Volunteer Research Assistant Program
This program is designed to provide UBC students with research skills appropriate to their level and ability. Students may be undergraduate or graduate students at UBC. There are two components to this program: (1) Novice, and (2) Advanced.
Novice volunteer RAs
Students volunteer their time to the Adult Development and Psychometrics Lab as “novice volunteer research assistants” and may learn a variety of skills, including library searches, APA referencing, recruitment of study participants, data gathering (including test administration), data entry, data analysis, and transcription. The particular skills learned depend upon the needs of the lab, the level of the student, and the student’s interests and/or needs. Volunteer research assistants who are reliable and have shown good performance are given first priority for paid research positions for which they are qualified. Such students are often recommended for paid research positions outside of the lab as well. Students interested in the Novice component typically have little to no research experience and are interested in gaining both research skills and confidence in those skills.
Advanced volunteer RAs
Students in this program conduct supervised research (but not theses) through the Adult Development and Psychometrics Lab. These “junior researchers” are not paid and typically want to take part in a more holistic research experience, which means they may be involved in all aspects of the study – including developing the research question, study design, collecting and analyzing of data, and preparation for publication. Study topics may emerge directly from Dr. Hubley’s research program, may reflect the mutual interests of the student and Dr. Hubley, or may reflect the mutual interests of a subgroup of lab members. Publication of research is almost always a major goal of this program and thus considerable attention is paid to the discussion, and negotiation, of issues of authorship. Typically, students in the Advanced component have either worked as a paid research assistant (RA) in the Adult Development and Psychometrics Lab or volunteered in the lab as part of the Novice component. Participation in this program does not preclude working as a paid RA in this lab or any other lab.
How to Volunteer
There are two ways to become involved in the Volunteer Research Assistant Program if you are not already involved in the Adult Development and Psychometrics Lab:
- Available Volunteer RA positions may be posted on the Adult Development and Psychometrics Lab website, sent out through the ECPS listserve, posted in the Depts. of ECPS and Psychology, and posted on the doors of Dr. Hubley’s office (Rm. 2316, Scarfe Bldg.) and the lab (Rm. 2405, Scarfe Bldg.).
- If you have a specific topic in mind that fits with Dr. Hubley’s research interests, please contact Dr. Hubley via e-mail at anita.hubley@ubc.ca.