As a psychology major, there is one class that I have heard rumors about ever since I got to college. The infamous research methods class is a group work class focused on creating research projects within the field of psychology. Despite all of the rumors about how hard of a class it was and how much work it entailed, I still had no idea what to expect when I began the class.
The class is a highly structured lecture and lab class that involves planning and creating your own research project. This includes coming up with an idea for the project, creating a survey for data collection, data analysis, implications of your findings, the whole shebang. Including preparing and executing the project itself, a full final research paper is also required from each person in the class. At the end of the class, each group creates a poster and presents their project summary. On top of this is the regular lecture classwork, which tackles the ins and outs of psychological research, such as data analysis and ethics.
Overall, the class is a nightmare of workload. But is it worth it? The short answer is: mostly. The longer answer is that the class prepared me for the good and the bad of group work. From people not showing up and not completing their assigned sections to having to rely on that same person later on when you simply can’t keep up, group work is hard. In the end, everyone pulled through and did their best. My group had a solid project and just recently came back from our trip in Jacksonville, Florida where we presented our research methods project at the Southeastern Psychological Association Conference. However, to get to this point, my group and I had to go through several breakdowns, annoyances, last minute trips to the library and more. We grated on each other’s nerves but came out best friends.
Many other disciplines include classes like research methods, where group work and class work go hand in hand. A lot of the time I felt like I was drowning in coursework, but the worst part was not really knowing how my grade would turn out at the end of the semester. The class was a lot of work in a short period of time, but in the end, I was able to present at the SEPA conference, made new friends, and learned a lot about time management and how to tackle tough tasks. So in the end, the class was worth the long nights, the arguing, and the coursework, but I will admit that I stressed myself out a lot more than I needed to. Would I voluntarily take the class again? No. Am I happy that I was able to take the class once? Absolutely. In terms of course load, research methods was the most difficult class I have ever had to take, but it prepared me for the work I will have to do in upper level classes, grad school and future jobs and gave me the opportunity to present at a psychological conference.
