What’s it like to be a research assistant in the PCDL?
It’s up to you. Unlike some research assistant positions which have students complete preassigned tasks, research assistant positions in the PCDL are much more open-ended. We bring people into the lab with the hope that (a) they will first learn everything they need to know to be a fully functioning member of the lab, and (b) they will later play a role in shaping the lab in some meaningful way. In this way, your experience might be very different from the experience of others — because it will be shaped by your goals and interests.
For whom is the PCDL a good fit?
It might be easier to first answer a different question: For whom is the PCDL not a good fit? We probably aren’t a great fit for someone who wants research experience but isn’t really interested in the sorts of questions we ask. It is okay if you’re interested in other research questions, too — it wouldn’t be a problem if you wanted to work in multiple labs at once, even — but you’ll probably have a better experience if there are some specific research questions in our lab that excite you.
That said, the PCDL is a good fit for anyone who is creative and curious. For anyone who is eager to be actively involved in the research process. For anyone who wants to have the opportunity to ask their own questions and run their own projects (after becoming familiar with the lab). If there are projects on our website that intrigue you, reach out! Tell us what’s exciting about those questions. We want to know what you’re passionate about, and that’s the best way we can assess if you’re a good fit for the lab.
What should you expect?
It is hard to say exactly what you should expect, because each person’s experience is going to be different. So the aim of this section is to give you a sense of what an average experience might be like.
The first weeks
We’ll try our best to make sure that you’re able to jump right into the action, but, even so, the first couple of weeks may be a bit slow. You’ll need time to learn the ropes — Where things are, who you should direct your questions to, what our lab policies are like, etc. We’ll meet with you a lot during this time to make sure that you’re receiving all that information that you need to be successful in the lab. We also have a lab manual that we’ll ask you to familiarize yourself with.
The main goal of the first few couple of weeks will be to figure out how you can best be engaged in the lab. We want to figure out who you’ll want to work with, what projects you want to be a part of, what your schedule will be like, etc.
The first semester
Typically, students spend at least one semester working on existing projects in the lab. It is rare, but not impossible, that students would begin their own projects in this time (for the simple reason that there’s usually a lot to learn before that can happen). But here are some of the things that we expect research assistants will have done within their first semester:
Present in lab meeting
Collect data from adult participants, either in lab, online, or both (likely for multiple projects)
(If applicable) Collect data from children, either in person, online, or both
Program new experiments (or at least begin the process of learning how to)
Analyze and visualize data
Discuss new project ideas
Gain meaningful expertise on at least one topic of interest in the lab via reading academic papers
Beyond
Beyond the first semester, students who are engaged and active in the lab should be well-equipped to take a deeper dive into research. Other students may feel that working in the lab isn’t living up to their expectations — which is totally okay. After the first semester, we’ll take time to evaluate whether your goals are being met. If they aren’t, we’ll help you to find a position (whether in another lab, or elsewhere) that better suits your goals.
For those students who wish to continue working in the lab, you’ll have a lot of say in what happens from here. Some students will be excited about remaining involved in research but won’t be ready to initiate a project of their own. That’s okay. We don’t require that students start projects of their own. There are many, many ways that students will be able to contribute to the lab, even if they are only working on existing projects. We’ll try to meet you where you are: We want to give you exactly as much autonomy over research projects as you’re ready to take on.
Other students will be eager at this point to initiate projects of their own. If that’s the case, we’ll do our best to facilitate and help grow those projects. But keep in mind that this doesn’t always happen right away. We only want to pursue projects if we think they’re going to be worthwhile, and sometimes it takes time to find the right questions. For students who are actively engaged in the lab over many months, however, it is usually inevitable that some neat questions will fall into our lap.
Students who remain in the lab for multiple semesters (and demonstrate their knowledge and dependability) will see their responsibilities grow in accordance with their experience. You may have the opportunity to work on several projects at once; you may have the opportunity to train other students; you may have the opportunity to present your work at academic conferences — and much more.
Our goal in the PCDL is to help students create value for themselves. Whether you want to go on to a career in academia or in industry, we want to help you learn generalizable skills and knowledge that will contribute to your success in the future. Regardless of your role in the lab, we’ll try to touch base with you at least once a semester (or more often if you’d like) to make sure we understand your goals and how we can help you achieve them.