Welcome.
The Research School provides straightforward support to help you finish your research project. We help through one-on-one coaching, consultation, program evaluation and reviewing and revising research documents. We don't just give instructions---we actively help you get it done.
How it Works
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Students
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The Research School supports students working on research projects in the following ways.​
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Submit Your Work for Review as you develop it. This is most helpful for students, but can help professionals, as well. Submit article drafts, dissertation chapters, and other written work for review by Dr. Smith for a fee. Reviews including line edit reviews with editing or full document copy edits.
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Meetings and Coaching. Need to talk it through or get more support? One-on-one meetings and coaching packages will help you troubleshoot, brainstorm, or clarify any part of the research project. Coaching provides side-by-side support to assist with project development, data analysis and writing.
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The Research School supports all steps of your project:
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Developing your project: the problem and purpose statements, objectives and aims.
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Developing research questions;
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Conducting and writing a literature review;
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Designing and running quantitative and qualitative studies and program evaluations; and,
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Running your analysis and writing up the results.
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Professionals
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The Research School provides Consulting Services, Program Evaluation, Impact Study Support and Grant Writing for professionals and small businesses that will:​
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Create a Solid Foundation: Define clear goals, objectives, and measurable outcomes for your programs.
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Master Data Collection: Explore existing data sources, develop new data collection tools seamlessly integrated into your workflow, and utilize relevant external data.
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Put Data to Work: Transform collected data into compelling narratives that demonstrate impact and attract crucial funding.
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The Research School provides the knowledge and tools necessary to effectively collect data, measure your organization or program outcomes, and strategically leverage data to secure funding. Oftentimes, structures are already in place and can easily be adapted for effective data collection. The Research School can help you identify and put those structures into action to assist with data collection and measuring impact.
Who I Am: Dr. Tamarah Smith
Tamarah Smith, PhD, is the founder of The Research School. She holds a doctorate in Educational Psychology from Temple University and Master's of Science in Applied Statistics from West Chester University. She has over 20 years of experience as a University faculty member where she most recently served as an associate professor in the doctoral education program at Gwynedd Mercy University as well as the Dissertation Coordinator and methodologist. She has advised hundreds of students' research projects from undergraduate projects to doctoral dissertations. She has guided dozens of students in both presenting and publishing their research projects and has a long history of publishing and presenting her own research. She specializes in teaching courses that focus on research methods and analysis, and supporting students in developing their research methodology and executing their data analysis. Her students' success is her passion.
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In addition to working with students, Dr. Smith has worked with non-profits and other agencies to help them assess impact and improve practices. This work has addressed a variety of issues such as:
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occupational therapy for stroke patients;
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alcohol and other drug abuse among college students;
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eating disorders among college students;
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public health campaigns;
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services to support the elderly;
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programming to support families in economic crisis; and,
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student anxiety, mindsets and attitudes that interfere with their academic success.
Dr. Smith's research focuses on student mindsets, anxieties, attitudes, and other motivational factors that impact student success particularly while doing research. She has created and tested various interventions, curriculum, and measurement techniques to help dissect and influence the relationship between such apprehensions and learning.
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Dr. Smith is a regular reviewer for academic journals and the National Science Foundation's grant programs. She served on the Board of Directors for the Eastern Psychological Association, has served as a reviewer for several journals, and was an associate editor for a special issue of Psychology Learning and Teaching. She is currently serving as the Director for Regional Conference Programming for the Society of Teaching Psychology.
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Her work has been funded by the Society for Teaching Psychology, Psi Chi, and the Buzzallino Family Faculty Scholars Award. She served as co-PI on a National Science Foundation grant that incorporated her work with high-risk STEM majors. She has implemented her intervention work in statistics courses for psychology majors and developed and run programming to train tutors, high school teachers, and administrators, as well as college faculty to utilize mindset interventions in their classrooms and institutions.
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