For Fall 2024, the Hamilton Lab at UT Austin is looking to work with a limited number of undergraduate volunteers interested in brain speech processing using electroencephalography (EEG). This is an in-person opportunity to preprocess and analyze EEG data. This will involve working with an already completed EEG dataset under the supervision of a research staff member of the lab. The hours are flexible during typical working hours (M-F, 9-5); however, depending on the level of independence acquired, can also be done outside of these hours. You will be trained by our team in best practices for handling EEG data. If you choose to participate in this opportunity, you should sign up for Independent Study through SLH378K, UGS 320K, or NEU377. If you are interested in this opportunity, please fill out this Undergraduate Research Volunteer form.
This study is led by Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences faculty member Dr. Liberty Hamilton and you will receive direct oversight from Research Program Coordinator Alyssa Field.
Required qualifications:
- Interest in gaining experience in auditory neuroscience research
- Detail-oriented, reliable, and professional
- Works well independently and as a team
Preferred qualifications:
- Knowledge of python or other programming languages a huge plus
- Previous classes in linguistics, phonetics, neuroscience, neuroanatomy, or physiology are helpful
Project start date will be Fall 2024 and will last at least one semester, with the potential for a second semester in Spring 2025 depending on project progress and performance.
As a volunteer, you will be expected to:
(1) Spend ~10 hours a week in the lab working on data preprocessing and other research support items. You will also work together with other researchers in the lab, including graduate students and research staff. We will train you on data handling procedures, with the aim to independently preprocess and analyze data.
(2) Faithfully attend a ~1 hour weekly lab meeting where we discuss relevant papers and give updates on lab projects.
(3) Work collaboratively with others (either Dr. Hamilton directly, graduate students in the lab, research staff, or other undergraduates).
(4) Be detail-oriented, professional, and tenacious! Research often involves troubleshooting why something went wrong -- don't be afraid to ask questions, but also show initiative and look for answers on your own wherever you can (google is your friend!).
(5) Communicate! Be communicative about your achievements and your failures! We are all here to help each other to do good work.
(6) Learn a lot and have fun :)
