<p>Hey my father keeps telling me how great it would be to begin a research project this summer and continue it throughout me 2 remaining years in high school. I was wondering if anyone knows how to get one started, because I'm lost. thanks</p>
<p>what were you planning to research? I am doing some research this summer independently..</p>
<p>I don’t really understand how one can do research independently, without some kind of “mentor”. Can someone explain this to me?</p>
<p>I’m currently helping a professor with research in ecology, but I’m assuming you want your own project, so I can’t really help.</p>
<p>Loads of people do independent research projects every year. I did one last year, but this year I have a mentor. This is just the basic process: first, find a subject you’re really interested in/passionate about. For example, it was physics for me. Then, head over to your local library and get all the research material available there. If you go to a local laboratory, they sometimes have some papers and publications on that. Next, head over to Google. Research everything possible about your subject, especially from national lab sites (ex: Fermilab.) It’s really useful when you get up-to-date data–for example, I got my data from a public database of telescopic observations. Look through all the data you have collected and try to find something new. A good place to start would be to try to find patterns in the data. Construct your hypothesis and use the vast amounts of data you have to support it. It might be helpful to make sure that your hypothesis is something new, though not necessarily a momentous achievement in science. Polish it up and you’re done! The entire process can take anywhere from months to years. It took me about six months for my first project and the one I’m currently doing has been going on for quite some time.</p>
<p>Hope that helped and good luck!</p>
<p>Find a professor and work on his project. It’s easier that way.</p>
<p>okay, thanks for the help. I don’t really know what to research, and that’s basically what I’m stuck on. I feel like once I know what I’m going to research, I’ll get right into it with no problem. I just don’t know how to start. But I don’t think anyone can help me with that, That’s something I have to figure out on my own. But again thanks so much for all the help</p>