Research Opportunities For Undergraduates
Many undergraduate students participate on our research team each semester. Many stay for multiple semesters – which we take to be a good sign that they enjoy their experience! Working on our research team provides great experience that can boost students’ research skills, and help build their resume.
Students may participate on our research team for credit hours. There are several options: Psych 397, Psych 399, and Honors Research. We also always welcome volunteers! Students can also receive funding for their work on our team through LUROP. For further information on joining our research team, read on.
As an undergraduate research assistant working in our lab as a volunteer or for credit, you can expect:
Ten hours per week of work in the lab or at off-campus data collection sites. This commitment includes time spent reading journal articles and chapters on learning and memory development; transcribing and coding; and attending lab meetings. Some students become involved in our ongoing data collection at the Chicago Children’s Museum.
Work with Dr. Haden, and her graduate students and other undergraduates on research. We have a number of different projects that provide students with a variety of research experiences, including the opportunity to present the work at regional and national conferences.
Experience with one or more behavioral coding systems. We videotape and audiotape our research participants. In addition to transcription, undergraduate research assistants become involved in coding the frequency of different types of talk used by parents and children.
Learn new computer software and hardware. We gather data on video and audio equipment, and then use special transcription (e.g., CLAN) and coding programs (e.g., Observer) to analyze the data. Students learn to use these programs. Students also help with data entry (in SPSS or Excel) and data analyses.
See cute kids! Either by helping us with data collection, or observing recordings of research participants, our research assistants have the opportunity to see children and their parents engage in a range of activities, such as playing on a pretend farm, and building skyscrapers.
For further information on joining our research team, please contact Dr. Haden.