<p>I would like to find some research opportunities but I'm not sure where to look. I found: UCSD</a> Undergraduate Research Site but there aren't any closely related to my major. Are there other ways to look for research? Can we e-mail professors and ask them? Thanks.</p>
<p>most people email the professors directly; usually it's a professor they've already had in a class/met somewhere else so it's not like a request coming out of the blue.</p>
<ol>
<li>what's your major?</li>
<li>are you a freshman? </li>
<li>do you have any previous research/lab work skills?</li>
</ol>
<p>most people don't do research as a freshman. i have heard of rare cases of freshmen doing stuff in the summer (rising sophs), but i suspect that they're just doing lab maintenance (autoclaving, making solutions...) rather than doing actual research.</p>
<p>"most people don't do research as a freshman. i have heard of rare cases of freshmen doing stuff in the summer (rising sophs), but i suspect that they're just doing lab maintenance (autoclaving, making solutions...) rather than doing actual research."</p>
<p>It's rare because someone that young usually does not want to do research or is not ready to. And I'm not talking about technical skill, I am talking about determination. Previous experience usually comes down to specific projects. Most professors will help you start off, they understand students have to start somewhere.</p>
<p>If you really want to do research, it's fairly easy to find a spot. Say you want to do biology research. Load up the faculty web page and read all the research that is being done. Then email the professors. Most of the time they will be full, which is normal because its part of being efficient, but you might come across someone who has a spot or will have one soon. Then you can go talk with the professor and go on from there.</p>
<p>But this all demands that you are determined. Professors hate students who show up for a couple months then leave. They waste time training you and could have gotten someone else. If you get the point across that you truly want to do it, you should have no problem.</p>
<p>you're being so idealistic, roflkeke. i tried getting research as a freshman. i emailed at least 10 professors with personalized messages. half never replied, and the other half said they don't take freshmen after i emailed back and said i was a freshman.</p>
<p>once i was a sophomore though, i emailed again and got a bunch of favorable responses and was able to choose the lab i wanted. i think it was a combination of age and classes taken. and i was of junior status so i could do a 199.</p>
<p>it's not necessarily determination that makes or breaks it. you need to at least have background in that area, especially how common lab techniques work so you're not wasting your post-doc's time when he/she has to explain how PCR works.</p>
<p>Maybe. But I still think if you show the professor that you really want to do it and won't flake out on them, they will help you out somehow.</p>
<p>99% of professors won't actually be teaching you anything in lab; they'll dump you on a senior grad student or postdoc instead. since these people are being paid to research, their priorities are to supervise your techniques, NOT to teach you the background and theory. that's why it's so rare for freshmen to score significant research positions -- their level of preparation just doesn't cut it.</p>
<p>"their priorities are to supervise your techniques, NOT to teach you the background and theory."</p>
<p>Well, yeah. Anytime you step foot in a lab, you're supposed to be aware of the theory behind it. If all you want to do is clean beakers, that's fine, but the lab positions I am talking about all require you to know what you'll be doing.</p>
<p>For new people, make sure you actually read up on the research before you send those emails. If you're on campus internet, you will have access to scifinder and other databases.</p>
<p>Not having background knowledge in a lab is very frustrating, not only for the postdoc/grad student, but for the student as well. Its annoying trying to teach someone how to do something when they don't really understand why they are doing it, and it can also be annoying when you have to complete some long and/or tedious protocol without really knowing why you are doing each step. So, I recommend having some background knowledge before beginning to work in a lab, not only for the lab's sake but for yours as well. Unless you want to start washing dishes and getting acquainted with the ol' autoclave.</p>
<p>And do you really use scifinder, roflkeke? I couldn't get onto it once, and then found out only 30 people in the entire UC could use it at a time, so I have stopped using it because I feel so guilty...</p>
<p>heh. i felt so bad for my post-doc at times for the amazingly stupid questions i asked ("...so what does upstream of the promoter mean?"). how did i get into this lab? scholarship = i am unpaid labor that is "smart" enough to handle jobs beyond autoclaving to them, and i add some prestige to the lab, no matter how small it is, and i have potential for connections.</p>
<p>to avoid above situation, don't be stupid like me. i suggest you read scientific papers (pubmed), and browse/understand the lab website content before emailing if you are so intent on research. i also suggest, if this is a molecular bio lab, to read up on that campbell biology chapter on techniques. i think it's like chapters 18-20 or something, for the background. it includes stuff like western blotting, pcr, restriction enzymes, etc.</p>
<p>and should you obtain a research position, you better intend to stay more than a quarter. it takes 4+ weeks to train someone in basic techniques, and if you left after a quarter, it'd look very bad on you since you wasted everyone's time. this also doesn't mean stay all 4 years (and even if you do, don't expect to even be named as 5th author of a paper). PIs and postdocs will expect you to work 10-15 hours in the lab a week for at least a couple of quarters, so budget your time wisely with schoolwork and fun too.</p>
<p>I get on campus very early in the morning. If I know I will need scifinder, I usually fire it up and get all the papers then. Save them to my computer, print, etc. </p>
<p>Because like you said, it's annoying when you can't access it...</p>