Are you interested in getting research experience as an undergraduate? Are you curious about how online communication affects people, groups, teams, organizations, or society? You might be a perfect fit to join us in the V.I.C.E. Lab as an undergraduate research assistant!
The V.I.C.E. (Virtual Identity, Community, and Entitativity) lab is an interdisciplinary group of undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty who research how online and FtF groups/communities are perceived as “groups” or “communities.” Our research allows scientists and practitioners to better understand what makes a successful group or community and even if organizations can feel like communities to their employees!
We draw from the disciplines of industrial and organizational psychology, social psychology, sociology, communication studies, management, and human-computing interactions. We conduct experiments, surveys, and qualitative analyses at the individual and group level.
Learning outcomes
URAs will gain firsthand experience working on a social science research team. Over the course of the assistantship they will be exposed to the research processes from conceptualization to execution and analysis. At the conclusion of the assistantship they will have a strong research experience and skill set to enhance their career. Many URAs have leaned on their experiences to apply for jobs, competitive internships, and graduate programs.
Duties and responsibilities
The core duties for URAs in the VICE Lab revolve around supporting the lab’s ongoing research activities. Duties can vary widely based on current projects and needs, but typically include:
- Assisting faculty and graduate students with running experiments, surveys, and other data collection activities
- Data entry, cleaning, coding & annotation
- General record-keeping
- Providing feedback and input on the lab’s working papers and presentations
In addition to the duties listed above, URAs will collaborate with the support of the lab to submit an original research poster to the UNC Charlotte Undergraduate Research Conference in the Spring semester.
Qualifications
- Strong interest in social science research, especially related to I/O psychology, social psychology, management, or communication studies.
- Interest in studying groups, teams, or communities, particularly in virtual/online settings.
- Ability to work independently and meet project timelines.
- Ability to learn and quickly apply new skills and knowledge.
- Strong organizational and communication skills.
- Familiarity with basic productivity software (Google Suite, Microsoft Office, Dropbox).
Time commitment and course credit
URAs should expect to spend up to 10 hours per week doing work related to the assistantship. URAs will be expected to attend weekly lab meetings. The assistantship position is for the full academic year (fall and spring semesters).
URAs will receive course credit for Directed Research PSYC 3806 with Dr. Blanchard.
APPLY FOR THE URA POSITION —To apply for an undergraduate research assistant position, fill out this google form.
For more information about the Virtual Community Research Lab, feel free to contact one of our lab members.
Dr. Anita Blanchard, Lab Director: Anita (dot) Blanchard (at) uncc.edu
Jordan Duran, Graduate Student: jduran4 (at) uncc.edu
