The NERA Researcher
Vol. 43, Issue 4, p. 8
December 2005
The Graduate Lounge
Why Get Involved in Professional Organizations?
Asil Ali Özdoğru
We, today’s graduate students, are tomorrow’s scholars. In a fast-moving world, it is imperative for us to take necessary steps during our graduate studies in order to get ready for the life after school. The life after graduation will be a product of our efforts in graduate school.
These efforts go beyond the satisfaction of degree requirements. Although it is critical for us to meet our program requirements, this is not everything; there is more to it. As we progress through our programs, wise strategic thinking and planning will prepare us for life after-school.
The Fall 2005 newsletter of the American Educational Research Association’s (AERA) Graduate Student Council has the theme of “How to prepare for professional life while in graduate school.” Council chair Diane Ketelhut numerates the ways to prepare as (1) teaching, (2) researching, (3) presenting, (4) publishing, (5) reviewing, and (6) getting involved.
Our future career plans will shape the nature and kind of steps that we should be taking in graduate school. However, Diane’s last method of preparation is valid for many kinds of career paths. Being affiliated with a professional organization brings numerous benefits for anyone whether in academia or a business setting.
As Mark Greer from American Psychological Association (APA) of Graduate Students has pointed out, involvement in a professional organization has its tangible benefits like career and professional development, and opportunities for funding and leadership. Through a network of colleagues under the umbrella of an organization, one can also get exposed to different perspectives in the field.
Professional organizations are places where one can practice various academic activities like reviewing manuscripts, presenting research studies, or even publishing in the organization’s publications. Through networking, one can get to know other people who might play crucial roles in one’s future life. It is not unlikely that another member of the same organization will become one’s future research partner, mentor, colleague, or boss. Relationships established within these professional organizations can therefore be guiding and defining for our careers.
While national professional organizations are rich in these opportunities, they may also be too broad to navigate. For example, in addition to its graduate student organization, APA has 55 divisions each focused on one particular field of psychology. One can easily feel rushed in the conventions of these national organizations, since there are so many papers being presented simultaneously that one might be interested in. Involvement in these organizations as a presenter, reviewer, or an author also can be more competitive because of the high number of professionals.
On the other hand, regional organizations, most of which are affiliates of these national organizations (like NERA to AERA), provide a select group of people from closer distances. Involvement in these regional organizations might not be as competitive as in their national counterparts. Regional conferences can be easier to enjoy and to participate in as a presenter or reviewer. One can form professional networks more easily and get prepared for national organizations.
NERA, in this sense, can be an optimal environment for us, graduate students, in terms of getting involved to practice and develop our career skills. There are plenty of opportunities to be involved and contribute to NERA as a graduate student, such as presenting our research, being a reviewer for proposals, and serving in the organization’s committees. NERA has a welcoming and student-friendly organizational climate where one can feel like being part of a community of professionals. In order to get prepared for life after school by building up skills and social networks, a graduate student in education or a related field can utilize the NERA experience by getting involved in it.
References
Greer, M. (2005, January). Connect through a division. GradPSYCH, 3(1). Retrieved on November 17, 2005 from http://gradpsych.apags.org/jan05/apadivisions.html
Ketelhut, D. J. (2005, Fall). How to prepare for professional life while in graduate school. AERA Graduate Student Council Newsletter, p. 1-2. Retrieved on November 22, 2005 from http://www.aera.net/uploadedFiles/Graduate_Students/Newsletters/Fall_2005.pdf
Asil is a doctoral student in the Division of Educational Psychology and Methodology in University at Albany and a student member of NERA for two years. He can be contacted by mail at ED233 School of Education, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222.
Thursday, December 1, 2005
Friday, April 1, 2005
Graduate Lounge - April 2005
The NERA Researcher
Vol. 43, Issue 2, p. 8
April 2005
The Graduate Lounge
Interested in Educational Research?
How to Decide What to Study
If you are a student who came to graduate study without a clear-cut definition of your own research interest area, you are not alone. Many graduate students come to master’s- or doctoral-level study having an intended area of study with somewhat ambiguous boundaries such as educational psychology, educational technology, or cognitive development. However, there is nothing wrong or bad about this unspecified situation. On the contrary, it can have positive influences on one’s research career depending on how one deals with it.
A strategy advised by many professors and advisors is to get into different research studies and projects. Each study adds a set of research skills and interests to one’s repertoire. As a result of guidance, supervision, and mentoring from more experienced researchers, novice researchers can build on their existing abilities and develop new useful skills. It is the collaborative nature of research projects that helps graduate students to realize and appreciate the requirements of being competent researchers.
In her NERA 2004 poster, Sara Fry referred to “finding an appropriate topic” as one of the barriers in the “dissertationing” process and advised graduate students to find their rhythm and get it done. My colleague Jon Hobbs, an advanced doctoral student in educational psychology at SUNY Albany, provides his insights and experience throughout his doctoral program. He agrees on the benefits of participating in different research projects for searching a research interest area. He even goes one step further by recommending his fellow comrades to “think outside the box” and look for research opportunities across departments and disciplines. Our division chair Dr. Joan Newman advises students to be open to new ideas and opportunities, but cautions against waiting for the perfect, paradigm-shifting idea. My advisor Dr. Robert McMorris, who is also a former NERA president, values the perseverance and problem solving skills of graduate students. He also believes in the merit of different research experiences in encouraging students to a more mature level in their “decision about a dissertation topic, committee, how to get it done, and how to laugh anyway when developing Plan B, C, or L.”
More research experience brings more potential interest areas. By having acquaintance with various research areas, one can employ the strategy to compare and contrast different variables for each candidate topic. Several variables affect the selection process for the final focus research topic(s) on which student will devote at least a portion of his or her career. Among these variables there can be personal predilection, feasibility of the project, availability of expert mentors or fellow authors, popularity, impact, and future of the research topic. Most of these variables are specific to each individual and his or her environment. For example, there may be programmatic studies on a specific topic in a department where student already has a focus area, whereas in another department students may be freer in their selection. Different variables will gain varying weights of importance for individuals in these two situations.
To sum it up, a widely recommended strategy to follow in looking for possible research interest areas is participating in different research projects even from across disciplines. Having a variety of research experiences brings a comfort of being able to make selection among them. The final decision about focusing on one topic as a dissertation subject depends on local circumstances related to one’s own stakes, preferences, and “what is happening.”
Author Note
Asil Ali Özdoğru is a second year doctoral student in the Division of Educational Psychology and Methodology at the University at Albany, SUNY. He is a student member of NERA and can be mailed at ED 233, School of Education, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222.
Reference
Fry, S. W. (2004, October). Finding your rhythm and getting it done. Poster presented at the 35th annual conference of the Northeastern Educational Research Association, Kerhonkson, NY.
Vol. 43, Issue 2, p. 8
April 2005
The Graduate Lounge
Interested in Educational Research?
How to Decide What to Study
If you are a student who came to graduate study without a clear-cut definition of your own research interest area, you are not alone. Many graduate students come to master’s- or doctoral-level study having an intended area of study with somewhat ambiguous boundaries such as educational psychology, educational technology, or cognitive development. However, there is nothing wrong or bad about this unspecified situation. On the contrary, it can have positive influences on one’s research career depending on how one deals with it.
A strategy advised by many professors and advisors is to get into different research studies and projects. Each study adds a set of research skills and interests to one’s repertoire. As a result of guidance, supervision, and mentoring from more experienced researchers, novice researchers can build on their existing abilities and develop new useful skills. It is the collaborative nature of research projects that helps graduate students to realize and appreciate the requirements of being competent researchers.
In her NERA 2004 poster, Sara Fry referred to “finding an appropriate topic” as one of the barriers in the “dissertationing” process and advised graduate students to find their rhythm and get it done. My colleague Jon Hobbs, an advanced doctoral student in educational psychology at SUNY Albany, provides his insights and experience throughout his doctoral program. He agrees on the benefits of participating in different research projects for searching a research interest area. He even goes one step further by recommending his fellow comrades to “think outside the box” and look for research opportunities across departments and disciplines. Our division chair Dr. Joan Newman advises students to be open to new ideas and opportunities, but cautions against waiting for the perfect, paradigm-shifting idea. My advisor Dr. Robert McMorris, who is also a former NERA president, values the perseverance and problem solving skills of graduate students. He also believes in the merit of different research experiences in encouraging students to a more mature level in their “decision about a dissertation topic, committee, how to get it done, and how to laugh anyway when developing Plan B, C, or L.”
More research experience brings more potential interest areas. By having acquaintance with various research areas, one can employ the strategy to compare and contrast different variables for each candidate topic. Several variables affect the selection process for the final focus research topic(s) on which student will devote at least a portion of his or her career. Among these variables there can be personal predilection, feasibility of the project, availability of expert mentors or fellow authors, popularity, impact, and future of the research topic. Most of these variables are specific to each individual and his or her environment. For example, there may be programmatic studies on a specific topic in a department where student already has a focus area, whereas in another department students may be freer in their selection. Different variables will gain varying weights of importance for individuals in these two situations.
To sum it up, a widely recommended strategy to follow in looking for possible research interest areas is participating in different research projects even from across disciplines. Having a variety of research experiences brings a comfort of being able to make selection among them. The final decision about focusing on one topic as a dissertation subject depends on local circumstances related to one’s own stakes, preferences, and “what is happening.”
Author Note
Asil Ali Özdoğru is a second year doctoral student in the Division of Educational Psychology and Methodology at the University at Albany, SUNY. He is a student member of NERA and can be mailed at ED 233, School of Education, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222.
Reference
Fry, S. W. (2004, October). Finding your rhythm and getting it done. Poster presented at the 35th annual conference of the Northeastern Educational Research Association, Kerhonkson, NY.
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