Welcome!

Welcome to the Cognitive Communication Science Lab in the Department of Communication at The University of California Davis. We are really glad to have you in the lab and look forward to the awesome things you will do. We hope that your time in the lab helps you develop multiple skills (e.g., research, programming, data analysis, writing) as you learn about communication, neuroscience, and computational social science. We work hard in the lab, and take our research seriously. But we also like to have fun, and hope that you do to!

This lab manual was originally inspired by a mentoring workshop that Richard attended facilitated by Professor Stephanie Robert from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The manual borrows heavily from ideas presented in that workshop, but also from the Aly Lab Manual and from Emily Falk's Communication Neuroscience Lab. In fact, some key sections are lightly edited from the Aly Lab manual. Like our lab, this document is a work in progress and will evolve over time. Want to add something, or see an idea better articulated? Then talk with me.

Expectations and Responsibilities

Everyone

Big Picture

Science is hard. Full stop. Doing good science is hard, slow, and sometimes painful. But it can also be thrilling! Making a discovery, finding support for your hypothesis, getting code to run, these can be powerful moments of triumph. Our goal in the lab is to support each other in the hard parts and celebrate moments of success. With this in mind, there are a few things we can do to achieve these goals:

• Do Not Discriminate: Our lab is open to everyone and does not discriminate against anyone. We welcome members of different ages, genders, gender or sexual identities or expressions, ethnicities, races, religions, marital or family status, veteran status, socioeconomic status, national origin, political affiliation, ability or disability to consider working in our lab or participating in one of our research studies. We embrace the UC Davis Principles of Community. Respect for everyone and equal opportunities regardless of background are foundational principles of our lab.

• Support Lab Members: The people you are working with now will likely be your colleagues (and hopefully friends) for the rest of your (academic or non-academic careers). Show them respect, help them, and look for help from them.

• Do Work You Care About: If you don't care about what you are doing, then why are you doing it? The big perk of science is that we have a lot of control over what we do. Sometimes we have to work on things we don't like. That is true of any job. But if you don't like everything you are doing, then something needs to change.

• Be Careful: Remember, science is hard! It is easy to make a mistake. Don't rush, double check your code. Do some hand calculations to make sure things are working the way they are supposed to. Don't assume something is working just because it "should" be or because your code returned a result. Ask for help if you are stuck, or need a sanity check on some code or data analysis. Data and analytical integrity are of the highest importance.

• Be Honest: Do not plagiarize. Do not fabricate data. Do not fudge results. Do not engage in questionable research practices. Don't p-hack. Don't know what these things are or why they matter? Talk with me and read the Helpful Tips for Trainees on the lab wiki. Academic misconduct is not tolerated and is grounds for expulsion from the lab. Instances of academic misconduct will be reported to UCD.

• Find A Balance: Science is hard (see a theme here?). And sometimes science is isolating. If you are struggling, talk with me. If you are uncomfortable talking with me, seek resources on campus or talk with another faculty member. Don't say silent. If there is an issue, bring it up.

• Stay State-of-the-Art: Follow leading scientists on social media platforms. Monitor publications at important Journals. Use Research Gate and Google Scholar.

• Have a Life: Work-life balance is critical. This balance looks a little different for everyone. But have a life outside of the lab. Don't abandon your hobbies. If you are feeling overwhelmed, talk with me about ways to manage your load.

Small Picture

• Sick? Stay home. Take care of yourself first! If you have meetings, try to reschedule them. If you are running participants, see if someone else can run them.

• There is no time clock: You aren't expected in the lab on weekends or holidays. No one expects you to stay late at night. Sometimes, tight deadlines mean late nights or weekend work happen, but no one is expecting this regularly. What is expected is that you get your work done.

• Show Up: Don't miss your meetings. Don't miss class. Run your subjects.

• Lab: Lock it! If you are the last one to leave, make sure all the lab doors are locked, the lights are off, and the roller-blinds are closed. Do not leave the lab doors open if no one is inside.

• Keep it clean: This is a shared space for all of us. Lets keep it nice and tidy. There is a mop and wipes if you spill.

• Put things where they belong: Did you check out some lab equipment? Borrow a book? Bring it back, and put it back where you found it.

• Dress code: We are a casual lab. For non-fMRI studies, dress as you please. For fMRI studies, please come in fMRI-safe attire.

• Be on time or early: Show up for your meetings or participant session on time or a little early. Don't keep people waiting. It is rude.

Code of Conduct

The lab follows all UCD codes of conduct and members in the lab are expected to abide by these rules. Discrimination and harassment are not tolerated. Period. If you are being harassed or discriminated against, or notice this happening to someone else, tell me or another faculty member right away.

In general, lab members are expected to behave in a professional manner and treat each other with the highest-levels of respect. This is not limited to, but includes:

• Keeping voices modulated: No yelling or talking over others
• Using professional language: No swearing, no racist, sexist language, or discriminatory language
• Treating others with respect: No defamatory language, waiting your turn to speak
• Not threatening others: No physically or verbally threatening behavior
• Not assaulting others: No physical or verbal attacks
• Not engaging in sexual misconduct: UCD Sexual Misconduct Policy

Failures to comply with the code of conduct are subject to disciplinary action including expulsion from the lab. Violations of the code of conduct will be reported to UCD Student Conduct.

Scientific Integrity

The lab has a zero tolerance policy for scientific misconduct and abides by all UCD policies on research misconduct. Do not plagiarize, fabricate, or otherwise falsify your data. Academic misconduct is not tolerated and is grounds for expulsion from the lab. Instances of academic misconduct will be reported to UCD.

Open Science

Our lab is increasingly adopting Open Science Practices. This means that, to the extent possible, we are making our data and code available in online repos like Open Science Framework and GitHub. This helps make sure results are reproducible. Organize your data, write your code, and develop your project with sharing and reproducibility in mind. See our lab Wiki for more details and styleguides.

Authorship

We follow APA guidelines:

Authorship credit should reflect the individual's contribution to the study. An author is considered anyone involved with initial research design, data collection and analysis, manuscript drafting, and final approval. However, the following do not necessarily qualify for authorship: providing funding or resources, mentorship, or contributing research but not helping with the publication itself. The primary author assumes responsibility for the publication, making sure that the data are accurate, that all deserving authors have been credited, that all authors have given their approval to the final draft; and handles responses to inquiries after the manuscript is published."

We do our best to specify authorship order at the onset of a project. This is a discussion that should happen openly and honestly. Typically, Richard will take "senior" (last) author position for projects that are initiated in the lab. A student who spearheads the project can expect first-author. Authorship order may change depending on contribution and effort. In most cases, Richard will be listed as corresponding author on all articles where he is also listed as "senior" author. This policy may be exempted after discussion, or in instances where the published work results from a trainee's degree milestone requirements (e.g., thesis, QE, dissertation). Under these circumstances, the first author can generally expect to also be listed as corresponding author.

Human Subjects

Compliance with all UCD Human Subjects policies and procedures is critical. All lab members must complete UCD's IRB training. Failure to comply with these policies can cause serious harm to our participants. Compliance failures might also result in our research privileges being revoked. Studies cannot begin without IRB approval, and study protocols must strictly follow what was approved by IRB.

If a participant becomes sick, uncomfortable, or there is some other issue during a research session, notify me right away. We may have to report this.

Finally, write your IRB protocols such that deidentified data are available for sharing in public repos. This contributes to our lab's open science mission.

Lab Resources

Wiki

We have a Wiki! It has all sorts of information to help you work in the lab. If you figure out how to do something cool, or have some tips for pulling something off, be sure to add it to the wiki!

Lab Communication

Lab communication will primarily happen via email ([email protected]) and Slack. Email Richard to get added to the lab email list and Slack.

For Slack, please try to keep each channel focused and on-topic. For messages to just one person, use direct messages. Slack will be a major form of communication for our lab. So please install it on your computer (and possibly your phone). You are not expected to check Slack or email nights, weekends, or holidays.

Lab Server

All data, code, analyses, and papers generated in the lab belong on the lab server. Find details about accessing the lab server here.

GitHub

The lab’s GitHub (https://github.com/cogcommscience-lab) should be used to share code. Talk with Richard about when code is ready to be added to the Lab GitHub. For details on how to use the lab GitHub, see the wiki for core principles and general guidelines.

Open Science Framework (OSF)

We are creating OSF pages for projects. This is where data, stimuli, and everything else necessary to reproduce a project belongs. Talk with me before posting data to OSF.

General Policies

Hours

There is no clock for you to punch. One of the perks of academia is that we get to have a lot of say over the hours we work. But, there is a REAL benefit to being in the lab. It helps you learn from others, it gives you easier access to me, it builds friendships, and it helps you stay focused. I recommend that you treat academia like a professional job (e.g., expect a minimum of 40 hours of work a week). And, like most real jobs, part of the job is showing up. I will not be checking in on you to see exactly when you come and go from the lab. But I do expect to see people in the lab on a regular basis.

I understand that sometimes you might not have classes, meetings, or participants on a given day. This might be a good day to work from home (if you like). But if you have other obligations on campus, I would encourage you to work from the lab that day.

PI Office Hours

I am generally in my office at least three days/week from (at a minimum) 9am - 4pm. Teaching and meeting obligations mean I am not in my office at all hours. If my door is open, come in! Lets talk. If my door is closed, then I am in a meeting, do not want to be disturbed, or am otherwise gone. If you are not sure if I'm around, send me a message on Slack!

Lab Meetings

We have weekly lab meetings that last ~1 hour. These are a chance for you to get group feedback on a project (data/code), workshop an idea, practice a presentation, learn about a new analysis, run a journal club, etc. Lab members must attend each meeting, and undergraduates are encouraged to attend as much as possible.