Well, as I predicted in my original letter, I certainly grew this summer. I know infinitely more about the psychological research process. As I have always been, I’m very grateful for the opportunity to conduct my own research, because I learned way more than I think I would have by just working in a new lab. While we never submitted the application, I now get the gist of how to complete a behavioral science IRB application, and some of the challenges of doing that with my particular research interests (as in there are strict regulations about asking minors about their (illegal) substance use). Though I’ve done many lit. reviews, I finally learned their role in the psych research process and how to apply them in this context. And although I’m pretty sure I’ll never be great at coding, R is only somewhat intimidating now, whereas before this summer, I thought of it as a mysterious, torture device. Moreover, in between all of these new skills, I developed a much clearer understanding of the entire psych research process with secondary data, and every little step that goes into it.
In doing so, I also got a much better sense of my feelings towards psych research. Even though I’d seen how slowly and methodically things moved in my labs, in my mind, I had still somewhat glorified psych research. I’m also not the most patient person. This summer, not surprisingly, elucidated for me the fact that psych research is very tedious and involves a ton of statistics/coding. However, I also got to experience for the first time the excitement and pride of having findings. These experiences were crucial for me to have, I realize, given my aspiration/current plan to get a PhD in Clinical Psychology. It gave me a better sense of what that program would be like, a greater appreciation for a research background, and confirmed my interest in continuing with psych research. However, somewhat contradictorily, this summer also taught me that I ultimately want all of my future jobs to have at least some clinical component. Research, for me personally, feels detached and like I’m doing less, immediate, direct good than, say, the hotline I worked on last summer.
I won’t lie: this summer definitely had its challenges. The middle of the summer especially was very frustrating; I felt lost and on my own with my work. But, as I’ve said before, the independence forced me to figure things out for myself. And it all worked out in the end. And hearing about everyone else’s work was truly inspiring, fascinating, and opened my eyes to how huge the range of research topics out there is. I still burn the pans in my apartment and I think my roommate will kill me soon, but I’ve had a lovely summer in WAGSFP and just living in Ann Arbor for the summer in general, so thank you, everyone for being a part of that.