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Frequently Asked Questions
Graduate Students
Q: What types of projects do students typically work on? What is collaboration like across the lab?
A: Students have the opportunity to collect their own data and/or use previously collected data for their projects. Graduate students help out with current studies being run in the lab through various tasks such as study conceptualization, conducting clinical interviews, compiling questionnaires, and data collection. Students will then use the study data for their dissertation. They will often also collaborate with other lab members to write and publish side project manuscripts using this data. Study data is also available for others in the lab to use, and there are several other datasets of previously collected data to be used for potential projects and/or graduate dissertations.
Q: What is clinical training like? What is the mentorship like?
A: The clinical program at McGill is research focused. If you’re looking for rigorous clinical training within your graduate program, McGill is less likely to be your top choice. The majority of graduate student clinical training occurs on-site during practica, with little preparatory training or opportunities for clinical observation beforehand. With that being said, clinical supervisors are incredibly knowledgeable, kind, and provide good feedback. Patient sessions are recorded, so both graduate students and their supervisor can watch the session back together and receive process-oriented comments. Students that thrive in the clinical program are those that take charge in their own learning by doing reading (e.g., therapy manuals), engaging in independent clinical work, and reporting to their clinical supervisors with questions.
Q: What type of student is typically successful here?
A: Students that are passionate about their research topic, take initiative, are independent workers, and who appreciate cultivating a positive/social lab culture are typically successful here. Our lab is fast-paced with lots of opportunities to pursue projects and work alongside others. Graduate students often help each other out, so students that are collaboration-oriented often thrive in our lab environment.
Q: What clinical populations does the lab work with?
A: The lab works with individuals across the spectrum of eating disorders. Commonly, our studies recruit individuals with binge-spectrum eating disorders, though we have also recruited individuals with restrictive-spectrum eating disorders, as well as community samples.
Q: Do students receive travel or conference funding?
A: Students receive funding for one conference a year. This amount is determined in discussion with the supervisor. Students are also encouraged to apply for travel grants from the department and/or their graduate student association.
Q: What is it like living on the stipend in Montreal?
A: Montreal is a relatively livable/affordable city compared to other big cities in Canada. Quality of living will depend on the stipend/fellowship/scholarship you receive. The departmental stipend alone may not be enough without also being a TA and/or receiving supplemental funcing or scholarshops. However, winning a federal or provincial funding award, particularly at the doctoral level, allows you to live comfortably in Montreal.
Undergraduate Project Students and Research Assistants
Q: What is the time commitment?
A: Both project students and research assistants (RAs) commit on average 10 hours a week volunteering at the lab. For project students, this is on top of the time spent on their thesis. RAs track their hours using a tracking sheet, which is reviewed weekly by our research coordinator.
Q: What kind of training is offered to new RAs? What type of tasks will RAs help with?
A:Training varies depending on what studies are currently being run in the lab. In our weekly lab meetings, we will often present opportunities for further involvement. Previous tasks have included running participants through structured protocols for ongoing studies, data backup, translating questionnaires, helping with our social media, coding questionnaires with syntax , and entering questionnaires into Qualtrics.
Q: What does mentorship look like for project students?
A: At the start of each year, each project student will be matched with a mentor to help them with their project. Mentors are either a current graduate student or post-doctoral researcher in the lab. The student's research topic will align with their mentor’s area of academic interest. The mentor will meet up with the project student to discuss different aspects of the project, help them identify a research question, help them run their statistics, and to edit all of their submissions before they are sent to Dr. Racine.
Q: What is the timeline like for undergraduate projects?
A: The lab follows a very structured schedule when it comes to thesis projects. We break up deadlines into chunks rather than having one big thesis deadline at the end of the year. There is a deadline for when to send a document to your mentor, and a later deadline for when it is to be sent to Dr. Racine. This helps everyone stay on track!
Q: Are there opportunities for project students to present their projects at conferences?
A: If students are interested in presenting their research at a conference, they are encouraged to do so. We will present you with opportunities and guidance, but ultimately it is the student's responsibility to fill out conference applications and organize travel. The lab will pay to print student's posters, but the students has to cover all other conference costs. However, most conferences have scholarships available for students to cover all or part of the conference costs.
Q: Are there opportunities for research assistants to contribute to publications?
A: Occasionally we have RAs help on our publications. However, these are usually more senior level research assistants who have been at the lab for a while. For example, students who volunteer for a second year, or those who have already been volunteering the prior summer.
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