Transcript Whitney Jeter`s Powerpoint
5 Tips for Being a Successful Graduate Researcher
Whitney K. Jeter
Graduate School
•
The Life of a Graduate Student
Study
What do current graduate students wish they would have known about conducting research before coming to grad school?
• N = 16 • Research area – Social (5) – Cognitive (3) – IO (4) – Neuroscience (4)
5 Tips for Conducting Graduate Research
• 1. Learn to balance coursework and assistantships – “I am a researcher with student responsibilities” • Research takes precedence • “Research is the currency of professional development” – Time-management • Plan out your week • Make “to-do” lists
5 Tips for Conducting Graduate Research
• 2. Avoid costly mistakes – Don’t bite off more than you can chew • Conduct feasible research projects – Make class projects worth your time and effort • Work smarter not harder
5 Tips for Conducting Graduate Research
• 3. Set reasonable goals and timelines – Understand the research process • Always be collecting data (multiple projects at a time) • “Be thinking, collecting, and writing all of the time” – Never too early to start developing a research area of focus • Read research articles • Pick things that interest you
5 Tips for Conducting Graduate Research
• 4. Get support from advisor and others – Talk to your advisor about his/her expectations and your expectations • Develop a social support system with other students – Ask questions!
• It is okay not to know how to do something
Imposter Phenomenon
• “The psychological experience of believing that one's accomplishments came about not through genuine ability, but as a result of – luck, having worked harder than others, or having manipulated other people's impressions” (Clance & Imes, 1978) • 3 signs (Langford & Clance, 1993) – The sense of having fooled others into overestimating your ability – Attributing success to something other than intelligence or merit –
Fear of being exposed as a fraud
5 Tips for Conducting Graduate Research
• 4. Get support from advisor and others – Talk to your advisor about his/her expectations and your expectations • Develop a social support system with other students – Ask questions!
• • It is okay not to know how to do something
You’re not the only one…
5 Tips for Conducting Graduate Research
• 5. Be passionate – You’ve got to love what you do • Very little return upfront for a big investment – Don’t get discouraged • • Or lose motivation
The importance of stupidity in scientific research
(Schwartz, 2008)
Resources
• Books and Articles
– Graduate Research: A Guide for Students in the Sciences – Schwartz, 2008 • The importance of stupidity in scientific research • Websites – “How to do Research” • http://www.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~silvia/research-tips/ – “How to do Graduate-Level Research” • https://www.google.com/#hl=en&output=search&sclient=psyab&q=T ips+for+graduate+researchers&oq • Ask graduate students at your university
Thank You!
Symposium Members: Dr. James Grice Dr. Roger Kirk Dr. Shelia Kennison Dr. Charles Burdsal Kansas State Graduate Students: Lora Peaden Jericho Hockett Judy LaValley Taylor Wadian Megan Strain Lesly Krome Stuart Miller David Arndt Kyle Van Ittersum Erik Garcia Emily Reinhardt Andrew Marshall My Advisor: Dr. Brenda McDaniel Jon Smyers Chelsea Schnabelrauch Michael Stetzer Trey Hill