Research-HOW?!

<p>hey guys, i am looking to do some research over the summer but does anyone noe how i can get started on this?</p>

<p>Hi, I’ll share what I did last summer:</p>

<ul>
<li>Think about programs and majors that I might like or am mildly interested in</li>
<li>Grab a college guide (Princeton Review is a good start) and flip through the book, looking for colleges that have the programs/majors that I want</li>
<li>Think about what kind of college I want to go to (size was the main factor for me, and location didn’t matter; these factors may be different for you)</li>
<li>Compile an initial list of 20 or so schools to research FURTHER</li>
<li>Request for “more info” from these initially selected colleges (usually found on their sites)</li>
<li>Pare down the list by learning more about each college (website, presentations if they’re available in your area, campus visits, books, whatever else you can think of); this is the step in which I had to use my “guts” a lot. I can’t tell you how to start eliminating colleges. I can only tell you that it’s a good idea to do so.</li>
</ul>

<p>By the end of the summer, after a bit of soul-searching, you should have a list of the colleges you plan to apply to in the fall. I shortened my list to 9 schools in the end, and of course, the number may be different for you.</p>

<p>*EDIT: @Wizkhalifa1: oh, my mistake. Since this is the college admissions board and the topic was “research,” I assumed it was college research. ^^; Excuse my naive thinking, onmyway2ivy.</p>

<p>Nah, OP is referring to conducting research at a lab. Depending on where you live, most research universities have opportunities for high schoolers to assist in lab work. Where’re you out of?</p>

<p>@wiz im from the new jersey area
@tristee its kk. thatll help too :D</p>

<p>Talk to teachers, peers, friends, someone might have some idea how to research in your area.</p>

<p>i have. many told me to go online and look for college professors that are researching the same topic i am interested it in and try to email them. How do i find these professors?</p>

<p>^Go to the websites of local colleges and to Departments you’re interested in. Most profs have webpages that give some information about them and their research, such as titles of their publications.</p>

<p>Develop a template email with your resume and cover letter / email note. This will remain constant for all researchers. Then go through the departments of your local university. As you see researchers with interesting fields, email them and add a paragraph into your template about in what ways you are interested in their research. Send out a bunch.</p>

<p>[Google</a> Scholar](<a href=“http://scholar.google.com/]Google”>http://scholar.google.com/) is your friend in this case.</p>

<p>kk i visited the websites of some local colleges around me but the problem i seem to find is trying to find these professors. can someone guide through how i can find a professor?</p>

<p>A lot of research usually goes on in Med school so if there is a medical school in your area, look up it’s website and navigate the research tab</p>

<p>I don’t know what field you’re interested in, but here’s a general method:</p>

<p>College website > Academics > Sciences > Dept. of Chemistry > People > Faculty > Dr. X</p>

<p>That’s what I did for a college near me and as an example, for the first prof listed in Chemistry, it gives educational background, research interests, publications, contact information, etc.:</p>

<p>[Barofsky</a>, Douglas F. | Department of Chemistry](<a href=“http://www.chem.orst.edu/barofsky.html]Barofsky”>http://www.chem.orst.edu/barofsky.html)</p>

<p>[Research</a> Faculty](<a href=“http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/dept/eye/research/re_faculty.html]Research”>http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/dept/eye/research/re_faculty.html)
am i looking in the right place?</p>

<p>Yep! Although it’s going to take lots of tries till someone answers you with a lab position. How are your grades? There’re some very competitive summer research programs out there that are fully funded, but they’re highly selective. Some hospitals and universities also have volunteer programs that allow you to intern at a lab. </p>

<p>If you’re really dedicated, you can try going through this list to see if there’s one that’s open for high school students. Almost all the ones on there are for college undergraduates though.
[Pre-med</a> Internships](<a href=“http://people.rit.edu/~gtfsbi/Symp/premed.htm]Pre-med”>http://people.rit.edu/~gtfsbi/Symp/premed.htm)</p>

<p>Edit: links of research program examples
<a href=“http://www.stonybrook.edu/simons/[/url]”>http://www.stonybrook.edu/simons/&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://simr.stanford.edu/[/url]”>http://simr.stanford.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>alright thank you very much.I really appreciate it. Ill send out emial this weekend see if i get any responses/</p>

<p>btw guys i wanted to ask…im a junior in high school and do you think its too late to start research? also do yu think i can get lab positions as a junior?</p>

<p>i want to do research at Boston U. is it any good?</p>