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Dr. Gregory Neidert



Applied Research in Industrial/Organizational Psychology
PSY 591
Fall 2011 through Spring & Fall 2012


PSY B203
atgpn@asu.edu

DESCRIPTION, APPLICATION INFORMATION AND COURSE REQUIREMENTS

APPLICATION DEADLINES:
16 APRIL 2011 (for Fall 2011)
12 NOVEMBER 2011 (for Spring 2012)
15 APRIL 2012 (for Fall 2012)

The purpose of the course is to contribute to the academic and professional development of our students, by giving them the opportunity to do supervised research in "real world" settings. The experience gained from this applied organizational research is invaluable. It allows students to employ psychological principles, concepts, methods, and statistics to address meaningful and relevant issues in a variety of applied settings. Further, it gives students insights on the demands and challenges in dealing with practical, "real world" problems.

The research experience is an intensive, action research project, conducted independently by the student. Individuals must come up with novel projects that evaluate current techniques and procedures and/or develop new ones using knowledge gained from Psychological theory and research. Students must use this base of knowledge to answer questions which are important to both themselves and the organization.

We meet once a week. In these meetings, each student presents his or her previous week's work, discusses issues that need to be addressed, and talks about the articles that bear on these issues. This provides students the opportunity to gain important information and insights from the diverse experiences of their peers.

Admission to this course (PSY 591) is by application only. Generally, 30 - 40 students apply and I admit a maximum of 3. The following outlines the requirements.

Application Requirements
  1. A cover letter/statement of purpose. In it describe and explain:
    1. What specifically you want to get out of the applied research experience.
      1. The type of project(s) on which you would like to work.
      2. Skills and abilities you would like to develop.
      3. Issues you would like to investigate.
    2. In what type of settings/organizations you would like to perform your applied research.
    3. How you think this applied research experience will contribute to your academic studies at ASU.
    4. Relevant coursework and experience that makes you a high quality and competitive candidate for an applied research.
  2. A resume/vitae. With it, please also include the name, department, phone number, and e-mail address of at least one faculty reference. (When possible, please have your faculty references write letters of recommendation for you. They may mail or email (atgpn@asu.edu) them to me. The reference and resume should provide evidence that you are mature, reliable, intelligent, resourceful, and be able to work independently.
  3. A copy of your transcripts. You must, at the very least:
    1. Be a senior undergraduate. Graduate students are preferred.
    2. Have a GPA of 3.5 or greater.
    3. Have already completed PSY 230 and PSY 290 with a grade of A or B.
    4. Have already completed at least 10 upper division Psychology courses with grades of A or B.
  4. A copy of a paper that you have written for a class (preferably for a course in Psychology).
  5. A copy of your school and work (if applicable) schedule for the semester for which you are applying. Highlight the times available for on-site applied research activities.
  6. Individuals selected for inclusion will have a final screening interview to discuss issues related to school schedule, potential target organizations and projects, etc.

Course Requirements in Brief

You will:
  1. Spend a minimum 10 hours per week on site for 3 hours of course credit, 20 hours per week on site for 6 hours of course credit. (Students whose schedules are "tight" or overloaded will not be admitted to the course)
  2. Keep daily log/journal entries noting your project's progress, key learning points, etc.
  3. Attend weekly meetings at the times listed in the Schedule of Classes.
  4. Be given various weekly assignments.
  5. Read at least 18 articles, from peer reviewed academic journals, that bear directly on your topic.
  6. Use SPSS to enter, analyze and display your data.
  7. Write two Papers: A full academic paper (for me) & an executive summary (for the organization).
  8. Make a semester-end PowerPoint Presentation of your work to me and the organization in which you conducted your applied research experience