Sad movies can make you cry - all the way to bank

If you've always wondered what makes people cry during soppy movies and you're looking for extra cash over the summer, the University of Waikato may have just the job for you.

The university is offering 107 summer research scholarships for students to help out with research on a diverse array of subjects.

Research can range from why we cry over fictional characters, to the similarities between online video-gaming and religious involvement.

Students taking up the scholarships would be paid $5000 for 10 weeks' work conducting interviews, reading studies, and collecting data.

Research scholarship applications had been increasingly popular, Liesha Baker of the university's scholarship department said.

"The popularity's definitely gone up.

"Students would rather do research work and be paid over summer than work in McDonald's and things like that."

The scholarships offered a great opportunity for students to get some valuable academic work done over their summer breaks, Ms Baker said.

"We don't sell it as work, because a scholarship is tax-free, so it's more of an experience."

Nicola Starkey from the psychology department said she was looking for a student to help her out with her study of communication between humans and dogs.

"What we want to do is do some work and find out what things are most effective in dog training - is it how quickly you give them a reward, is it if you're looking at the dog, is it the commands you actually give, is it whether you're using arm movements?"

Dr Starkey said her student would be training dogs, talking to dog trainers and taking videos of dogs being trained.

"The students learn a lot about what it's like to conduct a novel research study, and so I think for students who want to go on to do masters or PhD theses, it's a really good thing to do."

A full list of the scholarships can be found at http://www.waikato.ac.nz.

- NZPA