Research advice

[Medin2017]

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I'm doing research this summer. Is there any general word of advice anyone can give on how to make the most of it or increase likelihood of success? My statistics background is shaky, but other than that I don't think I'm deficient. The research will be mostly in a lab and just reading abstracts.

 

[Medin2017]

If this is a month or two long research project, forget about "making the most of it" or being successful. It's just not enough time. Your goal here is to make a good impression on your mentor/whoever supervises you so that when the time comes for that letter of rec, you can get a decent one. If you insist being a gunner about it though, do all the look-good-on-paper stuff, like poster presentation, going to conferences, or ultimately getting your name on a paper (probably third author or so at best). The latter might require you to have a frank one-on-one conversation with the advising prof. to let him/her know you want a paper at the end.

I estimate it will be the course of 1-3 years. Thanks for the advice.

 

[FistLength]

If this is a month or two long research project, forget about "making the most of it" or being successful. It's just not enough time. Your goal here is to make a good impression on your mentor/whoever supervises you so that when the time comes for that letter of rec, you can get a decent one. You can do this by showing up on time and making as few mistakes as possible by taking notes. If you insist on being a gunner about it though, do all the look-good-on-paper stuff, like poster presentation, going to conferences, or ultimately getting your name on a paper (probably third author or so at best). The latter might require you to have a frank one-on-one conversation with the advising prof. to let him/her know you want a paper at the end so that the prof can assign you to an appropriate project.

This is not true...you can absolutely get a lot done in a month, and definitely 2, all depending on the circumstance of the people you are working with. I was on a rotation (clinical responsibilities) + I did research at the same site, came out with 2 first author presentations (1 oral), a 3rd author paper, a 1st author case report, and some other stuff that I don't even remember. I put in stupid hours (12 hours+) every day and sometimes worked weekends, but it paid off handsomely.

 

[FistLength]

I'm doing research this summer. Is there any general word of advice anyone can give on how to make the most of it or increase likelihood of success? My statistics background is shaky, but other than that I don't think I'm deficient. The research will be mostly in a lab and just reading abstracts.

What does that mean, mostly reading abstracts? You don't need any stats background...you can learn on the fly. Will you be able to publish? Is this a basic science lab?

 

[Medin2017]

What does that mean, mostly reading abstracts? You don't need any stats background...you can learn on the fly. Will you be able to publish? Is this a basic science lab?

Sorry I meant to say writing an abstract. Not sure why I put that yesterday. Not sure on if it will publish or not, but hopefully. And it will be in a basic science lab