PhD/PsyD Helping Do Research...Distantly?

[CogNeuroGuy]

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Hello fellow forum people,

I wanted to gauge some thoughts if helping conduct research remotely/ distantly is becoming more common? I want to expand my depth of research experience, I have a great lab I currently work in, but after reading some forensic articles in neuropsychology, I wanted to possibly reach out to this professor to see if I could assist in any research with him. It would need to be remote and done via email, video chat, etc.

It would be great to hear some feedback (I can assume that most would say no, but it's worth asking).​

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I'd say that at least based on my experiences, it seems to be more commonplace, yes (although it's always gone on to some degree--think multi-site studies and all those articles you see with co-authors from different states). Although if it's a large project and/or you have a significant role in it, I'd expect to have to make at least a few in-person visits per year.

 

[Member1928]

Hello fellow forum people,

I wanted to gauge some thoughts if helping conduct research remotely/ distantly is becoming more common? I want to expand my depth of research experience, I have a great lab I currently work in, but after reading some forensic articles in neuropsychology, I wanted to possibly reach out to this professor to see if I could assist in any research with him. It would need to be remote and done via email, video chat, etc.

It would be great to hear some feedback (I can assume that most would say no, but it's worth asking).​

I think assisting with research remotely is more common at the doctoral and postdoctoral levels. At that point it is less about being a research assistant and more of a collaborator. I can't tell where you are at in your training but if you're at the undergraduate level, or even early in graduate school, I think its unlikely that a remote PI is going to want to take you on. Its worth a try but I wouldn't get my hopes up.

 

[Ollie123]

Agree with the above - collaborating remotely is certainly possible but enough of an inconvenience I think most people would really want the person to bring something unique to the team. Generally this means being an expert in X-Y-Z whose affiliation strengthens a grant application, opens new avenues for work, etc. If you look at multi-author papers, the folks working from afar are usually not interns but co-investigators, statisticians, or other folks who bring something unique to the table.

Basically, if you could be easily replaced with someone just as qualified but more convenient (true for most/all folks below the PhD level) I think its unlikely to pan out. Exceptions might be if they aren't university affiliated and may not have easy access to research assistants.

That said, probably no harm in trying.

 

[CogNeuroGuy]

Awesome feedback folks, this really answers my questions I have. I think I will scratch my idea 😛

Thanks again everyone for the input.