Help me understand a concept- What IS "Research"? (Undergrad Admissions)

Applying to College
1

<p>I'm curious as to how it helps or proves something to admissions, but more interested in how to go about it. </p>

<p>A few questions:</p>

<p>-Is it best to have an advisor or have it done through a university?
-Would I go about sending lab work, results, acclamations, reports, etc. in a portfolio as a college supplement?</p>

<p>The most important:
-Must it be of an absolutely original subject? If something's already been researched, does this mean we cannot work on it?</p>

<p>I have a topic that I would love to start working with this summer, but I know nothing of individual research. I live in a disadvantaged area; there are no big universities to help me, I have no "connections", high school grad rates are low, and...well, simply put, nobody DOES this. My topic been loosely researched before and the concept has been challenged in popular culture in a few cases. I have original experiments and studies related to it that I wish to carry out, but does the fact that "it's been done before" deter from the work I would like to do?</p>

<p>Any help is much appreciated. I am currently a junior. </p>

<p>I would really appreciate any help.</p>

2

<p>Depends on what kind of research you are doing. If you are surveying your fellow class-mates about some aspect of their lives, a teacher at the school can probably provide sufficient oversight. If you are conducting research in a lab environment, you are surely going to need supervision and the technical expertise of a subject matter expert to guide you.</p>

<p>Does it have to be original? Again, what’s the goal? Are you trying to get it published in a reputable journal? Or the school newspaper?</p>

<p>Do you send it to the school? No - they don’t have time to read it. But you can certainly write an essay about your interest in the field, what you learned, how it has impacted your academic and career goals.</p>

3

<p>Also, just because something’s been researched before doesn’t mean it can’t be researched again. There are always opportunities for further research and further contributions to the literature that build upon any existing base of research in the area.</p>