hodge-podge research experience advice please

[gohogwild]

Right now I have the choice between cold-call emailing professors research in visual perception or becoming an institutional 'publication assistant' for an anthropology professor. I'm just coming into my 3rd year of undergrad and have no solid research experience because I took a long time to come around and commit to clinical psy.

I'm finding it hard to write out "I was especially interested in researching continuous eye movements along a smooth line with you, sir/madam"? especially when my end-goal is clinical psych and I really do not understand what the research would even be about? I just get the feeling that, upon receiving my email, the target prof's bull****-o-meter will go off and read me for the research-experience-grubbing monkey that I could very well possibly be.

what to do? I am just coming away from a volunteer experience in an intentional living community for special needs adults (while taking online classes) and that's eaten up my time in regard to really planning for this Spring quarter. Is a month enough time?? I guess this is not such a specific ask anymore. Advice, if you have it, would be treasured.

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[Cam_Chai19]

Are those your only options for research experience? Even if a professor isn't soliciting a research assistant, if there's a lab you would be more interested in working in, it can't hurt to ask if they would be interested in taking you on. It varies between institutions, but even if you aren't able to get course credit working in a different lab, some labs might take an RA on as a volunteer for a semester and offer course credit or payment the next. However, if those are the options, I would opt for the visual perception lab assuming it is within the psychology department. A letter of recommendation from a professor in psychology will look better than one from anthropology for grad school applications.

As far as approaching professors about your interest, I wouldn't overstate your interest in their area of research if it isn't true. Instead, you can state some interest and be honest about why you're interested in their lab. You could say something like that throughout your courses you have become interested in the area of visual perception, and you would be interested in gaining experience as a research assistant in their lab to prepare yourself for graduate school. When you're applying for grad school, it won't be a big issue if your experience isn't in a super relevant area for your interests. You'll still be able to talk about research experience and skills you gained, show that you've thought critically about the work you were doing, and discuss the area you're most interested in applying these skills to in the long run.

 

[Temperance]

Are any of the opportunities paid ones? Get paid first, and you can supplement with volunteering in a lab that is closer to what you would like to do.

There are clinical applications for eye movements, as eye movements can be informative of where attention is paid or how visual cues are processed in the context of psychopathology. Theoretically, you can join a more basic science lab to learn the basics of this area so that you can apply that knowledge later on in graduate school. What are your interests within clinical psychology?

Finally, many people in the field start with a hodge-podge of research experiences. In undergrad, the very first lab I joined had little to do with my research interests (and, like you, I started in third year). What matters later on is how you tell the story. Every research experience is contributory in some way to your development, and having a variety of experiences can make you a more creative researcher in your area of interest.

 

[bluecolourskies]

I don't have advice but
"read me for the research-experience-grubbing monkey that I could very well possibly be"
really made me LOL
And also, I totally get it!!