<p>How do you go about doing research? Are there any requirements? How do you approach a professor or a research organization?</p>
<p>Thank you</p>
<p>Bump...</p>
<p>(10 char.)</p>
<p>
[quote]
How do you go about doing research?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>1) Pick a field. (As a high schooler you probably shouldn't pick, say, uber-theoretical mathematics unless you have an ridiculously strong background)
2) Pick a topic you're interested in
3) Use the Internet to search for labs studying that topic
4) Email the professor. These tips are helpful:</p>
<p>You're free labor. You stand a chance at getting in, especially if it's not a lab whose work relies on lots and lots of coursework you've never seen before.</p>
<p>5) Work
6) Get results
7) Discover your results are wrong
8) Experience feelings of inadequacy
9) Repeat steps 5-8 until necessary
10) Work
11) Get more results
12) Discover your results are RIGHT!!!111!
13) Run into your advisor's office screaming YAAAAY I GOT THE RESULTS
14) He congratulates you...or is ticked off by your failure to make an appointment.
15) Work on something else
16) Repeat steps 5-15 until necessary
17) Talk to your advisor
18) Write a paper
19) Talk to your advisor
20) Publish
21) Repeat</p>
<p>
[quote]
Are there any requirements?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>It depends on your field. You'll always need a nice advisor (at least one willing to hire a high school kid and invest energy in training him) and a fair amount of intelligence, resourcefulness, and time. I was a modeler in an experimental lab so I needed some prior knowledge of programming, but generally if the professor is willing to hire you he'll teach you almost everything you need to know. Of course the more requirements there are to do research in your field, the less likely the professor will want to hire you.</p>
<p>20.5) Lather, rinse, and...</p>
<p>I called a local college professor who actually was looking for a student to participate with him on his research. He ended up handing the project to me since it would receive more funding and branced off into his own world. You need to take the initiative and call professors, labs (if your town has them), hospitals with research centers (only if you live in a big city), or you might just have to travel to get the resources necessary. I would suggest you limit yourself to previously published works before doing anything original. That way you have some knowledge of lab techniques and weaknesses. Good luck, research is amazing!</p>
<p>dude...you don't need a lab. I did 3 years of research without a mentor or a lab. i've done isef and stuff without ever having a mentor. i've patented without a mentor. i'm probably gonna start a company on a project i did without a mentor. so...you definately don't need a mentor. though it is helpful as you get exposed to things you otherwise wouldn't. so..especially if you're doing computer science or engineering, you don't need a mentor/lab.</p>
<p>Olive_Tree: I would suggest first letting us know what field of research you are interested in, and where you are geographically (are you close to any major universities)? You want to make sure that you really enjoy your research, and if you are talented, make certain that you get a part in developing the research. </p>
<p>On the subject of Mentors (in response to Cool Phreak): To understand why we pursue mentors, it's important to understand how research is generally done in academia. You enter as a graduate student and take some classes, and then begin reading up on your field. Your advisor discusses thesis topics with you and you start planning out and and developing your research. </p>
<p>This is akin to you taking classes in HS as a HS student, and then finding a mentor. Since you are a HS student, sometimes you won't get the project you want, and sometimes you will. You should make sure that you enjoy doing the project though.</p>
<p>While it is possible to do research alone, you will rarely find that you can do everything yourself. Why? Because research is really an apprenticeship and a community based effort. If you close your world and think you can do everything alone, you are just being arrogant. Think about it, even if you do do research, you think you will be able to write a brilliant paper by yourself? You honestly think you're going to understand all of the graduate level mathematics? A good mentor guides you, but doesn't hand you anything. They will suggest good papers to read, act as a sounding board for ideas and point out what they see as dead ends. </p>
<p>This is coming from a kid who placed a grand award at ISEF with a CS project with NO mentor, won tons of regional science competitions for my CS project w/ NO mentor, and then placed nationally in the Siemens competition with a Mentor in the field of Synthetic Biology. So I have both sides of the experience. Getting a good mentor, a real, solid, very good mentor, can be a life changing experience. </p>
<p>A lab is nothing more than a place where you do your work. If you are in CS, your home computer is your lab. If you are in bioengineering, your lab has lots of equipment. Your mentor may show you some coding tricks, or some wet lab techniques. Most of the time he's sitting behind a desk.</p>
<p>The depth of research can also vary. It is very easy to get patents or do research on your own in new, unexplored fields or subfields (take cellular automaton work for instance). However, if you plan on extending the cutting edge of an existing field that has been previously explored to a great depth, it takes months just to setup a mental framework of what's going on. Don't be fooled about what people claim about their own successes. Go for the source, find out what they did, how they did it, and decided for yourself whether it is as good as they say.</p>
<p>I'd like to do research in medicine/biology, since I want to pursue a career in medicine and would like to get some experience. I'm not sure if there are many opportunities where I live for high school students. I live in Lansing, Michigan, and the university I'm closest to is Michigan State University. BTW, thanks to everyone's help.</p>
<p>Bump...</p>
<p>(10 char.)</p>
<p>what if I'm an international student?
do any internships provide housing?</p>
<p>Bumping, once again.</p>
<p>hey differential, i totally agree with you. I just kinda wanted it to be known that you shouldn't be bummed if you don't find a mentor. one could still pursue things by themselves, if they don't get a mentor one year, for whatever reason. I have worked with a mentor, in a lab, and it was an amazing experience. i was exposed to so many things i would never have been exposed to otherwise.</p>
<p>Another thing, if you don't pursue things like research and you let colleges know that you're interested in medicine, will that hurt you in any way? I was also going to volunteer at a hospital, but I need a neighbor's reference, and I don't know any of my neighbors, so I won't be able to pursue that. Are there other extracurriculars that I could do that have to deal with medicine?</p>
<p>I'm bumping this up again. Please help!</p>
<p>Bump...</p>
<p>(10 char.)</p>
<p>not doing research won't hurt you, especially if you don't have any oppurtunities. why don't you get a friend's recommendation, rather than a neighbor? same thing right?</p>
<p>It's not allowed, unfortunately.</p>
<p>Write a letter, or send an e-mail to every person on this linked page expressing your interest in assisting with a research project, and someday attending medical school:</p>
<p>Look into these programs at MSU:
<a href="http://www.nscl.msu.edu/aud/teachersstudents/programs/hshonorsscience.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.nscl.msu.edu/aud/teachersstudents/programs/hshonorsscience.html</a></p>
<p>Try this site for programs in Michigan, as well as other states:
<a href="http://www.sciserv.org/stp/%5B/url%5D">http://www.sciserv.org/stp/</a></p>
<p>Thanks, 2boysima!</p>