Is this how undergraduate research is supposed to be?

[Gcuvier]

Hi,

All I literally do is follow protocols (pour plates, run experiments, keep a lab notebook, etc.); is this the way it's supposed to be? I thought undergraduate research meant developing a hypothesis to test using prior knowledge and then executing (developing experiments, performing, troubleshooting, etc.). I guess what worries me is that none of the things I do in this lab matches up to the SDN "standard" or 20+ hours/week. What am I doing wrong? Please advise.

Thanks.

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[faerie62]

It really depends on the lab and your agreed-upon position. At first, probably no one is going to trust you to develop an independent project, and you don't have the skills necessary to do that either. This is your time to take initiative to learn as many skills as you can and ask questions about the "why" behind what you are doing (at appropriate times, of course). But at some point you should have a chat with your supervisor or PI about becoming more involved in the "thinking" piece and what you need to achieve before you get there. Some PIs might be hesitant about letting an undergrad do that; if this is yours, and you are genuinely interested in going further with research, then you should look for a new lab.

On the other hand, I don't think that everyone who has research on their application is developing their own projects. That isn't as common at the undergrad level. The important thing is being able to talk about the broader goals of what your work has contributed to.

 

[907914]

Hi,

All I literally do is follow protocols (pour plates, run experiments, keep a lab notebook, etc.); is this the way it's supposed to be? I thought undergraduate research meant developing a hypothesis to test using prior knowledge and then executing (developing experiments, performing, troubleshooting, etc.). I guess what worries me is that none of the things I do in this lab matches up to the SDN "standard" or 20+ hours/week. What am I doing wrong? Please advise.

Thanks.

As the above poster has stated, most of the SDNers are not truly developing their own projects right off the bat, unless it is a class where that is he point (and no one is doing 20+ hours a week in lab unpaid in undergrad. No one). Usually, 5 hour minimum per week with the PI liking 10 most likely. At first, probably even the first 6 months to a year, you will be following protocols. You will be conducting the professors research developing skills that you don’t already have. Then, you will probably transition to a more skilled and knowledgeable position where it is still the professors research but xe may ask you “what do you think?” Or “where do you think we should go?” For 95% of undergrads, this is what entails with research. If you feel comfortable and confident, you may genuinely be able to ask the PI “Can we do this?” And, if you are still there after a year this means they probably like you and may say yes if it is a solid, well grounded topic that relates to their field. If this means quitting the project that they have had you working on for a year and dom’t Want to train another person, expect a polite “No, now get back to work.” If you do have prior experience in the field as a professional you may be able to ask a professor to start a project out the gate, that is the other 5% of people. I personally have been able to do my own research project with a professor because he was a bone guy, he taught a Lowe division research course with bacteriophages, I have worked in micro clinical labs and was in that class and was able to teach him better ways to do things and that sparked conversation of projects. Unless you find yourself in one of those situations above, the research you are doing is plenty and of good quality. Even if you come out of it with no pubs or presentations, most schools just care that you have seen and understand he scientific method.

 

[ClimbsRox]

and no one is doing 20+ hours a week in lab unpaid in undergrad. No one

I did 20-25 hours per week on average. Some undergrads in my lab did more. We worked nights and weekends because we cared deeply about our work. Don't spread misinformation.

OP some labs put undergrads in technical positions. Most do it first to see that you are competent. Some do it permanently for the free labor. Ask a lot of questions, show interest, and if in a few months you don't have your own project/sub-project, push for one or start applying to other labs.

 

[deleted962973]

Hi,

All I literally do is follow protocols (pour plates, run experiments, keep a lab notebook, etc.); is this the way it's supposed to be? I thought undergraduate research meant developing a hypothesis to test using prior knowledge and then executing (developing experiments, performing, troubleshooting, etc.). I guess what worries me is that none of the things I do in this lab matches up to the SDN "standard" or 20+ hours/week. What am I doing wrong? Please advise.

Thanks.

How long have you been in this lab? Have you demonstrated mastery of the technical components required to be successful doing bench work? Once you have, I think it’s fair to set up a meeting with your PI, speak about what you’ve learned, and then ask about specific ongoing projects in the lab you can help out on. Some undergrads can get a project they run entirely on their own, but this is more rare. My only publication in undergrad was third author, with the first two being PhD students, but it was probably a more high impact publication than I could have gotten if I published a first author paper on my own work.

 

[Gcuvier]

How long have you been in this lab? Have you demonstrated mastery of the technical components required to be successful doing bench work? Once you have, I think it’s fair to set up a meeting with your PI, speak about what you’ve learned, and then ask about specific ongoing projects in the lab you can help out on. Some undergrads can get a project they run entirely on their own, but this is more rare. My only publication in undergrad was third author, with the first two being PhD students, but it was probably a more high impact publication than I could have gotten if I published a first author paper on my own work.

I just started this past fall semester—I was invited into the lab after taking a class with the PI in the spring—and will continue through graduation (May 2019). I would’ve done research much earlier in undergrad but I transferred from a CC. I’m worried that this technical work I’m doing (and will probably continue doing since I’ll be graduating) won’t be worth putting on my med apps. What do you think?

 

[907914]

I did 20-25 hours per week on average. Some undergrads in my lab did more. We worked nights and weekends because we cared deeply about our work. Don't spread misinformation.

OP some labs put undergrads in technical positions. Most do it first to see that you are competent. Some do it permanently for the free labor. Ask a lot of questions, show interest, and if in a few months you don't have your own project/sub-project, push for one or start applying to other labs.

Thank you for correcting me. I guess because I am at a non-research university my views are biased.

 

[Goro]

Hi,

All I literally do is follow protocols (pour plates, run experiments, keep a lab notebook, etc.); is this the way it's supposed to be? I thought undergraduate research meant developing a hypothesis to test using prior knowledge and then executing (developing experiments, performing, troubleshooting, etc.). I guess what worries me is that none of the things I do in this lab matches up to the SDN "standard" or 20+ hours/week. What am I doing wrong? Please advise.

Thanks.

Yup, most research is like that for UG students....and grad students, post-docs and PIs.

You should ask you PI if you could move to doing something more independent. But you should understand what you're doing, and why....that's the hypothesis testing in action.

 

[deleted962973]

I just started this past fall semester—I was invited into the lab after taking a class with the PI in the spring—and will continue through graduation (May 2019). I would’ve done research much earlier in undergrad but I transferred from a CC. I’m worried that this technical work I’m doing (and will probably continue doing since I’ll be graduating) won’t be worth putting on my med apps. What do you think?

Ooh I see! Sorry for some reason I assumed you were much younger. Since this is probably the beginning of the semester, now is a good time to meet with your PI to talk about your goals before graduation. I would first try speaking to current PhDs or post docs in the lab about their projects, and about specific things you can help out on on those projects. This may end up being grunt work that they don’t want to do, but that’s basically what I did. Ultimately my grunt work resulted in data that was used for one figure on a publication, so I promise you it can still be worthwhile. Even if you don’t get a pub by the time you leave, it’ll be helpful to be part of a bigger project- that way, on med school apps, you can describe the project and then describe how you specifically contributed. I do agree that running Western Blots or whatever you’re doing without a bigger purpose in mind may not be that substantial for med school apps.

 

[LonelyBoi]

Yup that’s how it is I would say 95% of the time at my school. If you’re looking for an independent project during your last semester at school, try seeing if you can do research in epidemiology/population health. Essentially here, this is just looking at online patient databases and looking for any exciting correlations. A lot of doctors and medical students do research like this . Not saying you can get published in a journal but being a first author on a poster is definitely achievable if you get the ropes of a statistics software (SAS, SPSS, R) and do some literature review

 

[Lucca]

This is basically how you start. It’s also what research continues to be except you have more say and what needs to get done, why, and how.

The important thing is that you and your PI have a good mentoring relationship where they are trying to help you improve, giving you opportunities to present or better yet publish your work, and setting clear expectations for what you need to do and not just using you as Uber cheap labor