<p>Lots of applicants to top research universities talk about choosing a school because it provides ‘research opportunities.' So I want to turn some attention to the research experience and what it involves for most undergraduates. Many don’t realize exactly what ‘doing research’ means, especially if they don't bring any subject matter expertise and prior experience to the research position. Newbies often end up doing boring repetitive work devoid of any intellectual content. They may work for a grad student whose interests do not include ensuring that they have a good experience. They don’t realize that in big labs, individual projects are just part of a ‘portfolio’ of projects under a senior scientist or researcher – the projects are in various stages, are more or less likely to produce results sometimes over many years, may or may not be of significant interest to the research community, could be work that a company wanted done which pays the bills but isn’t inherently interesting, etc…There is inevitably jockeying amongst researchers for money, space, attention and other limited resources – and, as one of those resources, newbies can get caught in the middle. And if a project gets really exciting, it may be taken over by a post-doc or grad student whose professional future hinges on the results. The point is not every research experience is created equal. And the bad experiences ends up turning many students off from research entirely, which is unfortunate. </p>
<p>So, what can you do, as a student, to identify a good research experience or improve the one you are in? And get something out of it? (Not just your name on the paper as the 5th author – but some real learning.) You will probably have to ‘pay your dues’ - no one gets away without some grunt work. But it is possible to have an experience that makes it clear why people decide to invest their lives in research:</p>
<p>Some of the strategies that may help you:</p>
<p>1) Get to know your boss – the grad student, post-doc or PI on your project. Talk to them about what its like to do research there, why they chose their fields of study, what they like and don’t like about what they do. They can be your advocate and jungle guide (best case) or your exploiter (worst case.)<br>
2) Ask to sit in on meetings between the Principal Investigator (PI) and your project team for discussions related to your project. Learn to think about research from their perspectives.
3) Treat it like a class: Do the background reading. Be knowledgable about what the lab is working on outside of your own little project. Take a serious scientific interest in what’s happening and why.
4) Look for research opportunities outside of the university/college. Lots of organizations, companies and nonprofits have applied information needs that lend themselves to independent (and very useful) research.
5) Pay attention to the deadlines to apply for funding for your work: Some researchers have money, some don’t – but many schools will fund undergrads if you submit a request at the right time.
6) Think about what you want to get out of doing research: What do you want to learn about the field, the research process, yourself. Getting your name on something that’s published is the least of it.
7) Talk to other undergrads who are doing research – your experience may or may not be comparable. And those who are already working with that particular lab or researcher can give you insight into how research assistants get treated.</p>