I applied for a Nuffield Placement, which, over the summer of 2016 placed me in an internship at LuCiD’s child study centre in Manchester. As an A-Level student eager to move into psychology at university I was extremely excited to see how real research is conducted and to meet professors and have my questions answered by real researchers.
During my internship I was given a wide variety of tasks to complete, all of which helped me gain skills and insight that are necessary for research into child language. Over my time at LuCiD I designed stimuli (animations used in studies to help elicit words/ phrases from participants), observed real experiments in the lab, learned how certain equipment works such as the eye-tracker and met so many people who have all helped me with my pursuit of studying psychology in some way. It has been a tremendous help to me to have been able to watch and learn how all these practices work.
Throughout the six weeks that I worked for LuCiD I was able to also explore some of the University, which was very useful for someone still deciding what they want from University. Whether it was exploring the Student’s Union or Manchester Museum, I was truly able to get a feel for student life in Manchester.
Everyone at the University of Manchester was so encouraging and I feel like my time working at LuCiD has been invaluable to me. It was an amazing experience and a great way to have spent a summer!
Author
Finn
Finn is not a cat. He is, in fact, an A level student in Manchester. He hopes to study Psychology at University next year. He took part in a Nuffield Placement at the University of Manchester's Child Study Centre to find out more about what's involved in psychology research and university life. He was a tremendous help to the Centre and we're sure he'll do well in whatever he puts his mind to.