Okay, so I wanna share my experience with psychology research as an undergrad. It was kinda wild, not gonna lie.
First off, I knew I was interested in psychology, but textbooks are just textbooks, ya know? I needed something… real. So, I started snooping around the psych department. I literally just walked into professors’ offices and asked if they needed any help. Super awkward, but gotta put yourself out there!
One professor, Dr. Lee, was working on a study about how social media affects teenagers’ self-esteem. Sounded kinda interesting, so I jumped on board. At first, it was a lot of grunt work. I spent weeks coding (like, labeling) interview transcripts. Imagine hours and hours of listening to teenagers talk about Instagram. My brain was fried!
But, here’s the thing, even the grunt work was insightful. I started noticing patterns in the way these kids talked about themselves. It was way more nuanced than just “social media bad.”
Then, Dr. Lee started letting me help with data analysis. I learned how to use SPSS, which is like, the dinosaur of statistical software, but hey, it works! I remember one late night, staring at a bunch of numbers, trying to figure out if there was any statistical significance. My eyes were crossing!
We ran a bunch of t-tests and ANOVAs (don’t ask me to explain them now, my brain has purged that knowledge). And then, BAM! We found a small but significant correlation between the amount of time spent on social media and feelings of inadequacy. It wasn’t earth-shattering, but it was something!
After that, I got to help with writing the research paper. Which, honestly, was harder than the data analysis. Trying to explain complex ideas in a clear and concise way is a real skill. I rewrote the introduction like, a million times.
And guess what? The paper got published! Not in some fancy-schmancy journal, but still, it was out there. I even got my name on it as a co-author. That felt pretty darn good.
So, what did I learn? A ton! I learned about the research process, from start to finish. I learned about statistics, data analysis, and academic writing. But most importantly, I learned that psychology is way more complex and interesting than I ever thought.
My advice to anyone thinking about getting involved in research: Just do it! Don’t be afraid to ask questions, even if they seem dumb. And be prepared to do some boring work. But trust me, it’s worth it in the end. Plus, it looks great on your resume!
Here are some quick bullet points on what I actually did:
- Reached out to professors (cold emails and office visits – scary but effective!).
- Assisted with participant recruitment (flyers, online ads, etc.).
- Conducted literature reviews (aka, spent hours on Google Scholar).
- Coded interview transcripts (tedious, but insightful).
- Analyzed data using SPSS (a statistical software package).
- Helped write the research paper (editing, proofreading, rewriting).
- Presented our findings at a small conference (public speaking = terrifying!).
It was a lot of work, but I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything. It totally solidified my decision to pursue psychology as a career. Plus, now I can BS my way through any conversation about research methods! Just kidding (mostly).
Final Thoughts
Seriously though, if you’re an undergrad even remotely interested in psych, get involved in research. It’s a game-changer.
