What is independent research?

[Compass]

I'm having a hard time deciding whether my research was considered independent research. I was assigned a topic, received some assistance from my professor in terms of materials and help for knowledge base, but overall programmed the entire (bioinformatics) project myself. I presented and such, but didn't do so well on it. Project was a bust 🙁

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[Remuneration]

Obviously, a good PI will not just give you a topic, a pat on the back, and leave it all to you. Your work would certainly be independent, but that's not what's expected.

Independent research is typically a project, like yours, in which you are responsible for reading lit, planning experiments (writing and testing programs), guiding the development based on results (with input from those more knowledgable, i.e. PI), and often presenting your data (at lab meetings if not something more formal).

Basically, it means you're more than a dish washer, a section cutter, a solution maker, and western running robot, etc for other lab members. You're not just being told "Run this experiment for me, give me the results, I'll decide everything and tell you what you're doing for me next."

 

[TooMuchResearch]

I'm having a hard time deciding whether my research was considered independent research. I was assigned a topic, received some assistance from my professor in terms of materials and help for knowledge base, but overall programmed the entire (bioinformatics) project myself. I presented and such, but didn't do so well on it. Project was a bust 🙁

This sounds like independent research to me. 👍

 

[Compass]

So, independent means truly independent, so if I'm working with even one other person/group of people, it is no longer independent?

I'm currently working in a lab doing a part of a clinical trial as well, and I HAVE to rely on MDs to take the sample since it targets a sensitive area, but I do everything else including obtaining consent forms, explaining the project to the patients, and other stuff except for the actual collection in terms of data collection and management.

This one I can describe in depth much more readily and comfortably, because my other one didn't do so hot 🙁 I could, if I had to, present a fairly long speech about the project to an MD in the field to the point that they would understand the process, from sample collection to how the clinical trial object ACTUALLY WORKS.

 

[plsletmein]

So, independent means truly independent, so if I'm working with even one other person/group of people, it is no longer independent?

I'm currently working in a lab doing a part of a clinical trial as well, and I HAVE to rely on MDs to take the sample since it targets a sensitive area, but I do everything else including obtaining consent forms, explaining the project to the patients, and other stuff except for the actual collection in terms of data collection and management.

This one I can describe in depth much more readily and comfortably, because my other one didn't do so hot 🙁 I could, if I had to, present a fairly long speech about the project to an MD in the field to the point that they would understand the process, from sample collection to how the clinical trial object ACTUALLY WORKS.

It's still considered independent research

 

[red10]

if it is someone else's project and you work under them as their lab b**** it isn't independent.

If it is your project that you research and run, it is independent. You're allowed to get help from people or have other people work on it as long as you're the head person

 

[Schemp]

You keep saying your first experience with independent research didn't go so well, but did you learn anything from it? Was it just because you were lazy about it, or did you make some mistakes that are making this new research project more interesting or valuable? If so, I'd include information about your original project as well. While getting published and stuff is definitely helpful to an application, I would say the experience itself and what you gained from it is also probably quite important to them.

 

[Compass]

You keep saying your first experience with independent research didn't go so well, but did you learn anything from it? Was it just because you were lazy about it, or did you make some mistakes that are making this new research project more interesting or valuable? If so, I'd include information about your original project as well. While getting published and stuff is definitely helpful to an application, I would say the experience itself and what you gained from it is also probably quite important to them.

It wasn't laziness. I was overwhelmed by EVERYTHING. And then in the end the project yielded not so much. Research was computer-based, so whether or not the computer cooperated had lots to do with it. I say cooperate in that I was working neural networks, and whether or not they cooperate creates different results, and each run generates a different result. I can certainly write about it, I did present it at a campus conference, and I learned a lot, but it certainly wasn't anything I would brag about given the opportunity <.<