Anyone in the lab is able (and encouraged!) to pursue an independent
project—or a collaborative project with others, as long as they are on
the IRB for that project and are meeting their regular lab expectations.
You are encouraged to think about what research questions you have, what
you are curious about, and what you want to know the answer to. If you
are unsure what are the kinds of questions you could ask, you are
encouraged to examine prior lab
publications and prior Honors theses by students in the lab (located
at the following location on the lab drive:
\\lc-rs-store24.hpc.uiowa.edu\lss_itpetersen\Lab\Publications\).
You may also meet with other members of the lab, including undergraduate
RAs, graduate students, lab staff, and Dr. Petersen, to hone your
research question(s) and hypotheses, to learn how to conduct and
interpret the analyses, and to learn how to write about/present your
findings, etc. Note: work related to independent projects is expected to
take place *outside* of your regular 10 hours in the lab.
If you are interested, you may pursue an Honors project and thesis,
as long as you have a full year available (and the time necessary) to
conduct the project and you meet the other expectations for Honors
projects described here. However, you
may also pursue an independent project without pursuing an Honors
project/thesis. Regardless of which path your pursue, you are encouraged
to present your findings at the UI Undergraduate Research Festival or
other conferences.
Please read all of the sections below; they provide resources to help
you succeed in your independent project and provide important
expectations regarding data confidentiality etc.
2 Overview of Honors
Options
Students may pursue Honors in the Psychology major through
lab-related work, either through a thesis or a non-thesis route. For
more information, see here: https://psychology.uiowa.edu/undergraduate/honors-psychology.
In general, students complete Honors theses during their senior year,
after they have firm footing in the lab (i.e., they have spent at least
1–2 semesters in the lab). Because the non-thesis capstones requires
additional coursework, students may pursue this option earlier than
their senior year. Please meet with Dr. Petersen to help decide which
might make the most sense given your goals. You are also encouraged to
meet with the Lab Coordinator and graduate students.
3 Expectations
3.1 Non-Thesis
Honors
If you are interested in conducting a non-thesis Honors, it is your
responsibility to contact Dr. Petersen. You are expected to send
Dr. Petersen a draft of the Pre-Launch Agreement for approval, and to
incorporate any edits/feedback from Dr. Petersen before submitting. The
Pre-Launch Agreement should be written so that it will be able to be
understood by a general audience (because people outside the lab
will review your pre-launch agreement). As a result, you should not use
lab- or study-specific terms or abbreviations without defining them and
saying why they are important. Dr. Petersen’s decision whether to
approve your proposal will depend on factors such as whether you are
meeting your regular lab expectations, whether you have the time
necessary, and your motivation.
The Honors Thesis process is (at least) a year-long process
(including summer) that must be initiated in collaboration with
Dr. Petersen. During this process, you are encouraged to register for
PSY:4990 or HONR:4990 (Honors Thesis or Project) to account for
the time commitment this project requires. If you are interested in
conducting an Honors thesis, it is your responsibility to contact
Dr. Petersen to set up a meeting (see below). Dr. Petersen’s decision
whether to approve your proposal will depend on factors such as whether
you are meeting your regular lab expectations, whether you have the time
necessary, the quality of your research question and hypotheses, your
motivation, and whether you have the skills and aptitude necessary for
successfully completing the project.
To help keep you on track to finish your project and thesis on this
timeline, Dr. Petersen expects you to meet with him once per month. It
is your responsibility to schedule the monthly meetings. In addition, it
is your responsibility to pair with a graduate student in the lab and to
meet regularly (at least monthly) with them to get feedback on your
ideas and writing, help with analysis, etc.
The first half of the year is spent formulating a research question
and hypotheses (based on the research literature), and writing the
Introduction and Method sections of the thesis. The second half of the
year is spent performing the data analysis to answer the research
question, writing the Results and Discussion sections of the thesis, and
presenting the findings at a poster conference (see below). The more
reading you do, before the “thesis year” begins, and the more you think
about what you are interested in, what questions you have, and what gaps
are in the literature that you can address with the lab’s data, the more
prepared you will be to complete your thesis on this timeline. Note:
work related to Honors theses is expected to take place *outside* of
your regular 10 hours in the lab. You can get academic credit for your
thesis research via the course entitled “Honors Thesis Research”
(PSY:4990).
Dr. Petersen expects you to present a research poster on your thesis
findings at the UI ICRU Undergraduate Research Festival during the final
semester in which you complete your thesis. It is your responsibility to
keep track of the registration deadlines for the Undergraduate Research
Festival so you do not miss it!
You must have two readers of the thesis who are familiar with the
topic. One reader will be Dr. Petersen. You will work with Dr. Petersen
to identify a second reader. The reader should be in the Department of
Psychological and Brain Sciences. You should work with your readers to
schedule your thesis defense. Your defense should take place no later
than Finals week so you can get Honors credit when you graduate etc. You
must send the completed final draft of your thesis to both Dr. Petersen
and the second reader at least one week prior to your defense. Read the
Cover Page Instructions for how to create your cover page, what you need
to have signed at your defense, and what you need to submit.
For more information on the School Readiness Study, you
are encouraged to read papers from the project, view the available
measures, examine the Data Dictionary, and see the pre-registered
hypotheses. These resources are available on the project page for the School Readiness Study.
There are many helpful resources on the lab drive for thesis
projects, including resources for data analysis, example theses, example
posters, cover page instructions, and helpful readings. You can find
these resources at the following location on the lab drive:
\\lc-rs-store24.hpc.uiowa.edu\lss_itpetersen\Lab\Miscellaneous\Honors Thesis\
We also have a page the clarifies the difference between mediation
and moderation here.
For information on which statistical test to use, see the statistical
decision tree in the lab’s Data Analysis Guides. For information on
how to use software for data analysis, see our data analysis guides:
Please note that we do not want these resources to be financial
barriers to completing an Honors thesis. You may be able to find many of
these at the library, and Dr. Petersen may be able to lend you a copy,
as well. Please talk with Dr. Petersen if these resources would be a
financial barrier.
5 Steps to Get
Started
5.1 Non-Thesis
Honors
Before you meet with Dr. Petersen, send Dr. Petersen a draft of your
pre-launch agreement form.
5.2 Honors Thesis
Before you meet with Dr. Petersen to come up with a thesis idea, (1)
think about what you would like to study, (2) begin to read up on it,
and (3) send Dr. Petersen a short document (1–2 paragraphs) describing
the following:
what you are interested in studying
why you are interested in studying it
what you have learned in doing reading on the topic (provide
citations)
what specific research question(s) you have
what measure(s) in our lab’s study you are interested in using for
each construct
what your hypotheses are
Do not spend too much time on the preliminary document, because it
will important for you to be flexible to the possibility that you may
end up examining a different question. Following the steps above will
help structure your conversation with Dr. Petersen in the most efficient
way.
In addition, send Dr. Petersen a draft of your pre-launch agreement
form before you meet with him.
6 Accessing the Lab
Drive
Your member folder on the lab drive (\Lab\Members\)
should be used for all thesis-related work. This is where you will find
your data file(s), and where you should save all writing and analysis
files. Please organize all thesis-related files into subfolders within
your member folder using this structure:
\Lab\Members\[Your HawkID]\Thesis\...subfolders below…
\Analysis\ -- put analysis scripts (SPSS, R, etc.) here
\Conference Abstract\ -- put your conference abstract here
\Data\ -- put data files here
\Figures\ -- put figures here
\Output\ -- put saved output files here
\Poster\ -- put your poster here
\Presentation\ -- put your presentation here
\Tables\ -- put your tables here
\Thesis\ -- put your Thesis document here (i.e., your paper)
To access the lab drive off-campus, you will need to set up VPN. For
instructions to set up VPN, see here.
7 Accessing Articles
through the UI Libraries
You should be able to access many, if not most, articles using Google Scholar. Other
databases include PsycInfo and PubMed. However, even
if an article is not freely available online and the university does not
provide access to the journal, you should be able to obtain the PDF of
any scientific article. If the PDF of article is not available
on Google Scholar,
you can easily get article PDFs through the university library system.
First, see if the university has access to the electronic/online version
of the journal by searching the name of the journal in Infohawk.
For instance, here is a search for the journal
Developmental Neuropsychology: https://search.lib.uiowa.edu/primo-explore/search?query=any,contains,Developmental%20Neuropsychology&search_scope=default_scope&vid=01IOWA
If the university does not have access to the journal, you can access
the PDF of any article, book chapter, or even the inter-library loan of
any book through the UI
Document Delivery System.
You can use whatever statistical software you prefer for your
project. Students in the lab frequently use SPSS
or jamovi,
though you are also welcome to use R
or other software. SPSS
and jamovi
have point-and-click interfaces and thus are the easiest to learn and
are the most commonly used for theses in the lab. Unlike SPSS, however, jamovi
is free, so you will be able to use it freely after you leave the
university. R
is also free, but it is code-based and has a steep learning curve. The
key goal is for your research to be reproducible (by you and others),
so—regardless of which software you use—having analysis scripts that can
reproduce your findings is important. Please follow the Data Analysis
Guide for the software package that you use to ensure you create
analysis scripts for reproducibility:
You can access SPSS
and R
through an online platform called UI Virtual Desktop. You can use
Virtual Desktop on campus or from home, but if you are off-campus, VPN
is required. For instructions to set up VPN, see here. Follow the steps below to
set up Virtual Desktop for the first time.
If this is your first time accessing Virtual Desktop on your
computer, you will need to install an application called Citrix
Receiver. In the process of logging into Virtual Desktop, you will
encounter a window that prompts you to install Citrix Receiver. Follow
the prompts on the screen to install the application.
Note: You must finish the installation before you can progress to
the next window
Follow the prompts on the screen to finish logging into Virtual
Desktop.
Once you are logged in, click the “Apps” tab at the top of the
screen. Scroll down and click “Map Network Drive.” This will prompt a
new window.
In the empty “Folder” textbox type the lab drive path:
\\lc-rs-store24.hpc.uiowa.edu\lss_itpetersen\Lab\
Click the “Finish” button at the bottom of the window.
Now, navigate back through the “Apps” section of Virtual Desktop to
find SPSS or R, and click it to open.
To open your data file in SPSS,
click “Open another file…” under “Recent Files.”
In the new window, click the drop-down menu under “Look in:” and
click the lab drive.
Click the “Members” folder and open your member folder to find your
data files. Once you have selected your data file, click “Open.”
Then, you are ready to analyze your data!
11 Important
Lab data must remain on the lab drive. Please make sure NOT to move
lab data off the lab drive or onto a personal computer. It is important
that you do not save any visit videos or lab files of any kind to your
personal computer, or take screenshots, Snapchats, etc. of any
lab-related documents.
You are expected to present a research poster on your thesis findings
at the UI Undergraduate Research Festival. You are encouraged (but not
required) to additionally present your research at other conferences, as
well. There are regional, national, and international conferences.
Presenting your work at conferences provides important importunities for
professional development. First, it helps people get important
experiences in how to communicate research (visually and in
conversation). Second, it helps people network with other researchers
who are interested in similar questions. Third, it makes people more
competitive for graduate school.
If you would you like to put together a conference submission
(abstract), it is your responsibility to put together a draft of the
abstract. We have example conference abstracts at the following location
on the lab drive:
\\lc-rs-store24.hpc.uiowa.edu\lss_itpetersen\Lab\Publications\Conference Abstracts\.
Feel free to let Dr. Petersen, the Lab Coordinator, and graduate
students know what you need (e.g., data, help with analysis, etc.) to
help you put together your abstract. We are happy to help you in the
process. If your conference submission is accepted, you will need to put
together a poster. We have example conference posters at the following
location on the lab drive:
\\lc-rs-store24.hpc.uiowa.edu\lss_itpetersen\Lab\Publications\Posters\.
You must send your draft to Dr. Petersen before you submit it because
(1) he is a co-author and is signing off on it by allowing it to be
submitted, and (2) he wants to give helpful feedback to give it the best
chance of being accepted.
Below is a list of potentially relevant conferences:
Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD): This international
conference is the most commonly attended conference by members of the
lab.
International Society for Research in Child and Adolescent
Psychopathology (ISRCAP)
International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development
(ISSBD)
Occasional Temperament Conference (OTC)
Flux: a conference that deals with developmental cognitive
neuroscience
Society for Research in Psychopathology (SRP)
International Congress of Infant Studies (ICIS)
Society for Research on Adolescence (SRA)
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP)
Association for Psychological Science (APS)
American Psychological Association (APA)
Midwestern Psychological Association (MPA)
Society for Psychophysiological Research (SPR)
National Council for Undergraduate Research (NCUR)
Social and Affective Neuroscience Society (SANS)
Society for Neuroscience (SFN)
Cognitive Development Society (CDS)
International Meeting of the Psychometric Society (IMPS)
Modern Modeling Methods (MMM)
World Association for Infant Mental Health (WAIMH)
International Association for Youth Mental Health (IAYMH)
14 Publishing
It is not common (or expected) to publish a thesis. However, there
may be opportunities to publish your thesis if you are interested.
Please talk to Dr. Petersen if you are interested in pursuing this.
publishing the thesis in a standard peer-reviewed journal
Publishing the thesis in a peer-reviewed journal will likely take
extensive additional time and work to prepare the thesis to be
publication-ready in terms of format and quality. Thus, it may require
close collaboration with a graduate student who is willing to support
this endeavor.
