Dept. of Psychological Sciences M.Phil/Ph.D Psychology Handbook

Transcription

1 Dept. of Psychological Sciences M.Phil/Ph.D Psychology Handbook 2014/15

2 Contents Introduction... 3 New PhD Students... 4 Term Dates and College Closure... 5 Term Dates for 2014/ College Closure Dates for 2014/ Facilities... 6 Birkbeck Library... 6 Other University Libraries... 6 Attendance... 8 Upgrading from MPhil to PhD Status... 9 Transfer of Status Document Annual Report Student Feedback Form Deadlines Disability Statement for the Department of Psychological Sciences Plagiarism Useful Addresses and Contact Numbers Finding Birkbeck APPENDIX

3 Introduction The Department of Psychological Science at Birkbeck, University of London Birkbeck was founded in 1823 as the London Mechanics Institution and incorporated into the University of London by Royal Charter in The College is ranked among the leading UK university institutions for its levels of national and international excellence in research in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences. From this base of research excellence Birkbeck provides a unique range of degrees and other courses designed specially to meet the needs of mature students. The Department of Psychological Science is located on the fifth floor of the Birkbeck main building in Malet Street. In the last Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2008) the Department was ranked 5 th in the UK. It currently comprises over 20 academic staff specialising in a variety of fields within Psychology. There are a number of Centres affiliated to the Department, such as the Birkbeck/UCL Centre for NeuroImaging, the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, the Centre for Educational Neuroscience, and the Institute for the Study of Children, Family and Social Issues. Staff are members of four main Research Groupings. These are Brain and Cognitive Development, Cognitive Modelling, Perception, Attention and Emotion, and Child, Family and Health Psychology. Some of our current MPhil/PhD students are undertaking research, in the following, areas: Processes involved in deductive reasoning with uncertain premises The perception of biological motion in autism Influences on the time-course of disgust processing using electrophysiology Pregnancy and motherhood an interpretive phenomenological analysis The prediction of academic achievement from mother-child interactions in the first year Attention in the perception of naturalistic scenes Nurturing young children s curiosity: a highway to learning Behavioural and computational modelling studies of contextual effects on categorisation Nurturing young children s curiosity: a highway to learning 3

4 The following students will be joining the department in 2014: Provisional List Students Jacqueline Allan Anisa Bajraktari Jonathan Batten Peter Collins Joanna Farr Michael Jenkins Jose Martinez Isabella Nizza Suzanne Pahlman Oliver Pain Sinead-Elouise Rocha Renata Sadibolova Maria Siqueira Monteiro De Barros Igor Volzhanin Supervisors Ann Miles Eddy Davelaar Tim Smith Ulrike Hahn Jonathan Smith Martin Eimer Virginia Eatough Jonathan Smith Rick Cooper Angelica Ronald Denis Mareschal Matt Longo Mark Johnson Ulrike Hahn 4

5 Term Dates and College Closure Term Dates for 2014/15 Autumn Term: Monday 29 th September 2014 Friday 12 th December 2014 Spring Term: Monday 5 th January Friday 20 th March 2015 Summer Term: Monday 20 th April 2015 Friday 3th th July 2015 College Closure Dates for 2014/15 Christmas Closure: Wednesday 24 th December 2014 to Friday 2nd January College will close at 6pm on Tuesday 23rd December 2014, and normal services will resume from 9am on Monday 5th January Easter Closure: Thursday 2 nd April 2015 to Tuesday 7 th April College will close at 6pm on Wednesday 1 st April 2015, and normal services will resume from 9am on Wednesday 8 th April May Bank Holiday: Monday 5 th May 2015 Spring Bank Holiday: Monday 25 th May 2015 August Bank Holiday: Monday 31 st August

6 Facilities Birkbeck Library Birkbeck Library houses some 250,000 books and has about 850 current journal subscriptions in print and around 20,000 journals online, available via the elibrary. The Library catalogue and the elibrary can be accessed through the Library website ( Remote access from home/work is available using your IT Services username and password. Other services include interlibrary loan, a postal service for distance learners and access to other libraries via the SCONUL Access scheme. See the Library web site for more information. Telephone: Web: Other University Libraries Birkbeck students may also access a number of other university libraries, both in London and throughout the UK. The access schemes that Birkbeck belongs to include: Senate House Library, University of London (Humanities and Social Sciences) Free borrowing. Just go there and register once you have your Birkbeck ID card. University of London libraries You can access many other University of London libraries for reference only, such as UCL and King's College London. Please check their web sites for access arrangements before you visit. UK Libraries Plus A scheme for part-time learning students and sometimes full time postgraduates (depending on the library) allowing borrowing from other member libraries. Institute of Education Birkbeck postgraduates have borrowing rights, otherwise reference use only. Sconul Access Scheme Part-time students, full-time taught postgraduates and research students may borrow from the libraries of over 170 UK higher education institutions, including the Institute of Education Library, via this scheme.. For further details of these and other schemes, consult the Birkbeck College library website or ask any member of library staff. Within the Department In addition to College library facilities, all students have access to computing facilities in the department and around campus. Apart from access to an account and services (you can contact ITS on ext or Avi Reisman, IT Manager, on ext. 0744). Students can also attend courses in popular areas of computing, run by Birkbeck ITS. (ITS can be contacted on ext. 6543). Students using facilities in the department can have access to printing and can also use 6

7 the department s photocopying and binding facilities. A transcribing machine can be borrowed for short periods of time from the department, after prior arrangement with the department administrators, and laptops can be borrowed from the department on a short-term basis. There are a number of testing rooms/interviewing rooms that can be booked in advance. To check the availability of these rooms and for advance bookings, please contact the postgraduate administrator. On and around campus Central Computing Services offer not only modern computing facilities around the campus, but also training. 7

8 Attendance requirements New PhD students are required to attend the Generic Skills Training module in the first term. Students in the first year of their course (first two years for parttime students) are also required to attend the Department's Cognitive Science seminars at 1pm on Wednesdays in term time. A timetable for the seminars will be circulated. There are also a number of specialist seminars held throughout the academic year, featuring distinguished guest speakers. Students should take advantage of these seminars as a means of broadening their education. Copies of the seminar programmes will be available from Professor Thomas at the induction meeting. Financing your studies/funding Students in receipt of an award from a Research Council should be aware of the limitations attached to their award as regards paid work. Full-time students wishing to work part-time during their degree should consult with their supervisor and the postgraduate tutor before undertaking any work commitments. There are also College regulations with regard to the number of hours of paid work full-time students can do. For details, please contact Registry. There are occasional teaching opportunities available at the department. As part of their training, students are encouraged to undertake teaching or demonstrations during their degree. Students should contact their supervisor in the first instance. Information on other funding opportunities from outside (non-department or College) sources is regularly displayed on the postgraduate notice board on the 5th floor. There is also a 'Funding' folder available from the course administrator for consultation/photocopying, with information on funding opportunities. PhD related expenses There are limited funds available from the Department to meet students' research related expenses, such as travel to and attendance of conferences, paying participants for interviews and experiments and so forth- Applications must be made via your supervisor. Students should apply for these funds in advance. Forms are available from the course administrator. Students undertaking experimental research have access to the Subject Panel, a Department of Psychological Sciences database, updated regularly and hosting the details of participants willing to participate in an experiment. The database can be accessed on campus through Intranet. The username is spanel and the password is pilsner. Supervision Students are assigned a principal supervisor upon their being accepted by the Department, with a second supervisor assigned at the beginning of their first term, if and where appropriate. It is the students' responsibility to contact their supervisor(s) during the first 2 weeks of their course to arrange subsequent 8

9 meetings and a schedule/timetable for their research. The timing of these sessions is to be individually agreed between the supervisor(s) and the student. Students might also be required to submit written work to their individual supervisor(s) on a regular basis. Students' progress is monitored and reviewed on a termly basis by their supervisors, and on an annual basis, by members of the Department s Graduate Committee. Should students wish to be assigned a particular second supervisor or work with a different member of staff, they should discuss the matter with their current supervisor and/or Professor Michael Thomas, the Postgraduate Admissions Tutor. Copies of Birkbeck s complaints procedures are available from the Registrar. Upgrading All students are initially registered for the degree of MPhil. In order to upgrade to a PhD, students are required to submit a Transfer of Status document by the end of their first year, for full-time students, and by the end of their second year, for part-time students. Please refer to the relevant section on the Department's requirements for upgrading. In addition to the Transfer of Status document, all students are required to submit a short annual progress report, outlining the work undertaken during the past academic year, at dates specified by the Postgraduate Committee. Progress to next Academic year is always contingent on satisfactory progress. Completion Students are expected to complete their course and submit their thesis within 3 to 4 years of their initial registration (6 years for part-time students). Guidelines on examination entry for a PhD can be obtained from either Exams-Registry or the course administrator. Students in receipt of a Research Council Award should also refer to the terms and conditions attached to their award by the specific Research Council. It is also worth bearing in my mind when planning your research schedule, that the submission process (approval of title; external examiners; viva) can take up to 6 months. For further information on this, please check with the Examinations Office at Registry. 9

10 Upgrading from MPhil to PhD Status The following requirements apply to MPhil/PhD students who will be submitting their Transfer of Status and Annual Report in 2015, and should be read in conjunction with the below notes on the submission procedure. Section 1 specifies what a Transfer of Status and Section 2 specifies what an Annual Report should contain. Students should in the first instance address queries about these requirements to their supervisor(s). Transfer of Status Document Due July 2015 (FT & PT2) or July 2016 (PT1) The Transfer of Status document should be a maximum of 5000 words in length. It can be shorter than this but should be no longer. The aim of the proposal is to provide sufficient information for the student s Thesis Committee to be able to evaluate the student s knowledge and progress. It is to ensure that at this stage (towards the end of the first year - or its parttime equivalent), students know where they are going, why they are going there and how they are going to get there within the 3 to 4 year submission deadline (or part-time equivalent). Thus, the proposal should contain four sections: 1. A focused introduction, briefly describing previous research that is relevant to the proposed research, showing how it is related to the proposed work theoretically or methodologically. 2. A section indicating how the research the student plans to undertake is motivated. 3. A third section supplying some detail of the proposed studies, including research hypotheses and how they will be tested, and any pilot work already completed 4. A realistic timetable of how this work will be completed within the remaining time available. Annual Report Due September 2015 and every year of the PhD thereafter The Annual Progress Report should be no more than 1,000 words in length, and should report on the research undertaken in the current academic year, including seminars, classes or conferences attended, either as a presenter or delegate, and/or presentations given at Birkbeck or elsewhere. The report should also include a brief self-assessment statement in which the students reflect on their progress in the current year and give an outline/timetable of their future research and estimated date of completion. Annual Reports should be signed by both student and supervisor. 10

11 Submission of Transfer of Status and Annual Report: Procedure Students should in the first instance address queries about this procedure to their supervisor(s). Each postgraduate research student s Transfer of Status and Annual Report are reviewed by the individual student s Thesis Committee. The student has to submit the above documents to the Department s Postgraduate Committee by the date specified. Once the above documents are submitted, the Thesis Committee completes a review form for each student, thereby making appropriate recommendations to the Postgraduate Committee concerning: (a) readmission to the next year of the course; and (b) whether the student s registration should be upgraded to PhD status. The Thesis Committee may refer the submitted documents for comment to external experts. The Thesis Committee may recommend that satisfactory revisions to either or both documents should be made before decisions are made by the Postgraduate Committee. The Postgraduate Committee considers the review form for each student and makes the relevant decisions about readmission and registration status. If revisions have been recommended, the Postgraduate Committee refers the matter back to the student and supervisor(s). Any revisions should be submitted to the Thesis Committee within six (6) months of the Postgraduate Committee s request for revision. Only one attempt at revision is allowed. A report form is completed by the Postgraduate Committee and all documentation is retained in the Department s personal file for that student once approved by the Thesis Committee and Postgraduate Committee. Student Feedback Form With your Annual Report you must submit a completed Feedback form. See Appendices. Deadlines Transfer of Status: Full Time & Part Time Year 2 Students July 3rd 2015 Annual Progress Report & Feedback Form Full Time and Part Time Students September 25 th 2015 Please submit these documents electronically to Postgraduate Administration s.adams@bbk.ac.uk or r.striukaite@bbk.ac.uk. 11

12 Disability Statement for the Department of Psychological Sciences At Birkbeck there are students with a wide range of disabilities including dyslexia, visual or hearing impairments, mobility difficulties, mental health needs, medical conditions, respiratory conditions. Many of them have benefited from the advice and support provided by the College s Disability Office. The Disability Office The College has a Disability Office located in room G12 on the ground floor of the Malet Street building. We have a Disability Service Manager, Mark Pimm, a Disability Administrator, John Muya and a Mental Health Advisor, Elizabeth Hughes. We will shortly be appointing an SpLD Advisor. All enquiries should come to the Disability office, who will determine the appropriate referral to specialist staff. They can provide advice and support on travel and parking, physical access, the Disabled Students Allowance, special equipment, personal support, examination arrangements etc. If you have a disability or dyslexia, we recommend you come to our drop in session where we can discuss support and make follow up appointments as necessary. The dropin sessions are between 4pm and 6pm Monday to Thursday. The Disability Office can also complete an Individual Student Support Agreement form with you, confirming your support requirements and send this to your School and relevant Departments at the College so they are informed of your needs. Access at Birkbeck Birkbeck's main buildings have wheelchair access, accessible lifts and toilets, our reception desks have induction loops for people with hearing impairments and we have large print and tactile signage. Disabled parking, lockers, specialist seating in lectures and seminars and portable induction loops can all be arranged by the Disability Office. The Disabled Students Allowance The Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA) provides funding to meet the cost of disability-related study costs. Students who receive the Disabled Students' Allowance are significantly more likely to complete their courses; therefore, we would strongly encourage all eligible students to apply. The DSA is paid on top of the Government fee and/or course grant and does not have to be repaid. The DSA is non-means-tested, which means that any other income or benefits you receive do not affect your entitlement, and it will not affect any benefits you are receiving. There is also no age limit when applying for the DSA. In general, DSA funding is paid directly to the suppliers who provide the support for a disabled student rather than the funding going to the student. All funding approved is specifically to be used for providing specialist disability related support for the student to ensure they are able to fully access their programme of study.if you want to talk to someone about the DSA, please contact our Disability Office. 12

13 The Personal Assistance Scheme Some students need a personal assistant to provide support on their course, for example a note-taker, sign language interpreter, reader, personal assistant, disability mentor or dyslexia support tutor. Birkbeck uses a specialist agency to recruit Personal Assistants and they can assist you with recruiting, training and paying your personal assistant. Please contact the Disability Office for information on this scheme. Support in your School The provision which can be made for students with disabilities by Schools is set out in the Procedures for Students with Disabilities. This is available from the Disability Office and on the disability website (see below). As mentioned above your School will receive a copy of your Individual Student Support Agreement from the Disability Office. This will make specific recommendations about the support you should receive from the School. Whilst we anticipate that this support will be provided by the Programme Director, tutors and School Administrator in the School of Arts also has a Student Disability Liaison Officer. If you experience any difficulties or require additional support from the School then they may also be able to assist you. They may be contacted through the School Office or the Disability Office. Support in IT Services and Library Services There is a comprehensive range of specialist equipment for students with disabilities in IT Services. This includes software packages for dyslexic students (e.g. Claroread and Inspiration), screen reading and character enhancing software for students with visual impairments, specialist scanning software, large monitors, ergonomic mice and keyboards, specialist orthopaedic chairs etc. For advice and assistance please contact Disability IT Support. There is also a range of specialist equipment in the Library including a CCTV reading machine for visually impaired students as well as specialist orthopaedic chairs and writing slopes. The Disability Office refers all students with disabilities to the Library Access Support service who provides a comprehensive range of services for students with disabilities. Specific Learning Difficulties (Dyslexia) Mature students who experienced problems at school are often unaware that these problems may result from their being dyslexic. Whilst dyslexia cannot be cured, you can learn strategies, which make studying significantly easier. If you think you may be dyslexic you should contact the Disability Office who can screen you and where appropriate refer you to an Educational Psychologist for a dyslexia assessment. These assessments cost 225. Some students can receive assistance in meeting this cost from their employer. In exceptional cases students may receive assistance from the Access to Learning Fund. Examinations Students with disabilities and dyslexia may be eligible for special arrangements for examinations e.g. extra time, use of a word processor, amanuensis, enlarged examination papers etc. In order to receive special arrangements a 13

14 student must provide medical evidence of their disability (or an Educational Psychologists report if you are dyslexic) to the Disability Office. For School examinations you should contact your Programme Director to request special arrangements at least 2 weeks before the examination. For main College summer examinations you are given the opportunity to declare that you require special provision on your assessment entry form. Students who require provision should then attend an appointment with the Disability Office to discuss and formalise the appropriate arrangements. The closing date for making special examination arrangements in College examinations is the 15 th March and beyond this date consideration will only be given to emergency cases. Further information Full information on disability support can be found at: For further information or to make an appointment to see the Disability office, please call the Student Centre on or disability@bbk.ac.uk. Alternatively you can go to the Disability Office in room G12 between 4pm and 6pm Monday Thursday for during their drop-in hours. 14

15 Plagiarism THE DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCES TAKES THE ISSUE OF PLAGIARISM VERY SERIOUSLY. Statement from the Registrar You are reminded that all work submitted as part of the requirements for any examination of the University of London or Birkbeck must be expressed in your own words and incorporate your own ideas and judgements. Plagiarism, - that is, the presentation of another person's thoughts or words or artefacts or software as though they were your own - must be avoided, with particular care in course-work and essays and reports written in your own time. Direct quotations from the published or unpublished work of others must always be clearly identified as such by being placed inside quotation marks, and a full reference to their source must be provided in the proper form. Remember that a series of short quotations from several different sources, if not clearly identified as such, constitutes plagiarism just as much as does a single unacknowledged long quotation from a single source. Equally, if you summarise another person's ideas, judgements, figures, diagrams or software, you must refer to that person in your text, and include the work referred to in your bibliography. Failure to observe these rules may result in an allegation of cheating. You should therefore consult your tutor or course director if you are in any doubt about what is permissible. Recourse to the services of ghost-writing agencies (for example in the preparation of essays or reports) or of outside word-processing agencies which offer correction/improvement of English is strictly forbidden, and students who make use of the services of such agencies render themselves liable for an academic penalty. 15

16 Useful Addresses and Contact Numbers PSYCHOLOGY POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH TEAM Ms Naomi Adams Assistant School Manager Mrs Sandra Adams Senior Administrator Psychology General COURSE CONTACTS Professor Michael Thomas Germaine Symons Postgraduate Tutor Departmental Learning Coordinator MODULE CO-ORDINATORS Generic Research Skills Prof Michael Thomas OTHER USEFUL CONTACTS Birkbeck Switchboard: Birkbeck Registry: Birkbeck ITS: Birkbeck Disability Office:

17 Finding Birkbeck The map below shows the location of the various buildings housing Birkbeck's Departments, Schools, Administrative Departments and Research Centres. For enquiries concerning the location of specific offices or individuals within Birkbeck, please contact the main telephone switchboard on Key 1 Main Building, Malet Street 2 Clore Management Centre & Henry Wellcome Building 3 Senate House North Block Russell Square 5 30 Russel Square Gower Street 7 28b Torrington Square 8 32 Torrington Square 9 South Wing UCL (access via Gower Street) 10 Gordon House & Ingold Laboratories Tavistock Square Gordon Square Gordon Square (nursery in basement) 14 7 Bedford Square Bloomsbury Square 17

18 APPENDIX FORMS Subject Participant Form Research Support Fund Application form Student Feedback form 18

19 Subject Participant Log 19

20 Department of Psychological Sciences DEPT. OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCES RESEARCH SUPPORT FUND APPLICATION FORM (to be submitted by supervisor) 1. Name of applicant.. 2. Sum applied for: (The total amount should not normally exceed 500) 3. Brief statement of project (Please include a brief statement of the project and reason for this application, not exceeding 100 words) 4. Breakdown of costs with reasons for each Please note that the Research Support Fund is not to be used for equipment/software A Travel B Other (Please specify)... C Continuing Professional Development (please specify)... Total 5. Please confirm that you have already requested funding from the following (please tick the relevant boxes): sum (if awarded) Staff Development (for CPD requests) Faculty Research/Travel Grants External Funding Bodies (e.g. BA, RS please specify) Please confirm that you do not have an active research grant and/or start up fund from which funds can be drawn.. Please submit this form electronically to Naomi Adams (n.adams@psychology.bbk.ac.uk) 20

21 Department of Psychological Sciences Research Student Feedback Form Title of Thesis Name of Supervisors 1) 2) Are you happy with the Content of Supervision? Yes No If not please comment in the box below: Are you happy with the Supervision Method? Yes No If not please comment in the box below: Are you content with the Guidance? Yes No If not please comment in the box below: Are you happy with Research Skills Training? Yes No If not please comment in the box below: Are you satisfied with the Administrative Support you have received this year? Yes No If not please comment in the box below: **To be submitted with your Annual Report at the end of September** 21