Thesis session 1: Your level 6 project

class: center, middle, inverse, title-slide

.title[
# Thesis session 1: Your level 6 project
]
.author[
### Prof. Dr. Thomas Pollet, Northumbria University (<a href="mailto:thomas.pollet@northumbria.ac.uk" class="email">thomas.pollet@northumbria.ac.uk</a>)
]
.date[
### 2025-09-27 | <a href="http://tvpollet.github.io/disclaimer">disclaimer</a>
]

---

## About me

* Trained in sociology, evolutionary psychology. Worked in Netherlands... .

* Belgian

* Father of a 4 year old (Minna) --> Permanently tired.

---
## Researchwise

* Social / Evolutionary psychology / Individual differences

--> Social relationships (Attraction / Jealousy / Friendships / Loneliness)

--> Individual differences (Personality / Height)

--> Methodology (Measurement / Sampling / Simulation)

---
## Other things that interest me.

* Board games (e.g., Wingspan)

* Nintendo switch: mostly turn based: Civilisation 6 / Disco Elysium

* MMA - even published some papers on this.

* Reading: fiction (currently: **The Bee sting** by Paul Murray) and non-fiction (currently: **Zero Zero Zero** by Roberto Saviano)

* Nice (Belgian) beer

---
## How I support you.

* You will get the most out of me, if your topic and method closely aligns with my expertise. Broadly relating to social psychology / social relationships / individual differences.

* Reading + feedback on ethics applications (in some cases more support - if method already used)

* Advice on literature search (+ literature if in my area), design, analysis, and writing.

* In person feedback but supervisors do not read sections or drafts.

* **All this support will be offered in these group sessions (supplemented via MS teams). There will be no additional support via email/personal meetings -- only in exceptional cases.**

---
## MS Teams

I have set up a group Teams site

Can everyone access it?

Each person has their own private channel

Use this to safely store your work

Especially if you want to look at something in the group session, we can both get to it!

---
## Analysis support

* Very aware people are nervous about analysis

* Challenging but I am an expert ;).

--> recommendation:

* Pick a simple design with large sample size.

* Group project - learn from one another (own data but similar problems.)

* Up for a challenge --> higher marks

In semester 2

You will run your own analysis, and we will discuss.

Together you can help each other

---
## Groups...

You can choose to work on a project with other people in the group
--> You DO NOT have to do this. More on next slide…

Whether you work with others or alone, all supervision happens in these sessions

Everyone gets regular meetings (if it was individual, meetings would be less frequent)

This means that everyone gets more of my time than they would

You get peer support from others in the room

You can rely on each other outside of the session

---
## Group projects.

As stated: you can do a 'solo' project. No pressure. But advantages to working together.

* Few people do research in isolation in the real world. You will also work in teams in work context.

* You still have to write your own paper and focus on slightly different aspects of the project. (For example, someone will focus one predictor)

* You get to share the work of preparing study materials/recruiting participants/data analysis. Typically better work as less prone to error --> also larger samples - more powerful.

* Your ‘peer support’ is going to be even more specific, others in this room will know way more about the project if they’re involved

* I will build accountability into the process (e.g., we'll track how many respondents each person has helped to recruit).

* Group members will have a chance to comment on the commitment and work ethic of other group members. Ratings and my own observations are taken into account when marking the final dissertation.

* If things go sour - I have a back up plan for certain scenarios.

---
## Two tracks

* Submitted a proposal --> which was accepted (with modification) or rejected.

* Or you

--> you do have some say but I am the expert.

---
## Constraints on 'solo' projects.

* Things we already know pretty well or where a lot better designed studies have been done (e.g., Violence and video games) --> better to do a well thought out replication project or quantitative review on measurement.

--> If there is already a randomised control study with 1,000s of people, then your small study might be not very informative.

--> This is a thesis not a PhD. Rather a robust replication than a poorly designed underpowered study.

---
## Timeline

This is a rough timeline… might change week on week depending upon where we’re at!

* Week 1: Get to know you, group discussion on project ideas, advice on literature search

* Week 2: Research Rationale, how to write one and feedback on the work done so far

* Week 3: Study design, planning and implementing study design for your project

* Week 4: Ethics part 1, How to prepare an ethics application?

* Week 5: Ethics part 2, Feedback and revisions on ethics application drafts

---
## Timeline: continued

* Week 6: Implementing study and reflecting on reviewer comments, advice for putting your study online/running it in lab/observational studies/etc.

* Week 7: Participant recruitment / data collection

* Week 8: Writing your methods section

* Week 9: Writing your introduction

* Week 10: Feedback on your written work so far and wrapping up before winter break

---
## Project timeline. Key dates.

* **Ethics Deadline**: draft to me: 5th of November 2025, 13:00; final (in portal): 3th of December 2025, 13:00.

* **Conference**: Semester 2 - Week 6

* **Submission**: Mar 26th 2025, 1pm

* **Feedback**:  Apr 27th 2025, 1pm

<img src="https://i.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExbmJwMHFmaTc2aDVsYmt5aGs4ZDRkbXdvdGRvenMwejNlZDNibXRkeiZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/cgcZYdRy0vw1ovUuES/giphy.gif" width="275px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" />
---
## Over to you! Icebreakers.

Everyone hates them – but we’re actually going to spend a lot of time together

In pairs/threes answer the below and one person needs to then introduce the group to me at the end (it will help me remember who you all are)

- Name
- Where you’re from 
- Favourite food
- Favourite sport (to play/to watch) / Favourite show

---
## Previous very successful projects.

* [An egocentric network analysis of support groups of persons with Type 1 Diabetes](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21642850.2021.1951272)

* [A replication of the link between personality and vocational interests](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001879112000723).

* [Replication studies on jealousy](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0146167220904512). (More to follow!)

* [Testing the nerdy personality questionnaire in >400 self-identified nerds](https://tvpollet.github.io/pdfs/Finister_et_al_2021.pdf).

* A replication of 'was she wearing red'.

* [An observational study of mask wearing on campus](https://lebs.hbesj.org/index.php/lebs/article/view/lebs.2018.65). [An observational study on gender and every day risk taking (crossing the road in an unsafe way)](https://lebs.hbesj.org/index.php/lebs/article/view/lebs.2018.65)

---
## Project ideas

* Individual differences in jealousy. --> A replication of a previous study on either height or birth order/attachment/narcissism.

* 'Social anhedonia' and friendships. --> other individual differences and social networks.

* Representation in journals. (Body Image / Autism)

* Measurement via scales.

* Observing use of e-scooters and wearing helmets. E.g. : Are men less likely to wear one than women?

* ['Guardian blind dates' database](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/series/blind-date)

--> other ideas: [https://tvpollet.github.io/thesis_topics/](https://tvpollet.github.io/thesis_topics/)

---
## Some ideas based on already shared with me

* **Amelia**: Personality and Marine Conservation.

* **Erin**: Interested in Birth order.

---
## Matching?

I need your name and three keywords on a piece of paper. (In order of preference) (e.g. John Doe, 1. Psychology of Religion 2. E-Sports 3. Organisational psychology)

Or pick one from the previous slide (Jealousy / Social Networks / Representation in Journals / Measurement / e-scooters / Blind dates)

I'll try and match you up - and then will chat to each group... .

---
## Literature search

* What do you use?

* Scholar google  / PsycInfo / Web of Science

* [Connected papers](https://www.connectedpapers.com/)

---
## References (and further reading.)

[https://tvpollet.github.io/thesis_projects/](https://tvpollet.github.io/thesis_projects/)

* Eco, U. (2015). _How to write a thesis_. MIT Press. See: [https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/umberto-eco-how-to-write-a-thesis/](https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/umberto-eco-how-to-write-a-thesis/)
* Pinker, S. (2015). _The sense of style: The thinking person’s guide to writing in the 21st century_. Penguin Books.