Lancaster University PhD candidate, Emma Mills contributes to Open Science Practices at the Department of Psychology

(L-R): Department of Psychology lecturers, Dr Wu Shin Ling, and Dr Wo Su Woan, with Emma Mills, MSc Psychology students - Lau Ruo Shin, and Brenda Sim, as well as BSc (Hons) Psychology student Vaithiswaran A/L Khurunathan in their specially printed T-shirts as part of the R workshops
(L-R): Department of Psychology lecturers, Dr Wu Shin Ling, and Dr Wo Su Woan, with Emma Mills, MSc Psychology students - Lau Ruo Shin, and Brenda Sim, as well as BSc (Hons) Psychology student Vaithiswaran A/L Khurunathan in their specially printed T-shirts as part of the R workshops

Emma who is in her third year as a PhD candidate is part of Lancaster University’s Department of Psychology working group called “PrOSPr’, that is committed to Promoting Open Science Practices within their department. Her visit to the Department of Psychology at Sunway University encompassed a practical workshop for R and R Markdown as well as Open Science Forums for department staff, postgraduate students and Year 3 undergraduate students.

The background of Emma’s trip began with a conversation with the then Associate Dean of Research at the School of Science and Technology, Professor Nigel Marsh during her cultural exchange trip to Sunway University in June 2018. Her discussion with Prof Marsh sparked common interest in introducing projects around Open Science, as well as facilitating the partnership between Lancaster University and Sunway University. As a result of the idea exchange, Emma contacted the partnership management group at Lancaster University to present a layout of her visit. Her visit proposal was approved in no time with the help of Lancaster University’s Psychology Department Committee and with the local support provided by Sunway University’s Associate Professor Dr Alvin Ng Lai Oon, Head of the Department of Psychology, and Associate Professor Dr Lin Mei-Hua, Programme Leader for Postgraduate Psychology Programmes.

The Introduction to R goes hand in hand with Open Science, as both advocate transparency and reproducibility in the research field. The goals of the R workshop were to introduce the flexibility in R and R Markdown in terms of managing data and editing text for research reporting. Both students and staff were taught basics of R and were engaged in problem-solving when errors occurred. Although the complexity of R yielded equivocal reactions, most of them agreed that R made them more conscious about what they are doing with data, and was more interactive compared to the usual statistical software (i.e. SPSS).

Emma’s personal practice aligned with Open Science ideas advocated by Lancaster University, thus motivating her to hold the forum to encourage critical discourse regarding the subject. The forum was able to clear up some confusion about transparent research practices and reproducibility in research (e.g. preregistering your study) and inspired participants to reflect on current practice as researchers.
 

Associate Professor Dr Alvin Ng and Emma Mills during her exit presentation of her visit
Associate Professor Dr Alvin Ng and Emma Mills during her exit presentation of her visit

Emma was positive that this exchange program would be beneficial for both universities’ psychology departments. If it should happen again, a shorter time course would be suggested and the involvement of local department staff in guiding the workshop would be helpful. Generally, the course design could be improved to foster stronger partnership between the two universities. Emma described her stay in Sunway as problem-free, as Dr Ng and Dr Lin had sorted out arrangements of facilities, and accommodation. She also found the people from Sunway University to be very friendly and helpful.

We, at the Department of Psychology at Sunway University are very grateful to Emma, for her time, passion and effort in helping us on R and Open Science. We wish her all the best in her PhD pursuits and further success in academia. The Department of Psychology would also like to thank Lancaster University for approving and sponsoring Emma’s initiative to come to Sunway University to share her knowledge on R and Open Science. Finally, we would like to acknowledge MSc Psychology student, Ms Lau Ruo Shin and Year 3 BSc (Hons) Psychology student, Mr Vaithiswaran A/L Khurunathan for contributing to this article.