How do you conduct your science research?

fizix2
Fri, 16 Nov 2007 01:39:32 +0000

It’s a lot easier if you work with a professor. (Plus there’s a higher chance you’ll work on a good topic, and get a paper out of it.) And try to work with a professor at a good university. They tend to publish a lot more papers. You might even end up with a publication in Nature or Science, like I did. And if you do, it’ll be a fantastic hook for any college you want to apply to. It might even be worth moving to an out-of-state college for a summer just to conduct your research (if you have the financial resources or relatives in the area).

I don’t recommend you read journal papers unless you really have to. Even grad students (in my field) don’t really read the papers, they just look at the abstract to see if there’s anything there that’ll help them do what they need to do. And if there is, they’ll look at the figures, and if those are interesting, they might look at the methods. But most papers are downloaded and relegated to the archives. If you actually try to read journal papers, there’s a good chance you’ll either (a) become discouraged and get sick of your topic (b) end up reading a ton of stuff you really didn’t have to. It’s best just to talk to the other people working on your project and ask for an explanation of the relevant information.

If you do need a journal paper, the university you’re (hopefully) working with will usually have a subscription to it, and you can get it free.