Research Questions

[923251]

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[Catalystik]

Hi everyone, I had a few questions pertaining to research.
1. First of all, does the field of research matter?

2. Also, would a mention in a publication for research assistance, (not an authorship), also count as a publication?

3. Finally, how are poster presentations viewed in comparison to traditional publications?

1. N0.

2. No.

3. They also give evidence of productivity. Campus posters don't carry the same weight as regional or national conference posters.

 

[sab3156]

Hi everyone, I had a few questions pertaining to research. First of all, does the field of research matter? Also, would a mention in a publication for research assistance, (not an authorship), also count as a publication? Finally, how are poster presentations viewed in comparison to traditional publications?

A lot of top schools want you to have at least explored research - they won't obviously require publications in top journals, but it's important for a lot of these research-powerhouse schools that their students have an understanding of what research is at least at a superficial level.

 

[934667]

On a similar note, would it be better to take a temporary summer research position at a prestigious research facility, or would it be better to pick a lab and stick with the same lab at your main university for a longer period of time. In other words, how are temporary summer research positions viewed.

 

[smukke]

On a similar note, would it be better to take a temporary summer research position at a prestigious research facility, or would it be better to pick a lab and stick with the same lab at your main university for a longer period of time. In other words, how are temporary summer research positions viewed.

It really depends, usually longer is better for research. It also is a matter of what are you looking to get out of the experience? Mark off a checkbox, a pub, or actual experience?

Is the summer position part of an official summer program? Those usually tend to have a required presentation component at the end so projects are usually segmented/trimmed/timed so that the student gets to opportunity to have a good longitudinal if shallow overview of research and make some significant contributions at least in the part that they are involved in. And you'll have experience presenting a poster at the end.

Sticking with a lab longer is usually a better experience since it may allow you the opportunity to see a project from beginning to publications and gain more responsibility but as with anything in research, there is no guarantee and the project may end up failing or being too insignificant. And each lab treats undergrads differently, some view them as free labor and will use them as such vs others see them as potential recruits (aka potential grad students who will then become the cheap labor) and will assign them to more productive projects to entice them and give them educational/training opportunities etc, and everything in between.