning it in  21 Presentation  21 Recommended readings  21 References  22 viii CONTENTS All in a day’s work  24 Creating a “paper trail” or lab notebook  24 Finding references  26 General searching  26 What to when you don’t have access  28 Forward searching  29 A good many journal articles (organization)  29 Organizing journal articles  30 Keeping track of all the findings  31 Finding participants  33 Fliers  33 Canvassing individuals  33 Snowballing  34 Team up  34 How to write an email that gets answered  35 Make it easy  36 Make it short  37 Make it legit  37 Mail merge: among the most useful transferable skills  39 Contacting participants by phone  40 Stimuli  45 Photographing stimuli and apparatuses  45 Measuring stimuli  46 Piloting and early stage of data collection  46 Testing off campus  49 Coding data  50 For the record  51 Hardcopy data  53 Make the data easy to collect and enter  53 Keep the data organized  56 Electronic data  56 Keep the data file organized  56 Back up the data  57 Additional good habits to start now  57 From A to Z  57 Embrace color  57 Places, everyone!  59 Finishing your project and exiting the lab  59 Transferring these skills  60 References  60 CONTENTS All in good time (management)  62 Checklists  62 Calendars  65 Setting priorities and deadlines  68 Work backwards to set deadlines  68 Order of operations  69 Getting the work done  71 Upfront work  71 Know your quadrants  72 Understand when perfectionism doesn’t matter  76 Set aside the time  77 You say pomodoro, I say tomato  78 Making the most of downtime  79 Location, location, location!  80 Give yourself a cushion  81 Know thyself  82 Insider tricks of the trade  82 Multitasking is a myth  82 Save your energy  83 Handle paper once  84 Spending less time on the phone  84 Use mnemonics to automate your checklists  85 Transferring these skills  87 References  87 Make your computer work for you  89 Computer organization  89 What’s in a name: naming files and folders  90 What’s in an alias  91 Word processing  91 Autocorrect is actually incredibly smart  91 Spell check is actually not so smart  92 Don’t lose track: track changes  93 No comment?  94 Color-code to mark your place  96 Number crunching  98 At random  99 What if   101 Sort yourself out  102 See the errors of your ways  102 ix 168 PRESENTING YOUR FINDINGS Talking about your study Depending on your department’s policies you may need to answer questions after your presentation or even give an oral defense (viva voce) of some sort (in which case definitely discuss what to expect with your supervisor as procedures vary across departments) Before you panic about the questions you might be asked, please note: • • • • • • No one knows your study better than you Your supervisor might know the literature or rationale for some stats better, but having done the testing you know the methods better than anyone (you were right there during testing) Most questions are asked for clarification Some, if not most, of these will actually be easy questions if you know your study well (How many trials did you have? What order did they the tasks in? Why did they that task first?) Many questions are asked because the questioner is genuinely interested in how the findings apply to his or her own research or what he or she knows about psychology Most people asking questions want to know more It’s OK to ask someone to repeat a question Often when people repeat questions they elaborate or rephrase the question, which might give you a better idea of what they are asking (as well as more time to think of an answer!) It’s OK to not have an answer Sometimes people ask a I’m-justcurious question and there isn’t a definite answer so you can just speculate: “I don’t know how tri-lingual blind individuals would behave in this task, but given what I know about bilingual language ” Sometimes people forget details: “I don’t recall how many participants asked for the instructions to be repeated, but I can look it up.” Sometimes people haven’t read a paper: “I’m not familiar with King’s work on that, but I’ll look it up Thank you for the reference.” Just be honest It’s much better to admit you don’t know something than to fake an answer and get caught Eye-contact isn’t just for the presentation itself Continue to make eye-contact as you answer questions Look first to the person who asked, and then to other audience members as you continue your answer, so they also feel included (Pagana, 2010; Steele, 2009) Look back to the original questioner to check you have answered the question that was asked and in case there is a follow-up question PRESENTING YOUR FINDINGS 169 What is your study about? This question comes in many forms (e.g “tell me more about your project?” or “what are you working on in the lab?”) The most important things for answering this question are: (a) to know your audience (the questioner) and (b) begin like your introduction with the big picture, then get narrow – only if they want to know more Usually, the answer to, “What is your study about?” should be only a couple of sentences long Some people even call this the “elevator pitch:” a short two-minute summary that provides the most important information Imagine running into the head of psychology in the elevator/lift, knowing he/she is exiting in ninety seconds How could you quickly answer this question so that your answer is still useful and interesting? When asked this question many students provide answers that are long-winded and really detailed Answers like: I’m running a study on tasting tea and giving participants four cups of tea to drink They rate them on a seven-point Likert scale from delicious, tasty, somewhat tasty, fine/neutral, somewhat untasty, untasty, to disgusting I already tested twenty participants, but they are coming back to the lab for part two in May They complete questionnaires about mood and stress on each visit The cups of tea have different amount of sweeteners in them One has no sweeter, one has five grams of sugar, one has ten grams of sugar, and one has organic honey Oh, the sugar is also organic That is boring, and at the moment, no one cares how many grams of sugar you are using Such information is very important for the method section, and it will be important to have a justification (5 grams is approximately tsp) Consider this answer: The study examines how taste preferences change under stress I’m investigating this by giving students varying levels of sugar at the start of the academic year and during the exam period As an additional control, students are completing a questionnaire about their stress levels I expect that students will have a stronger preference for sugar under stress Doesn’t that sound much more interesting? It also includes the hypothesis It might be even better if I wasn’t making this example up and could throw in some theory or science about why I expect that 170 PRESENTING YOUR FINDINGS preference (but still keeping it brief) Now, if the questioner was just being nice she can smile, nod and change or stop the conversation, but if the questioner was genuinely curious – or you’ve sparked her curiosity – she can ask follow-up questions like, “How are you giving the sugar?” “How you administer the taste test?” “Why you think stress causes people to crave more sugar?” and especially “Do you think this generalizes beyond students and taking exams?” To break it down, my better answer included: • • • One sentence of a big picture (the ultimate goal, no jargon) One to two sentences on methods that mentioned the overall method and anything that could cause concern (How you know they were really stressed?) but skipping the number of participants, skipping the number of trials, skipping the coding One sentence of hypothesis/specific outcome You don’t have to use this format, but it might help you start thinking If the person asking you has some background in psychology, you can use this to your advantage to avoid defining jargon the person likely knows Simply saying “a seven-point Likert scale” is probably sufficient The questioner can guess that the end points of the scale are delicious and disgusting If you really don’t know the questioner (maybe you gave a talk in your department and you think the person asking is a post-doc or maybe a faculty member), use your best guess and look for body language signs that the person wants to hear more Knowing how to give an “elevator pitch” is useful in a variety of careers and also at various stages of your research, from recruiting pilot participants to final presentation However, ask your mentor if you will be required to give a longer response “Approaching people and having the confidence to talk passionately about the lab and convincing parents it was worthwhile for their children to take time out of their days, travel and take part in our activities is a great skill as it involves a special kind of sales technique where you cannot be seen to be ‘salesy’ but still need to convince parents that giving up their time and allowing their children to come to a lab was the best option for them It also helps with learning how to identify your audience and change your language and demeanor to suit the person you are speaking to.” —Rosa, BSc Senior Program Manager (Charity Sector) PRESENTING YOUR FINDINGS 171 “Taking a large amount of information and ensuring it was succinct enough to deliver in a presentation helped me to see what the ‘take-home’ messages of my project were Having a time limit helped me learn to balance providing enough information while also keeping the presenting interesting for the audience.” —Emilly, MSc Research Assistant TABLE 6.1 Here are some questions to ask yourself to prepare for presenting your study Question Consider What is your research project about? Elevator pitch (but ask your supervisor if you will be asked to give a longer answer) Why did you use this particular method? Consider for each task/design decision Why did you use this particular statistical test? Consider for each test If you were to this project again, what would you differently and why? Different task? Different task parameters? Has new research come out that would have informed your design? What is the theoretical contribution of your research project? How your findings (even if null results) change what we know about your broader topic? Have you provided additional evidence for or against an existing theory, and if so how? What are the practical implications of your research project? Why should other people outside your department or research area care about this? Do your results lead to possible recommendations for any nonacademic groups (teachers, drivers, smokers, doctors, parents, city council members)? If you were continuing, what would your next project be? What is the logical next thing to test? Is there an alternative explanation for your findings? Could another theory or a simple explanation based on something in your methods account for what you found? Do you have any evidence (perhaps additional analyses) that can demonstrate this alternative could, in fact, not account for your findings? How is your research project different from [each key study you cite in your research area]? Did you extend the findings of previous research? Do you have additional controls or trials that others not have? Have you pitted different theoretical explanations against each other? 172 PRESENTING YOUR FINDINGS Do your PREP One method you can use to structure your presentation but also to answer difficult questions is PREP (Brody, 2008): point, reason, example, point First, recap your point (the big idea/contribution), then give the reason (this might be a theoretical justification in response to a question or background literature in the main talk), then give an example (in psychology this would be in the form of empirical results) and recap your point Transferring your presentation skills to job interviews Many of these same principles for presentations you can use for job interviews For example, you will want to have a clear, succinct elevator pitch (p 169) answer ready for, “Tell me about your previous experience.” If a panel is interviewing you, you will want to also make eye contact with those who didn’t ask the question (as well as the person who did) You can also keep in mind that your interviewers will know you are likely nervous and will remember giving interviews themselves Transferable skills Here are some situations where you might want to talk about the skills you learned during your research project in an interview “What skills make you qualified/well-suited for this position?” A related question is “what are your strengths?” Think about the skills most relevant for the position and how you have already learned those or related skills • • • • Computer skills: Consider your data entry, data analysis, presentation skills Sales/people skills: Consider if you recruited participants, worked with others, liaised with other labs for resources, interviewed participants Creativity: Did you create a new method for your study? Did you have to be creative in recruiting participants or hiding the real purpose of the task until later? Communication skills: Consider if you gave presentations, communicated with others, recruited participants (verbal communication) Also consider if you wrote procedures or other documents that others needed to follow or learn from (written communication) PRESENTING YOUR FINDINGS • • • 173 Strong work ethic: Did you ever go above and beyond working on your project? Handling finances: Consider if you coordinated payments for participants or if your computer skills are relevant Record keeping: If you worked with humans you responsibly took care of consent forms or maybe other sensitive information (e.g a database of potential participants) “When have you taken initiative/been proactive?” Was there a time with your study or for the lab when something wasn’t ideal and you created a new method or procedure to deal with it? This can also be an opportunity to give your strong work ethic example “What are your weaknesses?” Consider if there is something you learned about yourself while doing your project that you have tried to improve and demonstrate how you have worked on that skill “It is vitally important to reflect on your achievements and also, more importantly, the times when you have not performed as you had hoped, or not achieved the desired result It is a good idea to get into the habit of regularly reflecting as this is a valuable work and life skill At work, this will demonstrate a commitment to continued professional development Within your studies, an example of when it would be appropriate to reflect could be reflecting on why you have had an unproductive day, and how you can improve on this the next day Or within research, there could be an opportunity to reflect on the skills used to recruit participants and how these could be utilized to maximum effect.” —Sam, BSc Life Skills Recovery Worker (NHS) There are many books, websites and other resources available to help you prepare for a job interview Your university may even have a careers center, with dedicated staff there to help you Also look for an alumni network that might help students and graduates connect with others 174 PRESENTING YOUR FINDINGS who have chosen similar career paths After months of conducting literature searches and evaluating how much weight to place on different things you read, you are well prepared to conduct research in the area of interviewing and the kinds of jobs or companies you are interested in Box 6.7: Continuing in psychology By the time you finish your project, you may have discovered that you love research and want to continue in psychology The best, first place to go for advice in this area is to your supervisor and academic advisor He or she will know how strong you are as a candidate (some fields are extremely competitive to get into) and if you should first seek more work experience by becoming an RA or if you should start working on your applications Faculty in your department may also have specific inside information that you might want to know now rather than later (and the kind of information you would never find looking at other departments online) For example, I know one professor who once announced he would not be taking any new PhD students because he already had five and didn’t feel he could be a good mentor if he was spreading his attention among six students If you had applied to work with him that year your application would have been rejected – and it would have nothing to with you, your abilities or your academic record Your faculty mentor might also know other things like, “Actually, that person is on the job market and wants to move to be closer to a spouse.” Or “So-and-so has a reputation of being difficult to work with Students in that lab publish several papers, but if you look, they never work with that person after they leave.” If you prepare a research proposal or personal statement, consider re-reading Chapter because many of the same ideas for clear writing apply to that kind of writing as well Transferring these skills Being able to create easy-to-follow tables and graphs is a useful skill for any job that requires tracking something over time (e.g patients admitted, payments received, new customers) Likewise, being able to give a good presentation is useful anytime you need to meet with other people to discuss the next steps or to pitch an idea You might not necessarily always need to give a PowerPoint presentation, but you will likely PRESENTING YOUR FINDINGS 175 need to remember not to be nervous, think of how to articulate your big idea in just a few sentences (i.e elevator pitch) and answer questions in front of one or more people If your job involves recruiting or meeting with potential customers (e.g at an industry show), it may be helpful to keep in mind that most questions are genuinely requests for clarity If you are making promotional or marking materials, the tips we discussed about creating PowerPoint slides (e.g white space, font size, etc.) will also transfer to that medium Conclusions Conducting research is complicated Honestly, it’s not really that difficult to repeat the same procedure over and over again when you are collecting data Learn the procedure, practice and repeat N times Probably a bit tedious by the end, but straightforward to learn But research is so much more than actually running your experiment By conducting research you have learned to plan ahead and make decisions about how you will really analyze the data so you know how to enter it You have learned to communicate your ideas clearly so one group of people will be willing to participate and another group will understand why you did what you did and why it was worth doing You have honed skills related to how you manage your time, resources and large amounts of information You may have also learned how to use complicated machines or get nonhuman animals to understand what you need them to Doing research well requires using a wide range of skills I hope this book has helped you learn some of these skills and answered some of the questions you may have had along the way Fortunately, most of the skills you have mastered are skills you will be able to continue to use after you graduate, no matter if you continue in psychology or not I’m very serious! Take another look: But research is so much more than actually running your experiment By conducting research you have learned to plan ahead and make decisions about how you will really analyze the data so you know how to enter it You have learned to communicate your ideas clearly so one group of people will be willing to participate and another group will understand why you did what you did and why it was worth doing You have honed skills related to how you manage your time, resources and large amounts of information You may have also learned how to use complicated machines or 176 PRESENTING YOUR FINDINGS get nonhuman animals to understand what you need them to Doing research well requires using a wide range of skills In a year or two or even more, if someone asks what you learned when you conducted your research project, I hope you don’t only answer, “I learned some difference in [one variable] is related to/causes a difference in [another variable].” I hope you answer something like, “Wow, I learned so many skills – and I use them all the time.” References American Psychological Association (2010) Publication Manual of the American Psychological Assocation: Sixth Edition Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Brody, M (2008) Speaking is an Audience-Centered Sport (4th ed.) Jenkintown, PA: Career Skills Press Horst, J. S., Scott, E. J., & Pollard, J. P (2010) The Role of Competition in Word Learning Via Referent Selection Developmental Science, 13(5), 706– 13 doi: 10.1111/j.1467–7687.2009.00926.x Pagana, K. D (2010) The Nurse’s Communication Advantage: How Business Savvy Communication Can Advance Your Nursing Career Indianapolis, IN: SIGMA Theta Tau International Shakespeare, W (1600) The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark Steele, W. R (2009) Presentation Skills 201: How to Take It to the Next Level as a Confident, Engaging Presenter Denver, CO: Outskirts Press Williams, S. E., & Horst, J. S (2014) Goodnight Book: The Benefit of Sleep Consolidation on Word Learning via Storybooks Frontiers in Psychology, 5(184), 1–12 doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00184 Index Note: Page numbers in italics indicate figures and tables abbreviations, using 84, 130 abstract, writing 123 access to journals 28–9 acknowledgments in presentations 163 alias, creating 91 Allen, David 81, 84, 90 alphabetization of data 57 American Psychological Association Publication Manual 125, 155; see also APA style animation in presentations 162–5 anonymity of data 51–2 Anti-Social app 76 APA style 111, 118, 126, 140, 145 appendices 126 apps: time management 76; to-do lists 80 articles see journal articles attrition, recording 58–9 author name, searching on 27, 28 authorship 140 Autocorrect feature 91–2, 97 backing up electronic data 57 bar graphs 153–4 bars and whiskers graphs 154 Bettmann, M binders, storing articles in 32 bookmarking location in documents 95 breaks, taking 78–9 calendars for time management 65–8, 66 canvassing individuals to find participants 33–4 captions: for figures and tables 158–9; in presentations 162 case sensitivity of software programs 103 catchy titles 123–5 checklists: automating with mnemonics 85–7; datasheets as 64; for dissertation 17–21; examples 63; for labs 75; time management and 62–4 children, research with 10–11 citations in references section 125–6 cited reference searches 29 citing works 112, 113–14 coding data 50–1 collaboration: Comment feature 95; golden rule in 14; handling conflicts 15–17; overview 14; sharing calendars 67; teaming up to find participants 34–5; Track changes feature 93–4 color-coding: with calendars 65–6; of data 57–8; in Excel 106; formulas 99; text in documents 96–7 Comment feature 94–5, 106 common sense, using with participants 44 communication: by phone 40–4; preventing conflicts and 15; skill overview 60; see also email computer-based task, depicting 146, 146 computer file organization 89–91 concise writing 127, 132, 135–6, 136–7 confidentiality of data 51–2 confirming appointments 43 conflicts, handling 15–17 consent forms 12, 42, 64, 75 178 INDEX contacting participants by phone 40–4 correlation method for inter-coder reliability 50–1 corresponding author, emailing 28–9 Covey, Stephen 73, 73 data: alphabetization of 57; backing up 57; coding 50–1; confidentiality and anonymity of 51–2; electronic 56–7; graphing 104–5; hardcopy 53–4, 56; organization of 57–9 data collection phase: checklist for 19; confidentiality and anonymity of 51–2; forms for, creating 53–4; piloting and early stage of 46–9; protocols for 48–9, 60; testing off campus 49 data entry: abbreviations for 84; checking for errors in 102–4; upfront work and 71–2 data figures 149–56, 152 datasheets: as checklists 64; creating 53–4; time management and 71–2 dates, adding to file names 90 deadlines, setting 68–9, 81–2; see also time management deception and ethical approval 12 defensiveness, dealing with 16 “deleted scenes” 121 dependent variables, y-axis for 150–1 design, depicting 146 discussion section, writing 122–3 dissertation: checklist for 17–21; formatting requirements for 111, 115, 117; writing 77–9; see also figures for dissertation; sections of dissertation documenting see record keeping documents: bookmarking location 95; colorcoding text 96–7; merging 97, 98 downtime, filling 79–80 dress rehearsal of data collection 46–7 ethics committee Excel (Microsoft): basic formulas 99; checking errors in 102–4; colorcoding formulas 99; Comment feature 94–5; common errors in 108–9; copying and pasting in 105–6; formulas using if function 101, 101; graphing data 104; intermediate formulas 100; keyboard shortcuts 109; overview 98; pivot tables 107–8; randomizing in 99, 101, 107; replacing in 106; sorting data in 102; tips for using 106–7 excluded data, colorcoding 58 electronic data 56–7 elevator pitch 169–70 email: brevity in 37; communicating via 35; dos and don’ts for 38–9; legitimacy of 37–8; mail merge 39–40; make replying to easy for recipients 36–7 empty phrases, avoiding 134–5, 135 energy, saving 83–4 equipment, photographing 45–6 error bars in data figures 150 errors: checking in Excel 102–4; Excel 108–9 ethical approval 12–14 feasibility of topic feedback, listening to 112, 114 figures for dissertation: captions for 158–9; data 149–56, 152; line or bar graphs 153–4; multiple, using 154–5, 156–7; non-data 145–8; printing and 157 file names 90 finishing projects 59–60 first authors 140 First Things First (Covey and Merill) 73, 73 fliers for finding participants 33 folders, naming 90 INDEX font for presentations 162 footage, video 166 foreshadowing 120 formatting: dissertations 111, 115, 117; presentations 160–1 forms for data collection, creating 53–4 formulas (Excel) 99, 100, 101 forward searching 29 Four Quadrants 72–6, 73 freezing panes and windows in Excel 106 future directions, adding to discussion section 122 Gantt chart for order of operation 69, 70 Getting Things Done (Allen) 81 golden rule 14 Gómez, Rebecca 112 Google (as verb) 27, 28 Google Scholar 26, 29 graphing data 104–5 hardcopy data 53–4, 56 hiding information in Excel 107 histograms 155 Home Alone (movie) 120, 122 Horst, J S 30 hourglass structure of academic papers 116 hypotheses, phrased as if-then statements 112 ID numbers for participants 53–4 imposter syndrome informed consent 13 “in press” 141 inter-coder reliability 50–1 interlibrary loan services 28 interviews, transferring presentation skills to 172–4 introduction section, writing 120–1 journal articles: access to 28–9; findings, tracking 31, 31; mimicking 111–12, 145; organizing 30; publishing 140–1; storing 32; title, searching on 28 Journal of Cognition and Development, Tools of the Trade series 49 keyboard shortcuts (Excel) 109 keywords, organizing journal articles by 30 keyword searches 27 King, Stephen 77, 135–6 lab notebook, creating 24–6 labs: checklists for 75; choosing topic from studies running in 8; finishing projects and exiting 59–60 last authors 140 LeechBlock app 76 limitations, including in discussion section 122–3 line graphs 153–4 literature search engines 26, 29 179 location for tasks 80–1 logging contact with participants 41 mail merge 39–40 measuring stimuli 46 mentors: choosing 5–6; conflicts with 16; copying on email 37–8; definition of 4; feedback from 112, 114–15; as first authors 140; population selection and 10; primary and secondary 11; talking with about continuing in psychology 174; topic selection and merging documents 97, 98 Merill, Roger 73, 73 method section, writing 117–18 Microsoft Excel: basic formulas 99; checking errors in 102–4; colorcoding formulas 99; Comment feature 94–5; common errors in 108–9; copying and pasting in 105–6; formulas using if function 101, 101; graphing data 104; intermediate formulas 100; keyboard shortcuts 109; overview 98; pivot tables 107–8; randomizing in 99, 101, 107; replacing in 106; sorting data in 102; tips for using 106–7 180 INDEX Microsoft PowerPoint 160; see also presentations Microsoft Word: Autocorrect feature 91–2; Comment feature 94–5; mail merge feature 39–40; Spell check feature 92; tips for using 97–8; Track changes feature 93–4, 115 milestone, setting to check data collection 47 mistakes, handling 16–17 mnemonics for automating checklists 85–7 motion waste, minimizing 59 multi-media in presentations 165–6 multitasking 82–3 naming: files and folders 90; variables 56–7, 102; see also captions; titles nerves during presentations 166–7 non-data figures 145–8 nonopportunity sample 11 notes app for tracking findings 31 number crunching 98–9 Oakes, Lisa 124 online calendars 67 On Writing (King) 135–6 open access to articles 28 open-ended questions, avoiding in email 36–7 opportunity sample 10 order of operations 69, 70 organization: of computer files 89–91; of data 57–9; of electronic data 56–7; of hardcopy data 56; of journal articles 30; as upfront work 72; see also record keeping outliers, checking for 103 page breaks, inserting 97 painting stimuli 46 panels in figures in articles or presentations 148, 152 paper, handling once 84 paper trail, creating 24–6 participants: contacting by phone 40–4; finding 33–5; ID numbers for 53–4; recording attrition 58–9; sample size 47 passive voice 138 password protecting documents 97 percentage of agreement method for inter-coder reliability 51 perfectionism and time management 76–7 permission to canvas individuals, obtaining 33 phases to research projects 3, 17–21 phone: contacting participants by 40–4; time spent on 84–5 photocopying: dissertation 157; overview 54–5 photographs: in articles or presentations 148–9; of stimuli and apparatuses 45–6 piloting data collection 46–9 pivot tables 107–8 plagiarism 112, 113–14 “plot holes” 121 polishing writing 138–9 Pomodoro Method 78–9 post-data collection phase, checklist for 19 PowerPoint 160; see also presentations practicing: data collection 46–7; presentation 167 preliminary analyses 118–19 PREP (point, reason, example, point) 172 prescreen information, obtaining 43 presentations: acknowledgments in 163; animation in 162–5; answering questions about 168; captions in 162; font for 162; formatting and style for 160–1; multimedia in 165–6; nerves during 166–7; overview 145, 159; PREP (point, reason, example, point) INDEX 172; preparing for 171; slide content and format 160; transferable skills from 172–5 printing dissertation 157 procedure, depicting 146 professionalism in appearance and behavior 44 protocols for data collection 48–9, 60 PsycINFO 26, 29 publishing papers 140–1 Pursuit of Happyness, The (movie) 85 qualitative research 9–10 questions: about study, answering 168; about study, preparing for 171; getting answers for randomizing in Excel 99, 101 recommended readings 21–2 record keeping: alphabetization and 57; attrition 58–9; confidentiality and anonymity of 51–2; electronic data 56–7; hardcopy data 53–4, 56; in lab notebook 24–6; overview 51; participant ID numbers 53–4; phone contact with participants 41; stimulus information 45, 46 recruiting participants 33–5, 40–4 references: compiling in references section 125–6; forward searching for 29; gaining access to 28–9; general searching for 26–8; software for creating lists of 92–3 reliability of data coding 50 repetition, avoiding 83–4 rescheduling appointments 43 research projects: checklist for 17–21; finishing and exiting lab 59–60; learning from 175–6; phases to results section, writing 118–19 reverse, animation in 164–5 reverse outline 127 review of literature in introduction 120–1 sample size 47, 123 Samuelson, L K 30 scatterplots 154 scheduling appointments 43–4, 49 searching for relevant literature 26–8 sections of dissertation: abstract 123; appendices 126; discussion 122–3; introduction 120–1; method 117–18; overview 115–16, 116; references 125–6; 181 results 118–19; title 123–5 self-knowledge and time management 82 sentence structures 139–40 service providers, reciprocating 33–4 Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, The (Covey) 68 sharing calendars 67 shortcuts, creating 91–2 snowballing 34 Socrates Spell check feature 92 stimuli: depicting 147, 147–8; naming 102; photographing and measuring 45–6 storing: journal articles 32; study materials 59 studies: answering questions about 168; describing to participants 42–3; summarizing 169–70 study journal, creating 24–6 subject line for email 36 supervisor: choosing 5–6; definition of 4; see also mentor tables: in articles 158–9; multiple 156–7; for tracking studies 31, 31 teaming up to find participants 34–5 technical research 12 terminology testing participants 49 text, color-coding 96–7 “that,” avoiding 134 “the,” avoiding 133 182 INDEX third person, writing in 136, 138 “this,” avoiding 133–4 th- words, avoiding 132–5 time management: automating checklists with mnemonics 85–7; calendars for 65–8, 66; checklists for 62–4, 63; cushions and 81–2; deadlines, setting 68–9; filling downtime 79–80; Four Quadrants 72–6, 73; handling paper once 84; location and 80–1; multitasking and 82–3; order of operations 69, 70; overview 62; perfectionism and 76–7; on phone 84–5; Pomodoro Method 78–9; saving energy 83–4; self-knowledge and 82; setting aside time for writing 77–8; transfer of skills of 87; upfront work 71–2 titles: of articles, searching on 28; of dissertations 123–5; of figures and tables 158–9 to-do lists 80, 81 tomato see Pomodoro Method Tools of the Trade series, Journal of Cognition and Development 49 topic, choosing: feasibility and 9; overview 7–8; populations for 10–11 Track changes feature 93–4, 115 transferable skills: job interviews and 172–4; organization and communication 35, 60; overview 1–2; presentations 174–5; research and 7, 24; time management 87; working with computer 110; writing 126, 141–2 two-tailed t-tests 119 upfront work 71–2 variable names 56–7, 102 videos in presentation 166 visualization of tasks: with calendars 65; with Gantt chart 69, 70 volunteer experience Word (Microsoft): Autocorrect feature 91–2; Comment feature 94–5; mail merge feature 39–40; Spell check feature 92; tips for using 97–8; Track changes feature 93–4, 115 word processing 91–8 working backwards to set deadlines 68–9 writing: abbreviations in 130; to advance story 127; conciseness in 127, 132, 135–6, 136–7; empty phrases in 134–5, 135; generic names 131; knowledge of readers and 131; mental arithmetic in 129; modifiers 131; parallel sentences 128; polishing at end 138–9; protocols for data collection 48–9, 60; rephrasing 128–9; sentence structures 139–40; in third person 136, 138; th- words 132– 4; as transferable skill 126, 141–2; word repetition in 126–7, 131 writing phase: checklist for 19–21; formatting requirements 111, 115, 117; overview 111–12; plagiarism 112, 113–14; “plot holes” and “deleted scenes” 121; setting aside time for 77–8; see also sections of dissertation Writing Your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day (Bolker) 78 x-axis 155, 155–6 y-axis 150–1, 152 .. .THE PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH COMPANION The Psychology Research Companion: From student project to working life not only gives you the skills and confidence to conduct your psychology research. .. students about how they have used the skills they learned doing undergraduate and masters-level psychology research after they graduated I have included these comments to show you the wide range... much time they typically spend with their research students If they not know, try to ask one of their current or former research students “There are many different kinds of supervisors out there,