Currently under revision
Welcome to the Goldsmiths InfantLab! I'm very excited that you're here. In this lab, we study the cognitive, social and emotional development of infants. We're committed to applying what we learn to making the world a better place- , by making the work we do accessible to the broader community, and by drawing in diverse viewpoints to enhance mutual understanding of science, scientists, and the needs of the world.
First and foremost, the InfantLab is an open science lab. There are several major facets to this, but the core is: the way this lab operates is grounded in my personal belief that participation in science is a public act, and done in the public good. Science allows us to be part of something bigger, and to foster a healthy, collaborative and truly inclusive scientific enterprise, it's essential that we give back at least as much as we take from the community. I could get down into the weeds about specific tools and techniques that we use in our open science infrastructure here, but those tools are used to support these values, they themselves are not the values. What we commit to do, as open scientists, is:
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Make supporting research data freely available whenever possible, to support future use in meta-analyses, reviews, and revisitations of our work.
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Respect privacy and confidentiality in cases where data or research products contain sensitive information. Do no harm.
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Produce and share reproducible, re-usable data manipulation and analysis code, so people can understand our assumptions and workflows, and so future scientists can learn from our efforts without duplicating them.
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Publish final manuscripts AND intermediate research products in the most accessible formats available to us.
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Seek out expertise from conventional and unconventional stakeholders in our work. Invite comment and participation. Welcome feedback.
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Acknowledge contributions to our work. Provide territorial acknowledgements. Cite the ideas of others. Don't pretend we work in a vacuum.
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Act as ambassadors of open science, and science in general, to the broader scientific community and the world. Help people see what we do, but respect the constraints others must work under.
A really useful metaphor for the open science universe is described by my friend and colleague Danielle Robinson in this post.
I believe that the role of a mentor is that of a guide and a support for you as you work towards your goals. I strive to maintain an open dialogue with my mentees about their goals and directions, and provide direction, support, and resources wherever I can, and connect you to people that can help, when I can't. I believe the single most important product of science is human capital- people who can go forward in the world, work hard, and make changes to make lives better. I am deeply invested in helping you develop as a colleague, a scientist, and a citizen of the world. I mainly ask that you bring a willingness to work hard and think hard, be open to changing and developing yourself, and a commitment to science, truth, and kindness- I will endeavour to bring the same things to our relationship. My door is open, even if it's physically closed sometimes (it gets noisy in the hall!)
I also believe that the mentor-mentee relationship is reciprocal-you have experiences, skills and ideas that I do not, please share them! You have been selected for this lab not just because of your passions and eagerness for learning, but also because I believe you can bring your unique perspective to problems. I look forward to learning from you.
I believe that science is better when it's diverse and inclusive, and that means removing barriers and meeting people where they are, whenever possible. If you want to work in the InfantLab, or are currently working here and facing a barrier affecting your ability to do work and contribute to your fullest extent, please let me know (in as specific or nonspecific terms as you are comfortable) so we can work together with campus resources and build necessary accomodations.
coming soon..
NOTE: This section has yet to be updated from the original source - Caspar, Oct 2018
The expectations of graduate students enrolled in our MS and PhD programs in the Kent State University Department of Biological Sciences are outlined in our graduate student handbook. The back of this guide contains links to specific forms, including a checklist of degree completion requirements for both the MS and PhD programs. We will use this as a template for your individual expectations within the lab.
I pledge to you that I will consider your goals and path when establishing your expectations for your program. Although peer reviewed papers are largely the currency of 'success' in the dominant academic scientific paradigm, I understand and value that they are not the only measure of progress, growth and accomplishment in your development as a scientist. I will meet with each graduate student on a regular basis to discuss goals, directions and progress. Early in your program, we will establish a private repository where we will outline our shared expectations and goals for your graduate program, including timelines and deliverables, and write a Mentoring Plan. This repository can also be used to store documents and other relevant paperwork for your program. There will be core elements for all students, but what I'm really hoping to get here is your personal definition of success, and a defined path for getting there. This may evolve over the course of your program, but the idea is to keep you working with intention, while providing me with a clear outline of how I can best support your efforts.
These were adapted and adopted from the orignals created by Christie Bahlai https://github.com/BahlaiLab/Policies