What counts as research?

Hi everyone! I’m an international rising junior in high school, and I intend to major in Computer Science. I’m active literally all the time on this sub from my main account, and I know research is super important and common for T20s

I recently got accepted to a research program for high schoolers (for free), and we’re paired with a mentor to help us write a paper. I’m not sure what exactly I want to research, but I make apps too and recently came up with an idea to make a physical device that works along the app to control some things to open and close (I don’t want to go too much in detail, but that’s mostly it). Assuming I can figure out all the technical details, will this still be a research project? I don’t know too well how research works but is making a device and app using AI and stuff considered research?

The problem I’m trying to solve relates to addiction, and that’s something people research about a lot I think, but I don’t know if I can submit what I’m trying to create in student journals and science fairs (not sure if our school does them even, so I might have to figure this out later)

I’m meeting my mentor for the first time tonight, any advice would be appreciated.

You “know” incorrectly. This has been asked at more than one T20 admissions seminar that I have attended, and the AO chuckled each time.

As there in no requirement, there is no definition of what “counts” as research.

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Research was an important part of both of my kids’ college application process. The right way to think of it is as just another EC, and one that you do for the enjoyment of it. In that sense, it is no different than say piano.

But just as someone can show exceptional talent with piano, the same is possible with research. This can be done a few different ways, most notably winning science competitions like ISEF or getting published in a peer-reviewed journal.

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Based on the little bit that you are telling us, if you think that this is an interesting project, then it is probably a very good project for you to do.

Having some initiative to come up with an idea, and being able to get it to work, are valuable skills and will look good on a university application.

One thing that you find out when you start to do something that could be even remotely called “research” is that everything is harder than it looks. The amazing success that the world has seen in terms of things like the Internet and cell phones and high tech and medical improvements make a lot of us forget how hard it is to get anything to work at all.

That sounds more like engineering than research. You may have to do some “research” to engineer the device, but engineering generally isn’t research. Research is about studying something original, while enginineering is about putting something together that works.