The Research Process Reflective Workbook
This workbook is your space to think more deeply, critically, and confidently about your own experience of conducting research as an aspiring psychologist.
Whether you are preparing for DClinPsy interviews, reflecting in supervision, discussing dissertation work, or writing applications, many aspiring psychologists find it easier to describe what they did than to reflect on how and why key research decisions were made. This workbook is designed to help bridge that gap by supporting you to move beyond description and towards thoughtful, balanced critical reflection.
Grounded in ACPsych’s DR POO SEEDS framework, the workbook walks you through ten core areas of the research process, including Design, Recruitment, Participants, Outcomes, Overall Procedure, Stats & Analysis, Ethics, Evaluation, Dissemination, and Significance. Across each section, you’ll be invited to reflect on the strengths, limitations, learning points, and real-world implications of your own research project in a structured and accessible way.
Inside, you’ll find:
-
Clear explanations of each stage of the research process
-
Guided reflective prompts to support critical thinking
-
Opportunities to consider bias, limitations, and decision-making
-
Structured rating scales to evaluate different aspects of your project
-
Space to connect your academic work to your developing professional identity as a future clinical psychologist
This workbook is particularly helpful for aspiring psychologists who want to strengthen their confidence discussing research in interviews, supervision, Journal Club, reflective writing, or clinical and research roles. It encourages you to think not only about what your study found, but also about how knowledge is produced, whose voices are included or excluded, and what your findings might genuinely contribute to psychology, practice, or policy.
You can work through the workbook alongside a current research project or revisit it retrospectively to reflect on past dissertation or service evaluation work. The aim is not perfection, but developing a reflective, scientist-practitioner stance towards research over time.
If you're a DClinPsy Prep Pathway member, please enrol to download the workbook and begin.
If you’re not, log in to purchase access.
New to the ACPsych Hub? Create a free account to unlock this resource: along with many others designed to support your development towards clinical psychology training.
We’re glad you’re here.