How to get publications after graduating bachelors?

[CuringNihilism]

I am applying for Clinical Psych programs in the Fall, I have no idea if my application will be strong enough. 

1. I have 97th and 98th percentile in verbal and analytical 

2. I have 95th percentile in psych GRE 

3. I have 3.81 GPA for final two years 

4. I have 10+ months as research assistant 

But, I have no honours thesis, I have no publications, and I have no posters (I decided to pursue clinical psych after graduating). 

 

Here are my questions:

If I do not get accepted for this round of applications, I plan on getting some publications, and lots more research assistant experience. But I ask you: how does one pursue publications (co-authroship) after graduation? Also, Is it possible to go back to U of T for an alumni course and complete an honours thesis? Lastly, what types of jobs should I pursue with a bachelors in psychology that would 1. pay decently, and 2. look good on my CV for applications? 

Thank you in advance to anyone who answers :)

[PsycUndergrad]

By U of T, do you mean Toronto? I don’t know if you’d be able to go back and complete an honours thesis (in my experience, honours programs are competitive and you need to apply early in undergrad), but you might be able to go back and complete research courses like directed studies, etc. Your best bet is to contact the department, or other universities in the area, to see what your options are. Unfortunately, many Canadian programs require an honours thesis or equivalent courses. 

If I were you, I would look for RA jobs at local universities or hospitals, or even volunteer part time if necessary (this is what I did after graduating). This might help you get some posters, and potentially pubs if you’re there long enough. Most importantly, working as an RA should help you gain relevant experience and refine your interests. Research is the most important part of your application, and you want to have solid experience (I.e. not just data entry or running participants) and a clear idea of what you want to study. 

Your GPA/GRE look good, so I think you’re soon your way to becoming a competitive applicant with some more experience. Best of luck  

[CuringNihilism]

1 hour ago, PsycUndergrad said:

By U of T, do you mean Toronto? I don’t know if you’d be able to go back and complete an honours thesis (in my experience, honours programs are competitive and you need to apply early in undergrad), but you might be able to go back and complete research courses like directed studies, etc. Your best bet is to contact the department, or other universities in the area, to see what your options are. Unfortunately, many Canadian programs require an honours thesis or equivalent courses. 

If I were you, I would look for RA jobs at local universities or hospitals, or even volunteer part time if necessary (this is what I did after graduating). This might help you get some posters, and potentially pubs if you’re there long enough. Most importantly, working as an RA should help you gain relevant experience and refine your interests. Research is the most important part of your application, and you want to have solid experience (I.e. not just data entry or running participants) and a clear idea of what you want to study. 

Your GPA/GRE look good, so I think you’re soon your way to becoming a competitive applicant with some more experience. Best of luck  

Thank you very much for the detailed response! This has been an exceptional help. 

I think you are absolutely correct in your advice and I will be sure to heed it--namely go back and take research oriented courses, and also continue applying for volunteer positions that have promise of coauthorship for Pubs, and posters. 

 

Thank you, 

- CuringNihilism

[Guest joshw4288]

On 7/14/2018 at 7:08 PM, PsycUndergrad said:

By U of T, do you mean Toronto? I don’t know if you’d be able to go back and complete an honours thesis (in my experience, honours programs are competitive and you need to apply early in undergrad), but you might be able to go back and complete research courses like directed studies, etc. Your best bet is to contact the department, or other universities in the area, to see what your options are. Unfortunately, many Canadian programs require an honours thesis or equivalent courses. 

If I were you, I would look for RA jobs at local universities or hospitals, or even volunteer part time if necessary (this is what I did after graduating). This might help you get some posters, and potentially pubs if you’re there long enough. Most importantly, working as an RA should help you gain relevant experience and refine your interests. Research is the most important part of your application, and you want to have solid experience (I.e. not just data entry or running participants) and a clear idea of what you want to study. 

Your GPA/GRE look good, so I think you’re soon your way to becoming a competitive applicant with some more experience. Best of luck  

It is absolutely possible to go back and complete an honor's thesis. I do not know details or what specific schools would offer this but it would be worth contacting the department at UofT. I know multiple people who took time off post-graduation and then returned to complete an honor's thesis before applying for graduate programs. 

[Oshawott]

Insights because I graduated from UofT. Their thesis program (at the time I was there) only took 15 students. I hear its up to 20 now. At the time, you couldn't take the 4th year honours thesis without being in the program, and the program takes up 1.5 years with an independent project course in Winter (usually third year) prior to the start of your actual thesis year. Perhaps its changed, but considering things are getting more competitive, I doubt it.

If you want to go back, you can take PSY405/406 courses, which are independent study credits. I know people who had taken them after graduation, and depending on your supervisor you'd end up doing just as much work as an actual thesis (some people put you into existing projects, other people have you develop your own). In terms of jobs, you can look up research positions at CAMH, though these are also fairly competitive and everyone I knew got them through an existing network.

Edited July 16, 2018 by Oshawott

[Executive-D]

On 7/14/2018 at 12:32 PM, CuringNihilism said:

But I ask you: how does one pursue publications (co-authroship) after graduation? Also, Is it possible to go back to U of T for an alumni course and complete an honours thesis? Lastly, what types of jobs should I pursue with a bachelors in psychology that would 1. pay decently, and 2. look good on my CV for applications?

One of the low hanging fruits in research are systematic reviews. Very commonly done for evidence-based medicine but also seen in the social sciences and Psychology for sure. And by no means am I implying that they are super easy or quick to do, but they are very feasible to get co-authorship on. So an idea for you is to identify a professor who's research is interesting to you and who you'd like to work or volunteer with, see if there is a systematic review already published on a specific psychological treatment in their research area: if existing review is really old, or no systematic review has been done before, there's a great potential publication!

Another bonus is you can often work very closely with a data librarian associated with the professor's university who will often work with you step-by-step to plan the systematic review and help you along the way if you get stuck. A good reference as well: https://www.wiley.com/en-gu/Systematic+Reviews+in+the+Social+Sciences%3A+A+Practical+Guide-p-9781405121101 (you can probably find a copy online).

Edited July 17, 2018 by Executive-D

[brainlass]

Recent UofT graduate here. I did my honours thesis through the Research Specialist program and got a publication out of it. To my knowledge, you would not be able to go back as a non-degree student and complete a thesis through the Psych department. The Thesis option is through the RS program, and it's quite competitive. I know that in my cohort and the year below mine, they only accepted 10 students each year. We had to apply after second year, then complete two years of specialized coursework and research. 

My advice to you is to look for paid research assistant jobs. I think your best bet would be the Rotman Research Institute (at Baycrest), NOT the downtown St. G campus. At UTSG, there's a ton of free undergrad labour available, so paid jobs are really hard to find. The only paying jobs you could likely get would be lab manager positions, and if your goal is to engage in some meaningful research and get a publication, that is not the way to go. You'll just end up swamped with admin duties, instead. However, I know that a number of labs at Rotman hire full-time paid research assistants, usually for one-two year contracts. These RAs are most commonly gaining more research experience before they apply to grad school. Bonus: Rotman is affiliated with UofT, so you may be able to get some connections already through the profs you know, and it's also more clinically-oriented research.

If you get a paid research position, I think you should prioritize getting a conference presentation first, as this is generally a lot faster/easier than getting a finalized publication out. You could hope to also have a paper under review or in press by the time you are interviewing for graduate programs, but it's probably more realistic to try to get a presentation on your CV in time for the initial application deadline.