Research experience is essential for acceptance into graduate programs and offers opportunities to hone invaluable skills for employment.
Hands-on research experiences deepen our students’ understanding of psychology. Several of our courses provide students the opportunity to participate in, as well as design and conduct, research under the guidance of a faculty mentor. Based on their research, many of our students have given award-winning presentations at local, regional, national, and international conferences. Our program has also hosted regional and local conferences on campus.
Students may engage in research experience by becoming research participants or conducting studies as researchers. We offer the following opportunities for participants and student researchers:
Research Conference Participation
Whether by presenting or attending, students are encouraged to participate in several research conferences throughout the year. Limited funding is available for travel through Lindenwood's Student Scholar Travel Grant for students presenting research and through Psi Chi 's Regional Travel Grants for members only (contact Dr. Colleen Biri or Dr. Stephanie Afful for details). Lindenwood hosts the in-house Student Research Conference in April. Contact your professor to learn of other upcoming regional, national, and international conferences.
For Research Participants
Participating in research studies is a great way to learn more about the field of psychology. All research studies conducted by members of the psychology department have been reviewed and approved by the Psychology Program Scientific Review Committee as well as Lindenwood University's Institutional Review Board.
Research studies are advertised by recruitment fliers posted in Young Hall. Students who are enrolled in select GE-level and introductory courses in psychology as well as anthropology, athletic training, criminal justice, and sociology, may earn bonus points toward their respective courses by participating in research through the Lindenwood Participant Pool.
Other students may also participate in research by requesting an account on Sona Systems.
Research-Related Course Offerings
We offer several courses the provide students with research experience. Students are encouraged to take the required courses, PSY30400: Basic Research Methods and PSY30600: Behavioral Science Statistics early on in their program so that they may take advantage of all of our research-oriented courses we offer. For more details about each course, consult the course descriptions.
- PSY30400: Basic Research Methods / PSY30600: Behavioral Science Statistics (required courses)
- PSY32400: Psychological Testing (psychology clinical cluster)
- PSY40400: Advanced Research Methods (psychology elective cluster)
- PSY48000: Psychology Research Labs (psychology elective cluster)
- PSY48300: Senior Thesis (psychology elective cluster)
Resources for Student Researchers
Student researchers in our department receive extensive training and mentoring in research design and ethics. All human subject research projects conducted by psychology students are evaluated by the Psychology Program Scientific Review Committee before being review by Lindenwood University's Institutional Review Board.
All student researchers are welcome to use the Lindenwood Participant Pool to recruit participants for their approved studies. The Psychology Research Lab Space is also available for use by student researchers. For more information about these processes, contact Dr. Michiko Nohara-LeClair or the Lindenwood Participant Pool office.
