Does it matter what kind of research I am involved in?

[Rebecca-Lynn96]

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I'm looking at participating in research involving the environmental affects of humans on tropical environments, as well specific animals in these areas. I think it's absolutely fascinating, but would conducting more medically relevant research look more favorable to medical schools?

 

[GomersGoToGround]

Nope, not necessarily. Plenty of people have non-medical research. If you have clinical/medical activities on the side, you're good to go. Enjoy your research.

 

[Funke]

Hope not. I'm studying beetle feces. I plan to talk about it during my interview because any good research is good for the interview if you can talk about it meaningfully.

 

[Lysinee]

Research is research. Don't get too paranoid.

 

[Relax!]

It does not matter as long as you are actually contributing to the research project intellectually and learning basic research skills, such as developing a hypothesis, obtaining/analyzing data, reading scientific literature, etc. It is more important to significantly contribute (i.e. not just clean mice cages or wash beakers) to a research project than it is to pursue clinical/medical research.

 

[Holmwood]

That can be clinically relevant btw. One obvious one is the manmade destruction of habitats leading to the extinction of natural mosquito predators, leading to an outbreak of mosquitos and the diseases they carry into local areas. Be creative.

 

[pocillopora]

@Rebecca-Lynn96
In my undergrad, I worked in an marine ecology lab which had no clinical relevance. I ended up working on projects as different as fish behavior analysis to my senior thesis involving coral microbes. However, during my interviews every one of my interviewers was really interested in my research mainly because it's not every day you see a premed in a non-medical research field. Doing research on human/environmental effects sounds really interesting and would definitely help you stand out more as a future applicant. Also, tropical research also may lead to interesting travel opportunities!

 

[RedPhys]

I had some textile (fabrics, fibers) research.
Just make sure you can explain it during the interview(s).

 

[Rebecca-Lynn96]

@Rebecca-Lynn96
In my undergrad, I worked in an marine ecology lab which had no clinical relevance. I ended up working on projects as different as fish behavior analysis to my senior thesis involving coral microbes. However, during my interviews every one of my interviewers was really interested in my research mainly because it's not every day you see a premed in a non-medical research field. Doing research on human/environmental effects sounds really interesting and would definitely help you stand out more as a future applicant. Also, tropical research also may lead to interesting travel opportunities!

Exactly! I'd be going to I think Puerto Rico for the research, so the thought of hiking through rain forests is slightly more exciting to be than being in a lab. 🙂

 

[Gauss44]

I recently asked a similar question and the answer was that the research should involve the scientific method for it hold any significant value come medical school application time.

 

[GoPens]

I recently asked a similar question and the answer was that the research should involve the scientific method for it hold any significant value come medical school application time.

Ditto on this. My impression has been that at this point, research experience is more about getting to know the research process (both the scientific method and all the administrative hoops to jump through) than the subject matter itself. If it’s clinically relevant, great—but I doubt anyone would hold it against you if it weren’t. Early in your education/career, you can learn a lot from research, regardless of topic or outcome.

 

[Rebecca-Lynn96]

Ok, thanks for all of the feedback, the research is being put on by a study abroad company so I'm not sure if this is something that will result in anything significant like publications. This is my freshmen year of college, so I'm hoping that this will at least get my foot in the door so to speak and give me something to put down as experience while applying to more serious undergraduate research programs.

 

[LizzyM]

Ok, thanks for all of the feedback, the research is being put on by a study abroad company so I'm not sure if this is something that will result in anything significant like publications. This is my freshmen year of college, so I'm hoping that this will at least get my foot in the door so to speak and give me something to put down as experience while applying to more serious undergraduate research programs.

Hold on. Are you paying to participate in this "research"? This sounds like a new twist on the "medical mission" business. Far better to find a summer research project being conducted by a university faculty member at your school or elsewhere and use the money you'd spend on this junket to cover your summer living expenses.

 

[Goro]

Concur.

I recently asked a similar question and the answer was that the research should involve the scientific method for it hold any significant value come medical school application time.

This seems to be an urban legend among pre-meds. As mentioned above, the research will be fine. It could be on the mating habits of Sout Pacific clams.

I'm looking at participating in research involving the environmental affects of humans on tropical environments, as well specific animals in these areas. I think it's absolutely fascinating, but would conducting more medically relevant research look more favorable to medical schools?

 

[Gauss44]

Concur.
This seems to be an urban legend among pre-meds. As mentioned above, the research will be fine. It could be on the mating habits of Sout Pacific clams.

I'm looking at participating in research involving the environmental affects of humans on tropical environments, as well specific animals in these areas. I think it's absolutely fascinating, but would conducting more medically relevant research look more favorable to medical schools?

How so? Are you saying that even the "research" a journalist does prior to writing a news story would be the type of "research" that ADCOMs consider to be "research"?

 

[Goro]

If you have a hypothesis, collect data, interpret it, and reach a conclusion, that's Science, right?

How so? Are you saying that even the "research" a journalist does prior to writing a news story would be the type of "research" that ADCOMs consider to be "research"?

What OP is describing is fine. Descriptive science is still Science. About 25 years ago, entire Nature articles were nothing more than gene sequences.
environmental affects of humans on tropical environments, as well specific animals in these areas.

 

[Gauss44]

If you have a hypothesis, collect data, interpret it, and reach a conclusion, that's Science, right?



What OP is describing is fine. Descriptive science is still Science. About 25 years ago, entire Nature articles were nothing more than gene sequences.
environmental affects of humans on tropical environments, as well specific animals in these areas.

So, then the quote 3 posts above about the scientific method isn't a "legend"? Goro is confusing me.

(I am seeking clarification because I had a similar question which was slightly different than OPs. Mine was, "What kind of research do ADCOMs value?". I asked that because I have been involved in massive amounts of research as a journalist and for liberal arts professors.)

 

[Goro]

Haven't a clue as to what you're referring to, Gauss. Please clarify.

 

[Gauss44]

Haven't a clue as to what you're referring to, Gauss. Please clarify.

What don't you get? Do you not know what "media research" is, when a journalist "researches," say the shooting on 43rd street, before writing a article about it? It means that you call the people involved in the incident, the investigators, witnesses, etc. which is the "research" part and then write a story which is published. Is that kind of "research" as valuable as any other "research" from the perspective of an ADCOM?

 

[LizzyM]

What don't you get? Do you not know what "media research" is, when a journalist "researches," say the shooting on 43rd street, before writing a article about it? It means that you call the people involved in the incident, the investigators, witnesses, etc. which is the "research" part and then write a story which is published. Is that kind of "research" as valuable as any other "research" from the perspective of an ADCOM?

No, collecting facts and writing a news story is not research. There is some journalism that might be considered research; if I hypothesize that the formula for state funding of public schools is flawed and I collect the data on school enrollment, demographics, funding formulas, test scores, etc etc, run a multiple logistic regression on the data and demonstrate that medium sized cities with low proportions of ESL students are not getting their fair share of State tax dollars, that might be considered research and the basis for a piece that might be called "investigative journalism".

 

[Gauss44]

No, collecting facts and writing a news story is not research. There is some journalism that might be considered research; if I hypothesize that the formula for state funding of public schools is flawed and I collect the data on school enrollment, demographics, funding formulas, test scores, etc etc, run a multiple logistic regression on the data and demonstrate that medium sized cities with low proportions of ESL students are not getting their fair share of State tax dollars, that might be considered research and the basis for a piece that might be called "investigative journalism".

Thank you.

I think I get it now:
So in OP's situation, if she is about to write a paper/essay/story/report on the topic of, "environmental affects of humans on tropical environments," her "research" may or may not considered "research" by ADCOMs.

1. If she starts without a prediction, it's not.

2. Alternatively, if she starts with a valid thesis, and conducts tests or investigations that adequately prove or disprove her thesis, then it is "research" by ADCOMs.

 

[LizzyM]

Thank you.

I think I get it now:
So in OP's situation, if she is about to write a paper/essay/story/report on the topic of, "environmental affects of humans on tropical environments," her "research" may or may not considered "research" by ADCOMs.

1. If she starts without a prediction, it's not.

2. Alternatively, if she starts with a valid thesis, and conducts tests or investigations that adequately prove or disprove her thesis, then it is "research" by ADCOMs.

Isn't this middle school science fair 101: independent variable, dependent variable, observations made, results reported, conclusions drawn. You can walk around the rain forest, or a public park, and pick up cigarette butts or plastic detrus and say "we collected x kilos of man-made items illustrating the effect of humans on the environment" but it isn't "research".

 

[Goro]

People get papers out of stuff like this, some of it even in Science!

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=plastic waste pacific ocean

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/347/6223/768

http://news.sciencemag.org/earth/2015/02/here-s-how-much-plastic-enters-ocean-each-year

Isn't this middle school science fair 101: independent variable, dependent variable, observations made, results reported, conclusions drawn. You can walk around the rain forest, or a public park, and pick up cigarette butts or plastic detrus and say "we collected x kilos of man-made items illustrating the effect of humans on the environment" but it isn't "research".

What don't you get? Do you not know what "media research" is, when a journalist "researches," say the shooting on 43rd street, before writing a article about it? It means that you call the people involved in the incident, the investigators, witnesses, etc. which is the "research" part and then write a story which is published. Is that kind of "research" as valuable as any other "research" from the perspective of an ADCOM?

 

[jamcat]

Gauss, I think you're making it more complicated than it actually is. If it's the kind of research that has the potential to be published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, it counts. Ecology is a field of biology, and ecological research is routinely published in Science and Nature.

It isn't remotely like doing background research for a newspaper article.

 

[LizzyM]

People get papers out of stuff like this, some of it even in Science!

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=plastic waste pacific ocean

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/347/6223/768

http://news.sciencemag.org/earth/2015/02/here-s-how-much-plastic-enters-ocean-each-year




What don't you get? Do you not know what "media research" is, when a journalist "researches," say the shooting on 43rd street, before writing a article about it? It means that you call the people involved in the incident, the investigators, witnesses, etc. which is the "research" part and then write a story which is published. Is that kind of "research" as valuable as any other "research" from the perspective of an ADCOM?

But to be published a team must analyse data from multiple beaches or aggregate data over a decade or categorize the type of debris, its sources, and how sources correlate with locations where the debris was collected. It isn't enough to pick up trash, measure its weight or volume and call it research. The OP should be sure the program is affiliated with a legit investigator and is not just an "eco-vacation".

 

[Goro]

Aye, there's the rub!

The OP should be sure the program is affiliated with a legit investigator and is not just an "eco-vacation".

 

[Goro]

I'm on the borderline of research done in class, but it seems like yours counts. The sociology and religion? I don't know.

I was about to ask this same question regarding the research I am involved in. It is in sociology and religion, and I've done everything from the data mining for contact info to data analysis and presenting at a conference. No paper out of it but a possible book is in the works according to the PI. Does this still count?

Also, how does work towards a self-guided class research project and senior thesis count? The thesis isn't collecting data (results are based on hypothetical data) but does go through the process of fulfilling all requirements for a paper ready for publication. Also, I have been in two classes where we design our own project and "publish" the results to our peers as our semester project in physiology and neuroscience. It is a semester long, we have to formally apply to our schools IRB for the project, and do the data collection, analysis, and writing ourselves. We even perform the rat operations for neuro, run our subjects, and same for the physiology. Any thoughts?

 

[LizzyM]

I was about to ask this same question regarding the research I am involved in. It is in sociology and religion, and I've done everything from the data mining for contact info to data analysis and presenting at a conference. No paper out of it but a possible book is in the works according to the PI. Does this still count?

It is not the same as the natural sciences but work in the humanities and social sciences is unusual and, if well done and well explained, can make you stand out.

 

[LizzyM]

Thanks, I'm just going to put it all on there since the only criteria none of these fit seems to be that they are published. (With the exception of the sociology work, of which there is a book bring written.) If you were to compile all of my posts at this point you could probably figure out who I am during my upcoming app cycle haha.

Where's the .gif of the lady saying "Ain't nobody got time for that!" ?

 

[Psai]

do something you like
don't do something because you think that schools will like it
i remember going to the hospital to volunteer because i thought it was necessary

 

[deleted577188]

do something you like
don't do something because you think that schools will like it
i remember going to the hospital to volunteer because i thought it was necessary

lmaooooooo, mind if i ask what some of your ec's were?

 

[Psai]

Afterschool program, intramural sports, research no pubs, worked in food service