So, I want to start undergraduate research at my university this semester. I talked to a researcher who was interested in giving me a project in his lab, but then he recommended I figure out a project I’m interested in and he’d help me with it. As amazing as that sounds, ya girl is stuck! All of my research questions sound stupid/science fiction or like they’ve already been done. How do I formulate good research questions/subjects without sounding like an idiot?
How about scheduling an appointment with him and brainstorm based off you general interests? You aren’t expected to have all the answers or even know how to go about this without guidance from a mentor. Be brave, go for it. Asking questions is never as dumb as not asking and not getting help or information that you need.
Do you know what research in general this lab does?
Do you know what research l this lab is currently doing ?
Do you know what techniques/methods this lab does?
Do you know what machines/equipment this lab has? Are there some you would like to learn?
Do you know what the researcher does?
Does the dept or lab have a webpage or a newsletter? Read it and see the type of things they do.
Why do you want to do research?
(I am making up all the below examples)
Let’s say it is a Biology lab…and they have Crispr equipment and you think that is cool
If you have absolutely no idea, you could say "I am just beginning at research but I am very interested in Crispr techniques. Is there something we could come up with that would use that?
Or you could see what other research has been done and then do a different version?
“I saw that some undergraduates had used Crispr on mammalian cells to test for ABC…what if we did that with reptilian cells?”
or
“The experiment on XYZ that was in the newsletter[or that the researcher did] was interesting to me …is there something we could build off of”?
or
But basically I think that the researcher is trying to find SOMETHING to base your research on…its like if you are told “go write a paper” vs. “Write a paper comparing Greek to Roman government”…its much easier if you have some small basis to start with.
So if you have an area/method/equipment something to start with I think they could help you out.
So I just looked at my alma maters Biology dept as an example, and in their newsletter was an article about an undergraduate. So the professor may ask you, but perhaps you work with others (like postdocs) in the lab that will help you narrow something down.
'During the second week of my freshman year, I sent out emails to professors whose research interested me. I was shocked and grateful to see the willingness of the faculty to take on an undergraduate with no prior
research experience or college coursework.
I spent my first semester working in the lab of Dr. Karen Abbott, and the research drew me
in. The Abbott lab focuses on theoretical ecology. Roughly speaking, this means that we
use mathematical models to uncover general ecological phenomena that may be hard to
observe or detect in an experiment.
Despite my lack of experience, Dr. Abbott allowed me not only to lead a project during my
first semester in college, but also to devise my own project. With the help of former postdoc
Ben Nolting, I developed a model of African wild dog populations, with a particular focus on
their pack structure. Although it is well established that small packs are less successful than large ones, we were able to show that small populations are not necessarily less successful, We also uncovered the mechanism behind this disconnect between the pack level and the population level. Since then, we have generalized the project to encompass more species and turned it into a manuscript that is currently under review.
’
Back in day I had a prof who used tell class, don’t be afraid to ask me questions, it tells me how stupid you are. I suspect some will find prof’s words upsetting, perhaps harmful to an eager young mind, but he was right…if you don’t have an answer, sometimes you have to ask, if not to obtain answer, perhaps for some direction. Agree with @NorthernMom61 … schedule appointment, go in with written list of general interests/ideas to use as starting point for discussion. You’re not asking researcher to remove body parts, only for answer/direction. And don’t be afraid to follow up, if need be. Good luck.
remember this is part of what you need to learn: How to formulate a research topic.
Also, if you dont know/are afraid of what to do, just ask yourself: What would you tell a friend to do in this situation?