Reflecting on Research: My experience in Core Role 2

This is possibly one of the toughest Core Roles to complete.  Opportunities for completing research are simply not as readily available as everyone might think.  Furthermore, it's not the case that you can complete the research just because you are interested in a subject; there has to be a rationale for it (See my previous blog post on Research, Readiness to Research).  Having said this, I learnt a few valuable lessons from my time completing this Core Role and you might find these tips helpful:

Ensure Clarity

The first is to be very clear in your proposal of exactly what you plan to do and what resources this requires.  This is particularly important if you are going to need staff to help you collect data.  Consider the impact this will have on their time and workload and think of ways you could minimise this or reimburse them for their efforts.  Funding is always limited and unlikely to be made available for trainee's research, however perhaps engaging and motivating staff to help you collect data might be another way to achieve this.

Simplicity and Relevance

Secondly, research for Stage 2 is not doctoral so it doesn't need to be huge and complicated.  It does need to be relevant and provide an opportunity for you to showcase your skills.  Nor do you have to demonstrate both qualitative and quantitative research: you can chose to do what you are best at.  The critical element, however, is that you have to clearly justify what methods you are using based on the available literature.  This is imperative when using both qualitative and quantitative methodology.  You must evidence and justify why you are using a particular method and why that method is the most appropriate.

The Replication Crisis

Thirdly, it is valuable to remember that there is a replication crisis currently in psychology.  And whilst it is not acceptable for the Stage 2 to replicate research (although considering the replication crisis, I believe this would be valuable as it would allow trainees to add to our current field of knowledge) you have to remember that another professional should be able to pick up your paper and replicate your methodology and results.  This being said, finding space in your paper to demonstrate reliability and validity as far as you can is valauable and being explicit in your methods will also go some why to achieving this.

Intelligent Communication

Finally, writing style is important. It is not just a question of being academic but of expressing yourself intelligently, in a fully referenced way and yet achieving accessibility to a wide range of professional readers.  Part of being able to complete research is being able to present the findings to people who are perhaps not academically-trained.  I found that having an additional document which demonstrated how I presented my findings to colleagues from a non-psychology background helped me to demonstrate that I was able to communicate my research findings to a broad audience.