Psychology student Emma Wassell looks back on her placement at DECIPHer, where she polished her data research skills
on international project FLOURISH.
I have always wanted to complete a placement in research and have the chance to contribute to a real-world, meaningful project. I particularly liked the sound of this opportunity as I have always had an interest in developmental psychology, especially the effect that parent-child relationships have on an individual’s later development.
This placement involved working on Family-Focused Adolescent & Lifelong Health Promotion (FLOURISH). This is an implementation science research project focusing on parent-adolescent relationships that will adapt, implement, and evaluate the Parenting for Lifelong Health for Teens (PLH) programme in Moldova and North Macedonia. I was keen to start working on this as I had never worked as part of an international research team.
The PLH programme was adapted for North Macedonia and Moldova and augmented in three ways: Introducing a Helping Adolescents Thrive toolkit (HAT); Increasing adolescent peer support; Providing an adolescent participation booster, aiming to specifically promote mental health among adolescents.
Having the chance to use such methods ‘on the job’ to produce meaningful insights gave my work purpose.
I started at DECIPHer in September 2023, during phase one of the research project, which acted as a feasibility pilot study, testing the effectiveness of this intervention in the new settings. It was insightful to witness research methods that I studied during my undergraduate Psychology degree being put into action; for instance, data cleaning of the Moldovan and North Macedonian participant feedback forms and thematic analysis of common themes found in forms.
My previous knowledge of such methods provided me with a solid foundation for this project. However, having the chance to use such methods ‘on the job’ to produce meaningful insights gave my work purpose, which I found very rewarding. Since my placement, I feel much more knowledgeable about which data cleaning format styles will ensure clarity. Additionally, I have learned useful methods to eliminate the chances of common errors reoccurring in later study phases through rephrasing or reformatting certain questions.
I was fascinated by how the international research teams worked together to ensure the project was carried out in the most effective way.
I also had the amazing opportunity to attend FLOURISH’s annual research meeting in Belgrade, Serbia. Here, I gained greater learning and understanding of my data handling and transforming and how it will continue to be used in its wider context by teams from other countries. I was also fascinated by how the international research teams worked together to ensure the project was carried out in the most effective way.
Overall, my placement has given me a real passion for research involving real-world solutions for adolescent and peer relationships. My year at DECIPHer was more than just a placement – it taught me the effect that research can have on an individual’s future, in this case by positively transforming parent and adolescent interactions.
More information about FLOURISH can be read here:
Cardiff University article: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/news/view/2705159-3m-euro-grant-for-cardiff-university-research-team-and-collaborators-to-develop-well-being-programme-for-families-in-eastern-europe
Website: https://www.flourish-study.org/about.html.
