The Collaboration Laboratory (ColLab)

The Collaboration Laboratory (ColLab) is the space for OU Psychology and Counselling students to get engaged with research in the School. ColLab allows you to participate in (1) ongoing staff research and (2) the First Tuesday Lecture Series where the school’s academic staff share their research with you.

Do either of these activities sound interesting to you? Register for ColLab by clicking on the OPRC ColLab website. Once you have registered, navigate to the list of available studies where you will access information both about participating in research and attending the first Tuesday lectures.

Participate in Ongoing Staff Research

Taking part in staff research allows you a chance to learn more about the methods and content of psychological research discussed in your modules. You can experience studies using a range of qualitative and quantitative methods that have been approved by The Open University Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC). We aim study participation to be a positive learning experience for you and all researchers to debrief you after you take part in each study, allowing you to accumulate experience of psychology as you participate in studies.

First Tuesday Lecture Series

The first Tuesday Lecture Series is where staff in the School present to you about their developments in their research as they are happening. All lectures are scheduled for 7.30-8.30 on the first Tuesday of the month, including a Question-and-Answer session. Up to 500 students who are registered with the ColLab can attend each lecture. More details about these talks are available to you when you register on the OPRC ColLab website.

• Nina Fellows 'The cultural emergence of self-harm in the 1990’s'
• Professor Catriona Havard 'Framing the innocent' March 5th, 2024
• Dr Sinead Eccles 'What does it mean to have a healthy brain' February 12th, 2024
• Dr Evangelos Ntontis ‘Panic in the skies’? Myths and realities about human behaviour in disasters and extreme events” November 7^th,2023
• Dr David Jones ‘The problem of Borderline Disorder: Psychiatry in a muddle about the mind’ December 5^th, 2023

Previous Lectures in this Series are Now Available on YouTube

• Professor Peter Hegarty ‘How is King Charles III looking forward now?’
• Professor Paul Stenner ‘Neurodiversity, ADHD and Identity’
• Professor Gemma Briggs ‘Distraction and focus: why is phone use by drivers a problem?’
• Professor Jovan Byford ‘Covid-19 Pandemic and the Psychology of Conspiracy Theories’
• Dr Geetha Reddy 'How are Precarity and Social Psychology Interwoven? Unravelling Connections'

If you have any questions about the ColLab or use it as a researcher, please email the team.