What is I-O?

Industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology is the scientific study of the workplace. Rigor and methods of psychology are applied to issues of critical relevance to business, including talent management, coaching, assessment, selection, training, organizational development, performance, and work-life balance.

We’d like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves as TIP’s new student editors and give you an idea of what you have to look forward to in the forthcoming issues. For starters, we’ve re-named the student column. The title above was created to emphasize our commitment to reporting on and responding to issues that are TOP priority to our TIP readers.

As many of you know, the student column was designed to provide the TIP audience (students, academicians, and practitioners alike) with information on various issues that affect graduate students and new I/O graduates. During our tenure as student editors, we plan to accomplish this by focusing on three general areas: providing ideas for the enrichment of I/O graduate programs, taking some of the mystery out of the "graduate experience," and offering suggestions for balancing graduate school with life outside of academics and the I/O psychology domain.

We will address the first topic, the enrichment of I/O graduate programs, by including in each issue of TIP, a segment spotlighting unique approaches to graduate training in I/O psychology. Based on input from students and faculty around the globe, we will report on various approaches to seminar formats, career guidance, development opportunities, and so forth, in the training of I/O psychologists. The purpose of this regular segment is twofold. First, we hope to provide a forum for sharing information regarding unique approaches to the development of I/O psychologists; this way, students and faculty will have the opportunity to view different perspectives, and perhaps initiate changes to incorporate new strategies into their current programs. Second, we hope to offer tools and ideas that future academicians can take and apply once the Ph.D. pinnacle has been reached. The purpose of this segment is NOT to spotlight particular graduate programs per se, rather, it is to emphasize different approaches that are designed to achieve a common purpose: the training and development of future I/O psychologists.

The success of this segment depends upon your input—we want to know what various graduate programs are like. This information can come from both graduate students and faculty. We have included an open-ended questionnaire with this issue of TIP to give you an idea of what types of information we are looking for (and what types of information we plan to report). Please take a moment to review the questionnaire at the end of the column and determine whether you might be able to provide some information on your graduate program.

Have you ever found yourself wanting to ask a question about some aspect of graduate school, but didn’t know who to ask, if it was appropriate to ask, or what others would think if you asked? Heck, even third, fourth and nth year students are faced with the occasional question they’re uncomfortable voicing. Our second regular segment will focus on the "things you’ve always wanted to know about graduate school, but were afraid to ask." We’re hoping to provide students with an opportunity to ask frank questions (anonymously if you wish) and receive straightforward answers. Tell us what it is you want to know, and we’ll ask the questions for you. We’ll do our best to get input from a variety of knowledgeable sources, and report back in upcoming issues of TIP. You’ll have the chance to get answers to questions like…

 

• What’s the difference between a thesis and a dissertation?

 

• How do you select members for your thesis or dissertation committee? …what factors are important? …how do you choose your major professor or committee chair?

 

• What are the benefits/drawbacks to getting involved in department committees?

 

• If you are looking for an academic position, how important is your selection of a dissertation topic?

 

• How do you find internships in your local area?

 

• Is it appropriate to ask authors for surveys, computer programs, or other tools they have developed for use in your research?

Put us to the test—send us your questions! Chances are, other graduate students have been wondering the same thing and will benefit from your inquiry. If we don’t have the TIP space to publish all questions, leave us an address, and we’ll respond to you personally.

In the throes of proposals and defenses, conferences and networking, committee work and comprehensive exams, it’s easy to lose perspective on the personal side of life. For most of us, our "Graduate Student" hat is not the only one we wear. We may also maintain a variety of other equally important roles. Some of these may include parent, employee, caretaker, friend, spouse, volunteer, and surely many more. How we approach relationships, family life and "down time" plays an integral role in our graduate experience as well as life in general. With this in mind, our final segment for each issue will offer TIPs for maintaining "a life" outside of academics and I/O psychology. Notably, this segment is based on the controversial notion that life and graduate school can indeed coexist in harmony!

Today’s TIP: If you’re like most of us, you have 8 projects going on at one time, and they are all due at the same time. It is important to work hard, but it’s also important to take time for yourself. You may want to try setting a particular goal (as we know from the goal setting literature—specific, difficult, yet achievable), perhaps it’s writing up an analysis you’ve been working on, studying half of your comps areas, or if you’re teaching, preparing your course for the upcoming semester. Once you’ve reached your goal, take a mandatory play day (if this is asking too much all at once, start with a half-day). Go to the beach, spend time with your kids, take up a hobby, do volunteer work… anything. Just do it, and don’t feel guilty—you’ve earned it!

If you want to share your TIPs for staying sane through graduate school, as always, we’d love to hear from you!

In summary, we are enthusiastic about our upcoming tenure as TIP student editors. Our approach will emphasize the interactive nature of this column; we intend to report on and respond to topics that are important to YOU. Therefore, we urge you to get in touch with us by any of the means listed at the end of this article.

The purpose of this questionnaire is to solicit candid, accurate information about various aspects of graduate I/O programs. This information will be outlined in future TIP student columns. All individuals who respond to this questionnaire will remain anonymous. The institution described in this questionnaire will also remain anonymous (in fact, it is not necessary for respondents to list their institutional affiliations if they prefer not to do so).

Note: To complete this form, print it out using the print capability of your browser!

Please consider the following issues, as they apply to your graduate program:

1. Describe the typical format of your graduate seminar classes. For example, do seminars typically include student presentations? the fishbowl technique? team teaching?

 

2. What are the most positive/beneficial aspects of your graduate program?

 

3. How is feedback provided to graduate students regarding their graduate career performance?

 

4. Do graduate students and faculty typically discuss career goals in your program? In what manner?

 

5. Outside of the classroom, what type of career guidance/development opportunities are provided to students by faculty (formally or informally)?

 

6. Is there an established method for discussing student research or topics of interest? If so, what is it?

 

7. What kinds of work experience does your program promote?

 

8. What are the biggest (or most common) mistakes that prevent graduate students from progressing through your program in a timely manner?

 

9. What are the biggest (or most common) mistakes that you see graduate students make when preparing for their careers?

 

10. How does your program develop affiliations with other programs of study (e.g., the business school)?

 

11. How does your program develop ties in the community? Is it affiliated with any particular community organizations?

 

12. Provide an example of a particularly EFFECTIVE instructional technique that you have experienced in your program.

 

13. Provide an example of a particularly INEFFECTIVE instructional technique that you have experienced in your program.

This information will be particularly useful if it is submitted by August 1, 1997. Late submissions will be accepted and may be used for later issues of TIP. You can use any of the following methods to submit your program descriptions:

Mail : Dawn Riddle or Lori Foster

Fax: 813-974-4617

Attn: Dawn Riddle or Lori Foster

BEH 339

Department of Psychology

University of South Florida

Tampa, FL 33620-8200

E-mail: foster@luna.cas.usf.edu OR riddle@luna.cas.usf.edu.

In addition, an electronic version of this questionnaire can be accessed from the TIP homepage (http://www.siop.org/TIP.html).

YOUR INPUT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED! Please contact Lori Foster or Dawn Riddle if you have any questions about the nature of the requested program descriptions.