<p>Many colleges and universities say that they have “an abundance of research opportunities,” but they don’t seem to go into further depth about them and the quality of them, just that they have “a lot of research opportunities.”</p>
<p>So what differentiates “good” research from “okay” research as an undergrad?</p>
<p>My mom, a scientist, says that “good” research is cutting edge, but is participating in that kind of research possible as a freshman?</p>
<p>Also, is it possible to do research for a non-scientific area as well, such as communications or gender studies, or is that not suggested (since it may be better to just concentrate on one subject instead)?</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>As an undergraduate, all that matters is that you are part of the thought process and not just another set of hands for someone else. In other words, you need to be planning experiments, making decisions about the direction of the project, and if a paper comes out of it, making significant contributions to the writing and editing. The actual topic of the research really doesnt matter much.</p>
<p>Any research that meaningfully extends our current knowledge is “good” research. The absolute “best” research is innovative, original and cutting edge. (My DH, like your mom, is research scientist and I know a good many research scientists in a number of fields. I’ve heard them expound for decades on what “good” research is.)</p>
<p>Very few undergrads will be involved in the “best” research except in peripheral or supporting roles. Undergrads lack the skills and expertise (and time) to contribute in major way. This is not to say it doesn’t happen, but it’s not common either.</p>
<p>As a freshman, it’s unlikely in the extreme you will end up doing anything significant in terms of innovative research. You’ll be lucky to find a lab willing to accept an untrained undergrad into their group unless you already have usable lab or computing skills. But you can look for group willing to train you and once accepted, work diligently, ask intelligent questions and extend your knowledge and expertise on your own. With time, you will be able to make a contribution to the group. However, to do the kind of research your mom is talking about generally requires a PhD and many years of both training and ‘paying your dues’.</p>
<p>It is quite possible to do research in just about any field–including humanities and social sciences. (If it wasn’t, there wouldn’t be any PhDs in those fields…) I’ve done research in American Lit, linguistics, educational methods and information science. Was it all “cutting edge”? Not hardly. Was it “good” research? Yes, it was. (Some of it’s been published in peer-reviewed professional journals which is the hallmark of “good” research.)</p>
<p>If you want to get an idea of what undergrad research topics in fields other than science look like–try looking here:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.rochester.edu/college/ugresearch/assets/pdf/2012%20EXPO%20AWARD%20WINNERS.pdf[/url]”>http://www.rochester.edu/college/ugresearch/assets/pdf/2012%20EXPO%20AWARD%20WINNERS.pdf</a></p>
<p>It’s the winners of the undergrad research awards at my younger D’s college. There are awards for research in science/math; engineering; social sciences; humanities.</p>
<p>Wow, thank you for the fantastic responses! That cleared up a lot of confusion for me.</p>
<p>And going along with the humanities research idea, is it better to concentrate on just scientific research, or is it possible to concentrate on both as a pre-med student?</p>
<p>Don’t spread yourself too thin. You don’t want to be mediocre at lots of stuff. You need to be able to have the time and energy to do well at whatever you decide is your most intense interest.</p>
<p>Will humanities/social sciences research be considered by med schools? I think so. (D1 has a music theory major in her med school class. His research was in musical composition forms.) </p>
<p>Will humanities research be considered equally valuable as bio med science research by med school adcomms–I have no idea.</p>