Cognitive Apprenticeship in an Online Research Lab for Graduate Students in Psychology

In this paper, the authors present a qualitative study of student perceptions of a cognitive apprenticeship in an Online Research Lab Lab. The Lab's purpose was to provide psychology graduate students in an online university with hands-on experience in the full trajectory of a research project. Interview data were analyzed using the four categories of the Cognitive Apprenticeship theoretical framework: Content, Method, Sequencing, and Sociology. When discussing their content of the course, students focused on the challenges of tasks that went beyond their previous coursework and knowledge of statistics. Methodologically, students focused on the multiple ways course members communicated with one another. The sequence of the course, both internally as a research project and externally as part of the graduate program, were both important aspects of the experience. From a sociological perspective, social loafing, or non-responsiveness from colleagues, had a negative impact. Instructors seeking to develop online research opportunities for students must consider multiple modes of communication, provide ongoing narratives of the study context, and encourage students to use each other as well as the instructor for support.