Beth Clarke: Who Researches the Researchers?

After finishing high school I didn’t know what I wanted to do next. And so, like many others, I opted to do a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne. It was an exciting time – my first real taste of independence. I remember my first ever philosophy class and the very lively debate we had about the trolley problem fondly. After that class, I knew I wanted to major in philosophy. But of course, I couldn’t just major in philosophy — what would I do with such a degree? So I majored in psychology, as a more practical option, and pursued philosophy as more of a hobby.

The final year of my Bachelors was 2020. All of a sudden, I couldn’t work my hospitality and tutoring jobs. A friend at the time encouraged me to do something with my new-found free time, which prompted me to reach out to psychology lecturers whose classes I had found interesting, to see if there was some way I might be able to get involved in their lab. I interned in a memory and language lab and in a personality lab. This first look into research in the wild was thrilling — probably even more so considering there wasn’t much else we could do. 

To my incredible luck, a new professor had just joined the department – Simine Vazire. At the recommendation of the director of the personality lab, I sent her an email expressing my combined interest in psychology and philosophy. Simine introduced me to the world of metaresearch (research on research). I became a research assistant in her lab, and then an honours student, and then a PhD student. I had the most incredible time as a PhD student, with a lab who would become some of my best friends, and possibly the best supervisor you could ask for. I made many friends along the way, one of which is now my partner!

My research interests centre around research practices and norms in psychology (particularly social and personality psychology), like the kinds of claims authors make about their evidence, and the extent to which they do (or don’t) acknowledge the limitations of their research. In my postdoc in Bern, I am conducting a study evaluating the accuracy of a tool called RegCheck (regcheck.app) which is being developed at the University of Bern by Jamie Cummins, myself, Ian Hussey, and Malte Elson. RegCheck uses generative LLM and NLP to extract and compare text from registrations and papers (because this can be quite time-consuming to do from scratch!). RegCheck offers a promising solution to a well-established concern: many registered studies deviate from their registration, without transparently reporting this. It is time-consuming and laborious for reviewers to check preregistrations, and they rarely do. RegCheck makes the process more efficient, offering a human-in-the-loop solution.

When I’m not working, you will probably find me exploring Switzerland (and Europe) on the incredible train network we have here. In the Winter, I enjoy hiking with friends to some of the  stunning views in the mountains and Alps, which offer views that really are like no other. In the Summer, swimming in the Aare is my favourite place to be. I haven’t experienced Spring here yet, but if watching the leaves change in Autumn here is anything to go off, I’d say Switzerland really is beautiful all year round.

In my wildest dreams, I never could have imagined that I would one day have the chance to work as a researcher in Switzerland. For that, I am incredibly grateful to my wonderful partner, Jack, and to my friends, family, and mentors, who are constantly teaching me new things, and always inspiring me to grow.

You can read more about Beth's work on her website, http://beth-clarke.com/ or follow her on Bluesky.

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