help doing research

[kvnjcb]

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I started working with a Dr. and I've been doing some basic assistance with research, nothing major. However while it's been great, I want to work on a serious project and perhaps publish something. How would you approach him/her with this without sounding greedy and overly-ambitious? Should I just be open and straightforward with what I want?

 

[typhoonegator]

Assuming you are a medical student, and depending on what this person does for research, it wouldn't hurt to ask if you could take on a more active role in one of their projects. You need to be honest with yourself about how much time you'll be willing/able to devote.

Being proactive can make a difference. Don't just ask to do something that will get you published, ask to be involved with something you find interesting. That will get them on your side. If you're talking about a big lab, ask if you could work with post-doc X on whatever she/he is working on because you think the concept seems neat or because you could see yourself doing projects like that in the future.

Now, if you're working with a "hobbyist" researcher, they might not have that much for you to do beyond what you're already doing. But you can always ask if they have any ideas or projects on the back-burner that you might be able to get off the ground.

 

[WellWornLad]

You should be open with what you want. It should not be shocking that you'd like to publish. Just be realistic as well. As a poster already mentioned, some doctors only have a single project or two on the side that they're working on, while others will have more project ideas than they know what to do with.

However, be realistic with your own level of expertise. If you have a lot of research and publication experience and can work semi-independently on a project and publication, you'll be much more useful to the good doctor than if he or she has to walk you through everything from the original project idea to how to submit your manuscript. It's a lot easier to give people discrete tasks (data entry, chart review) than to show them how to pull an entire project together, and he or she may not have the time or patience for the latter. Publications are easier to get in larger labs for that reason, there's usually plenty of grad students and post-docs around so you don't have to bug the PI to death with minor issues.

 

[kvnjcb]

Assuming you are a medical student, and depending on what this person does for research, it wouldn't hurt to ask if you could take on a more active role in one of their projects. You need to be honest with yourself about how much time you'll be willing/able to devote.

Being proactive can make a difference. Don't just ask to do something that will get you published, ask to be involved with something you find interesting. That will get them on your side. If you're talking about a big lab, ask if you could work with post-doc X on whatever she/he is working on because you think the concept seems neat or because you could see yourself doing projects like that in the future.

Now, if you're working with a "hobbyist" researcher, they might not have that much for you to do beyond what you're already doing. But you can always ask if they have any ideas or projects on the back-burner that you might be able to get off the ground.

Thanks for the reply. I'm actually working with a head of clinical research not a hobbyist, in a huge hospital. I was just not sure if I can ask to be published, not sure how they would perceive my forward move.

 

[kvnjcb]

You should be open with what you want. It should not be shocking that you'd like to publish. Just be realistic as well. As a poster already mentioned, some doctors only have a single project or two on the side that they're working on, while others will have more project ideas than they know what to do with.

However, be realistic with your own level of expertise. If you have a lot of research and publication experience and can work semi-independently on a project and publication, you'll be much more useful to the good doctor than if he or she has to walk you through everything from the original project idea to how to submit your manuscript. It's a lot easier to give people discrete tasks (data entry, chart review) than to show them how to pull an entire project together, and he or she may not have the time or patience for the latter. Publications are easier to get in larger labs for that reason, there's usually plenty of grad students and post-docs around so you don't have to bug the PI to death with minor issues.

Do you normally get your name on the paper if you just did data entry or chart review? Wouldn't I have to do the write up also?

 

[Perrotfish]

Do you normally get your name on the paper if you just did data entry or chart review? Wouldn't I have to do the write up also?

Depends both on the PI and on the scope of the project.

For whatever reason, I've found medical doctors are willing to be much more blunt about who gets credit for research than PhD doctors. The physicians I've met wouldn't consider it rude to ask (politely) what you could do to be included as an author on a project. They seem to understand that, unlike grad students, you don't have the time to be coy. Of course, it could be I've just been lucky.

 

[WellWornLad]

Do you normally get your name on the paper if you just did data entry or chart review? Wouldn't I have to do the write up also?

You would have to do the write-up and do most of the work to be first author. If you just want your name somewhere on a paper, you just have to contribute somehow. Needless to say, first author >>> any other authorship.

 

[CatFactorial]

You would have to do the write-up and do most of the work to be first author. If you just want your name somewhere on a paper, you just have to contribute somehow. Needless to say, first author >>> any other authorship.

Senior author >= first author

 

[WellWornLad]

Senior author >= first author

Good luck with that in medical school.

 

[CatFactorial]

Good luck with that in medical school.

Irrelevant.