Lab blog

Events

Calling L4, L5 and L6 students – win £50 for your views on university!

Joe |

Here is an opportunity for all undergraduate students to tell us what you think of your time at university, and get entered into a draw to win a £50 voucher at the same time!

If you’re a Level 6 student you need to fill out the National Student Survey to get entered into the draw – and you’ve got until Midnight of 30 April to do it. You can do this right now by clicking on the black/grey NSS poster below.

If you’re a Level 4 or Level 5 student you need to fill out the Brighton Student Survey. You’ve got until midnight on 21 February to do this, so you’d better get your skates on! All the info is on Studentcentral – click the red/orange BSS poster below to go to studentcentral and get started!
NSSBSS

Resources, Tech

Want SPSS on your own computer?

Joe |

spss logo

 

 

 

 

See the link below access software: 

http://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/covid19studentupdate/software/

 

 

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If you are a student at the University of Brighton, you can purchase a CD containing SPSS for use on your own PC or Mac for £7 per year.

CDs/USBs are available from the Computer Store on the First floor of the Watts Building, or the vending machine in the Falmer Library computer pool room.

Events

Careers Fair 2015 – something for everyone!

Joe |

Level 4, Level 5 or Level 6? Then the Careers Fair is for you. It is not specifically for final year students. Even though it may seem a long time off, what to do after university is not just something to think about when you’re about to leave! The Careers Fair can give you inspiration and help you see the opportunities that are out there for you, and might help you think about the type of dissertation you want to do to give you the best chance later on. There are more exhibitors than ever before, spread over 5 floors of the Amex Stadium in Falmer. The Careers Fair is Wednesday 4 November. Full details can be found here. If you are interested please sign up to the Facebook event for updates and information in the run up to the event, by clicking here.

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Resources, Tech

Equipment guide – Voice recorders

Joe |

Olympus VN712pc

The lab has a number of Olympus VN-712PC voice recorders which can be borrowed. They are very simple to use and give good quality recordings for interviews and focus groups.

They run on AAA batteries which we supply you with (battery life is around 70 hours). We can supply you with additional memory, but most people find the built in memory is fine – allowing between 131 and 823 hours depending on the quality setting. We can provide you with a USB cable that you can use to download your recordings to your computer, or Joe the psychology technician can put your recordings onto a USB stick if you’d prefer.

Download the user manual here.

If you would like to book one please speak to Joe the psychology technician, who will also make sure you are comfortable using it before booking it out to you.

Guidance, Resources

SPSS and research methods help

Joe |

Getting started with data analysis

If you’re just getting started with your data analysis, we’re happy to help. The video below goes through a number of steps you need to complete before you can carry out your analysis with SPSS:

Topics covered: 

01:56    Downloading your Qualtrics data
02:55    Cleaning the dataset
05:40    Reverse scoring
13:40    Computing scores
16:42    Defining randomised conditions
22:11    Next steps 

Multiple regression, moderation and mediation

Topics covered: 

00:01:07    Downloading and installing `Process` 
00:04:50    Multiple regression & data screening
00:35:06    Moderation
00:56:50    Mediation
01:11:03    Summary

Remember that the SS511 Psychological Research Methods area on StudentCentral also contains a wealth of resources for data analysis.

If you’re still struggling, get in touch with us!

We also have some additional films to help entering data, coding variables and carrying out statistical tests. You might need to enter your university login and password.

If you are struggling with research methods or SPSS it is much better to get help early on rather than waiting until exam or data analysis time, letting all the questions mount up, getting more and more confused – and finally realising you’ve got a mountain to climb and no more time. No question is too silly – often the questions you think are the silliest are the most useful ones to get clear in your head early on.

Want SPSS on your own computer?

Guidance, Interesting studies

Thinking about what dissertation to do?

Joe |

Don’t worry if you’re stuck! I’ll be posting some guides before term starts about what the psychology lab can offer you in terms of dissertation support (stats support, equipment and facilities) which will also aim to give you an idea of the types of dissertations this will help you to think up.

In the meantime one suggestion I’d make if you’re stuck for inspiration is to go over the BPS Research Digest with a fine tooth comb, and subscribe to the newsletter! This is a really excellent resource with interesting cutting-edge research which you could think about developing further or taking in a new direction. If you scroll to the bottom of the screen in the BPS Research Digest, the categories allow you to select your area of interest. There are also links to more blogs with lots of ideas. Good luck!

Events

BUDS 2015 film

Joe |

BUDS (the Brighton Undergraduate Dissertation Showcase) is a conference organised by SASS for final year students to present their dissertations to second years. More background can be found here.

Click on the image below for a short film about the event, which features interviews with some of the attendees and presenters. I hope this will encourage first, second and third year students to attend! For first and second years it really is an excellent way to get a feel for dissertations from those who really know, and for third years it gives you an opportunity to develop skills in presenting your findings – all of the students in the film thought it was a great experience, after they had finished!

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Facilities, Resources

Supporting the Transforming Sexuality and Gender Research Cluster

Joe |

The Transforming Sexuality and Gender Research cluster brings together a cross-college group of researchers who are conducting research related to LGBTQ lives; sex, sexuality and health; gender and sexuality in childhood; promoting transformative research the use of participatory and creative methods.

The research cluster has funded the Creative Methods Lab and also a range of creative and visual methods resources, which include Lego and a wide range of craft materials. The cluster has funded GoPro cameras, wearable cameras, movable cameras, a BlackMagic Cinema camera, and a suite of image and movie editing software and hardware. Details of some of the equipment can be found here. Members of the cluster can obtain further information about exactly what is available and book the equipment by contacting the technicians.

Events, Resources

PhD students and researchers – Creative Methods in Sexuality and Gender Workshop

Joe |

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The lab is purchasing some new cinema-quality camcorders and accessories that can be booked by psychology staff and students. If they arrive in time, I’ll be using these to record this workshop here at the Falmer campus, on 3 July. If you are  a PhD student or researcher in the field you might like to attend, it looks really interesting! If you would like to sign up or obtain more details please click here. Here is the description of the workshop:

“Want to explore beyond well-used methods that reproduce well-established stories about sex, gender, sexuality and relating? Fancy yourself doing modelling, bad sex writing or as a deep thinker, visual artist or ‘craftivist’?  Read on!

Creative research methods can yield narratives different from and phenomenologically richer than interviews, focus groups and surveys. When doing public engagement and dissemination, creative methods can help people think differently about sex, gender, sexuality and relations/relating to challenge popular/media representations.

Having been successfully hosted by the Open University, University of Manchester and Coventry University this half-day FREE event is hosted by the University of Brighton.”

Events

Alternative evening out – discussing the Human Rights Act

Joe |

The School of Law, Politics and Sociology at the University of Sussex is holding its next “Sussex Salon” entitled “Who’s afraid of the Human Rights Act?” on 16 June at the Brighton Dome – an alternative evening out with an opportunity to participate in a discussion with a panel of experts. The evening will explore why critics argue that the 1998 Act is “insufficiently British”, ask what a proposed Conservative British Bill of Rights would look like, and consider what it would mean to lose the Human Rights Act altogether.

The panel includes Dr Michael Pinto-Duschinsky, Senior Consultant Constitutional Affairs Policy Exchange, Dr Charlotte Skeet, Sussex Law School, Paul Bowen QC Brick Court Chambers and Bella Sankey, Director of Policy for Liberty.

Tickets include a glass of wine and cost £7 (or £5 for concessions). For more information and to buy tickets please see this page.