Promoting psychology to students: embracing the multiplicity of research foci and method

Abstract

In order for the discipline of psychology to continue to thrive it is imperative that future students are effectively recruited into the field. Research is an important part of the discipline and it is argued that the nature of psychological research is naturally one of multiplicity in topic and methodology and that promoting and highlighting this should be considered as a potentially effective recruitment strategy. In this study, a snap-shot of current research topics and methodologies was collected based on published papers from one typical academic psychology department in Australia. Fifty articles published in the period 2010–2013 were randomly selected and then grouped using content analysis to form topic clusters. Five main clusters were identified and included: Grief and Loss; Psychopathology; Sociocultural Studies; Attachment and Parenting; and Developmental Disorders. The studies spanned the full spectrum of research methodologies from quantitative to qualitative and had implications for assessment practices, diagnosis, prevention and treatment, education, and policy. The findings are discussed in terms of the unique characteristics of psychology as a discipline and how this diversity ought to be utilized as the main selling point of the discipline to future students.

“Having to Shift Everything We’ve Learned to the Side”: Expanding Research Methods Taught in Psychology to Incorporate Qualitative Methods

“…The current study aims to explore undergraduate psychology students’ attitudes to qualitative research, and how these change following exposure to qualitative methods. The context for the study is what has been described as a “typical academic study department in Australia” ( Rees, 2013 ) where staff engage in research on a wide range of topics using a variety of research methodologies, including qualitative and mixed methods ( Rees, 2013 ). Undergraduate psychology students complete two quantitative research methods units in their 2nd year and a qualitative methods unit and a mixed methods unit in their 3rd year of the degree.…”

Research Methods Pedagogy: Engaging Psychology Students in Research Methods and Statistics

“…Limited exposure to qualitative The current study aims to explore undergraduate psychology students' attitudes to qualitative research, and how these change following exposure to qualitative methods. The context for the study is what has been described as a "typical academic study department in Australia" (Rees, 2013) where staff engage in research on a wide range of topics using a variety of research methodologies, including qualitative and mixed methods (Rees, 2013). Undergraduate psychology students complete two quantitative research methods units in their 2nd year and a qualitative methods unit and a mixed methods unit in their 3rd year of the degree.…”

The relationship between student employability and student engagement: working toward a more unified theory

“…There is no doubt that Rees (2013) should be applauded for initiating the crucial debate as to which factors drive student engagement. Here it is argued that employability training that embeds the student work experience within industry should also be included into this portfolio of effective approaches.…”

“…Highlighting the multiplicity of research approaches within Psychology is one way in which to advance the field. Indeed, in her recent article Rees ( 2013 ) argues that the multiplicity of research topics and methodologies is especially important to the discipline and that “promoting and highlighting this should be considered as a potentially effective recruitment strategy” (Rees, 2013 p. 1). Rees argues that the tension in Psychology between the traditional use of scientific method and the inappropriateness of this approach to many of the phenomena of interest create a dialectic that is both an opportunity and a threat.…”

“…It is this latter aspect of the Rees model that has great utility and the potential for significant impact on the recruitment, engagement, and subsequent retention of talented undergraduate students. However, such a model only describes one mechanism for student engagement and as such it needs to be developed further before it can contribute to the “unified theory which focuses on providing a conceptual map of the full breadth of psychological enquiry” (Rees, 2013 p. 1). In order to do this one must consider the unique mindset of the students themselves as the central and significant component of the model before we can arrive at such a unified theory.…”