How can I eventually present some posters/publish?

[thenuminous]

Hi everyone!
I recently attained my bachelors degree in psychology, and I am interested in pursuing graduate school. During my undergraduate years, I focused mostly on acquiring good grades. I have minimal research experience. I currently volunteer at a cognitive-behavioural lab at Schulich (a business school in Canada) that focuses on consumer behaviour. I am interested in both consumer psychology and clinical psychology. I am hoping to apply to some clinical psych labs. There are two clinical psych labs in my area that I'd like to volunteer in, as they both focus on my interests: BPD and emotional dysregulation 

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to present any posters or publish anything so far. I am in the midst of publishing a literature review that I had written in which I compared two therapy modalities for the treatment of BPD. My professor said it was well written and that I should consider publishing it. What are some ways I can do this? 

Also, how can I go about finding opportunities in which I can do poster presentations? Is working at a lab for a lengthy period of time going to help me eventually find those opportunities? I've been working at a lab where I am doing entry level work and I can't seem to do anything more research intensive. I'm also wondering if I can present my own research by singing up at conferences or if I have to be enrolled in school?

Thank you! 

[t_ruth]

Sounds like you are asking the right questions and doing some good things to enhance your application. Have you talked to your current lab PI about your interest in doing more research things and the opportunity to get published or to present?

Regarding your lit review, your professor should have some suggestions on where you can publish. You could also ask if they could come on as a co-author to help you polish the manuscript and prepare it for publication.

[Psyche007]

Read this, if you haven't already:

https://convention.apa.org/proposals/rules-for-participation

[thenuminous]

On 11/15/2019 at 6:03 PM, t_ruth said:

Sounds like you are asking the right questions and doing some good things to enhance your application. Have you talked to your current lab PI about your interest in doing more research things and the opportunity to get published or to present?

Regarding your lit review, your professor should have some suggestions on where you can publish. You could also ask if they could come on as a co-author to help you polish the manuscript and prepare it for publication.

Thanks for the suggestions! I will try to get ahold of my professor, so that she can give me some suggestions. I am not sure if she would like to be a co-author, as my lit review is a bit outside her area of expertise. 

[thenuminous]

3 hours ago, Psyche007 said:

Read this, if you haven't already:

https://convention.apa.org/proposals/rules-for-participation

Thank you! This is helpful.

[PsycUndergrad]

It will be important to find a mentor who is willing to help you. Whether that’s your current PI, your former professor, or the PI of a new lab. At this stage in your career, it would be really unusual and not advisable to publish or present without direct supervision, and it’s unlikely you would get anything accepted (not a jab at you, all students need help with this).

Also, be proactive in seeking out opportunities. Maybe not right away after joining a lab, but eventually you should ask if you can take on more advanced roles or use lab data to prepare an abstract, etc. Many labs are happy to have students do independent research but they won’t necessarily go out of their way to offer it.

Edited November 18, 2019 by PsycUndergrad

[Psyche007]

Mentorship is certainly necessary. It just doesn't have to be as part of a lab or programme. If you have developed a decent relationship with a professor, see if you can discuss the possibility of some minor assistance with abstracts/posters. In the first semester of my clinpsych PhD, we're being pushed to submit to as many conference as possible. We being told directly to feel free to develop our own work, especially lit reviews to identify gaps in the literature. 

The senior students are advising us to be proactive and telling us not to rely on faculty guidance for everything.

Don't go rogue, but don't be afraid. Create possibilities. Get a mentor excited in something you're produced.

[Clinapp2017]

One thing I advise if you have novel research questions in mind is working with a potential advisor and use the vast arrays of publicly available data to answer said question. By doing this, you circumvent the issue of a) gathering your own data, or b) asking to use lab data which the mentor way wish to reserve for their purposes or their other mentees (e.g., graduate students). 

 

Googling your field + public data is a good place to start. You will still need to a) identify the mentor, and b) go through appropriate university-IRB approvals to get access and use the data ethically.