<p>I'm mainly interested in social and positive psychology. I'm just wondering how much research I must do to have a very good shot. Must I start in my freshman year?</p>
<p>Generally, the more research the better. But more importantly, you need to get involved in research to make sure it is what you think it is. The sooner you find out research is either for you, or not for you, the better.</p>
<p>But what will be an approximate amount that will give me a good shot?</p>
<p>27 months, 3 weeks and 5 days.</p>
<p>Seriously though, the more the better. Start freshmen year if you have the chance.</p>
<p>The more, the better:
-Work into the area you want to go into is good.
-Publications are good.
-Poster/presentations are good, esp. national ones/
-Theses/a thesis is good.</p>
<p>Agree with the above posters. The earlier you start, the better because you can begin doing the usual R.A.-type of work in a lab: data entry, running participants, etc. Eventually, work your way up into an independent research project (many school have undergrad funding available for such projects). </p>
<p>Also, another option to expand your research experience is to explore summer research opportunities at your own school or other universities around the country. There are several programs that offer funding for summer research, particularly for students from underrepresented groups.</p>
<p>A good way to break into research is to attend your professor’s office hours and talk about the things you find interesting/intriguing about his/her research. You might even want to read a research article s/he has written and come prepared to ask thoughtful questions, talk about how it connects to broader issues, etc. Professors want to work with curious, motivated, and dependable undergrads.</p>
<p>I would say generally for the top social programs you need at least 2 years of experience, but more is better. I started doing research in my sophomore year of college, so I had 2 years before I applied (plus one summer of research). If you already know as a freshman that you are considering PhD work in social/positive psychology, start looking for research opportunities <em>now</em>. The more you have, the better. As BlueOblivion says, you’ll work your way up from doing data entry and mundane tasks to doing independent work, which is really what you need to prove you’re capable of handling graduate work.</p>
<p>Publications are good, but most undergraduates don’t have them so don’t worry if you don’t get them. Presentations, though, are something that most undergrads can get relatively easily especially at regional conferences and smaller national ones (like Society for Research on Adolescence and similar-sized conferences - they are very student-friendly). You should definitely do that when possible. Also, if you have the option to write an honors thesis, I strongly recommend taking that option. It shows not only that you CAN do an independent research project but that you are WILLING to take on an independent research project even when you are not required to do so. Most of the learning that happens in graduate school is elective.</p>