Do These Experiences Count As Research?

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[GoSpursGo]

Each of these activities has merit and will add to your application, but none of them are research.

The 2nd place model is an award. You can list the poster as a presentation. I think it would be a stretch to say that speaking about your personal experience is a presentation.

 

[LizzyM]

Research is defined as systematic observations intended to generate generalizable new knowledge. Most often we see people working to test a hypothesis or doing the grunt work that will eventually lead to hypothesis testing. Most adcoms expect research into living systems (e.g. biology, biochemistry, biophysics, organic chemistry, neuroscience) or health-related social science (behavior change, psychology of addiction)

Business and linguistics is going to be pretty far from what medical schools are thinking about when they think about students having research experience.

 

[Robin-jay]

I'm not sure how significant research experiences are anyway. I have a masters degree in organic chemistry and several thousand hours of research, and most medical school interviews would ask me about scribing or things that are much less impressive.

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

1 probably not research, 2 definitely not. I would need more details to be sure but likely, you could technically call #3 research - it's just not biomedical research. Research exists in all kinds of different fields besides medicine and assuming you had some kind of methodology to your thesis, I'd consider it linguistics/anthropology research. I'm not sure the best way to categorize them on AMCAS though - as evidenced above, it might be confusing to people reading your app not familiar with non-science fields. But they sound like cool experiences so I would definitely include them!

 

[Goro]

I am a non-traditional student who did not choose to pursue medical school until my senior year of undergrad (2020-2021). Doing my pre-medical coursework away from my alma mater/as an undeclared graduate student at state school is making it harder to cinch straightforward research opportunities.

Around here, I see people writing that research can be more than wet-lab gigs. I was wondering whether any of these experiences would qualify, given they are not strictly STEM-related. Any insight?

1. (240 hours) I was accepted to a program for entrepreneurs. First we were taught how to develop business models based on market research. Then we spent the summer conducting that kind of research to develop business models that would work in the region (rural Appalachia). This research included custom discovery interviews and projecting market growth in the short-, medium-, and long-term. At the end of the summer, we presented our business models (and 10-page market analyses) to a panel of industry experts. My model won second place for feasibility/potential impact.

No. We want people who understand the scientific method

2. (300 hours) I worked with a migrant education program. While volunteering, I observed the process of language acquisition by Hispanic migrants in the program. I wrote a report each week on my observations for my faculty advisor and presented on my findings afterwards to my school's Spanish Department. I also presented at a school-wide event, albeit more on my personal experience volunteering than the linguistic findings.

No, no no

3. (??? hours) I wrote my senior thesis on a dying language previously spoken throughout the Mediterranean. My goal was to present a brief grammar of the language and explore the impact of COVID-19 on its decline. In the process, I learned to communicate in it and tracked down the remaining speakers in the Balkans and Middle East. I presented a poster on my findings at my school's research symposium, but the paper was not published anywhere

Nope.