INTERCULTURAL AND EMOTION RESEARCH LABORATORY

David Matsumoto Ph.D. San Francisco State University

Introduction

The Intercultural and Emotion Research Laboratory (IERL) at San Francisco State University is headed by Dr. David Matsumoto and is staffed by doctors, graduate, and undergraduate students, totaling 30 staff members. Opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate student volunteers are available in the IERL. The members of the IERL are actively involved in psychological research in the areas of emotions, cross-cultural issues, and education. While student volunteers primarily work in the lab, assisting on a number of projects, there are also opportunities for experienced students to manage ongoing projects, and develop individual projects as well.

Students are accepted to work in the IERL anytime during the year, summer and winter included, provided space is available. A minimum of 6 hours per week are required. Attendance at the weekly lab meeting on Wednesdays from 11:30am - 1:00pm is required, and considered part of the 6 hour requirement, but the remaining 4 hour schedule is flexible.

The IERL is organized into work teams led by one or two staff members. These teams interact in order to support and respond to the different and changing needs of specific projects. Students are assigned to work teams and may rotate 2 or 3 times during the semester to ensure a broad and diverse research experience. Students will work in the following teams:

Laboratory Management (Lab Man) works to provide an overall coordination and integration of the IERL's activities. This involves work in specific projects as well as the development and organization of general systems and procedures for the lab in general. Lab operations including communications, scheduling, student volunteers, correspondence, literature library, publications, special events, etc., are just some of the responsibilities. The Lab Management team works closely with all other teams to help the lab run in an efficient and productive manner. Students working on this team will learn about and develop skills needed in the day-to-day operations of a research lab.

Research and Development Research and Development (R&D) takes the first step for future research projects. This branch is responsible for developing an interesting idea into a feasible study. This includes the initial library literature search into ideas that may be later developed into studies and/or grants; the search of the most useful measuring devices; and research into appropriate foundations and agencies to apply to for grant funding. Students working with this team will learn about experimental methodology and how to conduct thorough library searches.

Data Operations The Data Operations (Data Op) team is responsible for organizing and processing data generated by the studies performed in this laboratory. This includes setting up standardized procedures for data entry, checking data, and data analysis. This team also troubleshoots problems in the lab's computer systems and assists other teams with questions and problems related to statistics and managing data files. Students working with this team will learn how the information collected in a research project is processed into a statistical statement.