-Madison Soles
Throughout the entirety of the fall semester (2018), I was given the opportunity through my Psychology 1100 class, as a requirement, to receive laboratory experience. The process is known as REP, Research Experience Program, where students can participate in any number of studies to contribute to the research conducted daily by the Psychology Department. Although it was a course requirement, I was given the option to receive in-lab credit or paper credit, and the in-lab credit interested me beyond analyzing articles.
At first, the process sounded tedious and time-consuming. However, once I began participating in the various experiments, it was very interesting to dissect the different methods used to contribute to the research. Most of the experiences involved surveys, questionnaires, or simulated experiments in which one was requested to complete certain activities (usually involving the use of the keyboard of a computer).
The most significant REP from my experience was one in which I was required to look at an array of different shapes (resembling T’s) and appropriately identify if the actual T-shape was present. This was done to resemble the involved classification of abnormal tissues that may be identified as causes of cancer or other mutations. The experiment involved backgrounds of different shades to exemplify the difficulty of identifying a small mutation in a vast image. The purpose of the experiment was also to evaluate a student’s ability to a professional’s ability to ensure that the practice is being carried out by qualified individuals.
Most importantly, REP’s are an efficient and beneficial way to engage in first-hand experience on the conduction of research, its application, and its contributions to STEM. It was significant, from my perspective, to assume that even 30 minutes of my day spent to complete one of the experiments could be contributed in a major way. I recommend to anyone who needs this experience that would benefit them in their major or area of interest to consider participating in the program, even once, to gain even the slightest perspective on research conducted at the university.
To find out more, the URL for the website is as follows: https://rep.psy.ohio-state.edu/.
The website provides a more in-depth explanation of the contribution of REP’s and their significance to STEM as a whole.