what is research?

<p>Guys what is research generally? I tried to find one in my school and they only had this Me course that has 3 credits related to doing projects with professor. Is this how researches are processed?</p>

<p>Some students choose to do an independent study or register for supervised research credit. An independent study is usually when you undertake your own project, collaborating with or under the supervision of a professor. Supervised research is typically getting credit for serving as a research assistant, although there’s usually some deliverable at the end (a paper, a poster, etc.)</p>

<p>Other students never get credit for their research work. I didn’t; I just worked with a professor when I had time for 10-15 hours a week.</p>

<p>Thank you for the reply just gotta ask one more question</p>

<p>So is this type of credit-obtaining independent research the “research” that the grad schools are looking for when one applies for grad schools?</p>

<p>thank you!</p>

<p>Grad schools won’t care if you got credit, paid, or just volunteered to do the work. What really matters is the experience.</p>

<p>If these credit obtaining research project won’t be helpful in getting into grad school, can someone please tell me just what types of research the grad schools are looking for?</p>

<p>I didn’t say it won’t be helpful. I said it would be as helpful as doing research for any other reason. As in, extremely helpful.</p>

<p>Try to get some REU’s. those help you the most. But I think they help you more in the sense that it’s more like a full time internship rather than a part time job. With a greater committment, you’ll get a better letter of recommendation.</p>

<p>Are REU for summer or can you do those during the semester?</p>

<p>thank you!</p>

<p>REUs are typically programs sponsored by the NSF as an opportunity for undergrads to perform research at an institution other than their own. There are similar programs for national labs as well as ones run directly by the school (SURF by Caltech is an example). They’re generally summer programs so a large number of students can be involved together. They’ll have organized outings, events, and seminars to help the experience be more enjoyable.</p>

<p>As spectastic said, summer research opportunities are usually the best as you’ll be working 40+ hours a week on a project while during the semester you’d be likely to get closer to 10. I know in my lab it usually takes 20-30 minutes to get anything going, so being able to come in for a full day versus one hour here and there can make you WAY more productive.</p>

<p>I agree with RacinReaver on summer programs. It’s difficult to get all As in all your classes and put a large amount of time into your research. Consequently, it’s hard to be productive. I’ve had difficulty doing this through my years and it frustrates me sometimes when I’m assisting a grad student and get lost at times because I can’t devote myself to the project full time.</p>

<p>thanks for the response guys I just read through summer research and this came out</p>

<p>You must submit the following documents by Thursday, April 5th, 2012 to be considered:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>RESEARCH PROPOSAL saved as YourLastname_proposal.doc or .docx [See above for Proposal Guidelines.]</p></li>
<li><p>FACULTY LETTER OF SUPPORT saved as YourLastname_letter.doc or .docx</p></li>
<li><p>Application saved as YourLastname_application.doc or .docx.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>RESEARCH PROPOSAL GUIDELINES: Please adhere to the following organizational guidelines when writing your research proposal. Keep in mind that the members of the review committee are not necessarily experts in your field. Research proposals are expected to be written by the student with input from the faculty mentor.</p>

<p>In particular, any successful proposal will demonstrate:</p>

<p>• Clear Statement of Research Problem</p>

<p>• Significance and Originality</p>

<p>• Logical Project Design and Clear Methodology</p>

<p>ALL PROPOSALS MUST BEGIN WITH AN ABSTRACT OF 200 WORDS OR LESS. The recommended proposal length is 2-3 single-spaced pages, with an upper limit of 3 pages. (The abstract and bibliographic references are not included in the 3-page limit.)</p>

<p>Should I ask my professor for the help? Even if I do propose something I want, how should I start? should I search through the webs? I’m sure there will be funding involved of providing things for my projects.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>It looks to me like you’re expected to ask them for help.</p>

<p>You might want to talk with them about getting ideas for projects, how feasible a project may be, and possibly where in the literature to start reading to become familiar with the topic.</p>

<p>thank you all for the answers, annnnd this will be really my last question.</p>

<p>my current research project is “An Analysis of Electric and Hybrid Automobiles”. Now, this is my first time doing the research and I chose this topic as I was always interested in the field related to automobiles. Also, the professor told me to write a proposal of what exactly I want to do regarding this project. The problem is I was “interested” in it, but I do not really have such broad knowledge regarding this topic. Due to this, I’m having a little trouble of what to write for the proposal statement. Could anyone give me some advice of how I should deal with this? Would searching through the web be the best option for me now to better understand the topic?</p>

<p>thank you!</p>

<p>I’ve seen a lot of your threads about this proposal. Have you read and heeded any of the advices already given in all your other threads?</p>

<p>yes I did, it would’ve been better if I used only one post, but people seemed to treat it as dead after few days and i was not able to get a definite answer for this question,</p>

<p>One of your posters posted exactly what u need to do. Just how motivated are you? You seem to ask the same question in every thread. Have you done any research yourself?
Have you asked your prof?
No ones gonna write it for you.</p>

<p>That’s probably because there is no definite answers. Life is rarely filled with definite answers, especially in research. A topic such as “An Analysis of Electric and Hybrid Automobiles” is unbelievably broad. What are you analyzing? How are you analyzing it? Will it be original research or will you just be pulling in a bunch of stuff from published articles and creating a summarizing report based on those materials? There really is no way we can answer these questions. You have to answer them.</p>

<p>You ask the same questions repeatedly so we tend to stop answering them. The moral is: ask your professor(s) for guidance. None of us have taken said course at your school and the odds are that none of us are experts in this area you are choosing to study. You need to talk to the people in the know.</p>

<p>I think I posted a general idea of what you need to do awhile ago. It’s been awhile and you’re still asking the same question? No ones gonna spoonfeed you and hold your hand. You need to start figuring out things for yourself.</p>

<p>A definite answer for what? Do you want us to write your whole statement or something? Do you know anything about hybrids? Have you read the project description or just the title? The title literally tells you nothing. “An analysis of electric and hybrid automobiles.” Not a very informative title. What exactly are you analyzing? The control system? Fuel cells? Energy conversion? “Analyzing” a “hybrid” vehicle can be a thousand things. </p>

<p>I think you stated you were in your 3rd year. How do you know you want to go to graduate school, but at the same time, have no clue what research is? A simple wiki article can even do that for you. </p>

<p>As I said before, you’ve made at least 5 of the same threads asking the same questions, maybe worded different. Take the initiative and find out these kind of things for yourself. It’s not hard and takes little effort. If you can’t even do that, then how do you expect to get in or succeed in grad school?</p>