My college offers a volunteer research program for all majors and I thought to myself; wow, this is a great opportunity! I’m not even to my AA yet to transfer out to a university (just at a community college for now), but I have too many bright ideas that I can’t actually do yet. My mentor has been my biology professor for Bio 1, Bio 2, and Micro. He’s young and just received his PhD so I thought he’d be great as my mentor.
I FEEL DECEIVED. What in the actual research, mate?! I know I am young in my degree, but I feel as if a mentor is supposed to… mentor you? Meanwhile, my mentor pushed for me to write a research proposal on subjects I’ve never even studied, without even giving me a proper template. I haven’t even written a proper research proposal before with APA formatting! I feel absolutely defeated and like my professor isn’t being a proper mentor. He pushed for me to study the correlation between our local water supplies and cancer mortality rates, but I haven’t even finished my Calc 1 class nor General Chemistry 1.
Is this normal? I’ve had to change by research topic to something that is easier to accomplish within six months (I’m graduating shortly), but I find myself stuck without any inspiration, determination, or even will. He’s shrugged off my medical issues (I have Crohn’s Disease and am in the middle of a flare-up) and talks to me more about his other classes than our research project. What do I do?
I asked him for the research template he wants me to follow and instead, he demanded I send him a draft for a paper I haven’t even begun writing because I don’t have any guidance! Help!