Research Masters - what's involved?!

Noctu

Hi guys,
After talking with a clinical psychologist (which is what I'd like to be), he's advised me to do a research Masters in order to have more of a chance of getting an assistant psychologist/research assistant post.

However - please don't laugh as I feel really thick here - I have no idea what's actually involved in a research Masters.

All I can gather is that you pick a topic, and liase with the uni to see if one of their lecturers will supervise your project.

But then what? I mean, what happens day-to-day? Do you just.. research stuff around your topic and write it up? :S

If anyone could explain it to me, in dummy language (lol), I'd be very grateful indeed!!

Thanks :j

nav007

'Student money savings'...not sure if this is the correct section.
The best person to ask would be the organiser of the masters course.
Don't worry mate, i'm hoping to start my masters next year....have no definite idea on what i'm doing yet!

Voyager2002

I'm baffled by this.

The phrase "research masters" might mean a degree in research methods. Many PhD students begin by being taught how to do research, complete assessments on this, and are given a degree called M.Res (Master of Research). For most, this is just a stepping stone on the way to getting a PhD.

Again, some research students write a dissertation about their work that enables them to obtain a Master's degree (usually M.Phil.) but does not reach the standard required for a PhD. It is also possible to obtain an MA by dissertation, although that is unusual.

And I don't think that either of these approaches would be much use for getting a place as an Assistant Psychologist. Research skills are only relevant for this in as much as they would demonstrate a capacity to set your own goals and organise your own work.

melancholly

i imagine you mean an MSc or MRes in Psychological Research (they have different names at different unis) that counts as the ESRC 1 in their 1+3 scheme? they are usually 50% taught and 50% research. so you have lectures/workshops/seminars and things, and have a supervisor in the department and you do a research project with them. all you need to do is google the course and have a look at the prospectuses of the unis that come up!

i have to say that encouraging someone to self fund a masters (one year funding for this kind of masters really isn't going to happen) to get an assistant psychologists post is a bit odd. you need to get an RA job to get onto the clinical course, which will be badly paid and probably a short term contract. putting another year on hold to do a masters isn't necessarily a good option as it really won't guarantee you an RA job anyway.

in your position, you could offer to volunteer to help out with someone who does research with a patient group - they don't have to be in the dept of clinical psychology; plenty of experimental or academic psychologists use specific patient groups. that way you get some relevant experience on your CV. if you're still an undergrad, then make sure you get a third year project as close to patient work as possible, and get a good mark. getting onto a clinical psychology course is very competitive (too many people want too few places!) so you need to demonstrate that you are good!

have a look at RA positions on jobs.ac.uk and apply to lots! some are part time only, but assuming you have psychology as an undergrad, you can also contact your dept to see if they have any work going or any summer placement opportunities.

Noctu

Thanks for all the replies.
I think I must have got the wrong end of the stick as regards a "research masters" (which is how the clinical psychologist explained it to me!)

I'm having some trouble finding voluntary work unfortunately, but I'm still trying. I finish in May (am in final year of BSc) so I'm starting to worry about the future.

After a bit more research I've decided I'd like to do a taught MSc and will be applying soon.

Thanks for your post also melancholly, I remember from previous posts that you're in the psychology field yourself. That jobs.ac.uk looks great, unfortunately no RA jobs anywhere near me at the moment!