<p>How exactly do you go about asking professors if they would like a high school student assisting them in their study? </p>
<p>Im new with this whole research idea, so can someone who has done research explain how they contacted a professor and where they were able to find their information?</p>
<p>I have done research. ... but if you're just doing research so that it looks good on your application, it won't work. Research... well, if you want your research to be high quality, and to even compete in science fairs (and do well in them, I mean)... takes a LOT of time and work. But since you do seem interested, I'll go on.
First of all, it depends on whether or not you have any idea on what research area you plan on pursuing. If you have no idea which topic you're really looking for, I would recommend that you puruse several scientific magazines, such as Discover or Smithsonian.. or Scientific American. Those usually have synopses on the latest research discoveries, and since they're being written about, you'll know that you will have chosen a "high impact"/important research topic that can be applicable to people.. which is the point of research, pretty much.
Once something catches your eye I would recommend that you start searching the journal databases. If you're doing biology-related research, NIH and pubmed is a good place to start. dunno about chem/physics etc.
And... then you'll have to read lots and lots of scientific articles on your subject. Become an expert in it, so that when you get "interviewed" by your professor/PI, you won't sound like someone who just randomly got their name off the internet and decided to do research in their lab. Okay, once you get to that point, perhaps if there is an article or two that really interests you, you should look at the authors, and do an internet search on them. Email them. Introduce yourself: "Dear Professor X, my name is <em>. I've been reading a lot about _</em> lately, and I came across your paper. While I did get many points of it, I would like to know.... _ " and continue on. Then, at the end, ask them (if they aren't located near you) if they know anybody else in the field that is located near you.
Then you should start emailing them. Same way-- keep the email polite, brief, and perhaps ask for an appointment to meet up and discuss their research. I know they say "appointment," but this is actually equivalent to an interview. They want to know how much you really know, and if you have any prior experience.
don't be surprised if they say no. Persistence works, but after one or two times.. if they don't respond, it's time to move on to another professor. Perhaps send out emails to multiple professors. Don't mass email them though, because that is impolite and sends the message that you don't actually care-- you just want to get into a lab, any lab. Slightly personalize each email, and you will be more likely to get responses.
I would recommend that you start doing this pretty soon, because by now many students have already asked to do research and already have been accepted into the labs that they plan on working at during the academic year.
Best of luck!</p>
<p>I dunno if this is the 'regular' way of doing this, but all I did was send an email (found on my mentor's site) expressing interest and attach a 'resume' (what classes I'd taken, research I've done in school, programming exp., etc.). My mentor was like, "Oh, that's good" and we scheduled a casual interview, and talked about what research I'd like to do and all that good stuff. It worked out pretty well; I was a sophomore at the time and now have been there for a year and a half. (I do work in bioinformatics, if you're curious.)</p>
<p>Keep in mind--if you're under 16 (dunno if you are/aren't) and want to do hardcore research in a wet lab (biology, chemistry, maybe physics/eng.)--you will have a hard time finding mentors willing to take you in due to liability issues. Even if you're over 16, it still may be more difficult--depends. </p>
<p>As for searching for mentors--look at the papers they've published and see if the material interests you. If you can, try to get an idea of how well off (in terms of funding) the professors are--if they're short on funds, you may not have as much opportunity to do what you want and your mentor will be busy searching for funding. Conversely, if the professor's very famous and busy presenting @ conferences, you may not really get 'mentorship'. (Just some things to look at.) This can be found online usually on the professor's web page.</p>
<p>Apologies for the long post, & best of luck. --L.</p>