Experience in non-science research

[javert]

I was wondering how adcoms view research in the humanities? In addition to science research, I've done some lit-based and observational (case study) research on the teaching and tutoring of writing; I've presented at two national conferences and I'm planning on submitting my paper for publication in the near future (well, i guess every one plans to do that...). Anyway, will they view this as just a "typical" extracurricular or something a little more? Just curious.

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[dl2dp2]

If this is relevant to what you want to go into, then it's probably going to enhance the application (for instance, I can see a psychology/ecnomics project tie in very well with brain imaging projects). Otherwise it'd be just like a regular extraccuricular. Remember humanities research (i.e. things like post-colonial study, or comparative historical analysis or area study etc etc) are very different from basic science/social science research. They generally do not require either experimental repeatability or statistical analysis. Hence it says essentially nothing about how well you'll fare as a scientific researcher. (Except, maybe that you are well-rounded)

 

[Habari]

i disagree with sluox here - admissions committees do take note of other active research regardless of area because it does tell something about your motivations, creativity and flexibility to do work in another area. it can only complement your application. if you intend to apply for a phd in that area of humanities, your school choices will be somewhat limited [yale/penn etc...] - otherwise, along with scientific research it will prove to be a good ally.

the commonalities in thought between history research [what sluox cited] and scientific research at are more than one many think [i was a history major in college and did some research in the field]. while methodologically different, logic and rigor of thought are required for both.

at the very least, being an excellent writer can only complement whatever you do in the future; from writing grants to papers or popular books.

goodluck.