Questions about attempting a literature review

[deleted427955]

I've been working as an RA for the past year and will be applying next fall to clinical phd programs. Recently I have been researching natural supplements for cognitive enhancement/nootropics and realized I have a decent amount of knowledge on the subject. What started as my own curiosity (reading blogs, etc) turned into a decent library of peer-reviewed articles. There isn't much on the subject so it would definitely be novel. My questions are:

1) How feasible would it be to work on this myself? I have not approached my boss about this until I am comfortable it is a decent idea. It is completely unrelated to his work (multiple NIH funded studies on schizophrenia) so I am hesitant to do so. There is no one in my city doing research on the subject. If getting an advisor for the project was necessary and if professors are open to this sort of thing I could try to find someone with a similar research match.

2) In terms of publication, would I be limited to fringe journals if I (with only a B.A) was the primary author? Would having a phd/md as co-author be useful? Is there a demand for lit reviews?

3) How good will this look for applying? I feel like it's straightforward enough to do (just time consuming) so if it will pad my CV it can't hurt to try. On the other hand, I could work on another abstract to pad my CV with that time instead.

Thanks for the advice. This just sorta came to me tonight and I'm not sure if I'm on to something here or if it's a silly idea..

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[futureapppsy2]

In terms of publication, would I be limited to fringe journals if I (with only a B.A) was the primary author? Would having a phd/md as co-author be useful? Is there a demand for lit reviews?

Pretty much all reputable journals (and many unreputable ones, actually) are blind reviewed, meaning that your degree and identity aren't known to the reviewers. So, no, I don't think that will hurt you as along as the manuscript is thorough and well-written, As for the demand question, it depends on the topic and how recently another lit review or meta on that topic has been done. FWIW, I published a solo author lit review in a good journal (3+ IF) the first year of my masters degree--I wrote it the summer after undergrad, submitted it that fall, got an R&R on it in December-ish and final acceptance in February).

3) How good will this look for applying? I feel like it's straightforward enough to do (just time consuming) so if it will pad my CV it can't hurt to try. On the other hand, I could work on another abstract to pad my CV with that time instead.

By next fall, do you mean not this coming cycle but the one after? If so, it would be feasible that you could have it accepted by that point, although not guaranteed (rejections add a ton of time to the process). If it were accepted/in press by the time you applied, it would definitely help much more than an abstract.

Btw, I think you are misusing the term "pad." 🙂 When people talk about CV padding, they generally mean adding irrelevant things, not legit academic accomplishments like articles and presentations.

 

[CheetahGirl]

I've been working as an RA for the past year and will be applying next fall to clinical phd programs. Recently I have been researching natural supplements for cognitive enhancement/nootropics and realized I have a decent amount of knowledge on the subject. What started as my own curiosity (reading blogs, etc) turned into a decent library of peer-reviewed articles. There isn't much on the subject so it would definitely be novel.

In your review, be critical as to why there isn't much on your subject already. That was a great piece of advice from one of my research mentors when I presented one of my "novel" ideas.

Good luck!

 

[neuronic]

Pretty much all reputable journals (and many unreputable ones, actually) are blind reviewed, meaning that your degree and identity aren't known to the reviewers. So, no, I don't think that will hurt you as along as the manuscript is thorough and well-written,

Most are reviews are definitely blind, meaning you won't know who reviews your paper, but not all are double-blind, meaning most reviewers can access and find information on corresponding authors, and depending on how the manuscript file is built, all authors as well.

 

[fresnel]

Go for it! There may be nothing in the area because nobody has thought about it. People coming in with a different perspective are often the ones bringing a new topic to the forefront. There is no reason to involve your supervisor unless you plan to work on his/her time. If not, burn the midnight oil, submit and see what happens. Don't be timid!

 

[chman]

I've also wondered about doing something like this. I have been an RA for about two years, but only have a BA. I was unable to do an honors thesis because I transferred and didn't have time. I have wondered if I could do a literature review or something that I can get some kind of recognition for without being enrolled in school...? Has anyone done something like this?

P.S. I realize some RA's do posters etc. with excess lab data, but I have been trying to do this for a while in my lab and nothing seems to be moving and I can't really afford to keep waiting.

 

[hamsterpants]

I say go for it! if only because you are interested in the topic. Even if nothing comes of it, it's still good experience for grad school and you could end up revising and publishing it later on. I for one would be interested in reading it 🙂