What makes research research?

[droppedit]

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I have 2 opportunities to be part of a research team:

1. Intern at my local community's AIDS Research Center -- I'll be doing clerical duties like creating a website for participants to use, making binders for the PI and other researchers, entering research data in database, etc. The facility is for HIV/AIDS Research and gets NIH funding and such.
   
   
2. Research Coordinator at my school that is ran by a group of medical residents. They're trying to monitor participants' health activities (think tracking one's physical activity with a pedometer). From what I understand, the role will include recruiting participants and checking in with them every a couple of weeks. The title is "Research Coordinator", but title aside, am not sure what I should watch out for for this be truly research since my name won't be published as an author.
   • "As a research coordinator, you would help with many aspects... including patient recruitment, intake appointments and tracking patient progress.

 

[Goro]

Research is where you test a hypothesis and learn about the Scientific method. It can also be descriptive, such as finding a new clam off of South Padre island.

It's not doing clerical work, which is what your 1 and 2 are.

 

[ImmunOLT]

Research is an activity that creates new knowledge. It need not be hypothesis-driven necessarily, but the knowledge generated by it must be scientific in nature: that is, predictions generated from the new information it reveals must be falsifiable.

Research administration can be interesting, and is valuable experience, but it is not, technically speaking, research. I'd go for the research coordination position. It can give you a nice overview of the incredible amount of work that goes into clinical research. Where I work, our coordinators are highly respected and integral parts of the research team.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Research is where you test a hypothesis and learn about the Scientific method. It can also be descriptive, such as finding a new clam off of South Padre island.

It's not doing clerical work, which is what your 1 and 2 are.

You use that clam example a lot. It's become so romanticized in my mind lol.

 

[Goro]

It used to be sequencing a gene would get you a Nature paper. You can still get away with that with a new clam.

You use that clam example a lot. It's become so romanticized in my mind lol.