Contacted a PI...

[xVeronica]

......................

[FT4]

I would humor her and go in to talk to her. Maybe you could offer to volunteer in the lab, which could get you some good experience and also set you up at the front of the line if she gets any openings. Don't count too much on that though, since it will always remain a maybe scenario.

 

Also, I wouldn't want to be a guinea pig either!

[future_doc]

Absolutely meet her even though she has something else in mind. At the very least, you shall have created a contact for the future.

[kylamonkey]

Why on earth would you be against being a "guinea pig"?

 

She needs subjects, she's asked if you would help. Usually there's not too much of a time commitment. Helping people when they ask for it is a good thing, in my opinion.

 

If you're feeling elitist about it - "being a research subject is for other people" - then maybe you need to reevaluate your attitude towards research.

 

And if you are still feeling that way, well, maybe offering a "test subject" position is the way she weeds out all the people who just want resume padding. Maybe she really wants people who will say "Cool! Doing a neuroscience test sounds like an awesome way to learn more about the field and get my foot in the door!"

 

edit- sorry if I sound mean in this post. My back hurts right now and I am more, um, let's say "strightforward" than I usually am. That said, I'm not going to edit what I wrote above.

[future_doc]

interesting take

[Renin]

I thought PI = private investigator.

[psychoswim]

I thought PI = private investigator.

 

Same

 

10 char

[quackster]

Why on earth would you be against being a "guinea pig"?

 

She needs subjects, she's asked if you would help. Usually there's not too much of a time commitment. Helping people when they ask for it is a good thing, in my opinion.

 

If you're feeling elitist about it - "being a research subject is for other people" - then maybe you need to reevaluate your attitude towards research.

 

And if you are still feeling that way, well, maybe offering a "test subject" position is the way she weeds out all the people who just want resume padding. Maybe she really wants people who will say "Cool! Doing a neuroscience test sounds like an awesome way to learn more about the field and get my foot in the door!"

 

++ why do you assume you're being experimented on? You do know that to test something in humans it has to have gone through previous testing in animals and any human study is overseen by ethics boards and safety committees. Find out what it's about before ruling it out; for all you know you'd be filling out a questionnaire! You might even make a couple of bucks to boot since subjects are usually compensated for their time.

 

PI = Principal* Investigator (why is it "principal" and not "principle", the latter denoting "primary"? I never understood this)

[Lactic Folly]

From your reading about her lab, what types of experiment is this likely to involve? I would understand your hesitation if it was something invasive/potentially risky, but otherwise, I've participated in dozens of psych experiments (some for money and some for interest) and as kylamonkey says, it can be a really fun way to learn about research firsthand.

[vanillabear]

PI = Principal* Investigator (why is it "principal" and not "principle", the latter denoting "primary"? I never understood this)

 

Principal generally means the person of highest authority or the "lead". Principle, though it can mean primary, is generally thought to be a moral or a value.

[Lactic Folly]

PI = Principal* Investigator (why is it "principal" and not "principle", the latter denoting "primary"? I never understood this)

It's the other way around:

http://www.grammarmudge.cityslide.com/articles/article/992333/8562.htm

[quackster]

It's the other way around:

http://www.grammarmudge.cityslide.com/articles/article/992333/8562.htm

that clears things up. I still have colleagues who use "principle" investigator and use the reason I wrote as justification. They're senior than me so I never questioned them. Interesting.

[xVeronica]

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[xVeronica]

........................................

[FacelessMage]

Seconding the psychology research. I may be a bit biased because I'm juggling three different psych projects right now (one clinical/social, two I-O), but it's a fun field to research in. There's a lot of variety.

 

I also volunteered in an ecology lab for a year, so maybe something like that would work as well. So there are other types of research you can pursue as a psychology student.

[delight]

edit- sorry if I sound mean in this post. My back hurts right now and I am more, um, let's say "strightforward" than I usually am. That said, I'm not going to edit what I wrote above.

 

Last edited by kylamonkey : Yesterday at 08:10 PM.

 

 

but ya, agreed with kylamonkey on the testing part

[bj89]

Well I contacted a PI via email and expressed my interest in her research in neuroscience. I asked if I could work in the lab and she told me she didn't have any positions available at the moment but would like me to come in to discuss ways to be part of the lab. She also suggested that I could be a subject in one of her experiments (wtf?? lol - No, I'm not interested in being your guinea pig).

 

Is this going anywhere? Should I still agree to meet up or should I just look for someone else?

 

I think you're taking the wrong view on the situation. Although she has no specific positions FOR you, it seems like to me she's offering you the opportunity to volunteer - and lettuce beef cereal, rarely anyone starts off in a lab in a position higher than volunteer, unless you have a grant (i.e. USRA as an undergrad).