Responsibilities & Expectations

Everyone

Do work that you are proud of. Do work that others will care about.
Double-check your work. Being a little obsessive is essential to good science.
Be supportive of your labmates. We are a team.
Work independently when you can, ask for help when you need it.
Share your knowledge. Mentorship can take many forms.
Respect each others’ strengths, weaknesses, differences, and beliefs.
Science is a marathon, not a sprint. Take personal time/ vacation when you need it and cultivate a life outside of the lab. Respect that other lab members also have a life outside of lab.
Communicate openly and respectfully with other members of the lab.
If you have an issue with another lab member that cannot be solved by talking with them about it, please talk with Nichole. If you have an issue with Nichole, please reach out to another member of the psychology department who can intervene (this can be the lab manager for smaller lab issues, or another faculty member or the department chair for more serious issues).
Academia may feel different from other types of jobs, but it is still a job. You should treat coming into lab with the same respect that you would treat any other position. See Hours.

Do not come into the lab if you are sick. Stay home and get healthy, and don’t risk getting others sick.
Notify the lab manager(s) or Nichole if you will be out, either due to illness or vacation. Make a note on the lab calendar. If you are sick and you had experiments or meetings scheduled that day, notify your participants or collaborators and reschedule.
You are not expected to come into lab on staff holidays. If you are being paid, then you are expected to come into lab during university breaks (except for staff holidays or if you’re taking your paid vacation time).
Lock the doors to the lab if no one else is around, even if you’re stepping out for a minute.
Keep the lab tidy. Food messes should be cleaned up promptly, dirty dishes taken home with you, and common areas should be kept free of clutter. Items left unattended may be cleaned, reclaimed, or recycled. If you’re using lab equipment, put it away when you’re done.
The dress code in academia is generally casual. My only request is that you look semi-professional when interacting with participants and when presenting your work: Jeans are fine, gym clothes and pajamas are not.
Arrive to lab at least 15 minutes before you have any experiments scheduled, so that you will be there to greet the participants.

All of the above, plus you can expect Nichole to:

Maintain a vision of where the lab is going
Provide the funding necessary to keep the lab going
Meet with you regularly to discuss your research projects. The definition of “regularly” may change over time or over the course of a project, but for now, means once a week or more often as needed.
Give you my perspective on academia and issues related to professional development
Support your career development by introducing you to other researchers in the field, writing recommendation letters for you, providing you with opportunities to attend conferences when possible, and promoting your work in talks
Care about you as a person and not just a scientist
Maintain “office hours” for the lab. See Hours.

All of the above, plus you will be expected to:

Develop your own independent line of research
Mentor undergraduate and graduate students on their research projects, when asked or when appropriate
Apply for external funding (e.g., NRSA, K99). We will hire postdocs only when there is funding available for at least a year; however, applying for external funding is a valuable experience and, if awarded, it will release those dedicated funds for other purposes.
Apply for jobs (academic or industry) as soon as you are “ready” and/or by the end of beginning of your fourth year as a postdoc.
If you are planning to pursue a non-academic career, treat your postdoctoral research as seriously as you might if you were pursuing an academic career. We can discuss ways of making sure that you are getting the training you need, while still doing excellent research.
Remind Nichole (the PI) that different scientific opinions can co-exist in the same lab!

All of the above, plus you will be expected to:

Develop a line of dissertation research. Ideally, your dissertation research will consist of at least 3 experiments that can be packaged into one thesis document.
Apply for external funding (e.g., NSF GRFP or NRSA). If nothing else, this is an extremely valuable experience, and it will release you from your TA-ing responsibilities.
Do some soul-searching as to what type of career you want to pursue, e.g., academic jobs that are research-focused or teaching-focused, non-academic jobs like data science or science writing. We can brainstorm ways of making sure you are getting the training that you need.
Work with a team of undergraduate students. This will speed up data collection and give you some experience with managing and mentoring a team.
Stay up-to-date (and keep Nichole up-to-date) on any deadlines that you need to meet to fulfill departmental requirements.
Prioritize time for research. It is easy to get caught up in coursework or TA-ing, but at the end of 5-ish years, you need to have completed a dissertation.

All of the above, plus you will be expected to:

Maintain the lab IRB protocols and paperwork (e.g., archiving consent forms).
Oversee the hiring, scheduling, and training of undergraduate research assistants.
- Make sure all volunteers are properly documented, either through course registration or volunteer agreement forms.
Maintain the lab website.
Assist with participant recruitment and scheduling.
Assist other lab members with data collection or analysis (typically you will be assigned to particular projects).
Help to maintain an atmosphere of professionalism within the lab.
Work on your own research project.

All of the above, plus you will be expected to:

Work on your own research project.
Assist other lab members with data collection or analysis (typically you will be assigned to particular projects).
Help to maintain an atmosphere of professionalism within the lab.
Provide extra support to the lab manager.

All of the above, plus you will be expected to:

Assist other lab members with data collection or analysis (typically you will be assigned to particular projects).
Work with the lab manager and/or your research mentor to determine your weekly schedule. If you are not able to come in during your normal scheduled time, you must let the lab manager know.
Provide extra support to the lab manager (this may include filing paperwork). If you are in lab and do not have a task to do, you should ask the lab manager or your supervisor whether there is anything you can help out with.
“Notify your supervisor and lab manager(s) immediately in case of absences (scheduled or last-minute). This will ensure we can find a replacement for you to run participant sessions.”
Dress professionally for running study sessions with participants: jeans are fine as long as they are not ripped. Dress as if attending a job interview!
If you are earning course credit for research, you must additionally:
- Attend at least one of our lab meetings or journal clubs per week.
- Present at one meeting during the semester.
For more information about undergraduate research positions, refer to the Undergraduate Research Resources.