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.