<p>This thread seems to be like the telephone game. One poster, perazzino, said something about middle schoolers doing research. No one else. It’s pretty unheard of for this to happen. </p>
<p>It seems like people are getting bent out of shape on this research thing. While it does require you to have a good base of knowledge to function in a lab, most of the time it is about taking on a project currently underway in someone’s lab. (In fact, that is what grad students do.) There is a sliding scale on how engaged a high schooler is in this process. In exceptional cases, they forge their own direction and do something which requires true creativity. However, most often intellectually mature and motivated high schoolers just learn lab techniques (and troubleshoot them) enough to churn out data and are able to understand how this fits together in the scheme of scientific literature and what needs to be done in the future to fill in the gaps remaining in the literature. This is a valuable growth experience but nothing spectacular, and so the lack of research doesn’t mean they are at a disadvantage with respect to those who engaged in research. Hopefully, they will be doing something to demonstrate their affinity and ability in math, science, and/or technology.</p>