When asked about a previous research project

[Fakesmile]

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If anyone asks me about my previous research project, I find it difficult to talk intelligently about it. At first, I just tell them it was about doing PCR to sequence a gene and detecting a mutation. But if they ask me to give them more info, I can't articulately describe the more important info, like the background, why I decided to PCR this region and not that, how I narrowed down the potential region to this small region of the genome (I know this was done by doing complementation testing, but if I try to give any more details, I have difficulty explaining it), etc. It's not necessarily that I don't know the answer (though it's also not the case that I know really well about my project), I just have a hard time describing them in a coherent, clear and intelligent manner. I would appreciate any ways to overcome this problem.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

learn more about the research.. do an assload of lit review.

 

[URHere]

Read the papers from your lab. More than likely, they will provide a nice little story leading up to your project, and help you to understand exactly why the research you've been doing matters to your lab.

 

[johndoe3344]

I have the same problem as you.

If you still have connections with the old lab, and are good friends with your mentor/postdoc/grad student, try to get them to help you.

They usually know a lot about your project, and my grad student agreed to give me a mock interview and basically help me review aspects of my own project.

 

[Web MD]

Abstract + Review of Lit should give you a quick summary of whats going on

 

[brooklynblunder]

"it was about doing PCR to sequence a gene and detecting a mutation"


err, you might want to start with giving a clear purpose of the project first

i would go from

(before you joined the lab) what was the research/thinking on the field before

and then what led to your study

your hypothesis

your role (emphasize)/methods with excitement

results (quick and concise)

why its relevant

relate to current research or relate it to whatever you think the interviewer would relate to

 

[Narmerguy]

How long were you a part of the project and how long ago was it? I don't understand how someone can't know this kind of information for something they've researched on. 😕

 

[Compass]

How I do information summarizing:

Who - who cares, who is doing it, who does it affect.
What - what is it about, what does it improve on, what does it explore/reveal, what do you do
When - when did it take place, when will it take place, when will it be complete, when did the problem arise.
Where - where is the experiment taking place, where is this experiment going, where is this experiment taking you
Why - why do it
How - how it works

If you can't describe the process, you need to delve into it. I am doing research where I do not need to know ANYTHING about how the test functions. I only need to follow literally 3 steps to do my experiment. If you asked me about the test, I could tell you from original purpose of the device to how the device itself functions electronically, chemically, and biologically.