<p>you should do research because it’s interesting to you, not because you want to “fit” into the premed cookiecutter. </p>
<p>Give it a semester or two. After you find topics in in your Gen Chem and O-Chem classes that real interest you, look on your depts website and find faculty doing research in that area. Approach them during office hours etc and tell them why your interested and show them you have a passion for the subject (good backround reading on the topic works wonders here). You may start out washing dishes for a semester but if you stick on you may be churning out publications by your senior year.</p>