advice on inquiring about research oppurtunities

<p>I hope I posted this in the right forum and apologize in advance if it not.</p>

<p>I'm currently junior (undergrad) and wanted to get involved in research in the poli sci department. I would like to apply to grad school in the future, and think research would be a good way to get a feel for what grad school would entail. I'm a little unfamiliar with how research is conducted in the social sciences however as I switched majors late in my sophomore year (from Computer Science to an interdepartmental major). My interests in terms of grad school research would be along the lines of comparative politics, specifically the effect of globalization on subaltern populations in South and Southeast Asia.</p>

<p>So question number one would be, what does research look like in political science? I have research experience in CS which more applied (i.e. hard coding and analysis) but I'm still confused as to what a research assistant's duties would be in the social sciences. </p>

<p>Also does anyone have any advice on how I should approach a faculty member to inquire about their research? (I really mean the basics of what I should include in my email. My research position literally came to me in my sleep, I sort of fell asleep in a CS class, and the professor offered research opp to challenge me. So I seriously am a little clueless as to how to inquire.)</p>

<p>Finally quick question about etiquette. Is it alright to email multiple professors whose work I'm interested in, and hope it works out somewhere?</p>

<p>In my experience in UCSD, Poli UG RA's help grad students conduct social experiments or they research literature on a given subject and write a paper to the liking of the PI.</p>

<p>And I think your way of contacting professors is fine--in person may be better, though, in my opinion.</p>