Research?

[siidman]

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When I was in the Navy, I was an Air Traffic Controller and as a collateral duty I was in charge of the charts and publications (charts and pubs Petty Officer) for about 3 years. My job was to basically research and analyze the FAA rules and regs. as well as local publications of procedures and make suggestions to my Chief as to better/alternative procedures that could be used. And when there was an incident such as a separation error or anything where a rule was broken, I would again research and analyze the pubs to identify the rule or rules that were broken and compare it to the local procedures to figure out if it was a blatant violation or if the pubs and procedures were in conflict, setting up a potential negative situation from the beginning. I would then forward my finding up the chain of command and they would make their own determinations. Would this be considered valid research?
I'm about a year out of the Navy and will be finishing up my undergrad in Psych after 2 more semesters. I'm going to be applying to Psy.D programs soon and will only have 1 semester of research, other than what I previously explained,so I'm trying to do the best with what I have.

 

[siidman]

Am I way off here? I'm just trying to figure if I should put this in my application packet when it comes time to maybe show a little bit more experience. I'll ask my professors next class, but I was looking for some insight from those who have experience doing research and who have already been through the process.

 

[G Costanza]

My reaction is that it isn't really research. It wouldn't hurt to have the description of what you did in your vita but I think classifying it under a "research" section is too much of a stretch. Just my opinion.

 

[KillerDiller]

What you are describing sounds similar to a lit review. However, because the publications you were reviewing weren't psych related, I'm not sure that your experience would be useful from the POV of a potential mentor. Searching through one type of literature may not translate to searching through another type. I'd mention your time and duties in the Navy in a personal statement, but I'd advise against trying to frame it as "research experience." Just my two cents.

 

[siidman]

Ok, thank you for the honest answers. I know they don't typically emphasize it as much as Ph.D programs, but is the lack of research going to break me for Psy.D program? I'm not turning this into a WAMC thread, I am just trying to learn as much as possible to make the best decision possible.

 

[PsychPhDone]

My reaction is that it isn't really research. It wouldn't hurt to have the description of what you did in your vita but I think classifying it under a "research" section is too much of a stretch. Just my opinion.

I'd tend to agree -- a lot of people tell me they have "research experience", but looking up articles in a database isn't "researching" per se. Research is generating a hypothesis and attempting to address it through something new. A meta analysis would do. I also agree that since it's so outside psych it'd be a tremendous stretch. I'd classify that all as prior work experience, but not research. Has the OP done any research as part of the bachelors? All undergrads at my school had to complete at least one original empirical project to graduate.