Why Research?

[lazgirl24]

Why do some of you want to do research? What do you think reserach allows you to do?

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[Anka]

Research, depending on the level you do it at, transforms science from something you study to something you do. If you like doing rather than thinking, research is far more satisfying than studying science. I also like the amount of teamwork involved. My guess is, there are as many reasons for doing research as there are people who do it.

There are some very concrete advantages for a pre-med or medical student. Here are a few:
1. Potential for publication, which will beef up your c.v. considerably;
2. Getting to know a prof really well, which helps when it comes time
for recs;
3. Opportunity to learn a lot about a particular subject;
4. Understanding why may of the medical truths you're learning in medical school will be outdated at some point;
5. Potential for on the fly learning of useful things (and you know they're useful because you need to know them NOW to do your project).

Best,
Anka

 

[Kalel]

Research sticks with you throughout your career too, particularly if you get published. I got asked at a few of my residency interviews about my undergraduate research. You won't be listing volunteering in a hospital during college for residency or fellowship applications, but research goes on there and it can be a real plus.

 

[TTSD]

I agree with most of what Anka wrote about.

But let me expand. You will essentially be at the cutting fore-front of science when researching. Provided you ACTUALLY immerse yourself into what you're doing as opposed to just punching a clock and moving that petri-dish around. If you feel like you've helped contribute to the destruction of the rain-forest by the amount of paper that sits in your room, you know you're doing good.

If you're exploring something that is multi-modal/factorial, provided it's not the 'wild mating habits of indigenous nematodes,' you will learn a tremendous amount. Not only do you have to understand the current pathways/understanding of what you're investing does or is responsible for, you also have to be familiar with the latest of what people are doing with it as well. Then you have to bring all of that together, and not only understand EVERYTHING about it.. but learn enough OUTSIDE of that field to make the proper connections. Especially when you're playing with physiology or something metaphysical such as neuro, have a very strong base of knowledge in a LOT of fields is incredibly helpful, and is something that you will voluntarily seek out and do outside of the classroom.

Also by getting published not only do medical schools like this, and also the outside world, but it also establishes you have some form of expertise on knowledge that is not widely known or mastered by most (and hopefull relevant).

edit: The moral of this story? I know a lot of undergrads just blithely accept a project from their PI and follow protocols. Be aggressive! Make crazy wild suggestions and ideas!

 

[lazgirl24]

thank you for all the post. I have one more question.. if you tell a professor you want to do research for that you want to go to med. school, what will he/she thinK? Will they think you are on;y doing research to boost you app? I want to do research b/c i am not sure what i want to do, but i am leaning toward med. school. Is it not a good idea to say that to them?

 

[Anka]

I wouldn't tell a prof thatI was doing research just to strenghten my app. I also wouldn't do research for that reason -- it's just not worth it if you can't get some day to day satisfaction out of it. If you're just looking for something to do to help strengthen your app, think about doing more clinical research or getting your EMT or being a nurses aid. Bench research will get real old, real fast if you aren't into it. The prof's know that, too. My sense of pre-meds doing undergrad research just to strengthen their application is that they get to a hard point in the project and then give up, able to say they did research but really not sticking through the hard part that makes it worth doing. Alternatively, they just follow protocols and are good for little more than washing dishes and sorting flies.

Now, if you aren't sure whether you'd like to do research or not, by all means you should aggressively seek an opportunity and aggressively pursue it once you get it; now is a great time to see whether it's your thing. But, again, that's not just strengthening your app. Most faculty members are very open to a person who wants to do research because they might want to do it with their lives -- they love science and are happy when other people show interest.

Best,
Anka

 

[Neuronix]

Originally posted by lazgirl24
if you tell a professor you want to do research for that you want to go to med. school, what will he/she thinK? Will they think you are only doing research to boost you app? I want to do research b/c i am not sure what i want to do, but i am leaning toward med. school. Is it not a good idea to say that to them?

Basically, researchers are wary of undergrads using their labs for an application boost or an LOR. They often get what they need in a summer or less and then bolt. My best advice is to get into a lab early, tell them you're undecided between med school and grad school, and do years of work for them. These things will help both your future prospects the most and get you into a lab and keep your PI happy.

Good luck!

 

[Nuel]

Originally posted by Anka
If you like doing rather than thinking, research is far more satisfying than studying science.

Nah, I beg to differ. Real research, I believe, demands that the so-called researcher employs his/her mental faculties. Doing research without thinking is like driving without knowing your destination. Otherwise, not thinking suggests a technician aimlessly clutching at micro-pipette.

This was probably unnecessary but thought I had to say something.

 

[fun8stuff]

Originally posted by Nuel
Nah, I beg to differ. Real research, I believe, demands that the so-called researcher employs his/her mental faculties. Doing research without thinking is like driving without knowing your destination. Otherwise, not thinking suggests a technician aimlessly clutching at micro-pipette.

This was probably unnecessary but thought I had to say something.

How true! However, most pre-meds probably never allow themselves to reach this level of thought. At my school, most that I work with don't put much thought into it.

 

[Nuel]

Originally posted by fun8stuff
How true! However, most pre-meds probably never allow themselves to reach this level of thought. At my school, most that I work with don't put much thought into it.

Probably it could be a resume-padding scheme or they aren't just interested.

O.

 

[Anka]

Dudes, I meant thinking without doing. Obviously if you're going to spend time in a lab, you'd better be thinking about what you're doing. I worked mostly in computation labs, so I did a lot of thinking. But it was related to something I was doing. I guess the business term is "end product driven". The type of studying you do for a class is so often just so much wanking over taking a test.

As far as techs who don't think, they tend to be dangerous at best since they don't know where they need to be careful and where they need to be fast. Luckly, most techs I know aren't "just techs". They are committed professionals who will help you and me throughout our illustrious careers.

Anka

 

[lazgirl24]

yea.. i am currently undecided on what i want to do. The more science classes i take, the more i love it and the more i am thinking about research instead on med school (maybe even both). hehe

 

[Anka]

That's important -- never forget "both" is a valid option!

I'm sure you'll do fine.

Anka

 

[lazgirl24]

Originally posted by Anka
That's important -- never forget "both" is a valid option!

I'm sure you'll do fine.

Anka

Thank You!!!

 

[TTSD]

Originally posted by Nuel
Nah, I beg to differ. Real research, I believe, demands that the so-called researcher employs his/her mental faculties. Doing research without thinking is like driving without knowing your destination. Otherwise, not thinking suggests a technician aimlessly clutching at micro-pipette.

This was probably unnecessary but thought I had to say something.

I disagree to a point. Research is like 95% tedium and 5% mental adrenaline. Most of your time will be repetitively doing the same thing over and over again to collect dat. The other time is when you make a clever observation, and/or play with the data you collect.

 

[Neuronix]

Originally posted by Anka
That's important -- never forget "both" is a valid option!

Indeed, you can do like me and go into a MD/PhD program. This way you can put off the decision indefinately and earn a salary while you're at it! How sweet is that?

I hope your research experience is a good one.... That's more likely to push you in a direction than anything else. Good luck!

 

[Nuel]

Originally posted by TTSD
I disagree to a point. Research is like 95% tedium and 5% mental adrenaline. Most of your time will be repetitively doing the same thing over and over again to collect dat. The other time is when you make a clever observation, and/or play with the data you collect.

I recall my last time in the lab. Ok, I just ran these molecular dynamics calculations on a bunch of fatty acids in solution. After having crashes upon failures, I finally got the system from falling apart. I profiled all my data which were merely a bunch of numbers that could fill rolls paper. I called upon rote methods of compilations and statistical analysis to interpret what those "beautiful" numbers meant with regards to the experiment we were trying to understand as well as predict. I mean, I was up for three straight nights doing nothing but merely interpreting. This demanded, in my opinion, the most mental exercise than independently figuring out how to run a molecular mechanics computational program.

So, data without thought is meaningless. What matters is how you interpret the "tedium", and that was what I initially referred to. And you just hit the nail on the head: "The other time is when you make a clever observation, and/or play with the data you collect." Indeed, this is where the deal comes into play. If no thought process was on, then the twist wouldn't have occurred.

However, defining thought in terms of 5% and actual work done in 95% is merely subjective and could be argued ad infinitum.

 

[relentless11]

Ya know thats a good question...."why research?". First off research isn't for everyone. Some absolutely hate it, while others love it over many other things, like school..hehe.

I believe research complements your knowledge with another aspect of science. One can teach, and know about science, but its a whole new world when you talk about the research side. You're now creating things.

For me, 4 years ago, i wanted to try our research so i can possibly gain experience (and publications) to go to grad school in hopes to become a teacher. My initial plan was to just try this thing out for a quarter or two. Well nearly half a decade later, i'm still here as a post-graduate researcher, with 13 publications, 2 pending publications. 75% of which were done when i was an undergrad. What did i learn from all of this? I learned:

1) How to write!!!!!! (my writing has improved 100 fold since high school due to writing my publications)
2) Organizational skills
3) Time management skills
4) Leadership skills
5) Research skills: looking up papers, reading journals, etc.
6) Talking to people with more degree's than me!

For me, i think choosing to do research became something that made me a better person. It exceeded my expectations to be just another note on my application. It created who i am today as a person, student, and researcher. It also helps pay for my life....since its kinda expensive to live these days