SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES - DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
VOLUNTARY RESEARCH ASSISTANT SCHEME
The Voluntary Research Assistant Scheme (VRAs) is an experience offered to UG students
(Year 2+) enrolled in a Psychology programme at Heriot Watt University.
Aims
- Increase your employability profile by including the scheme in your CV
- Develop further your transferable skills in terms of data handling and reports preparation
- Get greater knowledge of a research environment, including team work, and of the research environment in general
- Get hands-on research experience on a specific topic of Psychology of your interest
How?
By taking part in a research project led by a staff member.
Minimum duration: 2 months; Maximum duration: 12 months
Minimum hours/week: 2 hours; Maximum hours/week: 8 hours
The number of hours undertaken will depend on the time of year and your commitments in relation to your studies and should be discussed and agreed with your supervisor.
Is there a selection process?
The VRA experience is agreed with the supervisor. If the supervisor accepts the application and there are places available, then no further selection is needed. If there are more applications than places available, then there is a selection process.
The selection is based on:
- CV (qualifications acquired up until the application and extracurricular relevant activities)
- Personal statement highlighting the reason for pursuing this opportunity ( e.g. experience useful for pursuing Masters programme or PhD position; experience useful for developing particular skills; experience useful for deciding between clinical and research career)
- Match between abilities-project (e.g. if project requires use of SPSS independently, unlikely to benefit year 2 student).
Here is what previous students have said about their experiences...
https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/4eb078cb-8b34-41e7-92b8-38cf5b3c145f
If you are interested in becoming a VRA for any of the projects below, please email the relevant staff contact copying in VRA Coordinator: Dr Mel McKendrick M.McKendrick@hw.ac.uk
Campus | Edinburgh, Dubai, Malaysia |
Project |
Understanding factors that influence facial expression recognition. |
Description |
There are a number of factors that affect emotion recognition including age, gender and mental health. Most research to date has investigated this by comparing the mean performance of two or more experimental groups. This research seeks to understand the relationship between the visual signals in the image and emotion recognition performance at the level of the individual. This will be achieved by presenting participants with a series of images on a computer screen and asking them to make decisions about the expressions. Looking at their responses to these images tells us how sensitive they are to the emotions. There are currently three projects that you can engage in:
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VRA role |
Eligibility: The candidates will need to have normal or corrected to normal vision. The candidates will need to be confident using computers and have an interest in visual perception. |
Start date |
January 2020 |
Duration |
As needed weekly from January 2020 until July 2020 (N.B. it is not expected that you will be available each week during this time, a schedule of engagement will be arranged between us, normally at least 2 hours per week during term time). |
Benefits to VRA |
Experience collecting, analysing and preparing data for write up. Training in data management, analysis and using Matlab software. Working as part of a research team with other VRAs. |
Staff Contact |
Dr. Louise Delicato |
L.Delicato@hw.ac.uk | |
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Campus |
Edinburgh, Dubai, Malaysia |
Project |
Validation of a potential training paradigm for student presentation skills |
Description | The aim of the current study is to trial a combination of exposure and cognitive restructuring in a training paradigm with live social performance situations (student presentations) in order to provide the basis for research development in a virtual training application programme |
VRA Role |
We are looking for students who can help running the study which will involve groups sessions where students engage in presentation practice. You will help with administering feedback exercises and in analysing speech, motion and eye tracking data. |
Start Date | March 2019 |
Duration | The study will involve coding, helping to recruit and conduct the study and analysis. |
Benefits to VRA | You will gain experience of working with groups of participants in an online video study and learn about social anxiety in relation to speech content, gestures and attention. You will also gain knowledge of analysis and statistics depending on your role. |
Staff Contact | Dr Mel McKendrick |
M.McKendrick@hw.ac.uk | |
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Campus | Edinburgh, Dubai, Malaysia |
Project |
Playing for boosting reading |
Description | Learning to read can be a hard and laborious task, especially when the child is underachieving and feeling the pressure of lagging behind. Having difficulty in learning to read can lead to demotivation and discouragement for engaging in reading activities |
VRA Role |
We are looking for an enthusiast person, keen to work independently and to interact with children to pilot a set of on-line games aiming at boosting reading in children at the early stage of primary school. |
Start Date | To be agreed with supervisor |
Duration | We request that you be available 4 hours per week. |
Benefits to VRA | To be discussed with supervisor |
Staff Contact | Dr Maria Garraffa |
m.garraffa@hw.ac.uk |
Campus | Edinburgh, Dubai, Malaysia |
Project |
Adaptation of the Comprehensive Aphasia Test in Malay and Italian |
Description | Are you a student in Psychology native speaker of Malay or Italian? Are you interested in Neuropsychology and Language disorders? The LangLife Lab is interested in adapting the Comprehensive Aphasia Test (CAT; Porter, Howard and Swinborn, 2004) in Malay and Italian, as part of a bigger research project. |
VRA Role |
We are looking for a student who would like to gain experience in testing language abilities in adults and to learn psychometric properties related to language.
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Start Date | To be agreed with supervisor |
Duration | We request that you be available 4 hours per week, but we are also interested in arranging placements during the summer break. Please note that some days will be spent working out of office. |
Benefits to VRA | To be discussed with supervisor |
Staff Contact | Dr Maria Garraffa |
m.garraffa@hw.ac.uk |