This semester SPoPs-Lab is looking for volunteer researchers and project team members on four projects. How we work in the lab, what we expect from you and what we offer in return can be found on our Join Us page.
Application period: 28 September – 11 October 2026
Who can apply?
Undergraduate and graduate students, as well as recent graduates, in psychology and related departments at METU or at other universities. No prior research experience is required; some projects call for a particular language or methodological skill, and these are stated project by project below.
Two types of position
Volunteer researcher: takes on a defined task at a particular stage of the project (literature searching, coding, data collection, data entry and so on).
Project team member: is involved more fully in the design and running of the project. Applicants for these positions are also asked for a short statement of 150–200 words specific to the project they choose: what interests you in this project, and what skill or perspective could you bring to it?
Open positions (Last Updated on October 2)
On every project, part of the quota is reserved for applicants from outside the lab. The list may be updated.
1) Identification–Differentiation Meta-Analysis (Theme 1)
This project examines the relationship between ingroup identification and intergroup differentiation meta-analytically. Working from Social Identity Theory, it investigates how the degree to which people identify with their groups relates to outcomes such as ingroup bias and intergroup differentiation, and how factors such as group norms, threat, status and conflict context alter that relationship.
Position: Volunteer researcher, 5 places (2 reserved for applicants from outside the lab)
What you would do: Screening articles and coding them against inclusion and exclusion criteria
Time and format: 3-5 hours a week, remote
Requirements: Good English, a basic grounding in research methods
What you would gain: Hands-on experience of the meta-analytic process, systematic screening and article coding. Acknowledgement in the resulting publication, depending on contribution.
2) Values of Voters of Different Political Parties in Türkiye and Their Attitudes Toward Peace and War in the Resolution of the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict (Theme 2)
This study examines how voters in Türkiye approach the resolution of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, within the framework of Schwartz’s theory of basic values. The pilot study is nearly complete; data collection for the main study is upcoming.
Position: Volunteer researcher, 5 places (2 reserved for applicants from outside the lab)
What you would do: Data collection
Time and format: 2-3 hours a week, remote
Requirements: Good Turkish
What you would gain: A basic and applied grounding in scale development methods; reliability analysis and exploratory factor analysis in SPSS, confirmatory factor analysis in AMOS.
3) Right-Wing Authoritarianism, Social Dominance Orientation and Sexism in Relation to Reproductive Attitudes (Theme 2)
This study examines the role of hostile and benevolent sexism in the relationship between right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation on the one hand and attitudes toward women’s fertility on the other. In its first phase, a scale will be developed that measures attitudes toward abortion together with norms about women’s reproductive autonomy.
Position: Volunteer researcher, 5 places (2 reserved for applicants from outside the lab)
What you would do: Data collection
Time and format: 2-3 hours a week, remote
Requirements: Good Turkish
What you would gain: A basic and applied grounding in scale development methods; reliability analysis and exploratory factor analysis in SPSS, confirmatory factor analysis in AMOS. Guidance on any questions you may have about structural equation modelling.
4) Sexist Language Use (Theme 3)
In our earlier study we found that essentialist views of gender and gender-specific system justification predicted attitudes toward sexist language in Turkish, and that both could be manipulated through scientific claims about perceived changes in the gender system or about neuroanatomical differences. We are now planning a new study that follows on from this work.
Position: Project team member, 2 places (1 reserved for applicants from outside the lab)
What you would do: Literature searching and identification of relevant paradigms and measures; adapting or developing materials and behavioural measures; pilot studies; building and testing the study in Qualtrics; data collection
Time and format: 2–3 hours a week, in person (on campus)
Requirements: Good English and Turkish
What you would gain: Preregistration and open science practice on a live research project (OSF, Zenodo); data cleaning, basic analysis and data visualisation in R; data management and open science workflows. Authorship or acknowledgement in publications, according to the level of contribution.
5) Adaptation and Validation of Incel Scales (Theme 3)
This study aims to fill a gap in the literature: the absence of any scales measuring Inceldom in Turkish. In its first phase, three scales will be adapted and analyzed in a Turkish context.
Position: Volunteer researcher, 5 places (2 reserved for applicants from outside the lab)
What you would do: Data collection
Time and format: 2-3 hours a week, remote
Requirements: Good command of English and Turkish
What you would gain: Experience in data collection.
How to apply
Send your application by 11 October 2026 to spops@metu.edu.tr, using the subject line "Project Application – [Project name] – [Your Name]". Apply for a single project. Your email should include:
- Your university, department and year (or year of graduation, if you have graduated)
- Whether you are applying as a volunteer researcher or as a project team member
- A brief account of your research experience
- Whether you would like to be considered for another project, should that be appropriate (yes/no)
- For project team positions: the 150–200 word statement described above
- Your CV and transcript, as attachments
Evaluation
Applications are reviewed by the lab’s coordinators and principal investigator. All applicants will receive a response by 20 October at the latest. Your application materials are used solely for the purpose of evaluation and are deleted at the end of the process.
Questions: spops@metu.edu.tr