Research Experience Scheme (RES)

  1. •The RES is aimed at undergraduate students (open to year one and year two students for autumn, spring and summer terms) who have an interest in gaining research experience. The scheme allows students to work together with staff members on ongoing research projects and in doing so develop practical skills in conducting empirical work in Psychology and consequently expanding their repertoire of employability and personal development skills.

  2. •Student and staff member participation is entirely voluntary.

  3. •The scheme does not link to the PS300 3rd year module. The Department cannot guarentee that RES supervisors will also serve as PS300 supervisors.  In addition, work that is accomplished during the RES period cannot be used as part of the PS300 project.

  4. •The RES allows students to gain valuable work and broad research experience. Students need to have no research skills before participating in the scheme. Rather, students will receive training on how to conduct research in different fields of experimental psychology. Tasks that students will help researchers with may include: library research, material construction, experimental design, data collection, data entry, data organisation, and data analysis.

  5. •The time commitment for students is set to five hours per week throughout the course of one term. No financial compensation is given for students’ participation. Upon successful completion, students will receive an official certificate signed by their supervisor and HoD documenting their participation in the RES. Students can also ask their supervisors for a reference letter at the end of the scheme.  Whether a reference letter is provided and the content of the paper will depend on each supervisor’s experiences working with the student.

  6. •Details of available RES supervisors will be provided on the Department’s website from the start of Autumn Term, together with a brief outline of the staff member’s research interest. This outline includes the research methodologies used by the member of staff. The website will also specify which members of staff will also be available for supervision outside term time.

  7. •Depending on the number of staff members participating in the scheme in any given term, there are only a limited number of places available. This makes the scheme highly competitive. Students can apply to participate in the RES as many times as they wish.

  8. •Students can work in a research area together with a staff member of their choice. Interested students will have to prepare an application, including a one page CV, and a short letter in which they clearly state why they are motivated to gain research experience/work together with this staff member (max. 500 words). This application needs to be send to the RES scheme organiser (Dr. Gethin Hughes) via email by the end of the first week after the start of term. Staff members will select students based on qualifications and research interests. It is at the staff member’s discretion to decide how many and which students to supervise. Students will receive written feedback on their application by the end of the third week of term. Some members of staff may ask the student to attend an initial meeting in which both parties can decide whether they want to work together. However, once the collaborative relationship between student and supervisor is established, the student commits to complete the RES for the duration of the term.

  9. •Experience gained in this scheme will develop student’s understanding of Psychology as a science and will allow students to gain first-hand experience and an insight into state-of-the-art research. Next to developing enhanced research skills, students will also receive training in transferable soft-skills (e.g. project management, communication, creative thinking, problem solving, team working). For students who are considering pursuing a research degree (Masters, PhD), the RES experience would be particularly valuable.