Prospective Lab Members

 The KASPIR Lab

The KASPIR lab is always welcoming new members. We work in a team with a collaborative approach that allows new members to learn the basics of research and become involved in existing projects, receiving mentoring and guidance from both myself and the other lab members. My approach to mentoring is to provide a safe environment where mentees feel comfortable sharing, questioning, and challenging current thoughts and processes. There is always room for improvement, even within myself and my writing/research, and working as a team allows different viewpoints and opinions to come together, ultimately creating stronger research. Feedback is an important part of growth, and within our lab it is expected that we all give and receive feedback thoughtfully and graciously and within a timely manner.

What are We Looking for in a Lab Member

We have three types of lab members: doctoral students, masters students, and undergraduate students. For all students, I look for a willingness to learn and to work in a team. I prefer to work with students who are genuine, hard-working, patient with others, thoughtful, value personal and professional growth, willing to receive and give feedback, and interested in creating supportive relationships with other team members. Students should have a strong work ethic, attention to detail, good time management, and be willing to take initiative. Students should be interested in the types of projects we are working on and have an interest in applied research in the schools. This type of research is often time consuming, frustrating, and sometimes yields little or disappointing results, and this should be expected at times.

Doctoral Students should be interested in pursuing a research path that is related to the KASPIR lab objectives throughout their academic career. I do not expect all of my doctoral students to want to go into a research-intensive field; many of my students have interest in a more practitioner role. I want students to pursue a career they love and are passionate about, whether that involves research, teaching, working in a traditional school psychologist role in the schools, private practice, administration, or supervision. However, a doctoral degree does require a research portfolio and an expectation of an involvement in research throughout the five years in the program. Therefore, students should be excited about contributing to the research agendas in our lab even if their long-term career aspirations are not in research. I do not expect students to have a solidified plan for their personal research agenda when they begin in the lab; rather, they will assist with projects until they discover what interests them.

Masters and EdS Students in the school psychology program are not required to participate in research groups. However, I believe the applied research within the school settings that we are doing in the KASPIR lab is applicable to those who want to work in the school setting as school psychologists. This provides students an opportunity to participate in research and interact with students across all cohorts. Masters and EdS students should be willing to help out with projects and be involved in data collection, manuscript and presentation preparation, and data analysis.

Undergraduate Students will find many benefits to working in the KASPIR lab. This is a great opportunity for students wanting to understand more about applied research and for students wanting to apply to graduate school. Students will receive mentoring from Dr. Aspiranti and the advanced students in the lab on research projects. Students will begin by reviewing some of the basic research on the current projects and assist with tasks such as data collection or reviewing/collecting literature. As students progress through the lab, there are opportunities to be co-authors on conference posters and presentations, which will help build your CV for graduate school. Undergraduate students interested in the KASPIR lab should be committed to attending the weekly meetings, open to working on various projects, and willing to receive feedback on their work. Dr. Aspiranti is also available to mentor undergraduate students about careers in psychology, getting into graduate school, and writing letters of recommendation for those who work in the lab.