<p>I'm sorry for this extremely general question which I'm sure some of you have answered a hundred times, but I honestly could not find an exact response in this forum (perhaps someone has a link?). </p>
<p>I was just curious to know how exactly one goes about getting research experience? Do you just email random professors...or what? Im clueless. I mean, my school doesn't have a pre-med type advisor, and virtually everyone interested in med school is in the faculty of science, while I have chosen to enter into the faculty of arts while simultaneously doing med school requirements, so I feel that I am at a disadvantage when it comes to research. </p>
<p>Anyway, I'm sure I'll get some flames for this, but any links or advice you might have are greatly appreciated! :)</p>
<p>Since you say you're entering "faculty of arts" i'm guessing that means you aren't going to be a science major...this may put you at a disadvantage when asking professors to help them in a research lab, so really all you can do is to take your premed requirements as soon as possible, especially lab classes.
E-mailing professors "randomly" actually ended up working for me....but if you do this be sure not to add any attachments with a resume or something like that (they probably won't open it) and be sure you actually mention in a few sentences why you're interested in THEIR research in particular, so that they know that you actually care about it and aren't just emailing everybody with a generic message. It will also be helpful to state which college level courses you have taken (maybe AP courses too, if they're relevant), your grades/GPA, and any relevant skills/experience related to their line of research. Just be sure it isn't too long/drawn-out, a couple short paragraphs should be enough.
If you decide you'd rather not e-mail, or you aren't getting good responses, then going to office hours of professors whose classes you are taking is also a good way to get your foot in the door. Even if they don't have any current openings for undergrads in their lab, they may know other professors who do.<br>
Good luck! and i'm sure others have other helpful pieces of advice to add.</p>
<p>Does your school have an Undergraduate Research office?</p>
<p>Go to websites of departments you'd like to work for. Go through professors' pages and read about their research interests. E-mail professors whose work interests you, and tell them why you'd like to work for them. E-mail a lot of people. This could possibly get you a meeting or interview with a few professors.</p>
<p>Also, if you don't want to / can't do research your freshman year, look for summer research programs and opportunities at your school. Working under a professor during the summer may help you secure a job during the year.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. Another question if you don't mind: is it absolutely necessary to have research experience to go to med school? Does job shadowing and volunteering suffice?</p>
<p>I emailed about eight profs. Four of them replied to me, telling me to visit them during their office hours. I'm planning on going to their office hours next week. I want them to give me permanent lab assistant/volunteer positions that last for at least a year, not temporary positions that last for only a semester or less. Do profs usually give you a temporary position or permanent one?</p>
<p>It varies from lab to lab. If a professor doesn't have too many ppl helping him/her then you basically choose which one you want, but if it is a big lab, then you will most likely work with a grad at the start and have little interaction with the actual professor. Another thing that needs to be considered is how you work, your knowledge, experience, etc? If they like you, then your a shoo-in, if not then well either find a new lab or prove your dependability.</p>
<p>New question: are you guys suggesting that one do research in the freshman year? I thought that without knowing the professors it would be difficult to get a research position this early. Am I wrong?</p>
<p>How does the process of getting added as a second or any other non-first author to a paper work? If you were to publish your own paper to become a first author, then obviously, you would have to do all or most of the work like writing more than 90% of the paper by yourself. In general, to be a non-first author, how much do you have to contribute to the writing of a paper, if at all? How big does your overall contribution to a project have to be?</p>
<p>See that question can't be answered by us. It depends on your mentor. I mean for me personally, I helped out my mentor a lot and she didn't even put my name on the publication and/or acknowledge me. So it also depends on the type of person that your mentor is. If he/she is friendly and likes you and sees how hard you work, then you will start talking about a publication. Do one thing at a time. Get a lab and prove your self. After that, you will actually do hands-on work with your mentor on the project and you'll where things go on from there. Some mentors may let you help them with writing, while some will just say I will do the writing b/c they may not have time for proofreading your version of the paper and all mentors have deadlines. So time is a big factor.</p>
<p>It might depend on the school, and certainly on the professor, but don't assume that because you're a freshman that professors won't be interested in you. Some see it as a benefit, because they'll have you for four years.</p>