<p>Hey all, I am currently going to be transferring to another college, but have a quick question;</p>
<p>What exactly is "Research"? I see hundreds of people put down on their EC's that they did "Research on <em>insert topic here</em> " Some have done research on biological processes, others have done it on global issues, etc. </p>
<p>I was under the impression this was only done by current college students, because you need to ask permission from a Professor to do research for him/her.</p>
<p>So my two questions are:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>I will be applying in the next month or so. How would I go about trying to do research on a topic related to Forestry/Plant science? I have tried looking it up, but you guys are the ones that know a lot about this stuff.</p></li>
<li><p>If I start sometime soon, how much would the average person be able to get done before January/February? I would like to know an estimate on the QUALITY of research the average person can do if he is given 1-2 months?</p></li>
</ul>
<p><em>I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT RESEARCH PAPERS FOR A CLASS/OR ANYTHING CLASS RELATED, THIS IS THE RESEARCH PEOPLE TALK ABOUT IN EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES</em></p>
<p>well for most kids in high school research is basically working for a local university med school or some local biology firm. You can also sign up for summer programs at universities and participate in classes/"research". You should definitely try contacting local universities and inquire about open positions needed in the labs. People are always in need of an extra pair of hands.</p>
<p>Research is basically finding an answer to a hypothesis the scientist has proposed. There are many different ways to do this..depending on the field (ex. epidemiology/public health studies are different from bench science studies).</p>
<ol>
<li><p>There are many institutions that offer research programs for HS students...that is how I got my start during my sophomore year of HS. Similarly...organizations like the NIH have summer and post-bacc programs for college students.</p></li>
<li><p>If you're currently in college....one of the best ways to find on-campus research is to find out what projects the professors are involved in. When you find projects you like send an e-mail and let the prof know you're interested in his work and would like the opportunity to learn from him. However....be sure to put a lot of thought into the e-mail. Profs know when students are just looking for research to put on their resume.</p></li>
<li><p>In my opinion 1-2 months is a short amount of time in research. Depending on the project, there is a good chance you won't get much quality work done (ex. I just concluded a project that took 3 years. Another project my lab is involved with has been going on for at least 5 years)....especially if you need to be trained and aren't in the lab every day. ...but if you plan to stay through the end of year, I still think it's worth it to try and find a research position. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Only look for positions if you're genuinely interested in doing research and not just looking for a resume booster. Research is not always easy or fun and if you're not doing it out of interest...you're not going to enjoy it.</p>
<p>
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organizations like the NIH have summer and post-bacc programs for college students.
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</p>
<p>If you live in Montgomery County, and you're a Junior, you can apply for a year-long internship program at the NIH sponsored by HHMI that's basically a shoo-in for most colleges as long as you have decent stats (which you have to in order to get in, only around 20-25 students get the internship)</p>
<p>^^ditto. i precisely decided to take physics 2 instead of research because my friends who graduated have told me how stupid taking research (the class) is. basically 30 GPA whores take the class to get honors credit and do nothing.</p>
<p>almost everyone i know gets to do "research" through a "connection". basically their parents' friends become their "mentor" and give them "research" to do. aka go wash this microplate and whatnot... then they write "papers" and give "presentations". almost none of them actually are doing what i would consider appropriate research... only a few people i know are doing real research and they are winning siemens/intel comps...</p>
<p>i'm disappointed how much "research" is valued since you can in no way substantiate the level of research you are actually doing, and i doubt an abstract that your mentor aided you on is proof of your abilities.</p>
<p>The same general idea applies for college students. You're interested in a subject, or you hear a lecture. You go talk to the prof and ask if there's a way for you to get involved in research. If they say "no", you go talk to another prof. Enthusiasm, genuine interest and willingness to do grunt work counts for a lot. Unfortunately, it's not somethng that yields anything really useful for either admissions or science in 1-2 months. I agree with dewdrop that it's worth pursuing if you are going to stick with this through at least the end of the year.</p>
<p>D's HS has a 3 year Science Research class/program. It involved LOTS of journal article reading on her topic (diabetes), a summer spent working with a doctor in the labs at Yale Med. School, writing up her work, & entering science fairs/competitions. Honestly, I'm not sure what kind of research you could do before Jan/Feb. IMO, that would just look like you're trying to "pad" your resume.</p>