Happiness Research Abroad

Over the course of a semester, I completed an internship at UCD with Dr. Michael O'Connell. He is a political and social psychologist and researcher. Together, we conducted an experiment on subjective well-being. He introduced me to a mixed-methods approach to research, SPSS, secondary analysis, and secondary research. Some of the skills I learned include constructing data sets in SPSS, running secondary analysis of preexisting data, how to develop a research topic from start to finish, and how to submit a paper for publication. Overall, the internship was positive and I'd highly recommend it to friends, family, peers, and other students who are interested in developing a career in psychology.