Is this a sucky research idea?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>Ok - well - I discussed this with my mother - who pretty much said all of my ideas sucked except for the last idea. So the last idea was "investigating the deaths of Nobel laureates and the causes of their deaths," such as if they died from heart attacks ar lower rates or such. Of course, such a study may be limited in that many win the Nobel at an advanced age so they'll naturally have a higher life expectancy.</p>

<p>So does this idea suck? Do I have to collect new data for "research?" How about for a science fair project? Or does research must involve finding new discoveries? Having no prior research experience or experience in any science fair, and being without resources, I'm pretty much desperate to do anything - literally anything - that could even remotely qualify for research or enter for a science fair.</p>

<p>I'm most obsessed with statistics, especially trends. No matter how hard I push myself, I just cannot get myself interested in hardcore math, so I'll just give it up for now and maybe try for some statistics because I don't have the resources for science projects either. Is it possible to dosome other research? Or is it all just "soft science" (I feel like I'm doing sociology, not hard science) that won't be taken seriously?</p>

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<p>I think it kinda sucks unless you find an interesting trend, an actual trend not just things that are probably coincedental. I'd like to hear your other ideas as well.</p>

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<p>I see... So I can't trust my mom's opinion that much - even if she has a PhD in Biochem, although she later moved on to a non-scentific field.</p>

<p>As for other ideas, Lol, they're far too quixotic (and sound so mundane too). Finding new superconductor with really weird materials (which I probably won't end up doing) or umm... maybe what a lot do - try to find some new variable star and catalog its data.</p>

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<p>Another very obvious research idea: find the effect of <insert chemical="" name="" here=""> on human cells, plant cells, animal cells, whatever. Still, one of those research ideas won an INtel (effects of cadmium on human brain cells). It was the only Intel project whose phrasings I understood.</insert></p>

<p>Otherwise, I'll have to get a mentor to get some help to try to find some research ideas. Which is - almost impossible even if I randomly e-mail professors.</p>

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<p>I'm not undermining your mom's education, I just think you might be running into a dead end if you go down that route</p>

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<p>I know about that - though I was still thinking along the lines that I shouldn't put blind faith into her.</p>

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<p>maybe we'll see other people's responses to your idea(s)</p>

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<p>maybe the immune response or psychological/environmental factors of overstuying</p>

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<p>Simfish, you seem to me to be a hardcore math person. I am surprised to hear from you that you are more into stat.</p>

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<p>Well - I'm trying to become hardccore - but it's not necessarily working yet. I registere dfor AoPS - and as it tunred out - I ultimately only was participating in the AoPS trivia challenge. After I 'm done with SAT II Chem I'll self-study math like hell (hopefully I'll succeed this time) but it looks like math research is out of the question next summer. I hope to qualify for the AIME - but I'll be satisfied with any score barely over 100 (and 100 requires only answering like, the first 14 questions, leaving all of the rest blank).</p>

<p>Unlike statistics, math was never one of my passions. I'm trying to make it one of them - but coercion is more difficult than natural adaptation. I'm still inspired by the person who hated math until his sophomore year, then self-studied calc and was soon taking multivariable - I seem to be in a similar position, though I'm taking first-year calc, not Alg. II.</p>