School of Psychology Postgraduate Orientation

Prof. David Hevey

Director of Postgraduate Teaching and Learning

Welcome

• Psychology at TCD is ranked in Top 40 Universities in Europe and top 10 in Ireland and UK

• Our Postgraduate Programme develops world-class psychologists who advance psychological science and practice.

• We attract highest calibre PG students• Diverse range of projects• Bring wealth of previous learning• PGs are the lifeblood of our School

Research Expertise

Developmental psychology; children and adolescents; Parenting

Understanding the brain from molecules to mindThe brain and behaviour; neuro-rehabilitation

Psychology & global health: aid giving; healthcaresystems in the developing countries

Organisations and human behaviour; how to reduce errors in work place

Psychology & well-being; how to understandand treat psychological distress; help people adjust to chronic illness

Structured Learning

• Seminars– School of Psychology– TCIN– College

• Training workshops– CAPSL

• Advanced Research Module

Resources

• The School has broad range of resources– TCD library – student computer laboratory– range of psychometric tests– multi-media facilities– EEG and behavioural neuroscience laboratories – video-observation suites – sound attenuated experimental testing suites– fMRI analysis capability

College Library

• Old and extensive • Do not feel embarrassed in

seeking help• Useful pamphlets

– Research Students and the Library

– Research Student Loans.

• Conducted tour of the library (ask for information on tours in the Berkeley library).

• www.tcd.ie/Library/collections.

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School Webpage

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The School

• Aras an Phiarsaigh• Ground Floor and 1st Floor– Coffee/Tea– Postgraduate students are invited to take tea and

coffee in the staff room (AP1.43) on the first floor of Aras An Phiarsaigh each day, except between 11.00 and 11.30 in the morning.

• TCIN• Childrens’ Research Centre• Centre of Global Health

Sources of help

• Supervisor• DTLPG • Luisa Byrne• Postgraduate representative• Appraisers• Graduate Students Union• Postgraduate Advisory Services• Graduate Studies Office

PG representative

• Postgraduates are entitled to have one representative at meetings of the School Committee and the School Executive Committee.

• Normally elected from among the cohort of postgraduates at the end of an academic year, to serve during the subsequent year.

Appraisers

• Two appraisers support you in your studies• Academic members of staff • Meet annually to discuss your progress

– You and your supervisor select one– DTLPG appoints the other one

• Constructive advice and support to the student during the research process– Topic– Method– Supervision– Progress– Other issues

• Appriasers are available to support you• The role of the appraiser is not to replace the supervisor or to provide

an alternative supervision route.

GSU

• Representative body for all postgraduate students in Trinity College who are automatically members – Protecting the interests of all postgraduate students in College;– Advocating on behalf postgraduates, individually and collectively, to any and all

College bodies and staff;– Providing social, educational and recreational opportunities and facilities for its

members, including the maintenance of a Postgraduate– Common Room and a Postgraduate Reading Room;– Fostering friendly relations and understanding among graduate students

throughout College.

• GSU Office second floor of House 6 in Front Square• http://www.tcdgsu.ie/ • Postgraduate Common Room House 7, in Front Square• 1937 Postgraduate Reading Room Front Square beside the Exam hall

PG Advisory Service

• The PG Advisory Service is a confidential service available to all registered postgraduate students at Trinity College.

• It offers a comprehensive range of academic, pastoral, and professional supports dedicated to enhancing your student experience.

• The Postgraduate Student Support Officer provides ‘frontline’ support for all postgraduate students at Trinity College Dublin. – acts as a first point of contact and a source of support and

guidance during your stay.

Graduate studies

www.tcd.ie/Graduate_Studies • Electronic version of the College Calendar, Part 3 • Regulations and guidelines on the following:

– Fees and registration– Change of personal details– Thesis regulations– Academic appeals– Regulations for permission to go "off-books", i.e. off-register– Notification of withdrawal– Links to Best Practice Guidelines– Information on internal and external funding opportunities

Student services

• www.tcd.ie/students • Careers Advisory Service www.tcd.ie/Careers • Student Counselling Service www.tcd.ie/Student_Counselling

Plagiarism• The act of presenting the work of others as one’s own work,

without acknowledgement– academically fraudulent, and an offence against University discipline

• Can arise from deliberate actions and also through careless thinking and/or methodology. The offence lies not in the attitude or intention of the perpetrator, but in the action and in its consequences.

• Plagiarism can arise from actions such as:– A) copying another student’s work– B) enlisting another person or persons to complete an assignment on the

student’s behalf– C) procuring, whether with payment or otherwise, the work or ideas of

another;– D) quoting directly, without acknowledgement, from books, articles or

other sources, either in printed, recorded or electronic format– E) paraphrasing, without acknowledgement, the writings of other authors

Level 1• You have little previous exposure to the norms and conventions

of the academic work required for a thesis or you bring different cultural assumptions to your work.

• Characterised by – Poor use and/or understanding of referencing conventions, including

how to present direct quotations;– Poor understanding of how to acknowledge sources of direct and

indirect quotations;– Poor paraphrasing skills;– Lack of recognition of the boundary between material in the public

domain which does not require acknowledgement and that which does;– Poor understanding that borrowing the language of another author for

stylistic purposes constitutes plagiarism.• Informal verbal warning from the Director of Postgraduate

Teaching and Learning

Level 2• Occurs when you should have been aware of what constitutes

plagiarism.• Characterised by

– Failure to use referencing conventions, including the use of direct quotations;

– Failure to acknowledge public and private domain sources;– Paraphrasing without appropriate recognition;– Sections copied from other sources and presented as your own;– Borrowing the language of another author for stylistic purposes,

knowing that it is incorrect to do so.• Formal written warning from the Head of School• Possibility to re-submit work

Level 3

• You should have been aware of what constitutes plagiarism.• Characterised by

– It contains elements of another student’s work, even if they gave you permission to use their work;

– You have submitted, on more than one occasion for credit, a correctly cited and referenced assignment from your own research. This work may have been submitted either in whole or in part, for separate marks in a different module or in previous years;

– Substantial sections copied from other sources and presented as your own;– It borrows, substantially, material and/or language from a source without correct

acknowledgement;– It makes extensive use of synonyms instead of the author’s original voice, but keeps to

the same structure and meaning of the original work;– It contains fabricated referencing, is without referencing or citation, or lacks, to a large

degree, appropriate citation and/or referencing.• Formal written warning from the Head of School• Not possible to re-submit work

Level 4

• You should have been aware of what constitutes plagiarism.• Characterised by

– You have previously committed plagiarism and this is a repeat offence;

– You have sought, bought or commissioned work with the intention of representing it as your own work;

– You have improperly enlisted editorial input, e.g., engaging a paid proof reader, having a language assignment edited by a native speaker where language competence is being assessed;

– Your submitted assignment is identical to another student’s work, even if they gave you permission to use their work.

• Case referred to the Junior Dean for disciplinary procedures

Compulsory Tutorial

• All students must complete the Ready Steady Write plagiarism tutorial, a resource developed by the Centre for Academic Practice and eLearning (CAPSL) at Trinity College Dublin, to help you understand and avoid plagiarism and develop your academic writing skills and academic integrity.

• It is designed so that you can view it from beginning to end or in sections and topics. The tutorial is at: http://tcd-ie.libguides.com/plagiarism/ready-steady-write

Ethics process

• All research conducted in the School of Psychology involving human participants requires ethical approval from the School of Psychology Ethics Committee.

• Records of approval for the research conducted for the thesis is submitted with the thesis in an appendix.

• https://psychology.tcd.ie/local/Ethics/index.php

Supervision

• Contact with your supervisor should be arranged at least on a monthly basis during statutory term.

• If circumstances dictate that a supervisor is unavailable for a significant amount of time, an alternative supervisor may be appointed for this time period.

• Best Practice Guidelines on Research Supervision for Academic Staff and Students available on the Graduate Studies webpages https://www.tcd.ie/Graduate_Studies/staff/supervision/guidelines/Supervision%20Guidelines.pdf

Structured PhD• You are required to complete a structured 10 ECTS module and any other

modules as are prescribed by either the Director of Teaching & Learning (PG) or the supervisor.

• The School provides an annual Conducting Research in Psychology module• Your supervisor will complete a Learning Agreement Form stating what, if

any, taught modules or training requirements you must successfully complete to ensure your academic progression.– A contract upon which continuation on the PG register Is based.

• Taught modules totalling a maximum of 30 ECTS may be prescribed by the supervisor over years 1 & 2 on the register.

• All required assessments must be successfully completed prior to registration in order for a student to be deemed eligible for progression to the next academic year.

Conducting Research in Psychology

• Series of classes on the application of research methodologies to research questions in a variety of fields of psychological enquiry.

• Illustrate how different methods are applied to tackle research questions

• Research-lead teaching: presentations/workshops/seminars from staff

Final words..

• Enjoy your time as a TCD psychology postgrad!