School of Psychology
Postgraduate Orientation
Prof. David Hevey
Director of Postgraduate Teaching
and Learning
Welcome
• Psychology at TCD is ranked in Top 40 Universities
in Europe and top 10 in Ireland and UK
• Our Postgraduate Programme develops worldclass psychologists who advance psychological
science and practice.
• We attract highest calibre PG students
• Diverse range of projects
• Bring wealth of previous learning
• PGs are the lifeblood of our School
Research Expertise
Developmental psychology; children
and adolescents; Parenting
Understanding the brain from molecules to mind
The brain and behaviour; neuro-rehabilitation
Psychology & global health: aid giving; healthcare
systems in the developing countries
Organisations and human behaviour; how to
reduce errors in work place
Psychology & well-being; how to understand
and treat psychological distress; help people
adjust to chronic illness
Structured Learning
• Seminars
– School of Psychology
– TCIN
– College
• Training workshops
– CAPSL
• Advanced Research Module
Resources
• The School has broad range of resources
– TCD library
– student computer laboratory
– range of psychometric tests
– multi-media facilities
– EEG and behavioural neuroscience laboratories
– video-observation suites
– sound attenuated experimental testing suites
– fMRI analysis capability
College Library
• Old and extensive
• Do not feel embarrassed in
seeking help
• Useful pamphlets
– Research Students and the Library
– Research Student Loans.
• Conducted tour of the library
(ask for information on tours in
the Berkeley library).
• www.tcd.ie/Library/collections.
School Webpage
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The School
• Aras an Phiarsaigh
• Ground Floor and 1st Floor
– Coffee/Tea
– Postgraduate students are invited to take tea and
coffee in the staff room (AP1.43) on the first floor
of Aras An Phiarsaigh each day, except between
11.00 and 11.30 in the morning.
• TCIN
• Childrens’ Research Centre
• Centre of Global Health
Sources of help
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Supervisor
DTLPG
Luisa Byrne
Postgraduate representative
Appraisers
Graduate Students Union
Postgraduate Advisory Services
Graduate Studies Office
PG representative
• Postgraduates are entitled to have one
representative at meetings of the School Committee
and the School Executive Committee.
• Normally elected from among the cohort of
postgraduates at the end of an academic year, to
serve during the subsequent year.
Appraisers
• Two appraisers support you in your studies
• Academic members of staff
• Meet annually to discuss your progress
– You and your supervisor select one
– DTLPG appoints the other one
• Constructive advice and support to the student during the research
process
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Topic
Method
Supervision
Progress
Other issues
• Appriasers are available to support you
• The role of the appraiser is not to replace the supervisor or to
provide an alternative supervision route.
GSU
• Representative body for all postgraduate students in Trinity College
who are automatically members
– Protecting the interests of all postgraduate students in College;
– Advocating on behalf postgraduates, individually and collectively, to any
and all College bodies and staff;
– Providing social, educational and recreational opportunities and facilities
for its members, including the maintenance of a Postgraduate
– Common Room and a Postgraduate Reading Room;
– Fostering friendly relations and understanding among graduate students
throughout College.
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GSU Office second floor of House 6 in Front Square
http://www.tcdgsu.ie/
Postgraduate Common Room House 7, in Front Square
1937 Postgraduate Reading Room Front Square beside the Exam
hall
PG Advisory Service
• The PG Advisory Service is a confidential service
available to all registered postgraduate students
at Trinity College.
• It offers a comprehensive range of academic,
pastoral, and professional supports dedicated to
enhancing your student experience.
• The Postgraduate Student Support Officer
provides ‘frontline’ support for all postgraduate
students at Trinity College Dublin.
– acts as a first point of contact and a source of support
and guidance during your stay.
Graduate studies
www.tcd.ie/Graduate_Studies
• Electronic version of the College Calendar, Part 3
• Regulations and guidelines on the following:
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Fees and registration
Change of personal details
Thesis regulations
Academic appeals
Regulations for permission to go "off-books", i.e. off-register
Notification of withdrawal
Links to Best Practice Guidelines
Information on internal and external funding opportunities
Student services
• www.tcd.ie/students
• Careers Advisory Service www.tcd.ie/Careers
• Student Counselling Service www.tcd.ie/Student_Counselling
Plagiarism
• The act of presenting the work of others as one’s own work,
without acknowledgement
– academically fraudulent, and an offence against University discipline
• Can arise from deliberate actions and also through careless
thinking and/or methodology. The offence lies not in the attitude
or intention of the perpetrator, but in the action and in its
consequences.
• Plagiarism can arise from actions such as:
– A) copying another student’s work
– B) enlisting another person or persons to complete an assignment on the
student’s behalf
– C) procuring, whether with payment or otherwise, the work or ideas of
another;
– D) quoting directly, without acknowledgement, from books, articles or
other sources, either in printed, recorded or electronic format
– E) paraphrasing, without acknowledgement, the writings of other authors
Level 1
• You have little previous exposure to the norms and
conventions of the academic work required for a thesis or
you bring different cultural assumptions to your work.
• Characterised by
– Poor use and/or understanding of referencing conventions,
including how to present direct quotations;
– Poor understanding of how to acknowledge sources of direct and
indirect quotations;
– Poor paraphrasing skills;
– Lack of recognition of the boundary between material in the
public domain which does not require acknowledgement and that
which does;
– Poor understanding that borrowing the language of another
author for stylistic purposes constitutes plagiarism.
• Informal verbal warning from the Director of Postgraduate
Teaching and Learning
Level 2
• Occurs when you should have been aware of what
constitutes plagiarism.
• Characterised by
– Failure to use referencing conventions, including the use of
direct quotations;
– Failure to acknowledge public and private domain sources;
– Paraphrasing without appropriate recognition;
– Sections copied from other sources and presented as your own;
– Borrowing the language of another author for stylistic purposes,
knowing that it is incorrect to do so.
• Formal written warning from the Head of School
• Possibility to re-submit work
Level 3
• You should have been aware of what constitutes plagiarism.
• Characterised by
– It contains elements of another student’s work, even if they gave you
permission to use their work;
– You have submitted, on more than one occasion for credit, a correctly cited
and referenced assignment from your own research. This work may have been
submitted either in whole or in part, for separate marks in a different module
or in previous years;
– Substantial sections copied from other sources and presented as your own;
– It borrows, substantially, material and/or language from a source without
correct acknowledgement;
– It makes extensive use of synonyms instead of the author’s original voice, but
keeps to the same structure and meaning of the original work;
– It contains fabricated referencing, is without referencing or citation, or lacks,
to a large degree, appropriate citation and/or referencing.
• Formal written warning from the Head of School
• Not possible to re-submit work
Level 4
• You should have been aware of what constitutes plagiarism.
• Characterised by
– You have previously committed plagiarism and this is a repeat
offence;
– You have sought, bought or commissioned work with the
intention of representing it as your own work;
– You have improperly enlisted editorial input, e.g., engaging a
paid proof reader, having a language assignment edited by a
native speaker where language competence is being assessed;
– Your submitted assignment is identical to another student’s
work, even if they gave you permission to use their work.
• Case referred to the Junior Dean for disciplinary procedures
Compulsory Tutorial
• All students must complete the Ready Steady Write
plagiarism tutorial, a resource developed by the Centre
for Academic Practice and eLearning (CAPSL) at Trinity
College Dublin, to help you understand and avoid
plagiarism and develop your academic writing skills
and academic integrity.
• It is designed so that you can view it from beginning to
end or in sections and topics. The tutorial is at:
http://tcd-ie.libguides.com/plagiarism/ready-steadywrite
Ethics process
• All research conducted in the School of Psychology
involving human participants requires ethical
approval from the School of Psychology Ethics
Committee.
• Records of approval for the research conducted for
the thesis is submitted with the thesis in an
appendix.
• https://psychology.tcd.ie/local/Ethics/index.php
Supervision
• Contact with your supervisor should be arranged at least on a
monthly basis during statutory term.
• If circumstances dictate that a supervisor is unavailable for a
significant amount of time, an alternative supervisor may be
appointed for this time period.
• Best Practice Guidelines on Research Supervision for
Academic Staff and Students available on the Graduate
Studies webpages
https://www.tcd.ie/Graduate_Studies/staff/supervision/guide
lines/Supervision%20Guidelines.pdf
Structured PhD
• You are required to complete a structured 10 ECTS module and any other
modules as are prescribed by either the Director of Teaching & Learning (PG)
or the supervisor.
• The School provides an annual Conducting Research in Psychology module
• Your supervisor will complete a Learning Agreement Form stating what, if
any, taught modules or training requirements you must successfully complete
to ensure your academic progression.
– A contract upon which continuation on the PG register Is based.
• Taught modules totalling a maximum of 30 ECTS may be prescribed by the
supervisor over years 1 & 2 on the register.
• All required assessments must be successfully completed prior to registration
in order for a student to be deemed eligible for progression to the next
academic year.
Conducting Research in Psychology
• Series of classes on the application of research
methodologies to research questions in a
variety of fields of psychological enquiry.
• Illustrate how different methods are applied
to tackle research questions
• Research-lead teaching:
presentations/workshops/seminars from staff
Final words..
• Enjoy your time as a TCD psychology postgrad!