<p>What exactly do people mean when they say "I've done research." I looked at a couple of chance threads and they all have done research. What exactly does that mean and how do you actually do research? I'm interested in the STEM field and I would love to do research with a local professor/at a local college, but I'm unsure of how to actually approach them. How exactly do you start doing research? Do you have to have connections or..</p>
<p>there is a great thread going </p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/high-school-life/1473699-has-anyone-done-anyone-involved-research.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/high-school-life/1473699-has-anyone-done-anyone-involved-research.html</a></p>
<p>bump, thanks, I looked at the thread but the only college that’s close to me is a community college. Any other ideas?</p>
<p>“I’ve done research” is pretty vague in itself.
It could mean a lot of things, from “I kept a Twinkie under my bed for seven years to see what would happen” to “I’ve been published in Nature.”</p>
<p>I’m in approximately the same situation, so I don’t really understand how people get research experience with professors either. I feel like if I emailed professors they’d either have no idea what I was talking about, or they’d send me an email detailing why they can’t allow me to come in because of age restrictions or something.</p>
<p>^Rich parents. Good connection.</p>
<p>I’d love to have research opportunity to get into certain programs I’m looking at, but just can’t find any.</p>
<p>First off…there are NO age restrictions, you just have to show them that you are smart so they dont have to waste time teaching you.
read up on a topic that interests you, learn a lot about it, then contact a professor and tell him/her that you can contribute to whatever they are researching</p>
<p>But how exactly do I find out what a professor is researching? I really don’t understand how people get these connections so easily. Research seems relatively common now.</p>
<p>Remember that you are on college confidential, where even the extraordinary is ordinary. Most universities have a faculty page explaining the professors’ research interests. Look through each, find which one is interesting, and start emailing. The cardinal rule is to never write something along these lines, “Hi Prof. __, I am emailing…I was curious if you could help me”. No. You are helping him/her. What could you do to be of an asset to him, etc. I have done research with professors/scientists for years.</p>
<p>The thing is, I don’t even know what most of the stuff they’re researching is and I’m probably not smart enough to understand it after two minutes of reading Wikipedia. I have a standard high-school-level knowledge of science (AP classes) and I really don’t see how I could convince a professor that I would be an asset to them more so than an undergrad (an adult) would be.</p>