November 18, 2009
Advertisements for Research Assistant (RA) Positions
in the Psychology Department
other than the NSERC UG Research Award Positions
(e.g., Volunteer, Paid, and Psych 264/464 Positions)
TO STUDENTS:
Why is research experience important for undergraduate students? Click here for details.
At least 50 students per term, particularly in the Fall and Winter terms, serve as volunteer research assistants (RA) in the Psychology Department. These positions typically involve a commitment of 3-5 hours per week. Year 2 is not too early for such a position.
Approximately 60 students per year receive academic credit for being a volunteer research assistant (refer to Psych 264/464). These positions involve a commitment of 8 hours per week for 13 weeks. Enrolment in Psych 264 or 464 (Research Apprenticeship Courses) requires approval beforehand by the course supervisor and the Undergraduate Chairman in the Psychology Department. Click here for further details about these courses and the course application form.
Forty to 60 students per term (typically 3rd and 4th year students) are paid research assistants in our department.
Most research assistant positions in the department are not advertised so networking is critical for securing such a position!
Speak to individual faculty members about the opportunities that are available in their labs (also ask for referrals). Click here for the contact information and research interests of faculty members in our department. Click here for tips on approaching faculty members for research positions.
Also ask graduate students in the department (e.g., your teaching assistants for courses) if they are aware of any research opportunities.
TO FACULTY MEMBERS AND GRADUATE STUDENTS:
If you are looking for research assistants (volunteer, paid, or Psych 264 or 464 students) for the current or next school term, please submit the details to Theresa as soon as possible for posting on this page. We receive many inquiries from students looking for research positions in the department so this is a very good way to advertise any opportunities in your lab.
CURRENT POSTINGS
Volunteer RAs or Psych 264 or 464 positions - Fall 2009 and Winter 2010
Fernandes Lab
Contact: Dr. Myra Fernandes (mafernan@uwaterloo.ca)
Research areas: memory, emotion, aging
Duties: Participant recruitment and running, data collection, data coding. Phone contact with Senior citizens. Involvement in data analysis is optional.
Volunteer RA Qualifications: Reliable student motivated to work in a team setting; well organized with good communication skills. Computer skills are an asset.
How to apply: Send email with resume and unofficial transcript to Dr. Fernandes mafernan@uwaterloo.ca
Volunteer RAs (2 positions)
Clinical Psychology
Dr. David Moscovitch & Dubravka (Dee) Gavric (graduate student)
Research Area: Our research focuses on social anxiety and the underlying mechanisms important in this complex disorder. The current study is looking at the impact of social anxiety on negotiation performance. Previous research has demonstrated that socially anxious negotiators perform poorly in simulated negotiations in contrast to their non-socially anxious peers. Interestingly, one of the key factors responsible for this compromised performance has been found to be attentional focus. That is, it has been demonstrated that socially anxious individuals have a tendency to focus attention on their own internal processes, which interferes with their ability to focus on the negotiation task. The current research is examining the effects of an intervention designed to target attentional focus. This area of research will help clarify the relationship between social anxiety and negotiation, and has important implications for workplace settings.
Duties: We are looking for 2 Research Assistants (RAs) to assist in all aspects of running a laboratory experiment (scheduling participants, preparing study materials, running sessions, entering data etc.). Depending on the skill and interest of the RA, there are may be additional research opportunities (e.g., data analyses, future research projects).
Qualifications: We are looking for RAs who have a strong academic background with a keen interest in clinical psychology and research. Applicants should have excellent organizational, verbal, and interpersonal skills. In addition, applicants should be reliable, motivated, and work well both independently and as part of a research team.
Time Commitment: Approximately 6-10 hours per week.
How to apply: Please submit: (1) Curriculum Vitae or Resume and (2) Unofficial transcript (e.g., printout from Quest pasted into a word document); and, (3) a brief description of how you meet the qualifications, your research interests, and reasons for wanting to volunteer in our lab. Please send these three documents, along with any questions, to dgavric@uwaterloo.ca with the subject heading “RA position – Moscovitch lab”.
Volunteer RAs (2 positions)
Behavioural Neuroscience
Dr. James Danckert & Colleen Merrifield (graduate student)
Research Area: We are interested in understanding how certain attention-related cognitive processes contribute to the experience of boredom.
Duties: We are looking for 2 Research Assistants (RAs) to assist in running experiments employing computer-based and paper and pencil tasks. RAs will also be responsible for keeping track of and preparing study materials and entering data. Depending on the skill and interest of the RA, there may be additional research opportunities (eg. data analyses, future research projects).
Qualifications: We are looking for RAs who have a strong academic background with a keen interest in research. In addition, applicants should be organized, reliable, and work well both independently and as part of a research team. Computer skills (such as programming in E-Prime or Superlab) are an asset but not a requirement.
How to apply: Please submit: (1) Curriculum Vitae or Resume and (2) Unofficial transcript (e.g., printout from Quest pasted into a Word document); and, (3) a brief description of how you meet the qualifications, your research interests, and reasons for wanting to volunteer in our lab. Please send these three documents, along with any questions, to clmerrif@uwaterloo.ca with the subject heading "RA position - Danckert lab".
Volunteer or Paid RAs - Fall 2009
Dr. Dave Nussbaum
Contact: William Hall (wmhall@uwaterloo.ca)
Position Description: We are recruiting potential Research Assistants for the psychology department social division. RA duties may include recruiting and running participants, data entry, data cleaning, coding, and preparing research materials.
Research Area: Social psychology -- stereotype threat, self-image maintenance, judgment and decision making, and constraint satisfaction. Positions may be volunteer or paid.
Qualifications: Candidates must be organized, effective communicators, able to work independently, and able to balance work and school demands. Past research experience and computer skills are preferred but not required.
Time commitment: Approximately 8-10 hours per week.
Benefits to you:
- Learn more about research and graduate school.
- Possibility for reference letters.
- Get help with one's own studies.
- Looks good on resume.
- Meet other people interested in psychology.
How to apply: Please send an email with your resume and an unofficial transcript (e.g., printout from Quest) to William Hall.
Volunteer RAs - Fall 2009
Clinical Psychology
Dr. Christine Purdon & Andrea Nelson (graduate student)
Research Area: We are interested in understanding the development, persistence and treatment of anxiety disorders. Currently, we are looking at whether people overly-attend to threat-relevant stimuli when they are anxious, and/or whether they have trouble disengaging their attention from threat. We are also interested in individual differences in attentional control and the impact that this has on attentional biases over time. This work is done in close collaboration with Dr. Dan Smilek who is a leading expert on attention.
Duties: We are looking for Research Assistants (RAs) to assist in running experiments using an eye tracking system for the fall term. RAs will also be responsible for preparing study materials and entering data. Depending on the interest of the RA, there are opportunities to be involved in data analyses, literature searches, writing and collaborating in the design and execution of future research projects.
Qualifications: We are looking for RAs who have a strong academic background with a keen interest in clinical psychology and research. Applicants should also have excellent organizational and interpersonal skills, be reliable and work well independently.
Time Commitment: Approximately 4-8 hours per week.
Benefits: RAs in our lab will acquire research experience that is important for admission to the Honours thesis program and to graduate school in experimental or clinical psychology. There is also the potential for letters of recommendation from Dr. Christine Purdon.
How to apply: Please submit: (1) Curriculum Vitae or Resume and (2) Unofficial transcript (e.g., printout from Quest pasted into a word document); and, (3) a brief description of your academic and research interests and the reasons for wanting to volunteer in our lab. Please send these three documents, along with any questions, to a3nelson@uwaterloo.ca.
Volunteer RAs, 264/464 students - Fall 2009
Contact: Mathieu Le Corre (mlecorre@uwaterloo.ca)
Research areas: The development of mathematical cognition in four-year-olds. The project looks at how children learn to integrate number words (“one” to “ten”) with non-verbal knowledge of number and at how knowledge of number changes as this integration takes place. For more information on my research see, psychology.uwaterloo.ca/people/faculty/mlecorre/index.html.
Positions may be volunteer or for credit through PSYCH 264 or 464. If a volunteer turns out to be a good match for the lab and desires to keep working in the lab in future semesters, the volunteer position can become a paid position.
Duties: Phoning daycares in the KW area and recruiting them for our project, overseeing the recruitment of children in daycares that give us permission to run our study in their facility, going to daycares to test children, analyzing data.
Time commitment: Approximately 6-10 hours per week.
Qualifications: I am looking for someone who has good interpersonal skills, who is comfortable around children, who is autonomous, reliable, careful, and detail-oriented. Students who are interested in psychological research and who are pursuing a career in a domain related to psychology preferred. Previous experience working with young children will be highly valued.
How to apply: Please send me an email with your resume and an unofficial transcript (e.g., printout from Quest). In your email, explain why you are interested in working in my lab, and mention any experience you have had taking care of or working with young children. Also, mention whether you have a valid driver’s license (not necessary but would be useful for getting to daycares).
Paid or Volunteer RAs, 264/464 students - Fall 2009
Contact: David Cwir (ddcwir@gmail.com)
Research areas: Social Psychology – self-affirmation, emotion and affect, intergroup relations, goal pursuit, social connections. Positions may be volunteer, paid, or for credit through PSYCH 264 or 464.
Duties: Recruiting participants for experiments, running participants through the experiments, and data entry.
Time commitment: Approximately 8-10 hours per week.
Qualifications: We are looking for someone who is independent, well-organized and reliable. Students who are interested in psychological research and who are pursuing a career in a domain related to psychology preferred. Previous research experience is an asset but is not required.
How to apply: Please send an email with your resume and an unofficial transcript (e.g., printout from Quest) to David Cwir.
Volunteer RAs - Fall 2009 & Winter 2010
Social and Health Psychology
Dr. Geoffrey T. Fong & Omid Fotuhi (graduate student)
Research Area: Social psychology/Health psychology: The health psychology lab will be conducting research on smoking behaviour and perceptions of smoking through a series of online studies, in-lab experiments, and community sample studies. Current areas of interest include normative beliefs about smokers in a university population, relationship satisfaction on perceptions of smoking, depression and smoking, and the effectiveness of recent smoking policies. Students interested in Social Psychology and Health Psychology will have the opportunity to work with graduate students on innovative research projects in the tobacco control field. This allows students to be deeply involved in a project and gain a solid understanding of process of designing and conducting a study.
Duties: We are looking for Research Assistants to assist in recruiting and contacting research participants; running experiments; HTML programming; managing web-based studies; coding and entering data; preparing materials for studies; and conducting or organizing literature research. RAs will meet with the graduate students on a regular basis to discuss the progress of the study, and collaborate in the design of future studies. An average of 5 to 10 hours a week can be expected. Evenings or weekends are also possible, in case weekdays are not feasible.
Qualifications: The ideal candidate will be well organized, have an interest in psychological research, able to work independently, and keen to learn. Past research experience and computer skills are preferred but not required.
How to apply: Please submit: (1) Resume; (2) Unofficial transcript (e.g., printout from Quest pasted into a word document); and, (3) a cover letter. Please send these three documents, along with any questions, to ofotuhi@artsmail.uwaterloo.ca, or call 519-496-4525.
Volunteer RA - Fall 2009
Dr. Jonathan Fugelsang
Contact: Erin Maloney (eamalone@uwaterloo.ca)
Research areas: Cognitive Psychology – mathematics anxiety, numerical processing
Duties: Recruiting participants (students), preparing materials, running experiments, and entering data. Approximately 10 hours per week. There are more hours available if you are interested.
Qualifications: We are looking for a reliable, organized and self-motivated student who is interested in learning about research in psychology, particularly about numerical cognition. Basic computer skills are mandatory. Previous research experience is an asset but not required.
How to apply: Send an email containing a short paragraph explaining why you are interested in volunteering in this particular lab to Erin Maloney (eamalone@uwaterloo.ca).
Volunteer RA - Fall 2009
Contact: Joanne Wood (jwood@uwaterloo.ca)
Research areas: Social Psychology – emotion and mood regulation, self-esteem, close relationships, self-disclosure and expressivity.
Duties: Laboratory duties include recruiting participants for experiments, preparing task materials, running participants through study tasks, coding study responses, and data entry.
Time commitment: Approximately 5-10 hours per week.
Qualifications: We are looking for a reliable, independent, organized and self-motivated individual who is interested in learning about research in psychology. Student must also be an effective communicator and have basic computer skills. Previous research experience is an asset but is not required.
How to apply: Please send an email with your resume and an unofficial transcript to Dr. Joanne Wood.
Volunteer RA - Fall 2009
Dr. Jonathan Fugelsang and Dr. Jennifer Stolz
Contact: Nathaniel Barr (nbarr@uwaterloo.ca)
Research areas: Cognitive Psychology - causal reasoning and associative processes.
Duties: Recruiting participants, preparing materials, and running experiments. Approximately 5-10 hours per week. There are more hours available if you are interested.
Qualifications: We are looking for a reliable and organized student who is interested in learning about research in cognitive psychology. Basic computer skills are mandatory. Previous research experience is an asset but not required.
How to apply: Send an email containing a short paragraph explaining why you are interested in volunteering in this particular lab to Nathaniel Barr (nbarr@uwaterloo.ca).
