AuD
Research Experience
Required coursework:Student must take Research Methods (SPHSC 504) and one course in Statistics at the 400 level and above (EdPsy 490 or equivalent). Twelve credits of SPHSC 600 are required.
The research project should give evidence of mature scholarship and contribute important and useful information or organization of existing information to the profession. It should demonstrate a firm grasp of the problems in a particular area of study and show an ability to communicate ideas in writing. Topics can be basic or clinical research. Students are expected to participate in a project with the advice and approval of their academic advisor and research mentor. The research and writing are the responsibility of the student, who should look to their research mentor for guidance and to the Writing Center for additional writing help if needed.
Sequence of research experience
A research problem or subject should be chosen and approved by spring of the 2nd year in the AuD program. A primary research mentor plus at least one additional committee member should also be selected. If the research mentor is not the academic advisor, then the advisor will serve as the second member of the committee. If the research mentor is also the academic advisor, a second committee member should be selected. In all cases, at least one of the committee members needs to be a faculty member in the SPHSC Dept.
Each student will write a brief proposal (3-5 pages) that will be submitted to your committee. There is no set deadline for this proposal but the student should aim to complete the document at the end of their first research quarter (or by the completion of 6 - SPHSC 600 credits. Once the proposal is written the committee will meet with the student to discuss the plan of research and ask questions about it. The student may do preliminary work on the research project while committee approval is pending, but should not begin detailed and intensive work until approval has been given. The proposal should include a brief summary of relevant literature, statement of the problem and purpose, the planned experimental design, and discussion of how the data will be presented or analyzed.
Students are expected to present their final research results to an open forum, generally scheduled during spring of the 3rd year in the program. All members of the committee should be in attendance. A summary paper (description provided below) must also be completed and submitted to the committee. Graduation will not take place until the final written document is submitted to the student’s committee and all members of the committee have approved the final product.
Student and Mentor Evaluations
If at anytime the student is not experiencing the level of support and guidance to complete this research project, they should contact their academic advisor. The same is true for mentors. If the student is not fulfilling the mentor’s expectations, the academic advisor should be notified. Students and mentors will have the opportunity to evaluate each other at the end of the research experience. To view the evaluation format, click here (students) (mentors).
Research Mentors
The list below includes suggestions for research mentors, and their areas of expertise (last updated July 2007):
| Research Mentor |
Department |
Area of Expertise |
Contact |
| Bierer, Julie |
SPHSC |
Cochlear implant psychophysics and physiology. |
jbierer@u.washington.edu |
| Feeney, Patrick |
Otolaryngology-HNS |
Middle ear mechanics, reflectance |
pfeeney@u.washington.edu |
| Folsom, Rich |
SPHSC |
Auditory evoked potentials, pediatric audiology |
rfolsom@u.washington.edu |
| Johnson, Chris |
Harborview Medical Center/SPHSC |
hearing conservation |
cjohnson@u.washington.edu |
| Littman, Thomas |
Hearing Speech and Deafness Center |
pediatric audiology, electrophysiology |
TLittman@hsdc.org |
| Norton, Susan |
Children’s Hospital |
pediatric audiology, newborn hearing screening, cochlear implants |
snorton@u.washington.edu, susan.norton@seattlechildrens.org |
| Rees, Tom |
Harborview Medical Center |
diagnostic audiology; audiologic/otologic aspects of head trauma; noise-induced hearing loss evaluations |
trees@u.washington.edu |
| Rubel, Ed |
Otolaryngology-HNS |
auditory physiology |
rubel@u.washington.edu |
| Rubinstein, Jay |
Otolaryngology-HNS |
cochlear implants & signal processing |
rubinj@u.washington.edu |
| Seixas, Noah |
Environmental Health and Occupational Health Services |
Noise exposure |
nseixas@u.washington.edu |
| Souza, Pamela |
SPHSC |
hearing aids, speech recognition and aging |
psouza@u.washington.edu |
| Stecker, Chris |
SPHSC |
Spatial hearing, neuroimaging (fMRI) |
cstecker@u.washington.edu |
| Stone, Jennifer |
Otolaryngology-HNS |
auditory physiology |
stoner@u.washington.edu |
| Street, Valerie |
Otolaryngology-HNS |
Auditory physiology |
vastreet@u.washington.edu |
| Tremblay, Kelly |
SPHSC |
adult assessment, cortical evoked potentials |
tremblay@u.washington.edu |
| Werner, Lynne |
SPHSC |
hearing development, psychoacoustics |
lawerner@u.washington.edu |
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find a research mentor?
If you know what area you are interested in, you can start with the list of suggested research mentors; all of the people on this list are familiar with the AuD research project requirement and many have directed student research before. Contact the faculty member and ask if you can meet with them to discuss a research project. Each faculty member can only take a limited number of students, so it’s a good idea to contact the person you’re interested in working with early in the program.
What if I don’t have any ideas for my research topic?
You can start by narrowing down to general areas of interest. For example, are you most interested in working with adults, or children? Are you looking for a clinical project, or one that focuses more on basic science? Is there a particular area of audiology or test procedure you’d like to become more skilled with? You can also contact potential research mentors and talk to them about their research, or ask if you could spend a day or two in their lab observing their work.
My internship site supervisor has suggested a project for me to do at their facility. Can the director of my project be someone not on the UW faculty?
Yes, as long as one member of the committee is from SPHSC. Typically, this will be your academic advisor. The project still needs to be approved by the committee.
How do I pick the additional member of my committee?
If your research mentor is also your academic advisor, you’ll need another committee member. This might be a department or university faculty member with expertise in the research area or in a related area, or a faculty member you’ve worked with or taken classes from. Your mentor can help with suggestions.
I know what are I’m interested in, but there is no one available who can guide my research. Can I do this on my own?
You must have a committee of at least two faculty members, one of who will direct the research. One of those could be faculty in another department, or a researcher or clinician affiliated with the university. Sometimes faculty in a related area will be willing to work with you. Keep in mind that more independence and self-directed work may be involved when picking a topic not directly within a faculty research program.
When do I have to decide what my project will be?
You should have a general idea of the project and have identified a research mentor by spring of the 2nd year in the AuD program, and work on the project summer of the 2nd year through spring of your 3rd year.
How long should the summary paper be, and what is the required format?
The summary paper consists of four sections:
- an abstract that describes the research
- an introduction that reviews literature relevant to the project
- description of the methods used and ...
- results of the project
There is no set length for the paper.
How long should my presentation be and who will attend?
Each presentation should be 10-15 minutes long. This forum is open to the department and University community. Your family members or friends are welcome to attend.
When will the AuD research presentation be?
All AuD research projects are presented on the same day, scheduled during spring quarter of the 3rd year in the AuD program, just prior to the outside clinical experience.
What are the policies and procedures if I want to complete both an AuD and PhD degree?
- Enroll in the AuD program.
- Apply for the PhD program in autumn of your 2nd year.
- If accepted, you can begin taking electives to fulfill your PhD requirements in the spring quarter of your second year.
We require the AuD research project, with permission from the PhD mentor and advisory committee, to serve as the pre-dissertation project (PDP). As such, the AuD research project must follow the guidelines for a PDP (i.e., PDP committee must be formed, the committee must approve of a written proposal and the project completion criteria must be agreed upon by the committee).
The funding that PhD students are generally eligible for would not begin until the student has completed their AuD degree.
If the student can find an externship site that allows them to do their externship half time for 2 years instead of the standard full time for 1 year, that is allowable. The student will need to pay tuition for the duration of their externship.
If I do not feel I am progressing adequately, what should I do?
Every student will progress at different paces depending the research topic, methods, and need for human subject approval. This makes it difficult to compare your progress to your peers. With that said, everyone should have completed their research proposal half way through their research experience (e.g. upon completion of 6 – 600 SPHSC credits). If a student or mentor does not believe the student is progressing adequately, they should inform the student’s academic advisor.
I understand some research projects require Human Subjects Approval. How do I know if I need this type of approval?
If your research project is part of a larger ongoing study taking place in your research member’s laboratory, then confirm with them that you personally have permission (Human Subjects Approval) to conduct this research. It might involve adding your name as an investigator to their already existing Human Subjects application. If however your project does not fit the criteria described earlier, then review your project with the Head of Audiology to determine if Human Subjects approval is required.
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