Understanding Our Majors, Our Alumni, Our Faculty Colleagues: The PSYCDATA National Coalition R. Eric Landrum Department of Psychology Boise State University Rocky Mountain Psychological Association Teaching Preconference Workshop Boise, ID April 10, 2008

How do we answer questions of national interest in psychology? When a student applies to graduate school, on average how many schools does he/she apply to? How satisfied are psychology alumni with their undergraduate experience? What is the persistence rate of psychology majors when psychology was not their first choice?

How do we answer questions of national interest in psychology? For students applying to graduate school, what suggestions would they make about the graduate school application process? How do psychology graduates perceive their opportunities for meaningful employment with a bachelor’s degree in psychology? How does a bachelor’s degree in psychology prepare students for post-graduate work in fields other than psychology (e.g., medical school, law school)?

Limitations to the present approach With little coordinated effort, single site studies abound. Single site studies have limited external validity. Psychology faculty are unable to provide definitive answers to students and are limited by anecdotal information.

Advantages to a coordinated national effort We can begin to answer questions of a national interest in psychology We can improve the external validity of the studies conducted We can help to make significant contributions to the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL)

Two Main Goals of PSYCDATA Provide a clearinghouse for information about undergraduate education in psychology Provide a mechanism by which national collaborations can be formed to study and better understand undergraduate psychology majors, psychology alumni, and psychology faculty members

PSYCDATA Over the course of the Fall 2007 semester (and into the Spring 2008 semester), members of the PSYCDATA coalition began to create their own individual survey questions to be administered to a sample of senior psychology majors.

PSYCDATA Major Contributors The logistical coordination of creating the omnibus survey was lead by Dr. Cyndi McDaniel of Northern Kentucky University, who worked diligently to create a seamless survey from multiple coalition contributors. Additionally, Dr. Todd Walter of D'Youville College has been instrumental in helping to develop the processes by which coalition members share in this endeavor.

Joining PSYCDATA The easiest way to join is to go to the following website: a.html. You'll have a number of options there on how to receive messages, etc. To see the progress of the PSYCDATA coalition, visit

Lessons Learned Length of survey IRB process Richness of collaboration The data