Honors Thesis

[DCJD24]

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I will be applying to programs in the fall. I will also be starting my honors thesis in the fall and finishing it in Spring '12.

I know having an honors thesis is viewed favorably - is this still the case if I am in the middle of my honor's thesis when I apply?

 

[GreenAcademe]

Since, generally, you complete an honors thesis during your final academic year as an undergrad there is 1) no way to avoid applying mid-thesis unless you want to wait till after you graduate to apply and 2) all other applicants at your level will be applying the same way... So yeah. Don't worry about it. Just be able to talk intelligently about it if you interview in Spring.

 

[mvan1]

Since, generally, you complete an honors thesis during your final academic year as an undergrad there is 1) no way to avoid applying mid-thesis unless you want to wait till after you graduate to apply and 2) all other applicants at your level will be applying the same way... So yeah. Don't worry about it. Just be able to talk intelligently about it if you interview in Spring.

^ This. I was midway through my Capstone when applying and it was not an issue though I was asked questions regarding it.

 

[DCJD24]

Great - thank you! That makes me feel better.

 

[riceowl2012]

*

 

[JuniperTree]

Hi, kind of unrelated but I just decided that I am going to do an honor's thesis next year and with that decision have started struggling. I just have no idea what type of project I'm going to do. I want it to fascinate me and be closely related to my future plans, which is to get into clinical neuropsychology. The problem is I am pretty sure I would not be able to work with any type of clinical patients for this project. So then I start thinking that I can do some basic research that could eventually be tied into something neuropsychological. But then I get stuck. The grad student who is helping me out right now said to just start doing some background research, but I honestly have no idea where to start. All the research I have been an RA for in the past has been mainly centered in either language or memory, and I find these areas interesting but they're still so broad. Any suggestions for getting this project off the ground would be greatly appreciated. Should I just start reading articles until something catches my attention or is this a bad plan?

I second this question.

 

[mvan1]

I would recommend talking to faculty at your school and seeing if there is another prof you can work with who has research interests similar to yours. While you may not have access to a certain population, it is possible they have pre existing data you can work with and expand on for your capstone

 

[AgapeBlue]

Should I just start reading articles until something catches my attention or is this a bad plan?

I second this question.

And I third this.

Comb the databases and start reading studies until you find something that really resonates with you.

Have fun!

AB🙂

 

[JuniperTree]

I would recommend talking to faculty at your school and seeing if there is another prof you can work with who has research interests similar to yours. While you may not have access to a certain population, it is possible they have pre existing data you can work with and expand on for your capstone

The problem with small liberal arts colleges is that this is not really possible. The data they have is mostly from Experimental Psych classes which is great but not helpful for a thesis.

And I third this.

Comb the databases and start reading studies until you find something that really resonates with you.

Have fun!

AB🙂

Thanks! I've been reading and the only way that an honors thesis seems doable for me is to do a literature review.
I would much prefer to do a thesis that actually involved my participating in data collection or analysis.
I would also prefer being mentored by more than one (very preoccupied) professor. (No one else is in research in my institution)
And it would be nice if the school would give me credits for this as well... so you see I have to figure this out on my own, hence my seconding the question.
Any advice would be most appreciated.

 

[DCJD24]

The problem with small liberal arts colleges is that this is not really possible. The data they have is mostly from Experimental Psych classes which is great but not helpful for a thesis.

Thanks! I've been reading and the only way that an honors thesis seems doable for me is to do a literature review.
I would much prefer to do a thesis that actually involved my participating in data collection or analysis.
I would also prefer being mentored by more than one (very preoccupied) professor. (No one else is in research in my institution)
And it would be nice if the school would give me credits for this as well... so you see I have to figure this out on my own, hence my seconding the question.
Any advice would be most appreciated.

Hi there - I totally get your dilemma. I go to a tiny liberal arts college as well so I understand the lack of access we have. Obviously, you will not be able to get to deep into neuropsych. This is not my research interest but what people have done at my college was to look into cognitive processes...or something like memory recall. These types of studies can easily be done at your college and is related to the brain. Research factors that affect memory recall or other cognitive processes - then build your study from there.

Also, I second what the person said about looking at what past students have done at your college. Our past student's theses are available for us to review. Part of it is to critique at the end of the thesis, the limitations of your study and how you would improve it the next time. Check the critique section and you can get an idea of what you can do. Remember: ALL research builds upon findings of past research.

Hope this helps. And good luck!

 

[Psychcs]

Hmm.... Will I be at a disadvantage if I do not do my honors thesis?
Not that my GPA cant make the mark but due to some reasons....
Anyone care to fill me in?

 

[madtofu]

For those of you at small liberal arts colleges, are you near a larger school that has an undergrad research practicum? I went to a very research-focused psych program at an urban university and we occasionally had students from other schools in the area register for research practicum hours there in order to get undergrad research experience they couldn't get at their own schools.

 

[DCJD24]

For those of you at small liberal arts colleges, are you near a larger school that has an undergrad research practicum? I went to a very research-focused psych program at an urban university and we occasionally had students from other schools in the area register for research practicum hours there in order to get undergrad research experience they couldn't get at their own schools.

I agree - I have been able to find great research positions at a local university.

For the previous poster asking whether he should do a thesis - if it is available to you, DO IT. Programs want to see that we are capable of doing independent research. It certainly is an advantage.

 

[ThirdLittleBird]

Hi, kind of unrelated but I just decided that I am going to do an honor's thesis next year and with that decision have started struggling. I just have no idea what type of project I'm going to do. I want it to fascinate me and be closely related to my future plans, which is to get into clinical neuropsychology. The problem is I am pretty sure I would not be able to work with any type of clinical patients for this project. So then I start thinking that I can do some basic research that could eventually be tied into something neuropsychological. But then I get stuck. The grad student who is helping me out right now said to just start doing some background research, but I honestly have no idea where to start. All the research I have been an RA for in the past has been mainly centered in either language or memory, and I find these areas interesting but they're still so broad. Any suggestions for getting this project off the ground would be greatly appreciated. Should I just start reading articles until something catches my attention or is this a bad plan?

My honor's thesis had nothing to do with my future goals in research. In fact, it is not even clinical in nature, rather it is social. I struggled for a topic for a while, and woke up one morning to the anniversary of a major event in my life, and my idea sprouted from there. My thesis has won an award and is being published, which I believe is far greater a statement to my abilities as an independent researcher than it would have been had I taken the neuropsych route and had limited resources to provide a top-notch research project as an undergrad.

Just my opinion and experience, but I suggest you pick a topic for which you can create an outstanding research project based on the resources available to you now. Then, submit it to every place you can find that recognizes undergraduate research (Psi Chi journals, local psych association, etc.).

 

[JuniperTree]

Hi there - I totally get your dilemma. I go to a tiny liberal arts college as well so I understand the lack of access we have. Obviously, you will not be able to get to deep into neuropsych. This is not my research interest but what people have done at my college was to look into cognitive processes...or something like memory recall. These types of studies can easily be done at your college and is related to the brain. Research factors that affect memory recall or other cognitive processes - then build your study from there.

Also, I second what the person said about looking at what past students have done at your college. Our past student's theses are available for us to review. Part of it is to critique at the end of the thesis, the limitations of your study and how you would improve it the next time. Check the critique section and you can get an idea of what you can do. Remember: ALL research builds upon findings of past research.

Hope this helps. And good luck!

Thank you. I hope I'll have enough support for this to be viable, but over this summer might plan it. I am not aware of any students having done a senior thesis in my school in the past 5 years at least.

What about publishing new norms for a test? Would this look good for grad school?

For those of you at small liberal arts colleges, are you near a larger school that has an undergrad research practicum? I went to a very research-focused psych program at an urban university and we occasionally had students from other schools in the area register for research practicum hours there in order to get undergrad research experience they couldn't get at their own schools.

What is an undergrad research practicum? We are near several large schools and I have been applying for positions in some of them, but have not been successful (my school does not teach SPSS and although I've been trying to learn on my own I wonder if it is compromising my CV.)

I agree - I have been able to find great research positions at a local university.

For the previous poster asking whether he should do a thesis - if it is available to you, DO IT. Programs want to see that we are capable of doing independent research. It certainly is an advantage.

This is why I am so determined to do it. I have so few opportunities to show I am capable of independent research that I feel I must do a senior thesis.
Can I call it a senior thesis if my school does not consider it such?

My honor's thesis had nothing to do with my future goals in research. In fact, it is not even clinical in nature, rather it is social. I struggled for a topic for a while, and woke up one morning to the anniversary of a major event in my life, and my idea sprouted from there. My thesis has won an award and is being published, which I believe is far greater a statement to my abilities as an independent researcher than it would have been had I taken the neuropsych route and had limited resources to provide a top-notch research project as an undergrad.

Just my opinion and experience, but I suggest you pick a topic for which you can create an outstanding research project based on the resources available to you now. Then, submit it to every place you can find that recognizes undergraduate research (Psi Chi journals, local psych association, etc.).

Before this thread, I had no idea how important this is. Thank you. That's important to know about submitting it.

 

[madtofu]

What is an undergrad research practicum? We are near several large schools and I have been applying for positions in some of them, but have not been successful (my school does not teach SPSS and although I've been trying to learn on my own I wonder if it is compromising my CV.)

At my school, it was basically a way to get credit for assisting in someone's research. (We also had a teaching practicum and community practicum.) The majority of the people who did research practicum used the time to do their honors thesis, but, as I mentioned before, we did have transient students from other schools who might spend a semester helping some grad students with data collection or doing statistical analysis or lit reviews or such. Not all of those students were necessarily writing a thesis, but they did want or need some kind of undergrad research experience in order to be competitive for grad schools. (I think it will eventually become the norm that applicants have undergrad research experience.)

Don't know if this would be helpful, but this is a description of the research practicum from my undergrad program's website.

 

[AgapeBlue]

Thanks! I've been reading and the only way that an honors thesis seems doable for me is to do a literature review.

I would also prefer being mentored by more than one (very preoccupied) professor. (No one else is in research in my institution)

... so you see I have to figure this out on my own, hence my seconding the question.
Any advice would be most appreciated.

A lit review for your honors/senior thesis can be a great thing. You have the opportunity to become very knowledgeable on your topic of choice. Once you have your topic (which I have no doubt you'll find something that really sparks your passion), you will spend a good deal of time reading a cool metric ton of articles on this subject learning what has been done, what could be done, and what you think can add to this mountain of knowledge. Come time for grad school interviews, you will be able to hold an intelligent conversation with a future interviewer/POI.

I really enjoy doing lit reviews. Delving into the research and analyzing the topic from several sides has greatly improved my research abilities overall and has helped me to get published, with several collaborations with experts currently in the works.

I'm not sure if you have mentioned it or not, but have you considered presenting at a conference (local, regional, or national)? This will improve your CV, even if you do not get the chance to publish prior to applying to grad school.

Best wishes with whatever you choose to do,

AB🙂

 

[ThirdLittleBird]

I did my own lit review
I also was 100% responsible for every last detail of my study including IRB approval, recruitment, statistical analyses...you name it, I did it.

I would not have wanted it any other way (I can say that now that it's over and done with).

I can tell you every last detail regarding my thesis, and I know this was impressive for those that I have interviewed with. You will definitely stand out against the rest if you do the same, even if your topic is not a world-changing issue.

 

[AgapeBlue]

I did my own lit review
I also was 100% responsible for every last detail of my study including IRB approval, recruitment, statistical analyses...you name it, I did it.

I believe this is standard for most honors/senior thesis, honors in the major, or independent studies, etc. Or, at least that's how it is at the universities I've attended. The mentor/advisor acts as a guide, someone to bounce ideas off of, and to ensure you're following the proper procedures.

Otherwise, I would question whether or not it qualifies. You'd be more of an RA if the mentor/advisor was doing the work.

AB🙂