Research Opportunities
The Department of Psychology and Child Development offers many opportunities for students to become involved in the research process. Students may assist faculty members with ongoing research projects as research interns or research assistants. They may also conduct original research of their own, or they may serve as participants in research studies. The department and university also have facilities to support student researchers. Limited funding may also be available for some student projects. More information about each of these opportunities is provided below.
Become a Research Intern or Assistant
Many of our faculty members have active research programs. Qualified students may gain research experience working with faculty researchers who provide research internships, which are completed for course credit, and research assistantships, which are paid. Students interested in pursuing a graduate degree in psychology or child development, especially those with interests in pursuing a Ph.D., will find these opportunities particularly valuable. If you have not decided whether or not you will pursue a graduate degree, getting hands-on experience doing research would provide a wonderful opportunity to see if a graduate degree is of interest to you, as most graduate programs, in particular doctoral programs, require that students do research.
Both research interns and assistants may be involved in many tasks, such as library research, data collection and entry, data analysis, and writing.
Research Internships
Many students obtain research experience by doing one or more quarters of an unpaid research internship that counts as one of the required fieldwork experiences (PSY 448 or PSY 449, CD 330 or CD 430). Alternatively, students may get course credit by signing up for an independent study (PSY 200/400, CD 200/ 400); this may count as an advisor approved elective. See our listing of faculty currently seeking unpaid student research interns (pdf).
Research Assistantship
Some faculty researchers have funding from grants to hire paid student research assistants. See our listing of faculty currently to hire paid student research assistants (pdf) In most cases, students who work with faculty in this capacity do not also receive course credit for their research involvement.
Additional Information
Please keep in mind that most faculty researchers will want student research interns and research assistants to have completed one or more research methods courses with good grades (PSY 329, PSY 333, CD 329) before agreeing to include them in their research. You should probably choose to do research with a professor whose interests match your intended graduate school specialization. For instance, if you would like to pursue a degree in clinical psychology, you should do research with someone who is a clinical or counseling psychologist. See our listing of faculty interests (pdf).
Conduct Your Own Research
Students have several opportunities to conduct original research as part of their academic training in Psychology and Child Development. For example, all majors must complete a senior project. One option is to conduct a research study including data collection and analysis. This type of senior project is recommended for those students planning to pursue doctorate degrees, such as a PhD. For more information on senior projects see the information listed on either the Psychology or Child Development undergraduate program pages.
Please note that students collecting data with human participants must first receive approval from Cal Poly's Human Subjects Committee. Students who plan to use PSY 202 students as research participants will want to follow the procedures described here. Make sure to consult your senior project advisor or instructor for guidance in this process.
Limited funding for student research projects is available through the department's Student Research Opportunities Program. This program reimburses students for research expenses and travel for presentation of research at professional conferences. The department offers funding for student research projects up to $350, although reimbursements of up to $500 are sometimes awarded if the student is a first student-author on a peer-reviewed presentation at a professional conference and the reimbursement request includes travel expenses. Students must submit an application (pdf). Award decisions are made by a faculty committee.
Some additional undergraduate funding opportunities and research competitions are listed on Cal Poly's Research and Graduate Programs website.
Participate in Research Studies
Students may voluntarily choose to serve as research participants in faculty and student research projects. Such research participation allows students to gain experience with the various methods of psychological and developmental scientific inquiry. Further, serving as a research participant supports faculty and fellow students as they pursue their research projects.
The Department of Psychology and Child Development invites all eligible students to consider becoming a research participant. In specified classes, such as introductory psychology (PSY 202), students have the option of earning credit toward course requirements by writing a 2-3 page reflection on their participation in a research study (or by writing a 4-5 page paper based on several research articles on reserve in the library). If you are a PSY 202 student make sure to check your syllabus or the PSY 202 website for more detailed assignment information.
Generally, participation in a study will take 40-50 minutes, although it is often less. Participants are always free to withdraw from a study at any time, and all information collected will be kept in strict confidence. Please see our listing of current research participation opportunities and sign-ups.
Access Research Facilities
Student Research Center
A facility for students to use as they engage in research-related activities is available in Building 47, Room 21P. This is a small research lab comprised of two computer/video coding stations. An on-line scheduling system has been established for students to use to reserve times to use this facility. Students should talk with their faculty advisor about how to access this system and schedule research time.
Faculty Research Labs
Several faculty members have access to dedicated research space that their student interns or assistants may use. Students working with these faculty members will learn more about these facilities as needed.
Campus Computer Labs
Students also have access to numerous computer labs on campus which are equipped with up-to-date software to support data entry and analysis and electronic searches of the research literature.
The Department of Psychology and Child Development is seeking funding to expand our research facilities. Please see How To Give which can be found under our Alumni link (link to Alumni page).