Also in this issue - Home - PsyPAG · How I learned to stop worrying and love the thesis ... were...

Electrodes on babies and whiskers on kittens

Psychology research on clinicalpopulations

Publishing, conferencing and writing-up

Also in this issue:Conference review

Lonely Brains

Issue 77 December 2010

Contents

Editorial – Julie Port 1

Chair’s Column – Sarah Wood 2

Electrodes on babies and whiskers on kittens – Hester Duffy 4

Psychology research on clinical populations: Limitations and ethical concerns – 8Andra Raisa Petca

A conspiracy again the laity? – John Radford 11

Conference Review: International Gambling Conference – Abby McCormack 14

Publishing, conferencing and writing-up: Hints at PhD success – Sophie von Stumm 18

How I learned to stop worrying and love the thesis – John Hyland 22

What’s your back-up strategy? – David A. Ellis 25

No longer a lone wolf: On being part of the Qualitative Methods in Psychology Section – 28Jenna Condie

Lonely Brains 30

Dates for your Diary 32

Bursaries: Need help with the cost of attending a conference? PsyPAG may be able to help... 34

About PsyPAG 35

PsyPAG Committee 2010/2011 36

St Andrews House, 48 Princess Road East, Leicester LE1 7DR, UKTel: 0116 254 9568 Fax: 0116 227 1314 E-mail: [email protected] www.bps.org.uk

© The British Psychological Society 2010Incorporated by Royal Charter Registered Charity No 229642

ISSN 1746-6016

EditorialJulie Port

Issue 77 December 2010 1© The British Psychological Society

ELLO AND WELCOME to the77th edition of the PsyPAG Quarterly.

We open the current issue with the columnfrom our Chair, Sarah Wood, who asks us toremember the importance of reflectivelearning especially over the Christmasperiod. We continue with Hester Duffy’sinteresting account of her research of infantsand ERP. This is followed by an informativediscussion by Rasia Pecta on the pitfalls ofclinical research. John Radford replies to aprevious article by Gareth Morris and JennaCondie, in PsyPag Quarterly 74 on profes-sional identity, providing us with a numberof thought provoking points for thosewishing to become professional psycholo-gists. The next article is a conference reviewby Abby McCormack who shares her experi-ence at the International Gambling Confer-ence, held in New Zealand this year.

This issue contains three articles full ofwisdom for students at different stages of thePhD process. Sophie Von Stumm provides agreat deal of thorough information that noone ever tells you. John Hyland providessome light at the end of the tunnel for thosein the final stages and discusses some issues(and how to overcome them). Finally DavidEllis discusses the importance of backing-upyour data, giving a number of helpful tips –useful to all of us, no matter what the stageof our PhD!

The final article is by Jenna Condie, whodiscusses the benefits on being part of theQualitative Methods in Psychology Section. I placed this article near the end because I wanted it to be close to the list ofcommittee members. If you are thinkingabout joining a Division or Section but wantto know more, please feel free to e-mail oneof our representatives.

We accept a variety of submissions,including conference reviews, departmentalreviews, discussion articles, research in brief,interviews, book and software reviews, orhints and tips. We understand that you needto keep the results from your research topublish, but we would like to hear aboutyour experiences. For example, if somethingwent wrong, tell us how you solved theproblem. Also, if you do have results whichyou do not intend to publish elsewhere, wewould love to publish them.

PsyPAG has a new website(www.psypag.co.uk) and I would like tothank and congratulate Hester Duffy(Communications Officer, and websitedeveloper) on a job well done! We haveincluded lots of new resources including arecommended reading list, interactiveforums, ‘Lonely Brains’ column, and links toTwitter and Facebook. Please take a look andtell us what you think.

I hope you enjoy the current edition andwould love to receive an article from you inthe future. All of us in the PsyPAG QuarterlyEditorial Team hope you have a goodChristmas break and a Happy New Year!

Julie PortOn behalf of the PsyPAG Quarterly EditorialTeam 2010–2011, Emily Collins, CharlotteMcLeod and Claire Miller.

H

2 PsyPag Quarterly© The British Psychological Society

T THIS TIME OF YEAR, I think that itis a good time to reflect on the year

that has gone and the promises ofthe year ahead. For PsyPAG it has been a yearof change, with a number of long-standingcommittee members leaving us and a lot ofnew faces joining at our AGM in July. Hope-fully you will have noticed some of thesechanges, our website (www.psypag.co.uk) hasundergone a revamp including a new forum,allowing you to network with fellow post-graduates, getting advice and support orhaving a natter about non-psychologyrelated topics and we have increased ourpresence on Facebook and Twitter. Our aimwith these initiatives is to get members moreinvolved with PsyPAG, after all we are here tosupport, recognise and represent you,psychology postgraduates. To this end, as I said in my September column, if you haveany comments on our recent activities orwhat to suggest something that we should bedoing, please get in touch with us; eitherwith myself or a relevant committee member.

While the Christmas and New Yearperiod provides an obvious place to reflectupon what has been and what is to come,reflection should be an ongoing process andit is important to make time for it within yournormal schedule not just after key mile-stones or events. Reflective practice is some-thing which is advocated on the professionaltraining routes for psychologists, be itclinical or forensic and is something thatfirst came to light for me while undertakingmy MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology.For me this means, after I have met with anathlete I will reflect upon the session,initially straight after the meeting and then aweek or two later. I have found that takingthe time to reflect has helped improve mypractices by challenging me to do thingsbetter but it has also allowed me to say

‘well done’ when sessions have beensuccessful. For those of you who are a bit ofa perfectionist, like me (all psychology post-graduates?), this is something that we don’tdo often and our successes, of whatever size,can often pass us by.

While reflective practice was born-out ofapplied disciplines, initially in nursing, I think that it is something that psychologystudents should also consider incorporatinginto their academic lives. As a postgraduatestudent we are often faced with jumpingfrom one challenge to another, with varieddemands on our time and an ever increasingto-do-list, with little time to stop and thinkabout what we have just done, what we havelearnt and where we are going next. Theseare necessary questions that we should betaking the time to address.

There are many models of reflective prac-tice in the literature and I would suggest thatyou go and have a look at them. While themodels do differ one of the commonalties isthat reflection should be a circular process.Considering a particular situation and whathappened and what you did is only thestarting point of reflection. From there youshould consider how you plan to do thingsdifferently (or not) if a similar situationoccurs and then put this action plan intopractice and start the circle of reflectionagain. Reflective practice should be an activeprocess not a passive one. Practically thiscould mean that you ask your supervisor tosupport your reflective practise in supervi-sion in meetings or that you actually set timeaside in your diary to reflect. Reflectionshouldn’t be an onerous process though,and rather than seeing it is another thingthat you have to do, you should view it as partof the tasks that you already have tocomplete. You also don’t have to reflect byyourself you can engage with reflective

Chair’s ColumnSarah Wood

A

Issue 77 December 2010 3

Chair’s Column

discussion with others, looking for commonthemes and learning from each other.

Of course, an argument could be madethat all of psychology research is based uponreflective practice: you reflect upon theexisting literature in order to build arationale for a new research question, youreflect upon how best to design a studybefore running it, you then reflect upon theresults that you get and where they fit withinthe knowledge we already have. The concernis that within this process our reflections aremainly focused on the research process andnot on the individual carrying out theresearch. While it can sometimes be difficultto divorce yourself from your work the reflec-tive process should have a focus on the indi-vidual and the actions that were or were notcarried out, the thoughts and feelings thathave been experienced in a situation andwhat you would like to do next. It might bethat you have spent weeks trying to analysesome data, getting more and more frustratedbefore a chance conversation with acolleague gives you the insight that youneed. Reflecting on such a situation youmight decide that when you are strugglingyou will always make sure that you talk it overwith someone else. Here you have not onlylearnt something about the research process(the appropriate analysis technique) but alsoabout yourself and the support mechanismsthat you should utilise.

While reflective practice can sometimesseem a bit ‘airy-fairy’, from a more hard-line,cynical perspectiveI would say that reflectioncan help when you starting applying for jobs.If you go for an academic interview there aregoing to be many other candidates who haveMasters degrees or PhDs and we all want tostand out from the crowd. If you can reflectupon your own abilities and the skills youhave gained during your studies as opposedto a sole focus on the content of your PhDthen you will be in a better place. This mayalso be truer of those of us that don’t stay inacademia, the topic of your PhD may be oflittle importance to your interviewer, butwhat are your transferable skills?

It has to be acknowledged that thereneeds to be further research carried out intothe effectiveness of reflective practice, espe-cially as a learning tool, but what is true tosay is as the use of reflective practise growswithin the applied psychology disciplines, itshould be something that academicresearchers also take note of.

In closing my column, I would like tothank the PsyPAG committee for all theirhard work during 2010 and would like towish you all a happy, relaxing and if possiblework-free festive season.

Sarah Wood PsyPAG ChairE-mail: [email protected]

STARTED WORKING in DevelopmentalPsychology several years ago, when I got ashort-term research assistantship at the

Oxford BabyLab. I’ve always got on well withbabies and young children, and I’m fasci-nated by language, so investigating howinfants learn words using social and saliencecues was a good fit for me. A large part of myjob involved recruiting parents to bring theirchildren in to be experimented on, and Iworried that the name, ‘The BabyLab’ wouldput them off, so I was always careful toexplain that it wasn’t like a lab at all, therewere no big jars full of chemicals, or strangemachines throwing off sparks, and that,contrary to the jokes of numerous friends,we weren’t growing babies in jars orattaching electrodes to them.

At the time though, I really didn’t knowanything about neuropsychology. In fact itwas only a couple of years ago that I reallydeveloped an interest in the detailed work-ings of the brain. A friend pointed me at theOxford Autumn School in Cognitive Neuro-science, an annual event aimed at postgradsand early career researchers, which presentsa variety of research, theory, and method-ology over the course of four intense days. Itsounded interesting and challenging, and Iwas able to get a bursary to cover my accom-modation costs, so I went along, with anopen mind and no particular expectations.

It sounds like an exaggeration, buthonestly, it opened a whole new world to me.The talks were just amazing; brains scans anddeep-brain stimulation, animal work andhuman work, tomography and fMRI andERP. It was exhausting, but absolutely fasci-nating. My favourite talk was by Mike Fox, atthe University of Washington in St Louis, onResting State Networks. I’d never even heard

of RSNs before, but Fox is a fantastic speaker,who put across his enthusiasm reallyeloquently as he explained how neuroscien-tists had started to look at the ‘backgroundnoise’ which we usually try to filter out of anyneurological measure. He described howthey’d found patterns, or networks, withinthat noise which turned out to be predictorsof a number of other measures; pre-testanxiety, performance on specific cognitiveskills, and more. I sat there open-mouthed,with two thoughts running through mybrain. Firstly that this was the neurocognitiveequivalent of the Big Bang; backgroundnoise that turns out to be immensely mean-ingful when you actually look at it properly.And secondly, that these RSN people hadfound the physiological root of personality,intelligence; perhaps even what we mightterm the soul! It was genuinely life-changingstuff, and I came away from the AutumnSchool determined that somehow, some day,I would get into cognitive neuroscience.

A year later, I started a new role, as a PhDstudent studying the processing of accentedspeech, taking both a developmental and aneuroscientific approach. I joined an on-going project, so my first two studies werealready set up when I started; a behaviouralstudy with infants, using a head-turn proce-dure, and an ERP study with adult partici-pants; my first real experience with puttingelectrodes on people’s heads. It was fantastic;injecting conductive gel through the acticapmade me feel like a proper (mad!) scientist,and although the data is still so complex itmakes my head spin, and we’ve had varioussoftware glitches along the way, I feel like I’darrived.

Both studies aimed to investigate differ-ences between the processing of foreign


Electrodes on babies and whiskers on kittensHester Duffy

I

versus regional accents. We know fromexisting work that unfamiliar accents cancause difficulty processing speech, and itseems likely that stronger accents interferemore than weaker ones. However, there’salso some evidence that we may process non-native accents (that is, those of peoplespeaking in a second language rather thantheir native tongue) in a way which is quali-tatively, and not just quantitatively differentfrom the way in which regional accents, evenstrong or unfamiliar ones, are processed.The head-turn study should help us topinpoint the age at which infants start torecognise words spoken in regional orforeign accents as acceptable variants ratherthan as novel words, while the adult studyallows us to look at the precise time-course ofword processing across different accents.The head-turn study is still running, but theadult data has indeed shown differencesbetween regional and foreign accents; wehope to explore these differences in moredetail with a new set of studies, includingone using functional Magnetic ResonanceImaging (fMRI).

I’m currently working on a new study,combining the previous two to create an ERPstudy for infants; finally, after all those yearsof people assuming I put electrodes onbabies for a living, I get to do it for real. It wasdaunting at first; adult participants mostlystay pretty still when you fit the cap, inject thegel, and wiggle the electrodes to get goodcontact. Eleven-month-old children are farless reliable, and infant ERP studies were anunknown quantity in our department, no-one had done them before. This study shouldallow us to see whether infants are treatingwords spoken with an accent as familiar orunfamiliar, without having to rely on behav-ioural cues, and in a way which we can mean-ingfully compare with the adult data. It willbe a long haul, as we need to successfully testat least 40 children, but the data we gathershould be genuinely informative.

To date, most of the infant work in thisfield has been carried out using behaviouralmeasures such as the Preferential Looking

procedure or the Head-Turn procedure,both of which take visual attention tocombined visual and auditory stimuli as ameasure of interest and thus of recognition.These paradigms use natural behaviours inrelatively natural settings, so they are usefuland ecologically valid in examining infantcognition. However, because they rely onhead or eye movements, and because infantsin particular are easily distracted and unreli-able as participants, these methods can beinsensitive. In some cases we may be unsurewhether a behavioural preference is due toperceived familiarity or novelty (both ofwhich can produce preferences underdifferent circumstances), and where there isonly a very small difference in behaviourtowards familiar and unfamiliar stimuli, wemay fail to reach statistical significance. Ourstudy is intended to tackle some of theseissues, bypassing behaviour to look directlyat brain activity, in the form of ERPs (Event-Related Potentials, or Evoked ResponsePotentials).

ERP studies use electroencephalography;that is, we use sensors across the scalp tomeasure the tiny changes in electrical activityacross the surface of the brain which areprompted by the presentation of stimuli orby performing tasks. ERPs can give us acertain amount of spatial information, indi-cating approximate areas of the brain whichare active during presentation, but their realstrength is that they give us very finetemporal resolution; we can measure thechanges in real time, and in slices of tens ofmilliseconds, whereas some other neuro-physiological measures, such as fMRI (func-tional Magnetic Resonance Imaging)provide much more precision in terms of thephysical structures of the brain, but muchpoorer temporal resolution. ERPs, there-fore, can be used to look at the fine differ-ences in speed of processing words whenpresented in variant forms, in a way which ismuch harder if not impossible using onlybehavioural measures. A large body ofexisting literature details a number of typicalresponse patterns to the auditory presenta-



tion of stimuli. One of these patterns isknown as MisMatch Negativity, or MMN, andit is the neurological equivalent of a behav-ioural startle response; a measurableresponse to an unfamiliar stimulus, which isattenuated with subsequent presentations ofthe same (or a very similar) stimulus. For ourpurposes, this is a useful response; we canhabituate participants to a specific word, andthen present it again in an unfamiliar accent.As with a startle response, we can then lookat the dishabituation of the MMN to seewhether the new stimulus is being treated asfamiliar (in which case we would expect littleor no dishabituation) or unfamiliar (inwhich case we would expect a much greaterdegree of dishabituation). We can also usethe same phenomenon to look at segmenta-tion; the ability to pick out individual wordsfrom a continuous speech stream, which isvital to infants’ early language learning.

With a certain amount of trepidation, afew months ago, we recruited a friendlyfamily (both parents came in), and explainedto them that their child was to be a test case.They were very understanding, and gaveconsent for their child to participate in ourexperiment. We explained in detail exactlywhat was involved in the experiment, andassured the parents that if the child becamedistressed we would stop. We provided lots ofsuitable toys (wipe-clean, not too noisy sincethis was an auditory study, and appropriatefor 11-month-olds), a Teletubbies video, setup a comfortable high chair, wired up thebaby-sized acti-cap, brought the gel to blood-temperature, and prepared our first partici-pant for the study. Even with short bluntneedles, working with syringes near the eyesof a wriggling infant is neither easy norcomfortable, but with a couple of colleaguesdistracting the baby, we managed it with noinjuries, to the child or to ourselves. The capsuccessfully lit up green (indicating that wehad good contacts across all electrodes), andwe ran the study the whole way through,while the baby gurgled and played andwatched Tinky-Winky and Po. Lo and behold,we had ERP data, from an infant.

ERP has both advantages and disadvan-tages for infant studies. Its sensitivity and itslack of need for overt behavioural responsesmake it useful when working with partici-pants who cannot be easily directed toperform a specific task, and because theinfants in an auditory study are passive anddon’t need to be attending to the stimuli(Sambeth et al., 2008, successfully usedsleeping neonates in an auditory study usingERP data), we can collect a large amount ofdata, without the need for pauses, orreliance on the infants paying attention. Nordo we need the infants to achieve behav-ioural thresholds, as we do with the Head-Turn procedure.

On the other hand, ERP studies typicallyhave a longer duration than behaviouralstudies, and before any data can becollected, we first have to fit the child with anActi-cap containing a number of sensors,each of which then has to be injected withconductive gel in order to ensure that a clearsignal is being received. This process can betime-consuming, some infants show strongobjections, either by becoming distressed (inwhich case the experimenter is ethicallybound to call a halt) or by tugging at the capor wires, which both disrupts the setup andcan cause damage to the equipment, againrequiring the experimenter to halt theprocedure. In addition, the sensitivity of theEEG equipment means that ERP data isnecessarily very noisy, even in adult partici-pants, and even more so in infants, who areunlikely to remain still and silent throughoutdata collection. Unwanted cerebral activity,as well as muscular activity from the head,face and neck, create interference whichmust be filtered out before analysis, whichnecessitates large data sets, created bycollecting data from multiple trials fromeach of many participants.

Some months later, we’ve tested around30 babies, and most of them haven’tobjected too strongly to the whole process. A few have, of course, but doing develop-mental work, you have to expect a fairly highdrop-out rate, and on the whole, they’ve

6 PsyPag Quarterly

Hester Duffy

been surprisingly relaxed about it. I didworry that the parents would be anxious dueto the wires and the syringes, but again,they’ve all been pretty relaxed about it. Infact, a lot of them giggle and take photos! Wehaven’t analysed the data yet as we still havea lot of babies to test; because all ERP data,and ERP data from infants in particular, is sonoisy, we need large data sets. But after asteep learning curve at the beginning, I’mpretty proficient now at getting the cap setup quickly and with minimum stress to thebabies. And I have to admit, I do get a kickout of the fact that I am now doing exactlywhat I got teased about all those years ago;putting electrodes on babies!

CorrespondenceHester DuffyUniversity of Plymouth.E-mail: [email protected]

ReferenceSambeth et al. (2008). REFERENCE MISSING?



UNDERTAKING research on clinicalpopulations can be very difficult, espe-cially for postgraduate students. The

academic world and the employers from theapplied psychology fields value researchexperience that connects directly with atarget population, and moving away fromabstract research projects is more difficultthat it may seem. This article delineates someof the challenges and ethical concernsinvolved in postgraduate psychology researchpertaining to people with mental illness andit provides hints about ways of overcomingcertain limitations and restrictions. However,the discussion pursued below is open todebate and should be regarded as a call foraction from the part of postgraduate studentswho want to expand their research opportu-nities pool in order to include the clinicalenvironment as a viable option.

Conducting research is a strenuousendeavour, particularly in applied areas ofpsychology that deal with vulnerable popula-tions such as people with mental illness.Pursuing an investigation using the clinicalpopulation is especially challenging for post-graduate students. This is because postgrad-uates are expected to make importantcontributions to research discoveries, buthave little access to patients and henceencounter far more difficulties than quali-fied clinicians. Enabling postgraduates towork with vulnerable people is beneficial toboth the students and the clients/patients.On the one hand, students can emerge intothe applied field while studying and can thusbetter observe the connection betweenabstract notions and real-world situations.On the other hand, the people with mental

illness have the opportunity to express theirneeds and concerns to people who are not sorestrained by the theoretical framesembedded in clinical practice but who stillhave a genuine curiosity and desire to under-stand the seemingly unknown. Despite suchbenefits for both parties involved in mentalhealth care, postgraduate access to vulner-able people is restricted. Consequently,before submitting a research proposal thatimplies the involvement of clinical popula-tions, several limitations and ethicalconcerns should be taken into account.

First and foremost, access to participantsis highly restrictive. It is very likely that, if theresearcher does not work within the NHS,he/she will not be granted approval forpursuing any research with patients withmental illness. This is mainly because suchpatients are extremely vulnerable and couldelicit potentially dangerous behavioursdirected towards themselves or others if nottreated according to appropriate medicalguidelines. Moreover, it might be that, withthe best of intentions, the research itselfcould be harming to the participants andtheir successful recovery. Therefore, theNHS employs substantial measures to safe-guard these vulnerable people, includingdenying access for postgraduate psycholog-ical research. Nevertheless, there are otherways to obtain permission for research atpostgraduate level. One way would be tovolunteer in a clinical setting and thusundergo special training in communicatingwith patients with mental illness. Anotherway would be to find a qualified clinicianthat is willing to directly supervise andmonitor the research as to ensure the safety


Psychology research on clinicalpopulations: Limitations and ethicalconcernsAndra Raisa Petca

and well-being of both the participants andthe researcher throughout the entire investi-gation process. Even in such cases though,the permission to conduct research withinan NHS environment could take as long asone year, which, in some situations, could betoo long. If these solutions fail, a differentoption would be to conduct research onhealthy populations. For example, one couldinvestigate the results or scores on mentalhealth related measures and then comparethe different degrees of mental health withinthe general population.

Supposing that access to participants isgranted, researchers need to confront asecond limitation, that of a small sample size.In many occasions, patients are hospitalisedbecause their mental state is severelydisrupted; hence their involvement inresearch could, at times, be impossible.However, there are numerous people thatstruggle with mental illness, perhaps only themost severe cases are hospitalised whilstothers benefit from other types of care suchas community help or outpatient psycho-therapy sessions. One should thus keep inmind that quantitative research might not bea viable option due to the small number ofinpatients able to participate.

Furthermore, methods of enquiry such asfocus groups could be difficult to pursue.One reason is that dealing with one patientat a time could already require extensivecaution and special attention as to avoidpatient’s distress and regression fromrecovery. Group dynamics could increase thechances of maladaptive outbursts due topossible divergences of opinion betweenparticipants or due to a sense of discomfortin the group setting, which an inexperiencedresearcher could involuntarily foster.Another reason for why focus group conduc-tion is not recommended is the fact thatmany inpatients are under substantial phar-macological treatment that might makeinteraction with other patients difficult, thusdefying the entire purpose of an interactivediscussion. Additionally, the bigger thegroup is, the more complicated it is to gather

patients. This is due to the fact that, duringhospitalisation, all patients have to undergoseveral investigations and treatment proce-dures, which means that they all have busyschedules.

It seems that the limited access to clinicalpopulations, the likelihood of recruitingonly a small sample size leads to a restrictedrange of research pursuits that could, at best,involve individualised qualitative researchmethods. In combination, this suggests thatinterviews could be the best option in post-graduate clinical research. Results from suchendeavours could be simple accounts thatcould validate previous findings or, if uniqueresults are found, these could potentiallyenrich scientific knowledge. Nevertheless,interviews have their own shortcomings.Firstly, one should make sure that the dura-tion of the interview is generally short, askeeping vulnerable patients engaged for along time might be challenging, especiallywhen the researcher has a low level ofexpertise in dealing with mentally illpatients. Secondly, even though conductinginterviews with patients whose condition hasbeen thoroughly researched might seem lessappealing, it could be that a wide literatureabout these patients might help theresearcher become aware of the possibleproblems that could arise with that partic-ular type of patient. For example, patientswith borderline personality disorder areknown to be extremely manipulative, afeature which an inexperienced researchermight not be able to detect unless he/she isaware of such a possibility. Thirdly, unique,rare cases seem exciting to investigate but, inthe same time, the paucity of knowledgeabout these cases might make the investiga-tion and data interpretation more difficultfor someone who does not have a lot of expe-rience with mentally ill patients in general.

In light of all the limitations mentionedabove, several ethical concerns arise. On theone hand, postgraduate investigations couldprovide significant data that could be a dooropener for impressive scientific discoveries.Likewise, it could show the interest and expe-


Psychology research on clinical populations

rience in clinical research of the postgraduatestudent and thus provide him/her with anadvantage in being considered for furtherclinical training or job applications, which, inturn, could foster the opportunity for evenmore scientific development. On the otherhand, the low level of clinical expertise andthe lack of certification in clinical psychologycould not only threaten the fidelity ofresearch (i.e. how well the researcher adheresto professional guidelines) but could alsounnecessarily endanger clinical patients. Is itthen ethical to pursue a research project thatonly validates previous literature, assumingthe risk of possibly harming the recoveryprocess of the patients due to a lack ofexpertise in the field? Also, if the investigationseems promising in revealing new findings,should the well being of one or a few patientsbe considered over or below the well being ofthe entire community of patients with thatspecific disorder? What is more, if no post-graduate research is granted, then it becomesclear that this research would have to bepursued by qualified clinical professionalsonly. Therefore, the research findings wouldonly be left to professionals who have tobalance a conflict of interests; that is, balancethe concerns pertaining to both their qualityof clinical practitioner who has his/herpatient’s well being at heart and their qualityof researcher whose focus is scientificadvancement and the well being of thepatient community as a whole.

In support of the aforementioned issues,I will provide the example of my own experi-ence as a postgraduate student in the UK. I wrote my MSc dissertation about the expe-rience of clinical interventions of adoles-cents with Borderline Personality Disorder.Although my qualitative study receivedethical approval from the University, I waswarned that the approval process within theNHS might be quite strenuous and that I might not receive ethical clearance in duetime to finish my course. Fortunately for me,I was granted approval from a teachingpsychiatry hospital in Romania, where I conducted my research. Nevertheless, at

the hospital, I struggled with issues such assample size or ability of the patients to parti-cipate in the study due to poor mentalhealth. Supervision and guidance from thequalified practitioners was very useful inlearning how to interact with the patientsbut the freedom to pursue my researchproject as specified in my proposal helpedme maintain the autonomy of my ideas.Looking back on my experience, I identifiedsome limitations of my study as well as someweaknesses of my own, for example, anempathic attitude that condoned emotionalmanipulation by the patient. While theshortcomings of the research can draw atten-tion to issues to be improved in furtherstudies, awareness of my personal drawbackshelped me observe aspects that I need towork on so that I can become a betterequipped researcher and practitioner.

To sum up, pursuing postgraduateresearch in clinical populations is not easy. Itimplies struggling with a wide range of limi-tations and ethical concerns and it confines adebate about the best way of achieving anequilibrium between overcoming researchchallenges and maintaining the well-being ofthe patients with mental illness. It should,therefore, become a mission of postgraduatestudents and clinical professionals to createan environment that could foster entry-levelresearch pursuits while catering to the healthinterests of the clinical participants. Perhapsone way to surmount such difficulties wouldbe to include an applied psychology modulein the postgraduate curriculum of researchcourses in which, postgraduate studentscould learn skills of approaching inpatientswith mental illness for research purposes.Either way, it is certainly up to the postgrad-uate students to lobby for their rights toconduct research on clinical populations in asafe and productive manner.

CorrespondenceAndra Raisa PetcaInstitute of Health and Society,University of Worcester.E-mail: [email protected]

10 PsyPag Quarterly

Andra Raisa Petca


F YOU VISIT Lord’s Cricket Ground (andif you haven’t you should), and look acrossthe grass at the Pavilion, suggesting

I always think the Governor’s residence insome far-flung province of Empire, you seein the centre the steps down which come theumpires and the teams. To the right as youface it, is a small annexe with another flightof steps. Until 1963 the professionals, knownas Players, came onto the field here. ThePavilion was reserved for the amateurs, theGentlemen. The two did not mix socially.

Gareth Morris and Jenna Condie, inPsyPag Quarterly 74, discussed the search for aprofessional identity. They concentrated on‘identity’, and said less about ‘professional’.The British Psychological Society formerlyhad a Council, and two Boards, for Profes-sional and Scientific Affairs respectively. Thiscarried, I thought, the unfortunate implica-tion that scientists could somehow not beprofessional, and professionals could not bescientific. There was further, and perhaps stillis, a rift between the Society and the universi-ties, the latter feeling that the Society tried toimpose restrictions on academic freedom, inthe interests of making degrees in psychologya step towards professional qualification. Thisis now formalised in the Graduate Basis forRegistration (GBR). All Departments whosecourses qualify advertise it, presumably toattract students, although it will be useless tothose (at least three-quarters of intake) whowill never become professional psychologists.

I think this is a serious problem. But onthe other hand, I think that professionalism,properly considered, should not only markthe various applied branches of Psychology,but is in many ways what higher educationshould be about. I touched on this in PsyPAGQuarterly 68, September 2008. There is nolegal definition of what constitutes a profes-sion. But there are several generally recog-

nised characteristics (Warren Piper, 1992;Eraut, 1994; Radford, 1997, 2003a). I thinkthey should apply, with some variations, tothe academic, scientific, applied, profes-sional and any other activities of psycholo-gists (to say nothing of other disciplines).

First, formal and intellectual training,based on a shared body of knowledge, bothpractical and theoretical. This means muchmore than a set of skills, important thoughthese are. There must be a grasp of the rangeof knowledge underlying the practice, and ofits fundamental principles.

Second, a commitment to the best inter-ests of the client, and acceptance of codes ofconduct, enforceable when necessary. Oneexpects a physician or lawyer to do what isbest for the client, not what they prefer orfind convenient. They should do so althoughthe client may not be able to tell the differ-ence. In other words, the professional mustbe trustworthy. In the case of academics, theclient is the student. There is an obligationto teach what students need (not the same aswhat they want, though that is a legitimateconcern), rather than what interests you(though that is also a valid concern).

Third, exclusion of the unqualified. A piece of paper does not guarantee goodpractice, but it should mean that a standardhas been reached, and it is often somethingthat can be withdrawn if that is not main-tained. In education, it is absurd to insist thatno-one can teach on a course without aformal qualification in that particular area.There have been distinguished professorswith no academic qualifications at all. Anydiscipline can benefit from outsiders. Butone does not want complete charlatansteaching.

Fourth, accountability for what isachieved, rather than for specific actions.What you need from your GP, or your clinical

A conspiracy against the laity?John Radford

I

psychologist, is to get better, without assessingthe particular treatment. In education theresults are, or should be, long-term as well asshort. Students need to pass exams, itself amedium-term rather than immediate result.The real test is the rest of their lives, thoughevidence is hard to come by. It makes littlesense to try to assess teaching by whetherenough handouts are given or forms filled in,though these are (perhaps) necessary tools.Indeed it is counter-productive.

Fifth, responsible, autonomous workwithout direct supervision. Once again, theprofessional must be trusted, this time bythose in authority.

Sixth, autonomy and self-regulation ofthe profession itself. There must be a robustsystem, not only to direct the profession’saffairs, but to monitor the behaviour of itsmembers, in line with the accepted codes ofconduct. This should include a significantinput from outside the profession itself, toensure objectivity.

In Bernard Shaw’s The Doctor’s Dilemma,the elderly physician Sir Patrick Cullenpronounced all professions ‘conspiraciesagainst the laity’. That is indeed one of themajor dangers of professionalism. A profes-sion may become arrogant, secretive anddefensive. When something goes wrong itcloses ranks to protect its members. That iswhy the sixth point above is vital. The othermajor danger is stagnation. Professionaltraining and practice may become hide-bound, and reject anything new. Physiciansat first refused to accept anaesthetics or anti-septics, and there are many other examples.These dangers must be actively guardedagainst. But professionalism can and shouldalso, indeed mainly, provide protection forthe ‘laity’, that is the clients or public. And itis far better if this is done willingly and withfull commitment by individual members,rather than reluctantly under compulsionfrom outside. Regulations and systems arenecessary, but they are not sufficient. Thefailure of Members of Parliament to graspthis was a major factor in the recent furoreover their expenses.

These principles I believe should charac-terise universities, and those who teach inthem, and the graduates they produce. Theessence of them I sum up as responsibleautonomy, or the ability to make informed,rational decisions, while having regard to theinterests of others.

Compulsion, however, is beloved ofgovernments of all hues, and attacks onprofessional autonomy are ongoing. This isonly the latest stage in a long story, whichbegins with the emergence of universities inthe early Middle Ages, to provide trainingfor the professions of law, medicine andtheology (Radford, 1997, 2003b). InEngland at least, this function was laterlargely lost, until by the 18th century theywere almost finishing schools for gentlemen(and for Anglican clergy). In the 19thcentury, the ethos became one of a non-specialised education for an elite governingclass. This in turn gave way to the ideal ofresearch as the essential criterion of highereducation, as it still largely remains. Appliedor professional training took second place,just as the professional sportsman was infe-rior to the unpaid amateur, despite the factthat the former usually won when theycompeted together, which in many sportswas forbidden, for example, athletics. (Mynamesake, Professor Peter Radford, haspointed out that only amateur times wentinto the record books.)

Psychology has struggled for more than acentury to develop a professional identity,for many reasons including that one.Another is the extremely diverse nature ofthe discipline. The study of human behav-iour is necessarily so wide that many‘psychologists’ are engaged in completelydifferent activities, and even adopt widelydifferent labels (such as neuroscientist orcounsellor). A major factor is ever-increasingcentral control, manifested in the tsunami ofbureaucracy besetting both education andthe professions. Then there are thecompeting interests of other professions,especially medicine. The shotgun marriageof psychology with the Health Professions

12 PsyPag Quarterly

John Radford


Council, despite its inappropriateness for somany of our activities, manifests both the lasttwo factors.

These are all powerful forces. Neverthe-less I hope it will be possible for futurepsychologists, now at postgraduate level, todevelop their own professional values andindependence. And that these remarks willadd to the food for thought offered byGareth Morris and Jenna Condie.

CorrespondenceJohn RadfordUniversity of East London.E-mail: [email protected]

ReferencesEraut, M. (1994). Developing professional knowledge and

competence. London: Falmer.Radford, J., Raaheim, K., deVries, P. & Williams, R.

(1997). Quantity and quality in higher education.London: Jessica Kingsley.

Radford, J. (2003a). The professional academic. In R. Bayne & I. Horton (Eds.), Applied psychology(pp.118–129). London: Sage.

Radford, J. (2003b). The higher education context.In R. Bayne & I. Horton (Eds.), Applied psychology(pp.184–194). London: Sage.

Warren Piper, D. (1992). Are professors professional?Higher Education Quarterly, 46, 145–156.

A conspiracy against the laity?

Author name


Conference Review

International Gambling Conference –Gambling in the 21st century: The implications of technology for policy,practice and researchAbby McCormack

24–26 February 2010, Auckland, New Zealand.

THE International Gambling Conferenceis perhaps the biggest conference in thearea of gambling research. This year the

focus was on the implications of technologyfor policy, practice and research and washeld in Auckland, New Zealand. The confer-ence was hosted by the Problem GamblingFoundation of New Zealand (PGFNZ), theGambling and Addictions Research Centreof Auckland University of Technology(AUT), and Hapai Te Hauora Tapui MaoriPublic Health. This was the first year thatthree organisations worked together toorganise the conference and it was a greatsuccess with over 220 delegates attendingfrom around the world including Australia,Canada, US, Singapore, Macau, Finland,Hong Kong, Germany, The Netherlands,Sweden and the UK. I would like share myexperience of presenting at this conferencein order to give an insight to other postgrad-uate students who may be involved withconferences in the future.

I wanted to attend the conferencebecause it had some excellent keynotespeakers and relevant symposia which wouldallow me to become aware of the latestresearch in online gambling. My abstract onthe motivating and inhibiting factors ofengaging in online gambling behaviour wasaccepted as an oral presentation.

The conference consisted of a fullacademic programme with six parallel

sessions over three days. It was opened byProfessor Max Abbott (Auckland University)and involved a Maori welcome and prayer. It was particularly nice to see a strong multi-cultural focus at the conference. Thekeynote speakers were Moana Jackson(Maori Legal Service), Professor RobertWilliams (University of Lethbridge) andProfessor David Korn (University ofToronto).

Having read a lot of papers written byProfessor Robert Williams and ProfessorDavid Korn, I was particularly excited toattend these sessions, and they did not disap-point. These speeches stood out because ofthe expertise in which they were delivered.Professor Robert Williams’ presentationfocused on internet gambling. He gave asummary of the history of internet gambling,and continued to explain recent develop-ments, including the different regulatoryframeworks used in different countries andthe concerns regarding internet gambling.He completed his talk with the pros and consof legalised internet gambling. In the UK allforms of gambling are legal includinginternet gambling, however, in many coun-tries (e.g. US, China, Russia, Greece,Portugal, South Korea) internet gambling isillegal. It was interesting to hear how and whythese countries prohibit internet gambling,and, of course, the ‘best’ policy approach willbe different for different jurisdictions.

Professor David Korn talked aboutgambling from a public health perspectiveand how to further prevent gambling harmsin a range of populations as well as to betterinform governments and policy makers as tothe measurable costs and benefits ofgambling.

The conference really was a great oppor-tunity for me. I was able to meet some of thekey researchers in my field of study anddiscover the latest research and issues. Theconference enabled me a clearer under-standing of how gambling research is dissem-inated and the importance of discussingyour own research and others, in order todevelop and understand the issues andresearch prevention of gambling problemsand improved treatment outcomes. It wasalso useful to attend a conference focusedspecifically on gambling research. This wasthe first gambling conference I hadattended, and also the first internationalconference I had attended.

I presented on the second day of theconference in one of the afternoon sessionsin front of many international academics. I was also the only person from the UKattending the conference and I felt manypeople were actually quite keen to hear firsthand some of the research perspectives fromthe UK. On the other hand, this perhapsincreased my nervousness prior to presentingas I felt a great deal of pressure to do well,even though I was well prepared and hadpracticed my talk. However, I tried to look atit as a great opportunity to present my workto a knowledgeable audience and saw it as achallenge rather than something to fear.

Once I started my presentation, I settledinto it well and my talk ran smoothly. I wasgiven some encouraging feedback and acouple of questions from delegates.Although I was very nervous beforehand butI felt the presentation was actually a successand I am proud that I was able to do it well.The experience provided me with an oppor-tunity to enhance my presentation skills andmy confidence and to engage in academicdiscussion with a knowledgeable audience.

While gambling research is predomi-nantly carried out in the US, UK, Canada,Australia and New Zealand, it was great tohear from European, Asian and Pacificresearchers who are also productivelycontributing to the field. The conferencehighlighted the variety of research beingundertaken in the field of gambling and thepotential for future research was trulyimmense. The sessions were well attendedwhich is a credit to the conference delegates,and the conference organisers for puttingon such a well run and highly informativeconference. Everyone I met at the confer-ence was friendly and eager to discuss ideasabout research that had been presented.This left me feeling motivated and enthused,as I’m sure many others did, and inspired meto think about new directions in which totake my own research.

One of the highlights for me (as I think itwas for many), was the consumer voicespanel. This was where people who had beendirectly affected by problem gambling talkedabout their personal stories. This was a greatsession as it is not often that we have thechance to hear directly from the peoplewhose lives have been impacted by gambling.They had the opportunity to share theirideas about legislation that could provideprotection for individuals, families andcommunities.

Poster sessions were also used to displayand illustrate various studies on gamblingresearch and allowed opportunities tointeract and discuss the findings with theauthors in detail. I found myself in discus-sion with a research fellow from FlindersUniversity, Adelaide, on her project lookingat the effectiveness of naltrexone therapy intreatment resistant gamblers. This is an areaI have little knowledge about so I found itparticularly interesting talking to her andhearing about the findings.

I would encourage any postgraduatestudent to attend and present at a confer-ence that relates to their research. It is anexcellent way to meet and interact withothers in your field of research, and it is


International Gambling Conference

16 PsyPag Quarterly

important to keep up-to-date with currentdevelopments in your research area. Toconclude I would like to thank PsyPag forsupporting me in this invaluable experienceby providing me with an internationalconference award. It provided me with agreat opportunity to develop a number ofskills, obtain feedback about my work, andreceive insights from experiencedresearchers and practitioners. I would alsolike to acknowledge my supervisor, ProfessorMark Griffiths, for his support and contribu-tion towards my research talk.

CorrespondenceAbby McCormack?????? ????????????E-mail:

Abby McCormack


Title

THERE ARE MANY REASONS for doinga PhD. For some postgraduate studentsit is an early stepping stone to a career

in academia, for others it’s an opportunity todevelop skills that guarantee a highly paidjob in the world of business and for somelucky kids it is simply a chance to developtheir intellect and pursue the passion ofcuriosity without the lure of any profit.Conversely, ‘PhD success’ includes a widerange of outcomes, such as having an orig-inal idea, publishing articles in scientificjournals, establishing business contacts,presenting at conferences, developing aresearch programme, winning researchawards, and most importantly completing(and passing) the thesis in time whilstsecuring a tenured position at an Ivy Leagueuniversity. It is beyond the scope of thisarticle to cover all aspects that constitutePhD success; therefore, I will focus on what Iconsider the three essentials of PhD success– publishing, conferencing and writing up.These are – besides an enormous amount ofsex, drugs and rock’n’roll – indispensible tomake miserable college accommodations,tiny offices without printer and coffee maker,and lonely late nights with the laptop worth-while.

PublishingEarly research projects – for example, a Master’s thesis, an extended literaturereview or a third-year dissertation – may notqualify as invited essay in Science but tryingto publish these will be nonetheless a valu-able (even though sometimes painful) expe-rience and a first step to developing aresearch track-record. It is best to start thewrite-up of the original thesis as a journalarticle immediately after (or if you are really

good, simultaneously with) submitting thedissertation because with time you do forget,you do lose the data, you do lose touch withyour supervisor, and suddenly your thesis isthis dark corner of neglect and fadedmemory.

Publishing any postgraduate research,either from your Master’s or your PhD,involves rigorous and drastic re-writing,cutting, and most importantly ruthless short-ening. It is helpful to identify early on anumber of suitable target journals (ask yoursupervisor for advice) and to pay attention totheir submission criteria and formattingrules. Some journals accept different types ofarticle submissions (some do not), such asshort communications, meta-analytic reviewsand original research papers, each of whichmight come with a different word limit, regu-lations regarding table and figure designs,and specific referencing styles.

Note that publishing is not a quick, noteven a timely issue but it is a lasting, seem-ingly endless cycle of revisions, proof-reading and editing. If your submission isfortunate enough to be sent out for review bythe editor, you will receive the first, oftenanonymous reviews within three to fourmonths (by then, you are usually busy doingsomething else). Depending on the journal,your submission will be reviewed by two tofive independent peers, who potentiallyaddress anything ranging from concernsabout the statistical analysis to problems withthe experimental design, limitations of thetheoretical rationales to grammar, writingstyle and table formatting. In response, youwill draft a hail-fellow-well-met letter inwhich you express your gratitude and happi-ness to rewrite and re-analyse your work; thatis, you address each concern raised and


Publishing, conferencing and writing-up:Hints at PhD successSophie von Stumm


describe the corresponding amendmentsyou have undertaken (if you are the auda-cious type, explain why you were right in thefirst place and there is no need for changes).In the worst of cases, the reviewers rejectyour paper and you will have to resubmit toa different, usually less prestigious journal*.This is surely frustrating but no cause forworry: some of the greatest papers inpsychology were been repeatedly rejected byhigh impact journals before being success-fully published.

If the paper is accepted after (possiblyseveral rounds of) revisions, proofs needreading, editing and confirmation beforethe release of the online version (in press),and eventually the journal print about threemonths later. In case you planned to cele-brate your first paper publication, do it onthe day of acceptance and don’t wait until itis printed – no bottle of champagne has everlived longer in my fridge than the one forthe first paper which took two years from anelectronic word document submission to asoft-bound journal copy. That said, in theworld of nerdy PhD students there is littlethat beats the euphoria of turning the pagesof an article with your name on it.

Publishing in peer-reviewed journalsdoes not only beautify your CV but makesyour work known and respected amongstfellow researchers. Most importantly, thepeer-reviews offer a uniquely rewardingopportunity to learn and to improve yourwork. Of course, there are more and lessuseful reviews (‘the authors haven’t cited mypublications, so their paper is no good’ or ‘I have no clue about this field but I don’tlike it’) but some will raise theoretical ideas,methodological concerns and researchadvice that truly strengthen the paper as wellas your own research skills. For example, I would probably not have learned about theimportance of manipulating the defaultsettings in MPlus for latent class analysis or

what full information maximum likelihoodestimation does to missing data if it was notfor Paul Silvia’s and Keith Widaman’s metic-ulously detailed reviews.

I would also recommend writing peer-reviews for journals yourself during yourpostgraduate training when possible. Youcan start by asking your supervisor to reviewpapers he or she received in order to prac-tice. Later, you may register as a reviewerwith a journal that specialises in your field,detailing your research interests andexpertise; the editor will then get in touchwith you when evaluating a submission thatmatches your competence. Reviewing willenable you to learn of ongoing research inyour discipline before it is in print(remember that print takes a long time)and, therefore, to adjust and develop yourown research in line with the latest findings,theoretical advances and methodologicalprogresses.

ConferencingScientific conferences are a puzzlingparadox to me: they constitute a platform formembers of a profession, which typicallyattracts individuals who prefer solitude,quietness and even social isolation, to meetone another, chat, and perform nerve-racking oral presentations. To explain thisphenomenon, a very wise professorexplained to me the three reasons foracademics to attend conferences: jobs andnetworking, gossip and romance (with age asmoderating variable). I will only cover thefirst one; the other two might be enjoyed atdiscretion and in moderation.

In general terms, conferences are a greatopportunity to disseminate your work andalso to meet and greet key researchers inyour field. That is, there are chances toobserve and listen to seminal pioneers inpsychology whose work you have probablybeen reading, citing and using to develop


* Journal prestige is commonly assessed by the Impact Factor (IF), which is the average number of citationsreceived per paper published in a given journal during the two preceding years in science and social sciencejournals. Note that the IF is not necessarily and objective or meaningful indicator; see Folia Phoniatrica etLogopaedica as an example of successful IF manipulation.

your own research. Outgoing people willeven find occasions to take the relationship-building to the next level: academics, eventhe greatest truth seekers, are not free ofvanity – do not hesitate to flatter a much-admired professor into giving you a personallecture on his research insights and hissurely superior understanding of science.Such chitchat may not immediately trans-form into a professorship at Harvard butthere might be post-doc or junior positionsavailable in the much-admired professor’sdepartment. Also, the next time you have aquestion that google cannot answer or youhave an idea for a research collaboration,the much-admired professor will respond toyour e-mail in a kind, helpful and timelymanner.

Beware that conferences come with costs:you will have to cover a registration fee,travel, accommodation, expenses forconsumables and sometimes an additionalfee for the conference dinner. Some univer-sities offer conference money for their post-graduate students (check with yourDepartment), and some conferences havetheir own travel bursaries; if these optionsfail, you best apply for external funding, forexample from PsyPag or the ExperimentalPsychology Society. In any case, you shouldlook into funding options when you submityour conference contribution to completetravel bursary applications as soon as yourtalk or poster is confirmed (most fundingbodies require a conference contributionconfirmation to consider your application).

Writing the thesisYou might have been told to start writingyour thesis on the first day of the degree.Although this surely helps reducing thewriting-up pressure at the end of the threeyears, a warning is advisable: a researchthesis is a living, malleable and evolvingmatter and, therefore, writing too much intoo great detail in the beginning may solelybe a healthy exercise in writing but notmeaningfully contribute to the shape anddirection of the thesis at later stages.

Conducting and developing research,regardless if it is at undergraduate, postgrad-uate or professorial level, is highly contextdependent: that is, your supervisor, theuniversity resources and your fellow studentsand researchers will substantially shape yourdissertation. I will address each of thesefactors in the following, which may notappear to constitute a direct guide to ‘how towrite up your thesis’ (there is no such guide)but hopefully outlines how PhD studies anddissertations are affected by external factors,and how to benefit from and expand onexisting research provisions.

Some students like to be closely moni-tored and guided and matching supervisorswill map out each stage of the postgraduatetraining, ask for a substantial literaturereview and leave little space for chance find-ings or unrelated research projects. Somestudents wish to almost autocraticallydevelop their own research programme, andsupervisors act mainly as guarding angelsfixing errors in research designs whenpossible or suggesting novel ways of dataanalysis. Others will become closely involvedwith their supervisor’s academic work andprojects, and dive immediately into writingand publishing papers that can (hopefully)eventually be merged into a coherent thesis(if you can identify with this approach, checkwith your university if it is possible to do aPhD via publications). Personally, I was luckyto work with a supervisor, who introducedme to numerous collaborators and let meindependently run several research projects;who always encouraged me to go on trainingcourses, to apply for conferences, awardsand grants, and to use my research knowl-edge in business settings; and who at thesame time never tried to interfere with mynerdy stubbornness.

As much as the student-supervision styleaffects postgraduate research, so do theresources available to you – for example, youmight need special software packages foryour work, most of which are rather pricey.However, there is often a possibility to down-load trial versions, such as a full version of the

20 PsyPag Quarterly

Sophie von Stumm


structural equation modelling softwareAMOS, as well as of the meta-analysis softwareCMA (restricted to two weeks). There is alsoan increasing number of freely availablestatistic software packages, which are commu-nally developed by statisticians, geneticistsand psychologists, such as R and Open Mx(their only downside is that they requiresyntax writing). If you have to read journalarticles your university does not have accessto, do not hesitate to e-mail the first authordirectly and ask kindly for an electronic copy– in most cases, you will receive the paperwithin the next days. Also if you do notunderstand something in the requestedarticle, as well as in any other paper, do e-mailback and ask (again kindly) – it will be valu-able information for you to learn and for theauthor to improve his research and writing.In case you learned of a new book publica-tion in your field that you would like to readbut not necessarily have the petty cash to buy,you may prompt academic journals that printbook reviews to send you a copy of the bookin exchange for a commentary.

After supervision and resources, yourfellow students as well as researchers at youruniversity will help you to develop your thesisand research program. Attending depart-mental seminar series, journal clubs, post-graduate presentations and discussionrounds will broaden your understanding ofcurrent research not only with respect toyour own field but psychology in general.Even if some of the topics covered in suchsettings may seem rather unrelated to yourown work, they might be inspiring and some-times offer a new, challenging perspective onyour research. Dutiful PhD students runeasily the risk of single-mindedly focusing onone approach or methodology but trueknowledge and scientific advancement ismost often rooted in combining findingsand ideas of different disciplines and fields –anything goes.

Conference funding linkswww.psypag.co.uk/bursarieswww.eps.ac.uk/index.php/grindley-grants-for-conference-attendance

Software linkswww.spss.com/downloads/www.meta-analysis.com/pages/demo.htmlopen-mx.gforge.inria.fr/www.r-project.org/

The authorSophie von Strumm’s research interests rootin the field of Individual Differences with afocus on intelligence-personality associationsin the context of educational, social andhealth outcomes. She completed her PhD inPsychology at Goldsmiths University ofLondon under the supervision of Dr TomasChamorro-Premuzic, and is now a SeniorLecturer of Individual Differences at theUniversity of Chichester. She is winner of thisyear’s PsyPag Rising Researcher Award forher PhD thesis entitled ‘Intelligence, Invest-ment and Intellect: Re-examining Intelli-gence-Personality Associations’.

CorrespondenceSophie von StummGoldsmiths University of London.E-mail: [email protected]


WHEN I THINK of how I felt in thelatter days of my time as a post-graduate, a particular song by

The Eurythmics comes to mind. Accordingto Lennox and Stewart (1986) ‘...thorn in myside, you know that’s all you’ll ever be... Now everytime I think of you, I shiver to the bone’. Indeed,research students talk of many humorousmethods to avoid procrastination and to stayfocussed on the task of ‘writing up’, such ashumanising their work. There were timeswhen I would try to represent my findingsthrough interpretive dance, which usuallyinvolved frustrated punches in the air andintense shrugging of the shoulders. Regard-less of how one deals with the monster, itprovides the postgraduate student with avaluable set of skills that equips them for alife in a number of professional arenas. Oneobvious option, which I will talk about here,is lecturing. Many postgraduate psychologystudents will at some stage be approached toteach or tutor on particular modules duringthe semester. This provides a good opportu-nity for the student to get a small taste of theacademic duties one needs to learn tobalance later on in their careers. The prepa-ration and delivery of lectures is also throwninto the work cauldron with the continuingwriting of the thesis, and the correspondingarticles for prospective publication. Ifoffered, and subsequently accepted, oppor-tunities such as this will prepare you for thetransition to academic positions, a transitionfrom pure thesis focus to juggling thenumerous academic beanbags of profes-sional life.

I envisage that some readers at the partic-ular stage in their studies would agree thatthe final few months before the thesis hand-in date can be a very stressful and lonely

time. At this stage for me, the thesis was thefirst thing I thought about in the morningand the last thing before I fell asleep atnight. It began to take a starring role indreams, usually the central character of thestory. At this stage I found the social aspect ofmy life even more important. Keepingcontact with friends and loved ones, even totalk about something as trivial as theweather, helps to provide a distraction. Espe-cially at a time like this, when we find them-selves writing six to seven days a week forweeks and months on end. For me, it wasimportant to give myself one day where I tried to distract myself from thinking aboutthe thesis. Whether that involved walking onthe beach along the beautiful coast of Port-stewart, calling over to a friend’s house totalk about the inevitable Zombie apocalypse,or simply spend the day watching multipleDVDs at home.

There are a number of other obstaclesthat arise during the writing up period. Onethat I found especially frustrating is writer’sblock. I found that the best thing to do inthis situation was to be productive in otherways, instead of trying to break through aseemingly indestructible wall. There arealways other PhD-related issues that needaddressing. In the earlier part of your PhD,article sourcing and the generation ofspecific research questions are central to thedevelopment of the thesis. In the middlestages, when data has been collected, there isalways time for more analysis. Other dutiesand important tasks, such as lecture prepara-tion, and building the reference list, also canresult in productive days.

Another important issue that you canalso work on towards the end of the PhD isjob application preparation. More generally,


How I learned to stop worrying and lovethe thesisJohn Hyland

it is very useful to keep updating your CVwith your achievements and experiences asthey happen. I spent a lot of time ensuringthat I didn’t undersell my experiences andabilities. This can be quite easy to do, espe-cially when you are under time constraints toget job applications in before looming dead-line dates. It can also be time consuming tocraft your CV to fit with the emphasisedfields of the job in question, where some-times it may be necessary to strongly featureyour teaching experiences, or other timesresearch or administration experience maybe vital. In teaching institutes such as whereI am currently based, research is encouragedbut not a mandatory requirement. In thiscase, highlighting your teaching andtutoring experience may hold more impor-tance than your research portfolio.

If you are fortunate enough to be offereda job before you fully complete your thesis,be prepared to continue sacrificing some ofyour weekend. It is much too easy to put thethesis to one side and forget about it, asmany changes occur during this transition,and responsibility levels rise to include notonly your work, but the welfare of thestudents you teach. If you are like me, youmay be moving away from the institution youare affiliated with as a postgraduate student.This results in a house and office move,which can be a long and tedious process. A move to a new institution can also be quitedaunting, with questions emerging in yourhead regarding the social and professionaldynamics of the new institution. As previ-ously alluded to, all these additional pres-sures can distract from the completion of thePhD thesis. This is where good supervisorscan play a further role, if you allow them tobe. Though it may be incredibly frustratingto receive e-mails from your supervisorswhile you are preparing for the start of theteaching semester in your new job, it is vitalthat the PhD doesn’t disappear from the ‘ToDo’ list. In my experience, I asked my super-visors to keep e-mailing me for updates onthe thesis. What I found helpful was to putaside at least half a day during busy weeks

and a full day during the weekend to workon the thesis. Continue to check in with yoursupervisors and keep them updated with thecurrent status of the thesis, and the PhD willcontinue to develop nicely towards comple-tion.

In terms of preparation for the begin-ning of the semester, make sure you utilisethe options available to you. Supervisors mayoffer to help you with advice, ideas andresources that will help you in the prepara-tion of lectures. As an example, your super-visors may be able to provide adviceregarding tried and tested topic discussionsfor classroom involvement. This can givesome students an opportunity to discussissues that they are finding especially toughto grasp. Alternatively, it can provide theoccasion for students to develop a passionfor such topics, which can lead to idea gener-ation for final year theses topics. Manystudents enjoy the opportunity for this typeof classroom discussion. As a lecturer, youare there to offer a psychological perspectiveon particular topics, but there may bestudents who have unique experienceswhich can offer fascinating perspectives fordiscussion. For example, parents can offerunique life experiences to topics such asdevelopmental and educational psychology.Similarly, those who have worked particulartypes of jobs can offer much to topics such asorganisational psychology. Also, it’s perfectlyfine not to have the answers to every ques-tion. I have found in my short experience asa teacher that it is best, if I can’t answer aquestion, to take a note of it and answer itthe following week.

It can feel like a daunting task to makethe leap from research student to lecturer.No matter where you begin, try and appre-ciate that you are starting out on a road.Don’t allow yourself to get anxious aboutwhat is ahead. You cannot expect yourself tobecome a fantastic lecturer overnight. Iden-tify your strengths and play to them. Identifyyour weaknesses and work on them as youmove on. Students can wait for an answer toa question, and is a much better option than


How I learned to stop worrying and love the thesis

24 PsyPag Quarterly

trying to bluff your way through an answer.Best of luck with all your endeavours, and I hope some of this advice will help youalong your way!

CorrespondenceDr John Hyland??????? ???????????E-mail:

John Hyland

T IS ESTIMATED that 90 per cent of allnew information produced will be storedon magnetic media. These have become

the preferred long-term storage mechanismfor the personal computers that sit at everyPhD student’s desk. While rarely ever seen,these bundles of magnets help organise ourresearch data in ways that would have beenviewed as science-fiction about 20 years ago(Pinheiro, Weber & Barroso 2007). On theother hand, while there are few certainties inlife, one of them is hard disk failure. Giventhe incredible tolerances to which hard disksare manufactured, it is amazing that theywork at all!

Everyone will have had their own smallpersonal tragedy, where they lost a few hoursof work and given the prevalence ofcomputers in our lives, this is perhapsunavoidable. On the other hand there arehorror stories, which circulate with alarmingregularity. Most academics and post-docs canrecall a poor friend who lost a large chunk oftheir thesis a week before submission.

‘It will never happen to me’ is an attitudethat will not prevent someone from loosingtheir work, but taking a few careful precau-tions may, if the worst happens, turn a poten-tial disaster into a minor inconvenience.Furthermore, keeping subjects’ data secureis essential when complying fully with theData Protection Act and British Psycho-logical Society ethical guidelines.

While data can be lost, software (theprograms that run on your computer) willalmost never be responsible. Research hasconsistently shown that hardware failure(the actual physical bits inside thecomputer) and human error are the twomost common causes of data loss,accounting for roughly three-quarters ofincidents (Smith, 2003). On the plus side,most people are aware that if they highlight

all the text in, for example, a Word docu-ment and hit delete without backing up, allis not lost. The undo command (Ctrl+Z) canreverse the last action and bring the deletedtext back. But human error goes beyond theoccasional typo and even with the best fillingsystem in the world, things can go astray andaccidently end up in the recycling bin.

Fortunately and despite our human fail-ings, a few simple steps can almost eliminatethe worry of loosing your work, even if theworst should happen.

From the outset, your computer shouldbe secure so that anyone else who shares aflat or office space cannot access your fileswithout your say so. At the very least, a pass-word and user login should be requiredwhen switching on the computer. This islikely to be enabled by default on all networkmachines within a university department,but this is equally as important elsewhere.

To further help prepare yourself for the‘inevitable’ click of death, buy an externalUSB or Firewire-type hard drive. A 500Gbdrive is relatively cheap and is a more solidbase for data back-up than a USB stick thatcan easily become lost or damaged. Ofcourse, a back-up isn’t much use if it getsincinerated with your office or home. What-ever you choose to back-up on to, make sureyou make at least one other additional copyand store secondary back-ups offsite. Tomake this process easier, you might want toconsider backing up online with the likes ofDropbox, ADrive.com or File Cube, whooffer a basic service for free.

In the same way that the undo commandautomatically remembers the last fewactions, back-ups should also eliminate thefailings of human memory and be auto-mated wherever possible. Computers arebetter at dull repetitive tasks and there are somany applications to choose from that it


What's your back-up strategy?David A. Ellis

I

26 PsyPag Quarterly

makes a detailed comparison impossible.Most are either bundled with the operatingsystem (usually Windows or Mac OS X) orfree to download. If you use a Mac and haveOS X 10.5 or later, you will already haveaccess to Time Machine, which can fullyautomate all back-up tasks. Windows andLinux solutions are vast, but two utilities toconsider are DetaCopy and Ace Back-up.

The best back-up solutions are, however,not only those that back-up data automati-cally, but also archive old back-ups. Forexample, Time Machine can be set to back-up every hour, but will only back-up anythingthat has changed during that time and willkeep an archive of the last back-up. Imagineyou have a paper that is in its fifth draft, butyou now feel like the second draft was better.While you didn’t keep a copy of the seconddraft, you can still find this in your archiveback-ups.

Last but not least, test restoring data oncein awhile. There is no point backing-up dataonly to find that you can’t restore it whenneeded. If you have lost a substantial amountof information that hasn’t been backed-up, itmay still be recoverable. When informationfrom a computer is ‘deleted’, it is not physi-cally removed, but made available to be over-written with new data. Some computer shopsoffer a recovery service, but it isn’t cheap andthe old data my already have been over-written, making recovery almost impossible.

If all this technological responsibilitysounds like too much, you could always buya typewriter and an old filing cabinet offEbay! However, the availability of cheap harddisks and even cheaper bandwidth means ithas never been easier to keep regular back-ups of your work. Of course, your hard diskmight work perfectly until it becomes obso-lete, but it would be naive to assume that thiswill be the case.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

CorrespondenceDavid A. EllisUniversity of Glasgow.E-mail: [email protected]

ReferencesPinheiro, E., Weber, W. & Barroso, L.A. (2007).

Failure trends in a large disk drive population.Proceedings from the 5th USENIX Conference on File and Storage Technologies, 17–28.

Smith, M.D. (2003). The cost of lost data. GraziadioBusiness Report, 6(3) 1–10 .

David A. Ellis

WHEN I BEGAN my postgraduateresearch at the University ofSalford, one of the first suggestions

my supervisor made was to go and investigatethe Qualitative Methods in Psychology(QMiP) Section of the British PsychologicalSociety. I believe this was for two reasons:one, I was relatively inexperienced incarrying out qualitative research; and two, I was potentially in for a lonely ride, beingthe only psychologist (at the time) in ascience department. Moreover, as I was set toembark on a social constructionist approach,something quite alien to my fellow postgrad-uates with whom I share an office, the impor-tance of making supportive contacts withinthe qualitative psychology community wasessential.

For the purposes of transparency I shalldeclare now that I have been the PsyPAGrepresentative for QMiP for two years now.Having noticed the vacant position on thePsyPAG Facebook page I jumped at thechance to get more involved with theSection. Established in 2008, QMiP is thelargest Section of the Society with around1000 members, perhaps reflecting the needfor representation for those who considerthemselves as qualitative psychologists, andthose who are interested in and use qualita-tive methods in their research.

The Section is very pro-active in theirstrive towards raising and securing theprofile of qualitative methods in psychologyresearch and teaching. Another central aimof the Section is to create a network of qual-itative psychologists, to connect those withsimilar interests, and create opportunitiesfor collaborations. With continued supportfrom its members the Section is going fromstrength to strength, hosting a wide range of

events and sponsoring a number of prizeswhich reward excellence in qualitativeresearch. Furthermore the Section haverecently made important contributions tothe HEFCE consultations for the ResearchExcellence Framework (REF) through theBritish Psychological Society, representingthe concern of qualitative psychologists whofeel disadvantaged by the planned REFprocedures which align psychology withneuroscience. Alongside these consultations,the Section have also funded a working partyled by Dr David Giles (University ofWinchester) on qualitative research and theinternet, with the hope of contributing tothe Society’s Ethics Committee’s recommen-dations for conducting research online.

Recently, the Section also held theirsecond bi-annual conference at the Universityof Nottingham. The theme was ‘A change oftongue’ which proved popular with attendees,the tone of which set by a film called ThePhone Call written by Victoria Tischler(University of Nottingham) and produced byGaylan Nazhad, (www.Tamfilm.com) – deliv-ering a powerful message about mentalhealth in the UK (a trailer for the film can beviewed here: http://vimeo.com/14293024).This installation demonstrated how effectivefilm can be and what can be achieved if weopen up to more creative and innovative waysof communicating ideas. The keynotespeakers were also impressive, particularlyProfessor Jonathan Smith’s (BirkbeckCollege) talk on finding ‘gems’ within inter-view data from an interpretative phenomeno-logical perspective.

There were also training sessions at theconference, something which I wish toemphasise here. The Section is strong onsupporting the training and development of


No longer a lone wolf: On being part of theQualitative Methods in Psychology SectionJenna Condie


its members, funding a number of work-shops and events each year. For example, aworkshop on getting qualitative researchpublished recently took place at York St JohnUniversity. A mix of postgraduates, earlycareer researchers and researchers fromother public and private organisationsattended bringing a diverse group of peopletogether, which made for an interesting dayand a useful networking opportunity. Greatadvice from qualitative researchers withimpressive publishing portfolios was given tothose starting out in their academic careers.

The Section also publishes the QMiPBulletin twice a year, which contains a widerange of articles on contemporary issues,with the latest edition including its first peer-reviewed article ‘Myspace or Myhealth’ bySarah McCormack (Leeds MetropolitanUniversity) exploring online socialnetworking sites influence on health andwhether they can be used within healthpromotion. The QMiP Bulletin is a greatread, where you can find out the latest newson qualitative psychology and the Section’sefforts to raise the profile of qualitativeresearch. Also, the QMiP Bulletin editorswelcome pieces written by postgraduates,from conference and event reviews to articles about your research.

Subsequently the benefits of being amember of the Section are plentiful, particu-larly in terms of research training in a rangeof qualitative methods, but also in terms ofthe potential publishing opportunities avail-able and getting your work out there. With areduced membership fee of £5 for the year,‘you can’t go wrong’ as my mum would say.Interestingly student membership has seenmarked growth every year since the Sectionwas established – surely they must be ontosomething! From attending the variousSection events, which are free to members, I have met some fantastic people researchingsimilar issues and using similar methods whowill no doubt be contacts for years to come –thankfully I’m no longer a lone wolf. If youwould like any more information about the Section visit their website(www.bps.org.uk/qmip/) or join their jiscmail list – search qualpsy.

CorrespondenceJenna Condie University of Salford.E-mail: [email protected]

No longer a lone wolf

THIS SPACE is available for you to writein if you’re looking for help with aproblem (be it on statistics, method-

ology, or issues relating to being a postgrad-uate) or want to meet others in your field.

This section is also available on ourwebsite, so you don’t have to wait until thenext issue of the PsyPAG Quarterly to haveyour details or question published. Go to:www.psypag.co.uk/resources/lonely-brains.

Please submit approximately 200 to 300words including your contact details and anoutline of your research interests orproblem.

As an example we have included thedetails of one of our Committee members.

Hester DuffyCommunications Officer at PsyPAGUniversity of Plymouth.E-mail: [email protected]

I’m at the end of my first year of PhD, looking at the processing of accented speech in bothadults and infants. So far we’ve been using behavioural methods with infants (head-turn proce-dure), and ERP (using an acti-cap) with both adults and infants. We’re about to do an fMRIstudy with adults, which is massively exciting! It’s quite a wide-ranging field of study; as well asthe experimental stuff, I’ve found myself trying to describe various regional and foreignaccents in English (trickier than you’d think!), learning phonetics, and brushing up on neuro-anatomy.


Lonely Brains


December

1 December 2010PsyPAG Outstanding Masters Research Award www.psypag.co.uk/awards.html

1–3 December 2010ManchesterDivision of Clinical Psychology Annual Conference 2010www.dcpconference.co.uk/

9–10 December 2010LondonThe Division of Sport & Exercise Psychology Conference 2010www.bps.org.uk/dsep2010

13–14 December 2010Nottingham Trent UniversityMaths, Stats and Computing Section Annual Scientific Meetinghttp://bps-msc.blogspot.com/

January

11–12 January 2011Stratford-upon-AvonPostgraduate Occupational Psychology Annual Conference 2011www.bps.org.uk/pop2011/

12–14 January 2011Stratford-upon-AvonDivision of Occupational Psychology Annual Conference 2011www.bps.org.uk/dop2011/

24 –25 January 2011University of StirlingSymposium: Exploring The Everyday Lives Of Young Children: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectiveswww.ioe.stir.ac.uk/research/projects/toys-andwww.ioe.stir.ac.uk/research/projects/toys-and-tech/Exploring%20Everyday%20Lives/Callforpapers.php

Dates for your Diary


February

26 February 2011National Psychology Postgraduate Teaching Award (to attend the Psychology Learning and Teaching Conference, Edinburgh Napier University, 31 June – 2 July, 2011)www.psypag.co.uk/awards.html

March

26 March 2011University of WestminsterPsychology for All Conferencewww.bps.org.uk/lhc/forthcoming_events_lhc.cfm

July

6–8 July 2011Bangor University, WalesPsychology Postgraduate Affairs Group (PsyPAG) Annual ConferenceWebsite TBA (check www.psypag.co.uk)

13–15 July 2011Cumberland Lodge, WindsorPsychology of Women Section Annual Conferencewww.bps.org.uk/pows

Dates for your Diary


LL POSTGRADUATES registered on acourse in the UK are eligible to apply

for PsyPAG postgraduate awards. PsyPAG offers three types of award for post-graduates looking for financial support toattend both domestic and internationalconferences:

● International Conference Award – this isan award of up to £300 to help with thecost of attending an internationalconference. Typically there will be nomore than four awards of this magnitudeper year.Deadlines: 10 February, 10 June and10 October.

● Domestic Conference Award – an awardof up to £100 to help with the cost ofattending a UK conference.Deadlines: 10 February, 10 June and10 October.

● PsyPAG Annual Conference Bursaries –up to 10 awards per annum for delegateswishing to present and attend the PsyPAGAnnual Conference.Deadline: Mid June.

There are three rounds of applications eachyear for both the International Awardsand the Domestic Awards, closing on10 February, 10 June and 10 October. Forthe PsyPAG Annual Conference Awards,there is a single deadline, usually aroundmid June. Applicants will be notified of theresults, four to six weeks after each closingdate. Successful applicants are required towrite an article of their choice for thePsyPAG Quarterly and will be invited topresent at our Annual Conference.

While retrospective applications arewelcome, please note that due to the risingpopularity of the fund, applicants who arenot presenting either a poster or a paper areunlikely to be successful.

Successful applicants from theJune 2010 round

Domestic Bursary AwardsRay Percy – University of Reading.

International Bursary AwardsHelen Moore – University of Stirling.Annelies Vredeveldt – University of York.Cherie Armour – University of Ulster.Elisa Carrus – Goldsmiths College,University of London.James Rumbold – University ofLoughborough.Jessica Mayhew – University of St Andrews.

Visit the website for further information,and to apply online:

www.psypag.co.uk/bursaries/bursary-application-guidelines

Bursaries: Need help with the cost ofattending a conference?PsyPAG may be able to help...

A


PsyPAG is a national organisation for allpsychology postgraduates based at UK Insti-tutions. Funded by the Research Board ofthe British Psychological Society, PsyPAG isrun on a voluntary basis by postgraduates forpostgraduates.

Its aims are to provide support for post-graduate students in the UK, to act as avehicle for communication between post-graduates, and to represent postgraduateswithin the British Psychological Society. It also fulfills the vital role of bringingtogether postgraduates from around thecountry.● PsyPAG has no official membership

scheme; anyone involved in postgraduatestudy in psychology at a UK Institution isautomatically a member.

● PsyPAG runs an annual workshop andconference and also produces a quarterlyjournal, which is delivered free of chargeto all postgraduate psychology depart-ments in the UK.

● PsyPAG is run by an elected committee,which any postgraduate student can bevoted on to. Elections are held at thePsyPAG Annual Conference each year.

● The committee includes representativesfor each Sub-Division within the BritishPsychological Society, their role being torepresent postgraduate interests andproblems within that division or theBritish Psychological Society generally.We also liaise with the Student MembersGroup of the British PsychologicalSociety to raise awareness of post-graduate issues in the undergraduatecommunity.

● Committee members also includePractitioners-in-Training who arerepresented by PsyPAG.

Mailing ListPsyPAG maintains a JISCmail list open toALL psychology postgraduate students. Tojoin, visit www.psypag.co.uk and scroll downon the main page to find the link, or direct: www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?subed1=psych-postgrads&a=1.

This list is a fantastic resource for supportand advice regarding your research, statis-tical advice or postgraduate issues.

Social NetworkingYou can also follow PsyPAG on Twitter(http://twitter.com/PsyPAG) and add us onFacebook:www.facebook.com/?ref=home#%21/pages/psypag/130589426953875?ref=ts.Again, this information is provided atwww.psypag.co.uk.

About PsyPAG


Due for re-electionCore Committee MembersChairSarah Wood [email protected]@northumbria.ac.ukTreasurerJosie Booth [email protected]@strath.ac.ukVice ChairAlana James [email protected]@gold.ac.ukCommunications OfficerHester Duffy [email protected]@gmail.comInformation OfficerJenna Condie [email protected]@pgr.salford.ac.ukThe Quarterly Editorial Team ([email protected])Emily Collins [email protected] McLeod [email protected] Miller [email protected] Port [email protected]

Division RepresentativesDivision of Clinical PsychologyFleur-Michelle Coiffait [email protected] of Counselling PsychologySarah Baker [email protected] of Educational and Child PsychologyEmma Jackson [email protected]

PsyPAG Committee 2010/2011


Due for re-electionScottish Division of Educational PsychologyPosition under reviewDivision for Teachers and Researchers in PsychologyFiona Essig [email protected] of Forensic PsychologyEmily Collins [email protected] of Health PsychologyRuth Laidler [email protected] of NeuropsychologyJen Mayer [email protected] of Occupational PsychologyKazia Solowiej [email protected] of Sport and Exercise PsychologySean Webster [email protected]

Section RepresentativesCognitive Psychology SectionDarren Lewis [email protected] and Experiential Psychology SectionGreg Elder [email protected] Psychology SectionAlana James [email protected] and Philosophy of Psychology SectionElisa Carrus [email protected] of Sexualities SectionAndrew Clements [email protected], Statistical and Computing SectionElisa Carrus [email protected] SectionRobin Kramer [email protected] of Education SectionKeith Schofield [email protected]


38 PsyPag Quarterly

Due for re-electionPsychology of Women SectionHelen Owton [email protected] SectionKate Doran [email protected] Methods SectionJenna Condie [email protected] Psychology SectionRuth Laidler [email protected]@googlemail.comTranspersonal Psychology SectionPosition VacantCoaching PsychologyGareth Picknell [email protected]

Branch RepresentativesNorth East of England BranchKeith Schofield [email protected] West of England BranchJenna Condie [email protected] Ireland BranchPaul Wilson [email protected] BranchJillian Hobson [email protected] West of England BranchChantelle Bailey [email protected] BranchClaire Miller [email protected] BranchPosition VacantWest Midlands BranchEmma Jackson [email protected] and Home Counties BranchFiona Essig [email protected]



Due for re-electionBoard RepresentativesMembership and Professional Training BoardErica Cook Position under [email protected] and Communications BoardChantelle Bailey [email protected] CommitteeKirtsen Bartlett [email protected] BoardSarah Wood (Chair) [email protected]

Other CommitteesConference Standing CommitteeStuart Flint [email protected] RepresentativeJen Mayer [email protected] and Teaching Support NetworkElizabeth Freeman [email protected] Postgraduate CommitteePosition under reviewUndergraduate Liaison OfficerHelen Owton [email protected]


40 PsyPag Quarterly

BPS e-Learning courses The Society has a range of e-learning courses aimed at those starting out in the profession and for those professionals wanting to refreshknowledge for CPD.

Then e-learning is for you…

Individual courses start from £50 plus VAT (members) £100 plus VAT(non-members). Discounted packages of courses are available startingfrom £75 plus VAT (members) £150 plus VAT (non-members).

To book courses or to find out more visit www.bps.org.uk/learningcentre

Do you want to:Improve your career prospects?

Develop your professional knowledge?

Update your skills?

Study from your own armchair?

Work at your own pace?

LearningBPSLearningCentre


Psychology research on clinicalpopulations


Also in this issue:Conference review

Lonely Brains

Issue 77 December 2010

Contents

Editorial – Julie Port 1

Chair’s Column – Sarah Wood 2

Electrodes on babies and whiskers on kittens – Hester Duffy 4

Psychology research on clinical populations: Limitations and ethical concerns – 8Andra Raisa Petca

A conspiracy again the laity? – John Radford 11

Conference Review: International Gambling Conference – Abby McCormack 14

Publishing, conferencing and writing-up: Hints at PhD success – Sophie von Stumm 18

How I learned to stop worrying and love the thesis – John Hyland 22

What’s your back-up strategy? – David A. Ellis 25

No longer a lone wolf: On being part of the Qualitative Methods in Psychology Section – 28Jenna Condie

Lonely Brains 30

Dates for your Diary 32

Bursaries: Need help with the cost of attending a conference? PsyPAG may be able to help... 34

About PsyPAG 35

PsyPAG Committee 2010/2011 36

St Andrews House, 48 Princess Road East, Leicester LE1 7DR, UKTel: 0116 254 9568 Fax: 0116 227 1314 E-mail: [email protected] www.bps.org.uk

© The British Psychological Society 2010Incorporated by Royal Charter Registered Charity No 229642

ISSN 1746-6016

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