Failure & Rejection: Embrace it!

Hi again,

Typically, in my blogs I try to promote my business, or bring attention to a service that I offer through Alpha Ethics. But this time I wanted to change it up a little and discuss a topic that has come up multiple times through email communication with students, and personal day to day experiences within the academic world.

I while back I talked about academic success, and how a student becomes successful in academia. I received a lot of feedback from readers saying that most of the time they feel like they are at their breaking point by the time they make it to the end of the semester. **Unfortunately, that’s normal within the university environment. Doesn’t make it healthy…. ** I wanted to write a follow up blog post to hopefully clear up some worry that many of you may have.

One student contacted me after finishing an exam absolutely devastated by their performance. I set up a meeting with them and I decided to have a talk about failure and rejection within academia. They were shocked. They had this perception in their minds that since they had done horrible on their exam, that they were now unable to go to graduate school. I sat down with them and reviewed their studying habits and their notes and set up a plan for the next exam. I then told them personal academic failures and explained to them that its going to happen. But its not going to decide their entire fate if they adjust and learn from the setback.

For this blog post, I want to talk about how it is ok to receive rejection, and to fail sometimes. This doesn’t necessarily have to be academic related either. Its life in general. We all experience failure and rejection.

The reality is that even the most successful people in this world have failed… many times. And without that failure they probably wouldn’t have grown to be the successful people we see today. It is the resilience after failing or receiving the rejection that helps the individual grow to be successful.

What do I mean by failure?

Well, failure can be you failing an assignment or an exam during one of your classes… (Hello History of Psychology final… you will haunt me till I die.) Or it could be moving across the world to another country to complete a PhD and realizing you made a reeaaaalllllyyyyy bad decision and it is going to end horribly (believe me… it was epic for all the wrong reasons.)  Either way, these are failures, both big and small.

If you hadn’t noticed, both of those were personal academic failures on my part.  One not so life changing, the other… life altering to say the least. People around me who believed in me knew I failed. However, I took that experience and I ran with it.

Go to the most successful person you know and ask them how many times they failed before they got where they are. I bet that they have a story that re-routed their path, or they had setbacks where they needed to re-evaluate their situation.

The point is…  Its not the end of the world. I think of it as a reality check, a grounding moment in time, a moment to shake your head and look around.

We all experience rejection…

See the thing about rejection is that its going to happen. The way that you take that rejection essentially makes or breaks you within academia. We submit manuscripts to big journals, and reviewer two tells us “this is the absolute worst designed experiment I have seen this year”, and you’re told to resubmit to another journal… which also rejects the paper… so on and so on…. But then you receive an award of excellence for the same project the following year. Taking the feedback will make you better for the next submission.

 When I was applying for funding for my Master’s, I was told to submit the application even though I was most likely not going to get it… ‘but its good practice to take the critique after submitting the grant’.  Well! They were right, I did not get the funding that year… or the next. I however took that grant proposal and developed a project that in years coming gave me a handful of conferences and publications. Those rejections and failures lead to other successes in other places.

My point is that even the most successful people you know will doubt themselves and experience rejection. They have also failed many times in some aspect before making it to where they are today. Some of them may still be striding to grow and do better.  So, its ok to fail sometimes, and you will be rejected multiple times… and that’s ok.

KC

I have no idea what to do with my degree...

Opps... life kind of passes quickly. Especially at the beginning of the school year. There are always many students around asking questions, training in the lab to be done, and new contracts. 

I wanted to make sure I was staying up with my blogs, but it’s ok to fall off the writing wagon sometimes...

I recently was part of a book chapter that discussed future career options within the psychology and law field. More specifically, what was needed within your academic psychology degree to be involved in specific domains within psychology and law. It made me start thinking about how lost I felt when I started university. 

How I really had no idea to what I was going to be doing for my future or how I was going to even get to that moment in life. Not to mention how many times I changed my mind! 

I felt that this was a great opportunity for me to talk to some colleagues and past academic friends and see where their degrees have taken them and to see if they had any insights. 

Because my undergraduate degree focused on Criminology and Psychology, I have a better insight here, but I have been able to discuss with many others, so here it goes! Wait… before I start… I might not mention all the options that exist out there. These are just jobs and directions people I know personally have went into. I also don’t think I will include engineering or commerce degrees, as a lot of those degrees lead you directly into a position. Example, if you are in accounting, you will most likely be an accountant. So, I will try for the more difficult majors.

Psychology Majors: 

Here, everyone typically screams “go to grad school!” However, not everyone is cut out for that life. But if you are considering Clinical Psychology, you will need to fight your way into graduate school, which I could do an entirely different blog on. So, I am going to focus on undergraduate degrees for now.

Here are some jobs my colleagues and friends have gotten with their psychology undergraduate degree:

• Student Advisor (undergraduate level)

• Counselors/Case workers in group homes, shelters, and for non for profit. These are typically called “non-professional” counseling positions and aren’t related to any form of therapy.

• Parole Officer/Probation Officer

• Research Assistants/Coordinators (Hospital, University, Non for Profits)
  Human Resource Management

This being said, I have had a lot of friends that have used their psychology degrees as a stepping stone to go to graduate school or other programs. If this is an option for you, here is the direction that some have gone into:

• Clinical Psychology – This is your typical go to for most people I talk to, but they soon realize its not an easy route.

• Counselling

• Industrial Organization- Business Psychology pretty much! There is a lot of work in this field when it comes to Consulting, safety culture, and Human resource management.

• Marketing

• Health Promotions

• Professor

• Law School

• Nursing

• Social Work

• Teacher

• Occupational Therapy

This list could go on, but you get the point.

Sociology/Criminology Majors:

I have seen a broad range of work from my Sociology/Criminology colleagues.

• Police Officer

• Customs Officer

• Coast Guard

• Probation Officer

• Correction Officer

• Community Development Research

Again, with more work, and more schooling people have typically continued into:

• Law School

• Politics

• Professor

• Social Worker

• Criminologist

• Forensic Scientist

Environmental Degrees:

This is broad, but I felt I could group a lot of these together. This includes Environmental Science, Geography, sustainability etc.

• Government – Policy, city mapping

• Cartographer

• GIS technician

• Environmental Consultant

• Forestry and Parks

 With more education

• Marine biologists

• Oceanographers

• Environmental engineers

• Urban Planning

There is a lot of work in this field with Companies looking for environmental specialists, coordinators, and technologists.

Other positions from other degrees:

Within the Science degrees, most people I know have gone into graduate school, or they are working in Labs as research assistants.

Typically, one would need to advance their degree, but I do know of some people who are working within the government helping with policy or are working with companies as advisors. With more humanity-based degrees, they are either teachers, or they are scholars diving deep into academia.

I think I could probably go on for days about the type of jobs, where to educate yourself and what you need, but then no one would contact me 😊

Ill try to not have my next blog posting so far from my last. If anyone has any information or questions they would love for me to address, then I would love to write about it.

KC

What I wish I knew going into university...

I have had a hard time making time for a blog!

My apologies… life is hectic in the summer apparently.

Do you remember when you started university and you knew exactly what you were going to do? I thought I knew. I thought I knew everything (personality flaw), but honestly, I was very confident I knew what was up.  The reality is that no one knows, and if you do know, it will change 13 million times before you cross the stage. AND THEN you do cross the stage and you still have no idea and there are no jobs… I am not trying to be negative here, but there are some key steps people should take to make their experience in university successful.

I honestly could tell you a million things that you could do to prevent that lost “I don’t know what to do with my life” feeling, but my experience is a lot different then someone else’s experience. But what I do want to talk about is things I wish I knew in the beginning that would have made life so much easier for me in university.

1.       SOCIALIZE. This might seem a little obvious, but you seriously need to meet people. Make friends, go to parties, join a society, leave the library… I at first came into university thinking “OMG I NEED TO DO NOTHING BUT STUDY!” but then half way through the semester I was so overwhelmed and bored that I didn’t even know which way was up. My mother talked me out of dropping out in my first semester (Thanks Mom) and told me to go make some friends. Which is exactly what I did, and they are still my best friends! Socializing is what makes the university experience so much better. That means you should be involved in societies, and events the university has going on!

2.       STUDY. This is another obvious suggestion, but university is nothing like High school. Just sitting in the class isn’t enough. And I am not talking about studying the day before… you need to start retaining that information as soon as it is given to you. There is a healthy balance between socializing and studying. It can be hard to study for that Monday exam, when there is an event Saturday night. That time management and balance that you learn through this is your key to success in later years.

3.       HONOURS. I think this was the biggest shock to me. There is an extension to your typical bachelor’s degree. People who are doing an honours degree are light years a head of someone who just chose their majors. This is a long process, and there are a lot of prerequisites. Unless you know this is what you want early, you will be taking an extra year. I had to take the extra year, a lot of my friends had to take an extra year, a lot of people I talk to now are taking the extra year… just be aware that this option exists. You also need this option if you are going into graduate school.

4.       RESEARCH/TEACHER ASSISTANT. It does not matter what your degree or major is, there is a way to do research in every department. Even if you do not want to be a researcher, you learn a lot of skills and information by getting this experience. You develop passions and realize that there are some things you just dislike on a topic. You benefit greatly from getting involved this way. Its competitive to get into a lab, but it is worth it. Becoming a TA is what sets you apart from your peers. You gain experience, and vital information. DO THIS!

5.       KEEP AN OPEN MIND. Seriously, you will change your mind throughout your degree. You will meet so many people and learn about things you didn’t even know existed. It is ok to change your mind. You need to follow your instinct, and make sure that you’re doing what you want and not compare yourself to your peers or what your family wants. If you start out in commerce and realized you really want to be in biology, see what you can do to fulfill that dream. It is possible to switch and balance yourself. You will do a lot better in a field you are passionate about.

6.       IT IS OK TO FAIL. Now I am not talking about failing everything without there being consequences. I am talking about messing up on assignments, exams or being rejected from scholarships. It honestly prepares you to be rejected a lot more as we finish our degrees. An academic would tell you ten times over that they fail more than they succeed. We only see the success, and don’t realize that a paper was rejected 4 times before finally getting accepted, or that there were multiple failed attempts at grants. Think about how many jobs you truly want that someone else gets. We need to be prepared and ready to fail sometimes.

There is probably a lot more brutal realizations that come to surface as we grow in an institution. This is your first step to growing up and taking life seriously. I have worked with an unimaginable number of students who are just shocked when they learn there is so much more to university than going to their classes and getting good grades. You need to be a well-rounded person to succeed in the real world. The new university year is approaching, and I hope that everyone is prepared for new challenges and adventures.

KC

The Importance of Statistics

Wow, sometimes life just takes control and you realize that you haven’t written a blog in almost a month! At first, I was thinking “no one will care how long it takes for you to write your blog”, but then people were asking about what I will write next, or if I can just at least write an update on everything! Which is super inspiring for me! Thank you everyone who has reached out and asked, and I will try my best to keep everything flowing more regularly. Well before I get into my topic of today, I can give some personal life updates to why I haven’t written anything yet this month.  I got engaged! I was surprised, it was unexpected, but I am over the moon about it. So, wedding planning has commenced. My football season has ended, and I will be starting pre-season conditioning next week, but there was a lot of practice, and traveling back and forth to games the last little bit.

Now that I have given you that update, I want to talk about something that triggered this next blog! I had brunch with an old friend today who reminded me of what kind of student I was in high school. Some typical math and science class stories and I said to her “isn’t it crazy that I spend 90% of my time doing statistics and designing experiments to present science to other scientists?!”  We laughed about it, but realistically I actually struggled with math and science for a very long time. Even when I was in university I dreaded going to my introduction statistics class. And because I decided to do a double major, and honours, I then had to take 2 method classes, and 2 more statistics classes. I then went to graduate school to do a Master of SCIENCE…  which then lead to advanced level statistics classes, and a lot of statistics in the lab, and learning and demonstrating a strong scientific method. Needless to say, I absolutely adore statistics now, and I am constantly learning and upgrading my knowledge about the methods and programs that are involved with data analysis and management.

But let’s get to the point here!!

I want to talk about the statistical practice I learned in class and compare that to the applied statistics that are done in the industry, and how important it is to not cut corners when completing contracts. I hope this gives some insight into what I am doing daily and how much I respect the data that I am working with.

1)      The first thing that I have learned is that not a lot of people that I am working with really understand what needs to be considered when starting with a dataset. It is at this moment that I personally tell my clients that it’s important to me that the information I convey to them is accurate and that it is done so ethically. When you pull a dataset, it is considered “dirty” as in, there are responses that aren’t complete, there are some responses that weren’t taken seriously, sometimes you find glitches, or you have variables that aren’t ready to be analyzed. The scary part is, in undergraduate level classes, most of the time we are given a cleaned dataset, and we jump right into analysis, so the practice of cleaning a dataset is typically learned while doing a first experiment, or sometimes people aren’t exposed to this proper practice until graduate school.  I also don’t think that this is common sense, so typically when I pull a dataset, I tell my client that I want a few days to get familiar with the data. This is not a fault of our professors teaching us. There is only so much time within a year to really grasp all these concepts, but honestly, I know myself I would have taken advantage of an elective course just on learning the cleaning and assumptions of data.

2)      When I am familiarizing myself with data this includes going through the experimental design, the survey, reading up on specific items, and measures, just really grasping what it is that we are going to be analyzing. I make sure I look at exclusion criteria for each participant. I do the study myself to assess time and see if anything is confusing. A lot of the time this data cleaning/familiarizing will be different per client depending on when I started with them. Because sometimes I am the researcher that has created the study, and if that is the case, familiarizing data does not take as much time.

3)      Its also important that the researcher is aware of the hypotheses that are being tested because that will determine the analysis that is being run, which then in turn helps with the assumption checks that need to be completed before the analysis. Because every statistical analysis is different, this process is important. I won’t go into much detail about this, but if the researcher is walking into a study half way (which happens often), it is important to know exactly the methods, the ethics that are included, and what it is that the client is trying to answer. Seems like that makes sense to say, but there are times that clients aren’t ready to answer some of those questions because sometimes they aren’t scientists and they wouldn’t know where to start to answer those questions. So, it is good practice to be aware of how you will help your client be successful with their data.

4)      Ok! We have clean data, we have checked our assumptions, and we have now run this analysis. Now what? Well, I get asked A LOT for statistics help from friends and colleagues who both are in school still, or working within industry, and a common question I am asked is how to interpret specific results, and if there are any violations that may occur depending on the method they run. And I honestly think this is the most important part about the statistics. When someone is handling a dataset and they aren’t quite sure what is going on, to me that is hazardous, and almost scary. Even our most basic statistic needs to be done the right way. We can’t be throwing a bunch of data together to try and find the answers or something new and exciting, because fishing data without really knowing what is happening isn’t good science.  To this day, I have a binder that I have labeled and highlighted to remind me what needs to be done correctly for every kind of statistic that I have learned since 2007. So, the important part here is to make sure that we are reporting the data correctly, but also so that the client understands what the findings are. Not everyone understands scientific jargon, and being a good consultant and researcher is being able to clearly communicate results.

I could probably write about proper use and method for statistics for days, but I might be the only person who cares about what I have to say on the topic. My take home message here is that statistics are hard, and a lot of training goes into properly using them. Take the time and effort to learn, or to hire someone who knows what they are doing with the hefty numbers.

KC

How I stay productive working from home

The irony behind this blog post is that I had to motivate myself to write it. Not because I didn’t want to, but because running a business, playing football (yes, I play women’s tackle football for the Halifax Xplosion), and maintaining a life is hard!!  (Whaaaat?!). Working from home can be a challenge for a lot of people. I myself have had to jump over some barriers to be able to make my efforts successful, and to use my time wisely. I want to talk a little bit about how I stay productive and motivated throughout the week. There needs to be some background information first.

I PROCRASINATE!! But in a weird way… instead of writing, or really sitting down to focus on a specific project, I will look for research articles and read them… and then sort them into a pile of “which project does this work with”. Its like this productive procrastination that I don’t feel guilty about. I get an abundance of knowledge on a topic, sometimes too much… But that being said, being productive and motivating yourself to move forward with your tasks is what makes you successful in whatever it is that you are doing, and sometimes I just need to put down those research articles and start creating my own!

Here is a list of things I do to make sure that my contracts are moving forward, and I am staying on task every day.

1.      Get out of bed (duh). I work from home about 90-100% of the time, and when you work from home it can easily become a habit to stay in bed right until that moment you need to go into the home office to start doing something. So, what I try to do daily is get up and shower and then eat all before 9am. I make it a point that I am going to have my emails checked by 9:30am, so that way I know that I can check that off my list of things I’ve done. I have found that by doing this I am more productive, less likely to procrastinate, and it just starts the day better.  You need to think about going into the home office the same way as going into work every day at a specific time.  

2.      Every evening I create a “to do list” for the next day. I separate the items on the list into categories. I rank them by priority within each contract, and I always include personal life tasks as well. What has really started to happen in my life since starting my business is that there is no scheduled work day There is no such thing as a 9 to 5 type of day. There are lists, and I have to get those items completed for the contract to move forward. Sometimes it can look like “Run structural equation model, create graph and table, build draft for infographic, start the slow cooker, and clean football gear”. By doing this, I can manage not only my business but my life as well. Those “to do lists” are life savers!

3.      A reward system! When I complete items on my list it means that I can reward myself. And they can be small rewards or if you accomplish a lot, they can be huge! I recently finished a slew of contracts within a week of each other, so I really wanted something big. The weather is beautiful now, and it makes me want to go outside!! So, I had Jody (my partner) set up/build a gazebo/canopy outside on the deck so I can work outside if I want to! Thankfully, he can get these things finished in a day, so the reward is essentially immediate! Having a reward system is probably the most motivating thing I have decided to do since starting my business. That positive reinforcement works wonders.

4.      A HOBBY other than work! Seriously, it seems hard to get the time to do something other than work and still get everything done. But I have made it a point that I am dedicating my time to football as well. This means 2 practices in the evenings a week. My Saturday is always game day. And! I make an effort to do cardio based things to keep up my conditioning for the game. The Football season is almost done (June 23rd), so I will be looking for something else soon to keep that balance, but it gives you a reason to not do work every minute of the day.

5.      This next one might seem mediocre for some people, but myself personally I need it. MUSIC. I have playlists for different type of work that I am doing. If I am doing a statistical analysis, I am typically listening to some intense rap music. If I am reading an article, my music typically is slower and is more instrumental. Having the music really gets you going. I also can see how much I get through based on the length of the play list. I can say “well this play list is an hour long, I should have completed my analysis by then and have a good understanding of this dataset”. It is something that helps me personally. But it may not be for everyone.

6.      When all else fails and I am just having a hard day getting things going. I will change my environment. I will go into a contract, I will set up meetings, I will write a blog, or I will switch gears and look at a different contract. Sometimes when you are consistently working on one project, just changing it will give you a fresh start.

Everyone is different on how they stay productive or keep themselves motivated throughout the day. If you are anything like me, you have ADHD and you are thinking about 1 million different things at one time and really need to have a routine that keeps you grounded. I hope that by me sharing some insight, you can figure out what works for you!

KC

Starting My Business

I have heard from a few of my friends that it seems like I created a business plan out of thin air, and that I started my business in less than a month. Well I guess the latter statement is true, but there was a lot of thought and schooling that went into the development of Alpha Ethics Research and Consulting. This blog post is to just give some insight to how everything started with Alpha Ethics and how I went from having multiple part time jobs to having a mountain of signed contracts. 

I completed my Master of Science at Saint Mary’s University in August of 2015, and I started a journey to the Netherlands to pursue my PhD. I had spent a lot of time thinking about what my future career directions were going to be and how I was going to achieve my goals. I wanted to do research, and I wanted to make a difference. I had once dreamed that I would have my own consulting firm where people would hire me on a larger scale to help conduct research, and at that point in time I felt that I needed to have the title of PhD at end of my name to do so. 

Because life isn’t so straight forward, my PhD didn’t work out for me. There were personal dilemmas, lack of motivation stemming from if I had taken the right path to achieve my goals. This is where the crisis happened! My entire outlook and what I perceived as “who KC is” was no longer in existence. I felt like I was starting new and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do next.

So, August 2016 I had taken myself out of the research world and got myself an industry job working for a non-profit organization. After about 9 months I slowly started getting back into research. I went back to the Social Attitudes Lab, and helped rebuild what I had left behind, but I also started casually working with a local self-owned consulting firm. I got to experience what it was like to consult outside of the university. I was consulting with the lab for several years before, but this was different.

After about a year and a half of working in industry, I had an itch to get back into research full time. I started working part time positions all over the city. One of my employers had gotten the word out that I had some skill set that others didn’t, and I was starting to go through their department aiding other researchers. It was at this moment that a light bulb went off and I realized that I HAD SKILLS THAT THE AVERAGE RESEARCH ASSISTANT DIDN’T! I suppose 9 years working in a research environment with top researchers in social attitudes and behavior might do that... 

So! This kind of set a fire under me. Clearly there was a need for my skill set but I was now thinking about how I was going to convince other people that it would be easier to hire me as a consultant to do research then to hire a part time research assistant. Due to the nature of my lab manager position, I was exposed to high level statistics, international conferences, and a ridiculous amount of academic writing. I also was able to learn a lot of different methods to collect data and design those methods. So, I realized that it was my skills that were the driver for me to become an independent consultant. I didn’t need product, or startup money, I just needed me. 

So, I guess you’re curious to how I landed the current contracts that I am juggling at this time. After I registered my business name (thank you to everyone who helped me narrow down the name) and started my branding (thank you to Jen Wheatley and Tonderai Musarurwa), I was able to put myself out there for everyone to see. Here are some ways I have obtained meaningful contracts: 

1. Reach out to past collaborations and networks 

I had some positive karma help me out here. While I was working with the industry consulting company, I was introduced to marketing professionals and researchers, and it was at this point that they needed a researcher to help them get a project off the ground. Since being involved with this group, I have been able to obtain 3 rolling projects that end when we run out of research ideas. I had built an impression with this group of colleagues that I was efficient and eager to learn in a different environment. I also believe I had a colleague put in a good word for me and it really paid off. So networking, and previous colleagues are key for you to get out there and become known in this industry.

2. Staying involved in Research

I am still working with the Social Attitudes Lab at Saint Mary’s University, and through this lab, I have opportunities to meet people and explain what I do. Typically, with the lab I can collaborate and use my skills to help other departments. This is one of the main ways that I have continued contracts as it is in the university environment and I am working with other researchers in the field.

3. Job Search websites

I check job websites every morning. Its part of my daily routine. This way I can stay aware of which businesses and organizations need research services. Depending on what is needed for the posting, I will directly email the organization or company and explain what I do with Alpha Ethics. This method has been extremely valuable for my success so far. I have met with many people and have signed many contracts just by reaching out directly instead of just sending a resume. It is this method that is keeping me on my toes and keeping the business relevant.

Now that I have been actively working with clients and completing contracts, word of mouth has been my friend. Recommendations from others have really pushed me further and allowed me to meet different people in different environments.Consulting independently has been the most rewarding and validating experience I have done in my career. I look forward to growing and continuing to help wherever my clients may need me.

KC

A Successful Research Lab

One of the services I offer is to help create a research plan for a Social Science lab. This can include populating the lab, creating a yearly time-line, or just getting the lab back on track. Most academics have a workload that is overwhelming and when someone is teaching courses, balancing several grants, mentoring students, and maintaining a family life, certain tasks become stressful. Having a successful lab means that the researcher is publishing, going to conferences, collecting copious amounts of data…. Right? Well when someone is trying to maintain life, sometimes deadlines for conferences pass by, or mountains of data is just being sat on, and research assistants are unsure to what they need to do to help. From my own experience, I know that this is where that dark feeling of failure becomes a factor.

I have been part of Dr. Steven Smith’s (SMU, Dean of Science) Social Attitudes Psychology Laboratory since May 2009. I started as a research assistant collecting data and learning how to build an experiment.  After completing my honours, I was promoted to lab manager. Remember that blog post about Imposter Syndrome? I was very much experiencing that phenomenon, and I think everyone else around me was thinking the same thing that I was….

I was new at this! I needed to come up with a guideline that was going to help me out. And don’t get me wrong, there were some learning lessons that have been included well after failing a few times. I want to talk about some of the guidelines that I follow to ensure that I have a successful year in the lab. First things first, you need a plan that outlines what needs to be accomplished. It doesn’t need to be set in stone, but there should be some structure.

1.        BUILDING YOUR TIMELINE

Typically, if you have a grant this is a priority project. Let’s call the grant “Project X”. Project X needs a timeline. You need ethics… when should you be submitting it? What material is needed to do that? How will you be collecting data? Does this mean you need several research assistants to help you gather this data? Do you need to build an experiment? What about conferences? When are those deadlines? These are the kinds of questions you want to ask yourself. Depending on how many projects you run at a time, these timelines are important because this is how you are going to manage your lab. The great thing about most grants is that you need to have this information explained already, so you do have a timeline, but that is a more holistic view to an entire project. You want to focus on specific years, and tailor it to your institute as well your collaborations. This seems simple right? Well, remember you have a list of other priorities that need to be considered. And in most cases, there is never just one project happening in your lab. This is where the team that you have in your lab is crucial.

2.       POPULATING YOUR LAB

You need a strong team. Every person brought into the lab needs to have a role and needs to contribute something to your lab. I personally like to have an academically diverse lab. What I mean by academically diverse is that I want the research assistants to come from different levels of experience, and sometimes field interests.

Every person that comes into the lab, I sit down with them and I ask them their personal goals. Where do they feel their strengths are? What about their weaknesses? What do they want to learn from the lab? And how can I help them reach their next goal (graduate school)? This is important because this is how you will assign people to different tasks within the lab, it also helps you know where you need to help build on these student’s skills. But also, because you have their goals in mind, they are going to ensure that your goals are met because it is their goals and accomplishments as well.

Well first, you need a leader. This person is typically a graduate student who sees your labs success as their success. They would need to have a strong understanding of research design, and statistics. You want someone who an efficient worker, who is independent, but who is also great at asking questions when they are needed. This person needs to understand that they won’t have all the answers, and that everyone on the team works as a unit. So even though they are a leader in the lab, others growth is their growth too.  It is this person who is helping you write and do analysis. They are monitoring the lab and ensuring that your timelines are being met, and that everything is being done efficiently, ethically, and that you are well informed.

Because you have your timeline figured out, you know how many tasks you have, how many participants you need, the method to which you are gathering your data. This is where you need your volunteer research assistants. The next person on your team is your “head research assistant”. This person is either doing an honours or has just completed one and is looking to get into graduate school. This person is motivated and is working closely with you and your lab manager to maintain the flow of the data collection in the lab.

Depending on how many projects you have will contribute to how many volunteers you will want in your lab at a time. Sometimes space is an issue, but if you are collecting data, having a few volunteers to put in 4 hours a week will mean you are collecting data fast and efficiently. This is where scheduling data collection times is crucial, as well as ensuring the small research tasks you need done are happening.  Your volunteer research assistants can do literature reviews and annotated bibliographies for you. They are eager to collect material for ethics and this is a great opportunity to help them build up their CVs as well as your own. Having three research assistants would be smart. Try having at least one of them in 2nd year or 3rd, because these are returning students, who may want to do an honours with you or become a graduate student and continue to contribute to your lab. It is a great way to shape your next couple of years.

3.       BE INVOLVED BUT NOT TOO INVOLVED

Everyone has a different working style. Because I am writing this from the point of view of a lab manager, how I keep Dr. Smith in the loop is I go to him with each step of development. He edits anything that comes out of the lab. Any research ideas must be past through him. But he lets us explore and approach him with ideas, so we can learn from our mistakes as he guides us through the research experience. This is where it is important that you as the principle investigator decides how much you want to get through your lab. There should be strict monitoring but do it through the lab manager. With proper training, and a tight timeline your lab manager will know exactly how to fit your needs. But also remember that this is a learning experience for you as well, and to have a successful lab, courses, and family life, your timeline and team is what makes you flourish.

If you are a researcher who feels they would like to set up their lab this way. Who needs to regroup and consider how they can be efficient this coming year, please do not hesitate to contact me as I am more than willing to sit down and discuss how I can help your lab grow and help you have a successful research year. I know the stress that academics endure every year, and if I can help you alleviate some of that stress, then you are one step closer to living a happier and healthier research life.

KC

Student Success in Academia

I was THAT student! You know... the one that was always talking and disrupting the class. When I was younger I use to walk to the front of the class with my hand raised because I wanted and needed the teacher to answer my hand. I remember in grade 8 science, I had entered the class at the beginning of September thinking “this is my year!” I sat next to my best friend Jess and started talking with my peers around me. The teacher walks in, and without skipping a beat she points to me and says “nope, your seat is right here for the rest of the year”. She pointed to a seat that was in the very front of the classroom facing the wall (which had a very large eagle picture on it by the way), meaning that my back was not only to the class but also the teacher. I also want to point out that until that day I had never had an experience with this teacher, so I am 100% sure that the other teachers were warning her about me... 

I got an A+ in science that year. My entire workload consisted of me drawing a master piece of that eagle on my desk, and not doing the science fair. My attitude was if she didn’t want me to be part of the class, I wasn’t going to be.  My grade reflected that the teacher just didn’t want to deal with me. But, my other grades within the school were great, I just was a disruptive student. I realized after that year that the only way I was going to successfully learn in school was to seek assistance outside of the typical dynamic where someone would get assistance. I reached out to other classmates, guidance counselors, eventually in high school even university students within the city. I had learned to study and teach myself theories and application outside of the school system. 

When I had decided I wanted to go into university I realized that I had learned a skill, because the professors were not going to be holding my hand throughout the courses. They came to class, they read their lectures and they left. It’s the students’ responsibility to build studying habits and learn how to apply their knowledge to the real world. Which I had already learned to do while I was in grade school... Hold on a second. CULTURE SHOCK!!!  How does one get culture shock without moving anywhere... wait... the international students are experiencing what I am experiencing 1000x more than I am?? ... HIGH SCHOOL DOES NOT PREPARE YOU FOR WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO DIVE HEAD FIRST INTO. Have I made that clear? No?... ok!! You know how in high school you are like "hahaha I have a 95% overall average, and I have a few friends, and I can play all the video games I want, and plus sleep all weekend, and eat whatever I want". Culture shock is about to happen while you are sitting on your couch staring at the wall because for some reason staring at the wall is a stress response to the work load that is included at university. Ok yes, grades are important. That’s obvious. But there are skills and experiences that are not taught by going to class. To be successful during and after your undergrad, you need different skills other than getting an A in your social behaviour class (nobody tells you this!!) 

Academic success is more than just good grades. And if you want to go to graduate school... there is a long list of other requirements that are needed other than grades. When students learn about these other requirements, it is either too late to apply, so late in the academic program that more schooling is required, and hundreds of questions that no one seems to know the answers to. 

Even myself, who was involved within the university had to take an extra year and a year off to prepare myself for my academic journey. If I had someone who was able to tell me what I needed and help guide me to those resources and help prepare me, I would have saved myself 2 years, and about $10,000 of tuition and book costs (I can hear the senior students now... "Let them figure it out themselves!!! Muahahahaha.)

From my mentoring within the Social Attitudes Psychology lab at Saint Mary’s University, I soon learned that a lot of the students who were approaching me really had no idea what they needed to do to either go into graduate school, apply to professional programs, or even just gather information about co-op or volunteer experience. I spent most of my time guiding these students and helping them gain the required experience they need to get to their next goal in life. 

I decided that through Alpha Ethics, I want to be able to guide more students into the career path that is best suited for them. And doing this earlier on in their academic career, so they can realize what is needed while going into their 2nd and 3rd year and not in their final year of study, or their victory lap or two. It should not be "the norm" that students are taking a 5th year to aquire research experience or an honours degree because they found out about the requirements too late. Some quick advice I can give to any students reading this now: 

• Get involved! In whatever capacity that means to you! Volunteer in the community, join a society, run for board of directors. Do something that will make you stand out to future employers', graduate schools, or even a honours supervisor.  
• Get to know your professors. Introduce yourself, go and tell them your interests. If they aren’t the same as yours I can guarantee you, they know someone who might have the same interests. This is how you build relationships with the right people. 
• For science students. Apply to volunteer in labs. Become a research assistant. The wealth of knowledge you learn there is unmatched. 
• Become a teacher assistant. You build meaningful relationships this way as well as grasp the literature and academic concepts differently than you would as a student. 

This is honestly only the surface level of what should be done as a student interested in pursuing academia and professional programs. 

I am offering 1 on 1 academic success coaching to students who are interested in learning these steps and want to obtain meaningful positions within the university. I am also willing to do workshops for students who want to pursue an honours, graduate school, or research within the university environment. 

I guarantee you now that my grade 8 science teacher would be shocked to know that I’ve attended close to 20 national and international conference all over the world and that I am able to convey scientific findings to not only academics and scientists but also my community. 

Remember, asking for assistance will get you a long way. Go to the people in your community and talk to them about how you can help them grow. Make it a win for them and a win for you. Stay smart.

KC

The Imposter Syndrome!

Have you ever looked around and thought “I am sooooo over my head right now. There is no way I’m going to make this happen?” Welcome to everyday of my life!

I don’t want to attribute this feeling to my being in academia for so long, because I’m pretty sure anyone entering into a new environment feels that they don’t deserve to be there, or that they have no idea how they got into the situation in the first place. What I can tell you is that that feeling you feel is called the “imposter syndrome.” It’s the complex that we get when we can’t accept what we’ve accomplished in life, through… I don’t know, let’s say... 10 years of experience and 2 degrees, and 2 certificates... it’s the feeling that someone will expose us as a “fraud” because even though we have accomplished so much, we still don’t feel worthy enough for that shiny new position we’ve entered.  

I felt it when I first walked into university; I felt it when I started my masters; when I tried to pursue my PhD (yes, tried); when I began this research and consulting business; and finally, when I wrote this blog. I attribute my imposter syndrome to being around so many successful, wonderful, extremely smart people. I think, "No, I can’t start a business, I know so-and-so is a lot more successful than me, and that’s what they did.” It’s that forever niggling feeling that sits on the back of my mind when I walk into a new contract, or someone contacts me to do a consultation. That’s when you start to think of all your failures, and trust me... even the greatest people we know fail. And yes, I know, there are psychological theories that would argue that I’m feeling this way in these situations because I’m part of a marginalized population. But this is debatable. I believe everyone at some point in their life feels this complex. 

I want to share this information in my first blog post because I think it’s important that everyone knows that every single person feels this way in situations that are important to them. We will constantly compare ourselves to other people and undermine our own accomplishments. We have that small doubt in our mind that this is all an illusion and the moment we start celebrating our accomplishments, it’s all going to fall through. I think the big question here is how do we get past this crippling feeling of being an imposter in our own skin to feeling accomplished and competent? Well, I’m sure you can find all kinds of self-help blogs and posts on how to overcome this syndrome, but I’m not sure we ever truly get rid of it... I think we adapt and adjust to our environment, or we leave it. Which seems kind of harsh? But! It’s the reality of it all. While I was in academia, I was told “the moment you start to feel competent means you’re no longer learning... move onto something harder and grow.” I think I was stuck so long in the feeling of incompetency that I forgot what it was like to actually feel like I knew what was going on... 

So now I have people asking for my expertise in academic success and research development. It’s kind of the opposite to what academia taught me! But my point here is that its OK to feel this way. To feel nervous and excited for new adventures. It’s OK to feel this way because it is normal. We all feel inadequate when we start something new. That’s why slogans like "Fake it till you make it” exist! However, I feel like most of the time we aren’t actually faking it. We are just self-doubting how genius we all are. Let me tell you something about me: I love the underdog in all situations. It’s the underdog who is going to break those barriers and prove to the world that they deserve to shine, and I guarantee you that the underdog is feeling that imposter complex. Even though I am feeling that imposter syndrome creeping up every once and awhile, I want to dedicate my expertise in research to help other people overcome these kinds of barriers that prevent them from succeeding and completing their own personal goals.

I started Alpha Ethics Research and Consulting for three reasons:

• to help students who are struggling to find their niche within the university learn to adapt and find the right path for them
• to help academics push through their busy course and workloads and know they can trust the research that is being guided within their lab
• to help businesses and departments manage their data ethically, confidentially, and effectively so they can help their work environment prosper

I thought about the skill set I have gained through 10 years of experience working with data, ethics, and in a research environment; I knew I could use these tools to help rid people of the stress and demands they feel every day. I’m hoping that while I battle my own imposter syndrome, I can help eliminate that feeling within the research community that I become involved with, and help my clients grow overall. 

Please remember that everyone is in the position they are in for a reason. Embrace your achievements and always remember to ask for assistance if it’s needed. 

KC