Many undergraduate students participate on our research team each semester. Many stay for multiple semesters – which we take to be a good sign that they enjoy their experience! Working on our research team provides great experience that can boost students’ research skills, and help build their resume. Dr. Haden is happy to write recommendation letters for students who work in her lab.

As an undergraduate research assistant working in our lab as a volunteer or for credit, you can expect:

8-10  hours per week (minimum) in the lab or at off-campus data collection sites. This commitment includes time spent reading journal articles and chapters on learning and memory development; transcribing and coding; and attending lab meetings. Some students become involved in our ongoing data collection at local museums.

Work with Dr. Haden, her graduate students, the lab's Project Coordinator, and other undergraduates on research. We have a number of different projects that provide students with a variety of research experiences, including the opportunity to present the work at regional and national conferences.

Experience with one or more ways of coding. We videotape and audiotape our research participants. In addition to transcription, undergraduate research assistants become involved in coding the frequency of different types of talk used by parents and children.

Learn new computer software and hardware. We gather data on video and audio equipment and then use special transcription (e.g., CLAN) and coding programs (e.g., DataVyu) to analyze the data. Students learn to use these programs. Students also help with data entry (in SPSS or Excel) and data analyses.

Enjoy observing cute kids! Either by helping us with data collection, or observing recordings of research participants, our research assistants have the opportunity to see children and their parents engage in a range of activities, such as playing on a pretend farm, or building skyscrapers.

Course credit: Students may participate on our research team for credit hours. There are several options: Psyc 397, Psyc 399, and Honors Research. We also always welcome volunteers! Students can also receive funding for their work on our team through LUROP. Students can complete a Concentration in Research and receive a certificate from the Psychology Department for completing a two semester sequence of Psyc 399 and then Psyc 397. Please note Dr. Haden does not enroll 397 students who have not previously worked in her lab as a volunteer and/or as a 399 student.

Students interested in this option should contact Dr. Haden for more information.