Does anyone know of any good youtubes or videos that teach about doing research? Even just the basics would be fine. This is for me. I'm just trying to further familiarize myself with research in general, so almost any video on this topic will be helpful as long as it's not too advanced. I'm new to research. Thanks in advance.
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Any good videos about learning research?
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I don't know of any videos off-hand, but I would recommend getting your feet wet by reading publications in the area you are doing research in. It is going to be difficult at first, but you need to familiarize yourself with jargon and really get into the mind of people doing research. When I started research, I did exactly that. Look for publications that are 10 pages or less so you aren't too overwhelmed. Focus on things like the abstract and discussion. Glance through tables and graphs. You don't necessarily have to start front to back, but I personally like reading the abstracts first.
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I second El-Rami's comment. Look up publications on topics you're interested in, as that will make them much easier to read (otherwise they can be quite dense for a beginner). If you don't know the specific scientific techniques they are referring to, a quick google search should help. Research science is typically a lot different than the chemistry-based labs they have you do as a pre-med, so a lot of the methodology can seem like a different language at times. Hope this helps!
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I agree with the above, read literature. You will start to see a pattern of how things work.
To me, research boils down showing something to be reasonably true by proving it on multiple different levels. For example: If you state X molecule inhibits the expression of Y gene, there are multiple ways to prove this... but you need to show it on a few different levels for people to believe you. You can use qPCR to show Y gene expression is decreased in cells cultured with X molecule. Also, you can use a western blot to show the protein encoded by Y gene is decreased in cells cultured with X molecule. In addition, you can also show the difference in morphology of the cells cultured with X molecule (if phenotype is known to be affected by the protein encoded by Y gene). etc etc etc. Of course you need to have all your necessary controls, but if you can show something to appear to be true from many different angles, you can probably assume it is.
Do this for a few different things that are related and make a good argument to why its relevant and you can probably publish it.
Edit: typo
To me, research boils down showing something to be reasonably true by proving it on multiple different levels. For example: If you state X molecule inhibits the expression of Y gene, there are multiple ways to prove this... but you need to show it on a few different levels for people to believe you. You can use qPCR to show Y gene expression is decreased in cells cultured with X molecule. Also, you can use a western blot to show the protein encoded by Y gene is decreased in cells cultured with X molecule. In addition, you can also show the difference in morphology of the cells cultured with X molecule (if phenotype is known to be affected by the protein encoded by Y gene). etc etc etc. Of course you need to have all your necessary controls, but if you can show something to appear to be true from many different angles, you can probably assume it is.
Do this for a few different things that are related and make a good argument to why its relevant and you can probably publish it.
Edit: typo
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You don't "learn" research by watching a video. Each lab will have different techniques and assays that they do, use different machines. To learn you have to just work under someone and have them teach you how you do things. Read papers and learn how to think critically.
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This. Academic research has become hyper-specialized. There is no 'research in general'.
I have heard about classes that introduce beginners to what research is, what the different types of research are, what the typical positions in a laboratory do (division of labor), and some examples (maybe a video shadowing different people in a laboratory). If anyone knows of one of these or anything similar, that would also be helpful.
Wrong. I do.
There are videos, that I've seen, where individuals have explained what their position is in a lab, what they do, and how their work fits into the big picture. I would really like to see more of those. I have "learned" from them a great deal. There are also videos explaining the difference between a review article and other articles. Additionally, I have spent many years in labs doing hands-on work, but honestly in my case, I learned very little doing that. It was redundant. Videos are one of my favorite ways of learning. We all have different ways to learn.
Of course, I will also be doing research that can be claimed experience on my application, but I would like to supplement that with video lessons.
(The first line of my response was intended to match your tone. I understand that this may be due to lack of time, but to some, it will come across as rude and argumentative, especially in context.)
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I'm not sure we're talking about the same thing. I am looking for the common threads, such as the different types of articles, different positions, what pI stands for, etc. Very basic stuff like that.
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You've spent many years in a lab doing hands-on work and yet still don't know what PI stands for, the different types of journal articles or what the different positions in a lab are?
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Nothing replaces being in the lab. If you were my student, you would leave knowing all that organizational stuff and ACTUAL science. I make sure my undergrads and summer students leave with knowledge that will get them further in the research world.
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Personally I think if OP truly doesn't have an idea of that kind of information after multiple years in a lab, he was let down by his professor/mentor. In a lab, even if you're just completely lazy, I think you would know this information unless you just had inadequate experience because the person you were doing research under didn't actually do anything meaningful with you.
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Agree... but some of us may have just gotten lucky with how closely our PI's or supervisors took us under their wing. At the same time, it does take initiative on your part. Personally, my PI handed me stacks of relevant research literature when I first began and was very receptive to any questions I had. It wasn't until at least 2 months of really pouring myself into that literature and trying to understand every little aspect of the research that I truly began to grasp the significance of my work, the excitement of inquiry, etc. Later on, I'd just start reading papers on my own because I eventually developed a genuine interest for it. I started my premed route with 0 fascination for science, it wasn't until my experiences in the lab that I developed the enthusiasm I have today.
OP, I would highly recommend what others had stated and just really immerse yourself in the research literature of whatever field you are working in. For something like research, it's really best to learn hands on. Why do you think science classes have a lab component? In order to apply what you learn. In the lab, what you learn from literature is directly applied to what you do on the bench. The more you learn, the more curious you get and the more meaningful your work becomes. Eventually, you'll start to come up with your own questions and projects, which is truly rewarding. Research is not something you should view as "claimed experience" on an app, but rather an opportunity to get engrossed and passionate about your academics. Being on the frontier of science is awesome. This is something that will make you more excited about your premed journey while developing your competencies for evidence-based medicine in the future.
If you are still in a lab, I'd start by asking your PI to hand you whatever papers he feels is most relevant. GL!
