- Joined
- May 25, 2007
- Messages
- 48
- Reaction score
- 5
I'll be applying to programs next year, straight out of undergrad. I became a psych major in my sophomore year (last year) and started working in a lab that Spring. I loved the work in Area A, and the faculty member supervising the lab gave me permission to start work on a thesis in Area A this fall, which is now the (painfully slow, but I was expecting that) recruitment phase. Prospectus passed with overwelhmingly positive comments. In December, I also started a paid RAship with a professor whose work, Area B, I have come to love. Long story short, experiences with both my thesis in Area A and my RAship in Area B caused me to shift my long-term research focus to Area B. I credit my experiences in Area A with giving me a very strong set of skills that transferred well to Area B, and I am still 100% dedicated to doing an excellent job with my thesis in Area A. However, I would also like to do a thesis (to be my capstone honors thesis) in Area B, as I'm not graduating until Spring 2010. I found a faculty member who was very interested in supervising it, went over some preliminary planning, and drafted a full prospectus.
Additionally, I'm also doing data collection for a thesis-type project in an unrelated area, Area C, but one that is connected strongly to my clinical experience and working as a RA in several department labs, all but one of which can be linked in with my work in Area B. End result: I have a lot of research experience.
Generally, I've received very good comments about my work, with my PI in my RAship saying that in many ways, my work resembles that of a grad student more than an undergrad. 😳 I truly feel that I benefit from this research experience and feel I can handle it well.
However, one professor here, one of the few I don't work with, has made it his personal mission to... stop me from doing anymore research. I've asked him if this is related to the quality of my work and to please tell me if it was, as I value quality over quantity. He said it wasn't, just that I was doing too much research. Furthermore, he's been contacting some of the faculty I work without addressing it with me first and trying the stem the amount of research I'm doing, including the professor with whom I've been working on my thesis in Area B (unconnected, except topically, to my paid RAship) and telling me I need to submit a plan to him of how I'm going to cut back on research, etc.
To be clear, I've never, that I've know of, received overly negative (i.e., I've received suggestions on my prospecti, etc.) comments on my work (but have received a share of glowing ones), and I've asked explicitly. I have good grades (4.0 for the past two semesters), teaching experience (paid and unpaid), clinical experience, non-clinical volunteer experience, and also do things that are completely unrelated to anything psych. I have a double major and a minor.
I do do a lot of research, but that's because I truly enjoy it, because I feel it truly does make me a better researcher, and, yes, because I want to get into grad school. I know what I want to research and have sought about experiences related to that.
I'm baffled as to why this professor feels such a need to intervene on how much research I'm doing, if his concern is not the quality of my work and he hasn't said as much to me. He's on my committee for my thesis in Area A, so I don't know if he's frustrated that I've decided to switch research foci in the long-term, grad-school-and-beyond picture (though my research in Area A ties in nicely with Area B, and I've explained to him the reasons for my switch). I don't know if he's frustrated that I'm willing to finish my project in Area A, as I still think it's a very important project and I'm dedicated to all the work my adviser, my committe, other people, and I have put into it. The situation baffles me, really.
I'm willing to cut back on some of lab work next semester in order to do my capstone senior thesis in Area B, but I'm set on keeping my paid RAship and staying in the two department labs most relevant to my research interests (and where I have the longest commitment). Like I said before, I do a lot of work, but I'm primarily commited to doing high quality work. I'm doing everything I can to position myself for publications and am commited to doing my work well, both as a PI and an RA. Of course, I know I'm not a perfect researcher or anything...
I can tie my work (including my clinical and volunteer work as well as my research) and my transition from Area A to Area B together conceptually in PS and want to do my thesis in Area B because that is the area I'll be applying for research matches in and because the topic truly, honestly interests me (Why else would I applying to spend 5-7 years studying it???).
Thoughts? I'm willing to take advice, but I really can't make sense of an "intervention" based on doing "too much" research/work.
Additionally, I'm also doing data collection for a thesis-type project in an unrelated area, Area C, but one that is connected strongly to my clinical experience and working as a RA in several department labs, all but one of which can be linked in with my work in Area B. End result: I have a lot of research experience.
Generally, I've received very good comments about my work, with my PI in my RAship saying that in many ways, my work resembles that of a grad student more than an undergrad. 😳 I truly feel that I benefit from this research experience and feel I can handle it well.
However, one professor here, one of the few I don't work with, has made it his personal mission to... stop me from doing anymore research. I've asked him if this is related to the quality of my work and to please tell me if it was, as I value quality over quantity. He said it wasn't, just that I was doing too much research. Furthermore, he's been contacting some of the faculty I work without addressing it with me first and trying the stem the amount of research I'm doing, including the professor with whom I've been working on my thesis in Area B (unconnected, except topically, to my paid RAship) and telling me I need to submit a plan to him of how I'm going to cut back on research, etc.
To be clear, I've never, that I've know of, received overly negative (i.e., I've received suggestions on my prospecti, etc.) comments on my work (but have received a share of glowing ones), and I've asked explicitly. I have good grades (4.0 for the past two semesters), teaching experience (paid and unpaid), clinical experience, non-clinical volunteer experience, and also do things that are completely unrelated to anything psych. I have a double major and a minor.
I do do a lot of research, but that's because I truly enjoy it, because I feel it truly does make me a better researcher, and, yes, because I want to get into grad school. I know what I want to research and have sought about experiences related to that.
I'm baffled as to why this professor feels such a need to intervene on how much research I'm doing, if his concern is not the quality of my work and he hasn't said as much to me. He's on my committee for my thesis in Area A, so I don't know if he's frustrated that I've decided to switch research foci in the long-term, grad-school-and-beyond picture (though my research in Area A ties in nicely with Area B, and I've explained to him the reasons for my switch). I don't know if he's frustrated that I'm willing to finish my project in Area A, as I still think it's a very important project and I'm dedicated to all the work my adviser, my committe, other people, and I have put into it. The situation baffles me, really.
I'm willing to cut back on some of lab work next semester in order to do my capstone senior thesis in Area B, but I'm set on keeping my paid RAship and staying in the two department labs most relevant to my research interests (and where I have the longest commitment). Like I said before, I do a lot of work, but I'm primarily commited to doing high quality work. I'm doing everything I can to position myself for publications and am commited to doing my work well, both as a PI and an RA. Of course, I know I'm not a perfect researcher or anything...
I can tie my work (including my clinical and volunteer work as well as my research) and my transition from Area A to Area B together conceptually in PS and want to do my thesis in Area B because that is the area I'll be applying for research matches in and because the topic truly, honestly interests me (Why else would I applying to spend 5-7 years studying it???).
Thoughts? I'm willing to take advice, but I really can't make sense of an "intervention" based on doing "too much" research/work.
