This summer Jonathan Oliveira, a third year BSc Psychology student, spent time on a research internship under the supervision of Dr Jenna Cummings, a Lecturer in the Department of Psychology.
Jonathan worked on research projects exploring emotions related to food and exercise.
Here, Jonathan and Dr Cummings discuss the summer internship and conducting research projects at the Department of Psychology.
How did you become involved with the summer internship programme?
Jonathan: I've just come back from studying a year abroad in Canada. When I was there I gained experience as a research assistant at the University of Ottowa's Cognition and Emotion Lab. When I was there I gained really good skills and it was when I was in Canada, I emailed several different people in Liverpool including the Liverpool Obesity Research Network and Professor Emma Boyland replied. She circulated it to all of the members and that's when Jenna replied with the opportunity to complete the summer internship.
What are your research projects about?
Dr Cummings: Jonathan has been working on lots of things. One study is focused on collecting data at Alder Hey Children's Hospital. That study is looking at what kids anticipate feeling after they eat different kinds of foods and exercise.
Jonathan: The project is looking at the emotional expectancies for food and exercise, for children aged 6 - 15 and their care givers as well.
What are your day-to-day tasks? Are they the same or different to the tasks you completed as a research assistant during your year abroad?
Jonathan: It's been very different. While I was in Canada I did a lot of transcriptions of interviews. I was more behind the scenes and doing the data transcribing. Here I've been doing quite a lot of different tasks. In the summer, we were doing a lot of admin work - setting up email accounts, getting ready for participants. I had to do a lot of tidying up of the surveys that had been created, so that they were ready to be analysed.
Dr Cummings: Jonathan has also been recruiting [participants], now that we have the research passport and DBS check approved. He started recruitment last week, dropping off flyers and we will be visiting this week to try to recruit some people in person. He has been recruiting online too. A lot of those skills that are needed early on in the research stage, he has been working on.
The second project that Jonathan has been helping with is the systematic review. In that, it's a way of finding consensus in the literature of a certain effect. We've been interested in seeing what effect food has on our emotions. Everyone assumes that food makes you feel better, but the scientific literature is really mixed.
Jonathan: We've had to do a lot of reading of papers that have been published over the years. I think there's over 100 papers on our document. I'm working with two other students, Georgia and Maddy [Roberts] - Maddy completed the summer internship last year - we're working together on that. It's been nice that we've been able to meet up over the summer too. There's about eight or nine of us who have kept in touch.
Dr Jenna Cummings is a Lecturer at the Department of Psychology.
What has it been like working with one another?
Dr Cummings: I'm always looking for students who are really motivated to get involved with research. I often find it's the motivation that is the most important thing. Motivation is key to keeping you going through those tasks and seeing the bigger picture. When Jonathan and I first met on video chat, he was still in Canada and I could see that in him - that curiosity about learning more about the research process and the motivation to learn more. That has been the highlight of our experience working together. Jonathan is always open and willing to learn and I really appreciate that working with him.
Jonathan: I love having things to do, so it's been great to do lots of different roles and different tasks. I've learnt a lot. It's really shaped my year and going back into my final year, I feel a lot more prepared starting my research dissertation. In the future, if I do a Masters or the Doctorate course, it's a great stepping stone.
What are the benefits of taking part in a summer internship for your studies and future employability?
Jonathan: It's something I was interested in and health psychology is the field I want to go into. It's been a great insight into research into this field.
What advice would you give to students who want to take part in a summer internship?
Jonathan: I think just email around. Attending office hours is a good alternative to emailing, or just talking to the professors at the end of a lecture would be useful too.
Dr Cummings: It really is about reaching out and developing those interpersonal and professional relationships with your lecturers, beyond them teaching you the material. It's about being curious about their work by showing up to a meeting or attending their office hours. That goes a long way, because there's so many students in the lectures. The students who take the initiative to connect with me outside of that, that helps to build the foundation for a really strong summer internship.