In the Research Matters Podcast, I interview leading researchers in psychology and other social sciences in an effort to understand what they do that makes them productive. This podcast is intended to help graduate students, professors, and scientists learn actionable strategies that can help them in their own research endeavors. I strive to help draw out the tips, tricks, habits, and routines of extraordinarily productive researchers.
In these interviews, we cover topics like:
- How to develop a programmatic line of research
- How to build a team of amazing collaborators
- Getting things done
- Writing productively
- Grant writing strategies
- Creating an effective research lab
- Applying design thinking to research
- How to develop great research ideas
- When to turn your research into a book
- Managing grad students
- Maintain a balance with other aspects of life, such as health, fun, and family
- How to choose which projects to invest in
- How to be efficient
- And much more…
Listen now: on itunes, stitcher, and spotify
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Show notes, links, and resources for all episodes
Kelly Wilson, PhD, on the importance of theory, chasing your interests, and giving away ideas
Dr. Kelly Wilson is a recently retired, emeritus faculty at the University of Mississippi. He is a leading researcher, theorist, and trainer of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and an important contributor to clinical behavior analysis. He has published nine very well selling books. Dr. Wilson’s path into research is certainly atypical. If you had seen him as a young adult, … Read More
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Lynnette Averill, PhD, on moving from counseling psychology to neuroscience, getting a Fulbright, and ketamine research
Dr. Averill is an assistant professor in the Yale School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and research fellow in the clinical neurosciences division of the National Center for PTSD VA Connecticut Healthcare System. Her research focuses primarily on studying the neurobiological mechanisms involved in ketamine as a treatment for PTSD and suicidality. Although Dr. Averill originally got her degree in … Read More
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Shannon Wiltsey Stirman, on embracing the messy and dissemination and implementation science
Shannon Wiltsey Stirman, PhD, of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University Medical School and is Acting Deputy Director, Dissemination and Training Division, National Center for PTSD. She’s a leading researcher in the area of the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based therapies. As part of this, she juggles two RO1 research grants from NIMH, working with multiple … Read More
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Alan Kooi Davis on Getting Started in Psychedelic Science, Collaboration, and the Source Research Foundation
Dr. Alan Kooi Davis is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at The Ohio State University and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Psychedelic Research Unit at Johns Hopkins University. He’s a researcher in the area of psychedelics, especially psilocybin, and how psychedelics can be used in treatment. He has also done research on harm reduction and drug use more generally, … Read More
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George Bonanno on Unconventional Research, Being Led by Curiosity, and How to Deal with Setbacks
Dr. Bonanno is chair of the department of counseling and clinical psychology at Columbia University’s Teachers College. He is a world leader on research around trauma, bereavement, and resilience. His interest in how people cope with difficult events and circumstances has led to studies around grief, trauma, acute medical situations, and other unpleasant events. I met Dr. Bonanno when I … Read More
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Joanna Arch on Disciplined Time Tracking, Grant Writing, and the Blending of Passion and Profession
Dr. Joanna Arch is an associate professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She is also a member of the Cancer Center in the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control. Her research initially focused on anxiety disorders, but she’s recently added a focus on cancer patients. Being married to an oncologist and having a personal interest in existential issues helped … Read More
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Evan Forman on Nurturing Collaborations, Finding Stellar Project Coordinators, and Healthy Skepticism
Today’s interview is with Dr. Evan Forman, a professor of psychology at Drexel University and a director of the University’s “WELL Center” (Center for Weight, Eating and Lifestyle Science), an interdisciplinary clinic, research, and training center dedicated to developing and sharing innovative solutions to treat obesity, poor diet, sedentariness and disordered eating. He is a grant-writing machine, who’s current projects … Read More
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Matthew McKay on How to Write More than 30 Professional Books
Today’s interview is with Dr. Matthew McKay. Dr. McKay is a co-founder of New Harbinger publications and a professor at The Wright Institute in Berkeley, California. For those who don’t know, New Harbinger is one of the largest publishers of mental health related books. Through New Harbinger, he pioneered the very idea of client workbooks and has written many himself. … Read More
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Jonathan Bricker on Creating Research Teams and Life at an Independent Research Center (Episode 3)
I’m pretty sure that Dr. Jonathan Bricker has more research funding to study Acceptance and Commitment Therapy than any other researcher (it’s hard to confirm this as there is no central database). For this alone he’s a person worth interviewing. He’s also interesting as a researcher who deeply considers how research can help us scale psychosocial interventions to reach millions … Read More
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Kelly Koerner on Finding the Edge of What is Known in Research (Episode 2)
Today I’m interviewing Dr. Kelly Koerner, who is currently the Creative Director of the Evidence-Based Practice Institute, a company she founded. Her work combines technology, design, and science to improve mental health care and help clinicians implement evidence-based practices. Part of what I am aiming to do with this podcast is to interview the outliers, people who take a different … Read More
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