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Conducting research can be very rewarding
On this page, we have some resources for the various steps to conduct student research. To see examples of past student at Knox, please check out our Alumni Features and Other Features pages.
Student Research at Knox
Research is the capstone of each psychology major's experience at Knox. During the senior year, each individual student conducts his or her own research project in an area of personal interest. The project culminates with an extensive research paper and a public presentation of the work in either a poster session or an oral presentation. Each year, Knox psychology students present their work outside of Knox to audiences at conferences devoted to undergraduate research such as ILLOWA, a conference for students at colleges and universities in Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri. The quality of Knox student research is so high that it is frequently published in peer-reviewed journals or presented at professional conferences usually reserved for PhD level psychologists and graduate students.
Guidelines & Requirements for Student Research
Guidelines & Requirements for Student Research
General Timeline for Student Research
General Timeline for Student Research
Generally, you'll work with a faculty advisor on an idea either as part of their lab, an independent study, or a senior thesis project. After you've established your research method and design your study (including participant population), you'll have to consider whether you need funding and where to apply if you do. Then, you'll need to apply for approval from Knox College Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Knox's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). Once IRB approves, then you can collect data. Once your data collection is done, you'll likely want to present your work much like other Knox students have (see Other Features for examples). Be sure to discuss presenting your work with your faculty advisor!
Compensating your human participants
Compensating your human participants
Knox students can financially compensate human participants or provide extra credit to Knox psychology students. To fund financial compensation for your participants, you can apply for Richter Funds. There are also institutional policies to compensating participants, so please be sure to read those prior to applying for Richter Funds. Please be sure to read our Department's extra credit policy prior to discussing the IRB application with your faculty advisor.
Extra Credit Policy for Psychology Study Participation
Psyc_Dept_Extra_Credit_Research_Policy.pdfApplying for IRB Approval
Applying for IRB Approval
After your faculty advisor determines that you are ready to apply for IRB approval, you can find the IRB application either on their website or logging into My.Knox under "Forms & Requests".
To facilitate the process of getting approval, be sure to go through the IRB policies prior to applying. Those too can be found on their website.
Lastly, there's a consent form model that is linked directly on the application. It's also found here.
Senior Research Requirements
Senior Research Requirements
All psychology majors at Knox must complete an independent research project before the end of the senior year. This requirement will usually be satisfied by a project completed while the student is enrolled in a two term sequence of courses (PSYC 360 & PSYC 361). The student will receive one-half credit for each of these terms, and letter grades will not be assigned until the completion of the project. In special cases, a student may continue his or her research on the topic by registering for an independent study.
Senior research projects have at least one of the following methodological components:
The study is a true experiment in which an independent variable is manipulated to observe its effects on a dependent variable. A study considering race, gender, etc. as the independent variable does not meet this expectation, as such variables are not manipulated by the experimenter.
The study is a quasi-experiment or correlational study that includes a difficult-to-obtain sample, i.e., a sample other than North American college students or rats. For example, the sample may be composed of children, elders, adults receiving mental health services, college students outside of North America, etc.
The study is a quasi-experiment or correlational study in which one of the main variables is operationally defined by using a method that the student has devised. This might involve the construction of a new questionnaire, coding system, etc. The student must also test the reliability of the measurement that they have devised.
Exceptional students may satisfy the research requirement by petitioning the department to enroll in Advanced Studies to complete an honors thesis project. Upon successful completion of the project, the student will be recommended for College Honors in Psychology. Students are generally invited by the Department to propose an honors project at the end of their junior year. Be sure to thoroughly discuss this option with your advisor if you're interested in completing an honors project.
Other Resources
Other Resources
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