Letter of Intent

[AcronymAllergy]

So I see another opportunity for research at my University (as a volunteer research assistant, in regards to neuropsychology research). Would I need to have some sort of experience for such a position? or could this be doing rudimentary tasks again?

It'll really depend on the lab and the specific role they're wanting to have you fill. There are certainly neuropsych labs where entry-level work (e.g., data entry) is available. If they want you doing something more than that (e.g., administering actual measures), then you might already need to be trained for that, or they might be willing to provide said training themselves.

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[psych84]

I'm lucky, I live in Ottawa Canada, and attend University of Ottawa. The medical school is very well respected, and we have one of the best Mental Health Centres in Canada/and maybe North America (Royal Ottawa). We also have the Heart Institute which is one of the best in North America, and people from all over Canada and even US come here.

 

[psych84]

What does it mean that you can get "credit" for being a research assistant?

 

[haRtwin]

What does it mean that you can get "credit" for being a research assistant?

Receiving course credit for being an RA, you mean?

 

[psych84]

Receiving course credit for being an RA, you mean?

It just says credit, so I wasn't sure if that meant course credit or some sort of other credit that I wasn't aware of.

 

[haRtwin]

Not entirely certain what "it" is, but I can describe the two ways in which my undergrad gave "credit" for being an RA.

Students could receive transcript recognition or academic credit for being an RA. For transcript recognition, students could enroll in a faculty-student research mentorship program that was listed on your transcript. It did not count for any credits and grades were satisfactory/unsatisfactory. All this did was make your research with a faculty member "official." For academic credit, students could sign up for 1-3 credits (you could repeat the course for a max of six credits toward the degree) and were expected to spend at least ~3-4 hours/credit/week. Then, at the end of the semester, you were given a letter grade. Don't know how grades were assigned, but I never heard of someone who did not get an A in the course. Both instances required you to enroll under a faculty member with their permission.

 

[psych84]

Thanks a lot HaRtwin.

This is the one I'm trying to get into, http://socialsciences.uottawa.ca/lavcrc-cvabrl/eng/, wish me luck.

 

[psych84]

btw, for volunteer purposes, do they generally ask you to send a transcript/ask for your gpa, or is that generally only required for the Honours (undergrad students) ?

My cgpa is a bit weak, but my last two is quite strong.

 

[haRtwin]

That generally depends on the lab. Some labs might ask you for those stats or maybe a CV, and others may not.

You might want to email the director of the lab and ask if there's any supplemental materials you can provide them.