09-recurring-events.Rmd

# Recurring events{#events}

## Lab Meetings

Weekly lab meetings (~ 1.5 hours each) are meant to be a forum for research training and professional development, as well as community building within the lab. All lab meetings will involve check-ins regarding progress on research projects and goals. Lab meetings can also be used to present project ideas or data and receive feedback from the rest of the group; to review articles together; to discuss papers; to teach particular research or professional skills; or to discuss specific professional development topics. If we are reviewing or discussing a paper, come to the meeting having read the paper and prepared with comments and questions to contribute. 

Graduate students are expected to come to lab meetings every week, and our weekly meeting time will be determined collectively. Some meetings will be restricted to PIs and graduate students only; other meetings will be open to all PIE lab members, including undergraduate honors students and affiliated graduate students.

Lab meeting agendas and notes will be kept in the #lab-meetings channel on Slack.

## Departmental talks

Research talks in the department are one of the best ways to learn and grow as a scientist, as well as stay current on new topics in psychology. Moreover, research talks should be an enjoyable part of your job -- learning new ideas and talking about research with colleagues is intrinsically rewarding. However, this reward is often the result of active engagement during a research talk. During any presentation, ask yourself what you can learn from the experience. You might learn:

- A new area of research that you were not familiar with before -- this might be a new avenue of research for you, or it might help you see your own research in a new light
- A new method or technique -- look for new ways of collecting data, asking questions, analyzing data, or formulating research questions
- Tips for presentation -- some presenters do an excellent job of conveying information. Pay attention to how they design slides, their pacing, their tone, visual aids, their language, how they position their bodies, how they answer questions from the audience. Even when a presenter does an ok or horrible job, you can still improve your own presentations by evaluating aspects of the presentation. 

If you’re consistently bored during presentations, try to take a more active approach. If you try this and still hate going to talks, this is valuable to know, as it may suggest that a career in research will not be intrinsically rewarding. It’s worth discussing these experiences and concerns with us, as you identify and prepare for your ideal career trajectory.

While we encourage active engagement in all talks, we recognize that sometimes you may need to multi-task to stay efficient. It is ok to bring a computer to a talk and work, but be sure to sit towards the back, to avoid distracting others. Choose tasks that do not require a lot of concentration (or typing), so you can still pay attention to the talk. And do not bring your computer to smaller gatherings or student-led presentations. 

The **Social-Personality brownbag** (~1 hour) is a forum to learn about new research in the area, through presentations by guests from other departments or universities, and also as a place to for graduate students to practice presenting their own work. Brownbag currently takes place every other Wednesday (starting the second week of the term) at noon in Straub 257. Graduate students are expected to attend every week. If you are scheduled to take or teach a course during this time, be sure to notify Sara or David immediately. This is a space that should be computer-free! You are required to present in brownbag at least once a year, with the exception of your first-year. 

You may consider attending other brownbag series in the Psychology department or other departments at the university. 

**Departmental colloquium** (~1.5 hours) happens sporadically, usually Friday afternoons. You are expected to attend any department colloquium that does not conflict with a course you are taking or teaching. 

Any year the department is hiring, there will be **job talks** (~1.5 hours) and **chalk talks** (~1 hour) during winter term. Job talks are formal presentations of a line of research; they are meant to be attended by the entire Psychology department and even faculty from other departments. If you apply to any job in academia, you will give a job talk. Chalk talks are more informal -- at UO, they often focus on a second line of research, or the use of a particular method, and the faculty will treat these talks more informally. Not all departments have chalk talks. We strongly encourage students to attend any job talks that do not conflict with a course they are taking or teaching, and we expect to see students attend job talks and/or chalk talks of candidates applying to the positions relevant to their research area. 

## Regular Check-Ins

All students (graduate and undergraduate) should have at least one regular meeting (~0.5 - 1 hour) with a mentor (PI or graduate student). These meetings may be weekly or less often (every other week, etc.). These meetings can involve checking in on research progress, updating or discussing career goals, conversations about professional development, and giving feedback (both directions). 

When discussing a research project, it is advisable to start with a 2-minute reminder of the overall project, its current status, and the specific tasks or issues you want to discuss in the meeting. Don’t be surprised if we have trouble remembering all the projects you’re working on or where things stand. It’s not personal, we’re just juggling a lot of things!

## PI PIE 

David and Sara will meet regularly to discuss the long-term goals of the lab, evaluate progress on lab projects, and set personal goals for themselves over the week. We will also provide feedback to each other about mentorship and professional progress.