joshto Posted November 16, 2006 Report Share Posted November 16, 2006 how do you get into research as an undergrad student? I havent had any opportunities so I would assume that I have to create them. What do med schools consider 'research'? Does this mean you have to head a study and a paper or can you be an assistant in the study (i.e. asssist in collecting data from patients, enter research data onto spreadsheets)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahZ Posted November 16, 2006 Report Share Posted November 16, 2006 You got to knock on office doors and introduce yourself. If they aren't in need of anyone they might be able to point you the direction of someone who does. Also keep your eye open for new professors as they likely don't have any grad students yet so you get to do more. I got in with a new prof, and I got a paying position as her assistant and got to do a lot of neat stuff. And she wanted to fund a masters for me. I would say that just being involved in research counts. Depending on what field you are in it may be pretty difficult to head a study unless you begin preliminary work early on in your undergrad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted November 16, 2006 Report Share Posted November 16, 2006 Also, just check around the departments you're interested in - many of them have posters up that are advertising research opps. Most of them are fairly competitive though - I know my orgo prof told our class not to bother applying if we have less than a 3.5, and said that 3.8+ is really what they are mostly looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsteen Posted November 16, 2006 Report Share Posted November 16, 2006 how do you get into research as an undergrad student? I havent had any opportunities so I would assume that I have to create them. What do med schools consider 'research'? Does this mean you have to head a study and a paper or can you be an assistant in the study (i.e. asssist in collecting data from patients, enter research data onto spreadsheets)? Hi there, Another idea is to contact your Registrar's Office. Some of them, e.g., at UofT have binders full of information re: research postings for undergrads. Cheers, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshto Posted November 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2006 so entering data is considered 'research experience'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a41 Posted November 17, 2006 Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 NSERC! Easisest way ever. I got a couple of the NSERC undergraduate student research awards. These are pretty much entirely based on marks (usually decided by your department). A prof will be more willing to take you on if you get one of these awards since the government is paying you half of the money. (In my case NSERC gave me $4500 and the prof paid me $4000 for the summer). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireDragoonX Posted November 17, 2006 Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 removed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVP Posted November 17, 2006 Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 NSERC! Easisest way ever. I got a couple of the NSERC undergraduate student research awards. These are pretty much entirely based on marks (usually decided by your department). A prof will be more willing to take you on if you get one of these awards since the government is paying you half of the money. (In my case NSERC gave me $4500 and the prof paid me $4000 for the summer). NSERC does sound pretty neat (a friend of mine also mentioned that to me a couple weeks ago). I would like to apply for one, but my concern is that I don't know if my marks would be able to snag me an award. Does anyone have any idea of what marks have to be like? Do tell! I'd much rather have a job where I learned something, rather than pushing buttons all day and bagging groceries, etc..... Panicking over the state of work I have to do for final exams, EVP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuantum Posted November 17, 2006 Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 NSERC! Easisest way ever. I got a couple of the NSERC undergraduate student research awards. These are pretty much entirely based on marks (usually decided by your department). A prof will be more willing to take you on if you get one of these awards since the government is paying you half of the money. (In my case NSERC gave me $4500 and the prof paid me $4000 for the summer). THAT IS SO SWEET. I got substantially less than that, but I was still happy with I got. NSERC is a good way to go. Depending on your supervisor, you can also have a really wicked summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newbie1234 Posted November 17, 2006 Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 NSERC! Easisest way ever. I got a couple of the NSERC undergraduate student research awards. These are pretty much entirely based on marks (usually decided by your department). A prof will be more willing to take you on if you get one of these awards since the government is paying you half of the money. (In my case NSERC gave me $4500 and the prof paid me $4000 for the summer). Wait... so does that mean you basically got paid $8500 in a summer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hp18 Posted November 17, 2006 Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 Is NSERC available during the school year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newbie1234 Posted November 17, 2006 Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 You apply for it during your school year but the research job itself will take place over the summer. I believe each institution has its own deadlines for applications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blinknoodle Posted November 17, 2006 Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 is there any way to get research experience during the school year? anyone at McMaster know how? Because I've been on ther McMaster website looking at some of the Research that is done here, and every faculty member describes what they do, and they usually have a list of the people they work with. And I've seen about 10 different proffesors research and I have only seen 1 Undergrad = / Are you eligible for OSAP? There are oftentimes research positions posted through McWork. If you are willing to volunteer or do it for credit, your options may be more open. Try emailing the profs whose research you find interesting.. not all profs bother to list their undergrad students on their websites - some do, some don't. I'd try emailing a bunch of profs and see who bites. If you are willing to commute, you may have an easier time finding profs at St Joe's or Chedoke. Furthermore, make sure you know how you plan on juggling research with your other commitments (school, ECs, etc) because some labs are not conducive to 2-5 hours a week. You need to be involved a lot more substantially than that based on the nature of the work. There are a ton of research opportunities available at Mac, you just have to put a bit of effort into the search. There are a ton of posts already about how to approach profs for research positions, so try searching first for further advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkfalz Posted November 17, 2006 Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 for mac specifically: Profs tend to hire undergrads during the summer period because they don't have to pay for you 100% out of their own budget. McMaster covers part of it through McWork which gives them more incentive to hire. I applied to a bunch of labs after my first year and didn't get in anywhere. After my second year I dropped off 26 resumes (the summer positions will be listed on eRecruiting, look it up) got 2 replies and took a job with one of them. I've been working with that same prof through the school years and over the summers (graduated last year, doing a 'special' 5th year right now while I apply to schools) and now have 4 publications and a drug patent from it. Just gotta work really hard while you're in there and stuff will happen. As for volunteering: I know with my boss specifically, he will never take volunteers. He figures that if you are not being paid, you have no obligations to the lab and will be unreliable. Must have had bad experiences in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireDragoonX Posted November 17, 2006 Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 removed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurfette Posted November 18, 2006 Report Share Posted November 18, 2006 The way NSERC works is that each school has a set number of awards. Then, it's up to the department and school itself to decide how it's going to choose students (usually based on marks, year-level, and/or a prof that wants to take you on). There's other programs too. I believe there's a scholarship for women in physical sciences and engineering. So if you're in one of those programs and you're female, that's something to look into. Most major research schools have internal awards (eg. offerered by the school's awards office or individual faculties/departments). Some schools have programs where students who are on student loans can apply for jobs on campus. Some of those jobs are remedial, but some are research positions. You can google your school for these kinds of opportunities. But I think what often works well is just to email the profs you're interested in and ask them what funding is available. They could even decide to pay you themselves! Oh yeah...one thing to keep in mind - most profs don't like it when you don't bother to read their website or look up what they're doing. "Hi. I'm a second-year undergrad and I want to work in a lab" usually doesn't get you anything but a "sorry, maybe next year." If you're seriously interested, then read their website (very least!) and some of their recent papers. "Hi. I'm really interested in your recent work on ______. I'm a second-year student and I would love to be able to work in your lab. Are you still pursuing projects on _______?" ...And you're much more likely to enjoy your research summer if you're doing something you find interesting. It's win-win! Edit: One thing to add - yes, NSERC for undergrads are generally summer awards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkfalz Posted November 18, 2006 Report Share Posted November 18, 2006 cool, yea i know about erecruiting and NSERC's which faculty are you working in (chem, bio, etc.)? did undergrad in bio-psych program, working in psychiatry department in the hospital. (Its a neuropharmacology lab, so its kinda a mix between psychology, psychiatry and cell bio). If you're interested in working this summer in that kind of area, i recommend looking up Dr. Niles. Nice guy in the same department and i'm pretty sure he'll be looking for some new undergrads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a41 Posted November 18, 2006 Report Share Posted November 18, 2006 Wait... so does that mean you basically got paid $8500 in a summer? Yes, and slightly less than $8k the summer before. My advice is to try your best to find some research experience now, but if you're young (first year or second year) there's no rush. The amount of meaningful research you can do while you're an underclassman is pretty small. If you can get an NSERC, and not screw up during that summer, the prof shouldn't have any problem taking you on during the year, and subsequent years (if you are still interested in the research!). If (s)he doesn't pay you during the year (you obviously don't have as much time during the year for research as you do in the summer) then you can at least volunteer your time. Don't worry about the money too much, you have a lot of time when you're a doctor to make more! Focus on getting papers published, after all that's the main goal in research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blinknoodle Posted November 18, 2006 Report Share Posted November 18, 2006 Focus on getting papers published, after all that's the main goal in research. Judging by posters' vehemence of publications on this board, most people are disillusioned that publications are the be all and end all of research. This is not true at the undergrad level. The most important part is learning about the research process, what your experiments entail and making a scientific contribution. Publications are a bonus and reflect more on your supervisor then anything else. Look at the requirements for authors.. in reality, most undergrad students have little intellectual contribution to their project and merely perform the laboratory experiments/data entry/menial work dictated by grad students. Once you understand your project and research more will you be able to make a more significant contribution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a41 Posted November 19, 2006 Report Share Posted November 19, 2006 Judging by posters' vehemence of publications on this board, most people are disillusioned that publications are the be all and end all of research. This is not true at the undergrad level. The most important part is learning about the research process, what your experiments entail and making a scientific contribution. Publications are a bonus and reflect more on your supervisor then anything else. Look at the requirements for authors.. in reality, most undergrad students have little intellectual contribution to their project and merely perform the laboratory experiments/data entry/menial work dictated by grad students. Once you understand your project and research more will you be able to make a more significant contribution. Well, I was referring to research in general, not only at the undergraduate level. I guess I was forutnate in that during my research experience I wasn't relegated to doing menial lab work, nor did I work under the direction of a grad student. Of course, your mileage may vary. What I was trying to get across was that how much you get paid during the summer shouldn't be the main attraction to doing research. Doing something meaningful (which usually leads to a publication) is more important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshto Posted November 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2006 so simple data entry is classified as research experience? b/c i have some of that and i am wondering if it makes the cut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muchdutch Posted November 21, 2006 Report Share Posted November 21, 2006 I've done quite a bit of data entry, but that doesn't mean I've done research. If you are employed within the research lab as a research assistant or are volunteering as a research assistant and part of your duties include data entry, then yes, that would constitute data entry. If you are just doing data entry for a research lab, then as far as I know, you are not really involved in any part of the research process and so no, that would not be considered research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireDragoonX Posted November 30, 2006 Report Share Posted November 30, 2006 removed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurfette Posted November 30, 2006 Report Share Posted November 30, 2006 This is about NSERC's... do you have to have prereq's. Like if you want to research with a bio prof do you need to be majoring or minoring or plan on taking bio courses in the future? After this year, I don't plan on taking any chem or psych courses. Just really bio, econ and maybe math. Would chem and psych prof's not let me research with them? Hey, I don't think there are specific pre-req's, but I don't think profs would like you to work in their lab if you're not even remotely interested in their work. Additionally, I don't see why you would want to work in a field that you're not even remotely interested in. Try to find a research job at least close to the field you're interested in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veena_vd Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 How do you apply for NSERC, i saw the site, but couldn't font the application form, also do we need to find a prof first or can we just submit the form to the university? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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