Linh Hoang

Research is an important skill to have, and within the field of Psychology, it is a skill that is constantly utilized. In such, research is a skill that must be built upon and strengthened. One of the first skills to perform research effectively is to understand what the information presented is trying to say. In my Future of Psychology paper. I specifically examine the relationship of the supposed feminization in the current psychology field and the implications this currently has and may have in the future as the field advances. To build upon my thesis, I had to be able to understand the information presented in my different resources and make sure the information I was taking was ethical and representative of what the original author said or intended. That also meant that I had to make sure to credit the author, when applicable to separate where I was taking information from a source and when it was my own personal idea. With psychology, most of the research is written academically, which is very hard to understand when you first read them. It was a huge shock for me at first, since it was very different from all the previous sources that I had used.  By having to use academic sources, I was able to practice and continually work to improve my information literacy skills.

 

It is important to understand the material presented, but to advance a claim or argument, you must be able to take the information presented and synthesize it as well. In my Social Psychology Relevancy paper , I argued the importance of teaching mindfulness in schools, and specifically in adolescents. In this paper, there is a clear thesis I am trying to assert. Working on this project gave me the ability not only to understand and organize the information about the different studies but also to take that information and apply it to my hypothesis.

 

The skills I gained from my previous experiences were beneficial when I conducted my own personal research project called Different Sexes and Perceived Severity of Emotional and Sexual Infidelity . This project one of the first original experiments I conducted. The experiment examined how different sexes perceived the severity of emotional and sexual infidelity, but also how a person would perceive infidelity if they were the ones committing the act or if they had caught their partner in the act instead. This was the first time I was completely forming an experiment that was being built solely upon a research topic that was chosen by me. To build my research question, I had looked upon previous scientific studies that surrounded the subject of infidelity. This was also an experiment where I could make causal claims, as most of my previous independent research was more correlational in nature. This project taught me the different things a person should consider when conducting a research experiment, like what type of experiment to conduct and how to take the information I had gained from my literature review and apply that to my research project. Doing my own research also taught me to reflect on it afterward. Using the research skills I had been building, I was able to see the different flaws of the study so I would be able to improve the experiment if I were ever to conduct it again in the future.

  

 Taking the skills that I had developed in my previous research, I put them to the test when I worked in Dr. Brown's Research Team. On his team, I worked as an undergraduate assistant alongside a graduate assistant. Specifically, I am part of the Ready to Learn project, which examines a program of the same name at the YWCA that serves to help children of immigrant or refugee families be prepared when entering kindergarten. We worked as analytical support for the program, as they had suffered from the inconsistency of their scores and thus, lacked validity within their project. Being on the team allowed me to strengthen my skills in research, as I had worked to collect academic research articles to support our research during my first year on the project. This helped me improve on my literacy skills, which was beneficial when I had done research in my classes, like with my Future of Psychology paper.  While I was on the project, I was also given the opportunity to present my research at the National Conference of Undergraduate Research (NCUR) and at the Undergraduate Research Symposium (URS). The process showed me all the intricacies it takes to present research, whether that be from just submitting the abstract, creating the poster, and presenting the poster at the conference. When you are presenting research, you must be able to convey the information to a wide audience. It was the cumulation of all the research skills that I had been working on throughout my college career.

 

Each of the experiences helped me build upon my research skills and further refine them. The ability to critically look at the material to strengthen and express your ideas is a skill that is beneficial, whether that be in my own personal life and in my professional career. In a climate in which the loudest voices may not be speaking the truth, it is important to have strong research skills to determine validity, but also to assert your ideas as well.