Importance of Research and Publication: Need advice

[SheMadeItEventually]

I'm well aware I am not the first person to ask this question. How important is it to have your research out on publication? (More so, would it make that much difference if this is an international student?) I have been taking gap year and I will be applying this cycle (December) to Clinical Psychology and some Counseling psychology programs that are fully funded. I honestly don't think I can pay for grad school myself. I'm still unfamiliar with the posting guidelines of this website so please feel free to leave a comment if you think this post belongs somewhere else!

I graduated last year with all types of honors in both of my majors and have been working on my GRE and was working as a tutor on the side to keep my living expenses. 

My GRE score is both on 90 percentiles and GPA is 3.7. I worked as an undergrad research assistant for a year in clinical psych lab (we developed a scale for clinical disorder) in my senior year. At the same time I worked in a different lab in a different department also as an undergrad RA for 2 years that is not really relevant to my interests but I knew the professor and learned quite a lot of skills. I also completed a honors thesis upon the completion of my undergrad study. My three LORs will come from 1. a person (not a professor but in academia) who directed my thesis and those who I have been working as RA. (1. professor from my second department who knows me really well and 3. one grad student and a retired professor in clinical psychology dept. co-signing the last letter) Although I'm kind of worried that some of my LORs will come from non-psychology people, they happen to know me for the longest time and very very well. 

But the biggest problem is that I DO NOT have any publication. My professors from undergrad encouraged me to submit my thesis to at least undergrad journals but I'm just not confident that it will get accepted especially I know there were some mistakes. I presented at a regional conference for my thesis but it wasn't in psychology department.  No posters, nothing. 

So now I'm done with GRE, I need something to fill my gap year and boost my resume. I originally was going to work as a full-time RA at one of the university in my home country but due to unforeseen circumstance, I won't have the full-time position anymore. I reached out to several professors in my home country and they told me although they will be more than happy to take me in as an RA, my duties won't be that much different from the ones I did as an undergrad RA as their PhD/Masters students will get the priorities for all the funding and resources.  In that case, it's not impossible but it will be very difficult to put my name as an author. 

So far, I can only think of these three options 

1. Volunteer as a research assistant (pretty much same as undergrad RA and help the lab members with their projects in hopes that I can put my name as a third or fourth author. + get a side job to save money 

2. Get a clinical setting job (full-time, decent pay) in a private clinical practice and see if they have any research project that I can help on the side)

3. Get a research job that deals with clinical population but not clinical psychology-related. More like a pharmaceutical or researching company (this will be heavily research oriented but it won't be from clinical psychology)

 

I don't know how much of my status as an international student would change how important it is to have publication but I need as many advice as possible.

If you guys have any other ideas please help me, I feel so lost. 

Edited February 11, 2020 by SheMadeItEventually

[joanneprada]

Hi!

In my personal opinion, I really think you are putting too much emphasis on not having a publication. So what if you don't have a publication? You have many other accomplishments to speak on the type of researcher and student you would be in graduate school. Having scored in the 90th percentile on the GRE is phenomenal and will most definitely get you past the first round of application reviews, as well as increase your chances of receiving a good funding package for the first year, should you be accepted into a program. Your honors thesis, research experience, and letters of rec are what will help you stand out. I think that as long as you have a clear idea of your research interests and can match these interests to the work of the professors you're applying with, then you absolutely have a strong chance of being invited to interview for a program. With that being said, I think it's important to spend your gap year being productive and trying to remain active in research. If you want to go into a highly productive research program, which most PhD programs in clinical and counseling psych are, I would try to find a research paying job, it doesn't necessarily matter what field as long as your getting experience and can tie these experiences into what you would be doing in graduate school. If you can't find a research paying job, I would try to be an RA for a lab. I really don't think it matters too much that you don't have publications, most undergrads don't. A lot of the time, undergrad journals that publish honors theses are not even that highly regarded.

I hope this helps, good luck with everything!

[Psychintraining]

Also, I would try and get a few poster presentations. Programs know publications can be tricky because it’s all based on timing. However, submitting a few poster presentations is a great way to show research productivity. You could start by developing one on your honors thesis.

[joanneprada]

1 minute ago, Psychintraining said:

Also, I would try and get a few poster presentations. Programs know publications can be tricky because it’s all based on timing. However, submitting a few poster presentations is a great way to show research productivity. You could start by developing one on your honors thesis.

I second this piece of advice. Check to see if your university has a showcase of undergraduate research or an undergraduate psychology expo where you can submit a poster. These tend to be free and are great to add on your CV. 

[psychpsychpsych]

2 hours ago, SheMadeItEventually said:

I'm well aware I am not the first person to ask this question. How important is it to have your research out on publication? (More so, would it make that much difference if this is an international student?) I have been taking gap year and I will be applying this cycle (December) to Clinical Psychology and some Counseling psychology programs that are fully funded. I honestly don't think I can pay for grad school myself. I'm still unfamiliar with the posting guidelines of this website so please feel free to leave a comment if you think this post belongs somewhere else!

I graduated last year with all types of honors in both of my majors and have been working on my GRE and was working as a tutor on the side to keep my living expenses. 

My GRE score is both on 90 percentiles and GPA is 3.7. I worked as an undergrad research assistant for a year in clinical psych lab (we developed a scale for clinical disorder) in my senior year. At the same time I worked in a different lab in a different department also as an undergrad RA for 2 years that is not really relevant to my interests but I knew the professor and learned quite a lot of skills. I also completed a honors thesis upon the completion of my undergrad study. My three LORs will come from 1. a person (not a professor but in academia) who directed my thesis and those who I have been working as RA. (1. professor from my second department who knows me really well and 3. one grad student and a retired professor in clinical psychology dept. co-signing the last letter) Although I'm kind of worried that some of my LORs will come from non-psychology people, they happen to know me for the longest time and very very well. 

But the biggest problem is that I DO NOT have any publication. My professors from undergrad encouraged me to submit my thesis to at least undergrad journals but I'm just not confident that it will get accepted especially I know there were some mistakes. I presented at a regional conference for my thesis but it wasn't in psychology department.  No posters, nothing. 

So now I'm done with GRE, I need something to fill my gap year and boost my resume. I originally was going to work as a full-time RA at one of the university in my home country but due to unforeseen circumstance, I won't have the full-time position anymore. I reached out to several professors in my home country and they told me although they will be more than happy to take me in as an RA, my duties won't be that much different from the ones I did as an undergrad RA as their PhD/Masters students will get the priorities for all the funding and resources.  In that case, it's not impossible but it will be very difficult to put my name as an author. 

So far, I can only think of these three options 

1. Volunteer as a research assistant (pretty much same as undergrad RA and help the lab members with their projects in hopes that I can put my name as a third or fourth author. + get a side job to save money 

2. Get a clinical setting job (full-time, decent pay) in a private clinical practice and see if they have any research project that I can help on the side)

3. Get a research job that deals with clinical population but not clinical psychology-related. More like a pharmaceutical or researching company (this will be heavily research oriented but it won't be from clinical psychology)

 

I don't know how much of my status as an international student would change how important it is to have publication but I need as many advice as possible.

If you guys have any other ideas please help me, I feel so lost. 

Hey I would totally reach out to an undergrad journal. Mine was published, feel free to PM me!

[Modulus]

It sounds like you are interested in going abroad for graduate school.  If financially and personally feasible, I would look at positions in the country you intend to study in and see if they are able to sponsor a work visa. I understand that this may not be possible at this point in your life and like the other posters say, I think the fact that you're thinking about these things speaks volumes and it sounds like you are motivated to get the right sorts of experience. 

If you do look at positions in the US or Canada, for example, you may find a research job that better suits your interests and (while you will still be an international student) you will be closer for visits to programs for interviews when you do apply!

I would also not limit yourself to a single gap year.  I know it can feel like time is flying by and you're ready to get on to the next step in life, but a 2 or 3 year post-bacc position is much more likely to result in publication/presentation than a single year.

[Ppkitty]

I think it depends what subfield you’re applying into. Perhaps actual publications are more important in clinical. I’m a counseling applicant, and I’ve had a relatively good cycle so far this year with no posters or pubs.

[SheMadeItEventually]

14 hours ago, joanneprada said:

Hi!

In my personal opinion, I really think you are putting too much emphasis on not having a publication. So what if you don't have a publication? You have many other accomplishments to speak on the type of researcher and student you would be in graduate school. Having scored in the 90th percentile on the GRE is phenomenal and will most definitely get you past the first round of application reviews, as well as increase your chances of receiving a good funding package for the first year, should you be accepted into a program. Your honors thesis, research experience, and letters of rec are what will help you stand out. I think that as long as you have a clear idea of your research interests and can match these interests to the work of the professors you're applying with, then you absolutely have a strong chance of being invited to interview for a program. With that being said, I think it's important to spend your gap year being productive and trying to remain active in research. If you want to go into a highly productive research program, which most PhD programs in clinical and counseling psych are, I would try to find a research paying job, it doesn't necessarily matter what field as long as your getting experience and can tie these experiences into what you would be doing in graduate school. If you can't find a research paying job, I would try to be an RA for a lab. I really don't think it matters too much that you don't have publications, most undergrads don't. A lot of the time, undergrad journals that publish honors theses are not even that highly regarded.

I hope this helps, good luck with everything!

Hey there! Thanks for your advice! I think I'm going to start applying to few other labs that I can tie to my interests as a volunteer RA and see if it goes anywhere from there. Worst case scenario, I can just say I volunteered at a lab for about a year and learned a few extra skills even though I don't have any publication yet. 

[SheMadeItEventually]

14 hours ago, Psychintraining said:

Also, I would try and get a few poster presentations. Programs know publications can be tricky because it’s all based on timing. However, submitting a few poster presentations is a great way to show research productivity. You could start by developing one on your honors thesis.

Hi! I'm just not so familiar with this whole submission process. But can I do a poster presentation for a paper that I already gave a oral presentation at a conference?  Thanks for your tip!

[PsycUndergrad]

Why not try to publish your undergrad thesis now? It has only been a year and you can ask your thesis supervisor to help you rework it into publication format. At least submit it to conference. My undergrad thesis was legitimately crap and I still was able to present it at a conference. 

Edited February 12, 2020 by PsycUndergrad