<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>I have just landed a quite prestigious research assistant position in my university. It has enabled me to work with a professor on a topic (for reference, I'm a math major). This is my first time doing a real research, and I feel that the research is going very slowly. I don't have any clue how to even get started on my problem, and from what I know, no one else has really worked on it either. Is this the way a research is usually, or am I doing something wrong?</p>
<p>Literature reviews can be very time consuming. Your university should have on-line access to the latest journals. But, there is so much information out there, and accessing it appropriately is sometimes very difficult. </p>
<p>Head to the library and talk to a librarian (not the ones the shelve the books, but the ones who work behind the scenes, they usually have m.ls., or a phd) they should be able to point you in the right direction on how to search properly. It's not just a Google search, after all.</p>
<p>Also, if you have found a semi-related paper to your research try taking a look at the reference page. Those always provide good background material by other authors and may point you in the correct direction. </p>
<p>Keep good track of the literature you find useful. I've tried using RefWorks but found that it was quite a hassle, so I started to print the articles out and keep them in organized binders. Invest in a decent laser printer.</p>
<p>The first little while in grad. school is tricky, but you'll pick it up quickly. Good Luck.</p>
<p>What area are you working in? I'm doing a research project with a professor in combinatorics on descent statistics of permutations. I got a set of definitions and all the simple problems related to the area to work out, and now I'm getting to the unknown stuff. Research with math is usually a fairly slow process because if the path you're supposed to take were obvious, somebody would've already walked it (except for the crazy genius people who see stuff nobody else can). Over the past year, I've heard professors repeatedly say "the only things that are left are the hard questions", so don't be too frustrated.</p>
<p>re: the research is going very slowly</p>
<p>Unfortunately, you better get used to that. In many fields, almost all the low-hanging fruits have been "taken" or so trivial that they aren't even being pursued (except by those who are totally clueless).</p>
<p>I'm working on some algebra with topology. My topic is kind of obscure, and it looks like no one cares other than me, so it's a bit depressing at times. The math part is great though. Thanks for the encouragement.</p>
<p>Math research seems to take a pretty long time. I remember rooming with someone at an REU who was doing a math project. Research in general takes a lot of original thought and work.</p>
<p>Btw, what's with the name? Are you hoping to get into an Ivy league school for graduate work or something?</p>
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I'm working on some algebra with topology. My topic is kind of obscure, and it looks like no one cares other than me, so it's a bit depressing at times.
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<p>What's the topic, specifically?</p>
<p>I feel you for sure. I just started my first ever research project this week as an undergraduate summer student at Fermilab. It feels utterly overwhelming! I'm the only person in the department that I know of who is not a post-doc researcher.</p>
<p>Yup. I hope to get into one of the big schools for pure math PhD.</p>