What Psychology Majors Could (and Should) Be Doing: A Guide to Research Experience, Professional Skills, and Your Options After College

by Paul J. Silvia, Peter F. Delaney, Stuart Marcovitch PhD

Overview

This book will help undergraduate psychology students gain a competitive advantage for life after college, whether their plans include graduate school or work.

Professional research experience remains the most important avenue for fostering and demonstrating the skills that employers and grad schools want—skills like writing, public speaking, and statistical reasoning. Thus, the authors emphasize ways to get involved in scholarly research.

Updated and expanded, the second edition of What Psychology Majors Could (and Should) Be Doing includes tips for writing CVs and personal statements, empirically validated strategies for succeeding in classes, and guidance to help students think about their options after college. This consummate guide will help students get the most out of your psychology degree!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781433823794
Publisher:	American Psychological Association
Publication date:	11/14/2016
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Paul J. Silvia, PhD, is a social-personality psychologist at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He has served as the director of the department's honors program, and he teaches undergraduate courses on creativity, personality, academic writing, and professional skills. His other books include How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing (2007) and Exploring the Psychology of Interest (2006).

Peter F. Delaney, PhD, is a cognitive psychologist at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and former director of undergraduate studies in the psychology department. He has won several teaching awards and taught thousands of students, and he conducts laboratory research on human memory and learning.

Stuart Marcovitch, PhD, studies cognitive development at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He was the long-time faculty advisor for Psi Chi — the national honor society for psychology — and has been involved with continuously improving the undergraduate curriculum, especially the statistics and research methods components.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Introduction 3

Chapter 1 Choosing Your Research Focus 9

Chapter 2 Finding Research Opportunities 21

Chapter 3 Succeeding in Your Classes 33

Chapter 4 Getting More Out of Statistics 43

Chapter 5 Finding and Understanding Research Articles 51

Chapter 6 Writing Research Papers 61

Chapter 7 Getting Involved Outside the Lab and Classroom

Chapter 8 Attending Academic Conferences 81

Chapter 9 Presenting a Research Poster 91

Chapter 10 Presenting a Research Talk 99

Chapter 11 Making a CV 109

Chapter 12 Writing Personal Statements 121

Chapter 13 Thinking About the World of Work 131

Chapter 14 Understanding Graduate School 141

Epilogue 153

Appendix: Good Books For Your Professional Library 155

References 157

Index 161

About the Authors 169

What People are Saying About This

Gary W. Lewandowski

Psychology prepares students for so many career paths. Like a good mentor, this book helps students navigate the many opportunities that psychology offers so students are optimally prepared for life after college.

Rachael D. Reavis

Undergraduates — whether they are headed to graduate school or straight to the job market — will benefit from this book. Using a professional development approach, the authors offer practical, meaningful, and easy-to-understand advice that unlocks the sometimes hidden world of academic rules and expectations. I look forward to sharing this book with my advisees and research assistants!

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Michael S. Goldsby, PhD, CCRP (Family Psychiatry of The Woodlands)
Description: With ever-increasing numbers of students graduating with degrees in psychology, competing for good jobs after college or even gaining acceptance into graduate school can be a daunting experience. This book helps psychology students gain a much-needed competitive edge in their postgraduate careers by exploring specific experiential learning opportunities such as hands-on research involvement, development of writing and speaking skills, and involvement in scholarly conferences, all intended to enhance professional development. This is a practical guide that directly addresses undergraduate psychology students in plain language about various ways to gain valuable career and portfolio-building experience through academic and professional opportunities, with a major emphasis on research and professional skills acquisition outside the classroom.
Purpose: The purpose is to give undergraduate psychology majors an industry-specific tool to be used as guidance for out-of-classroom, professional, and academic activities that will help them stand out in a field with fierce job and graduate school competition.
Audience: The book is written specifically for undergraduate psychology majors who are looking for real-world information on specific career opportunities, including pathways through professional research in their chosen field. it also would be of interest to college-level instructors who want to educate their students on the extracurricular activities, especially research opportunities, that will help maximize their psychology degree.
Features: While the first edition focused primarily on the importance of acquiring extracurricular research experience as the foundation of professional development, this second edition goes beyond that core message and adds six new chapters that identify specific, practical abilities required for success in the graduate school or work environment. Research experience is no doubt the key to attaining successful postgraduate pursuits, but this edition introduces other important skills, such as writing a CV and a personal statement when applying for jobs, graduate school admissions, or internships and fellowships; exploring options after college in academia as well as specific employment options; and a more extensive synopsis of the diverse research experiences available to psychology students. All psychology students, regardless of postgraduate endeavors, will find this edition to be of significant benefit, as it truly presents the practical information required for success in the real world that can't be obtained in the classroom.
Assessment: As a seasoned research professional in psychology, I have nothing but the highest praise for this edition of the first breakthrough book on obtaining professional skills outside the classroom through research opportunities and career choices for psychology majors. It is a monumental aid for those psychology students searching for ways to gain a competitive edge in a very crowded field where graduates are vying for increasingly scarce postgraduate academic and professional opportunities. Students should do themselves a huge favor and turn to this book for help in navigating the extracurricular world of professional research opportunities to give them a distinct advantage in a very competitive postgraduate academic and workplace setting.

Doody's Review Service

This text should be required reading for all psychology majors…It should also be recommended reading for professors!

Choice

2017 Choice Outstanding Academic Title

“This text should be required reading for all psychology majors…. It should also be recommended reading for professors!” —Choice

From the Publisher