ditde Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 This is my first research opportunity. Can you guys give me an idea of what to expect? How much would I actually be allowed to do? They do studies on hamsters and mice which is something I really want to try my hand at. I'll be there for only two months because of employment rules, etc. I've read threads about getting your name on the paper as a 3rd or 4th author and I was wondering if that was at all feasible given the short time that I will actually be working there. Also, if I make a good impression, would it be weird to ask if I could come back the next summer? I'd love to actually establish a connection with the professor, so that he could maybe write one of my reference at some point down the line. Still, I'm just happy that I managed to find one of these. I'll either be working in the glaucoma research lab or depression research lab, both of which I am very interested in. I'm going to approach this with a good attitude and will to try my best to help however I can, but most importantly I will try to not be a burden/annoyance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axialpac Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 This is my first research opportunity. Can you guys give me an idea of what to expect? How much would I actually be allowed to do? They do studies on hamsters and mice which is something I really want to try my hand at. I'll be there for only two months because of employment rules, etc. I've read threads about getting your name on the paper as a 3rd or 4th author and I was wondering if that was at all feasible given the short time that I will actually be working there. Also, if I make a good impression, would it be weird to ask if I could come back the next summer? I'd love to actually establish a connection with the professor, so that he could maybe write one of my reference at some point down the line. Still, I'm just happy that I managed to find one of these. I'll either be working in the glaucoma research lab or depression research lab, both of which I am very interested in. I'm going to approach this with a good attitude and will to try my best to help however I can, but most importantly I will try to not be a burden/annoyance. I'm also in the same position as you. First time having a research job, so I'm really curious about this as well and I hope someone replies soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Posted March 15, 2012 Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 Don't want to sound like a downer, but if you are only going to be there for a couple months in the summer you may get stuck doing the repetitive grunt work, especially when in a lab that deals with animals. In order to work with any animal model used for research science, you have to be trained extensively of animal ethics and animal care and handling, which (depending on the level of organization and proficieny of your supervisor) can take anywhere from a week to a month. It is likely you may be data mining, which isn't the most exciting thing, but it is crucial to the overall success of the work. It is actually a really good time to connect with the graduate students / post-docs / professors and establish networks you can capitalize upon later in your education. If you are doing an honours thesis, you can call upon this supervisor again, and you will likely get accepted due to your previous work. Its an excellent opportunity for you to resume build as well and get an idea of where you want to gear any longer-term research efforts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Posted March 15, 2012 Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 Also, appearing as an author will also depend on the number of people in the lab and whether the supervisor feels that your work contributed sufficiently to the paper. I would say be more interested in the connections you can make than with the publications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditde Posted March 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 Thanks for your response Chicken. I'm not looking to do an honors thesis, I have enough to worry about just in terms of my courses, haha. What exactly is "data mining"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditde Posted March 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 The university that I will be working in this summer is back in my home country, so I'm not sure if the connections I establish there will be worth anything. I'm mostly doing this for the experience and obviously to strengthen my resume. Since I will probably be going home for summer every year, so I'm hoping to return to the same lab in the future and make it a semi-long term commitment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Posted March 15, 2012 Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 I would definately recommend an honours thesis. You get to spend a whole year in a lab of your choosing and really become involved in the more seedy and exciting aspects, as well as take on more responsibility and publish (which is nice). Data mining is essentially crunching numbers from large sets of data. Depending on the nature of the research, there can be easily be over 100 animals used in a test condition. All this data needs to be pooled and crunched statistically to get an observable result. This isn't really glorious work, as it involves creating a database and pooling everything into a stats program like excel or SPSS. It can be tedious, but if you are lucky good labs will have you helping out with other things as well (cleaning cages, stocking food, ordering media and foodstuffs, etc.) so it doesn't become too mundane. Best thing to do is just ask the supervisor for a reasonable expectation of your responsabilities, they will always depend on the supervisor's need and the nature of the research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditde Posted March 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 I would definately recommend an honours thesis. You get to spend a whole year in a lab of your choosing and really become involved in the more seedy and exciting aspects, as well as take on more responsibility and publish (which is nice). Data mining is essentially crunching numbers from large sets of data. Depending on the nature of the research, there can be easily be over 100 animals used in a test condition. All this data needs to be pooled and crunched statistically to get an observable result. This isn't really glorious work, as it involves creating a database and pooling everything into a stats program like excel or SPSS. It can be tedious, but if you are lucky good labs will have you helping out with other things as well (cleaning cages, stocking food, ordering media and foodstuffs, etc.) so it doesn't become too mundane. Best thing to do is just ask the supervisor for a reasonable expectation of your responsabilities, they will always depend on the supervisor's need and the nature of the research. Sorry for my ignorance, but is an honors thesis something that most science majors take on? Also, how would one begin to start one? Who would I have to talk to? I always assumed that people only did research during their graduate studies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditde Posted March 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 Oh I see. You can only do an honors thesis if you're an Honors student. And you can only be an Honors student if you apply for it. I'd have to look into it more at some point down the line, I definitely like the idea of doing my own research but not at the expense of my (currently very weak) GPA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Posted March 15, 2012 Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 No worries An honours thesis can be part of your program of study and is usually only offered to those taking an honours (thus the name) in place of a number of course credits that would normally be required for graduation (in my case, its substitutes 3 courses at the 4th year level). It is not as intensive as a graduate level thesis (only 1 year) and the defence consists of presenting a poster for scrutiny by faculty members and additional experts (at least for my program. The thesis itself is about 30-50 pages based on your research and is basically just a really beefed up paper that you would intend to publish. Whether or not your program offers the option is something your faculty administrators can tell you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuturePT216 Posted April 10, 2012 Report Share Posted April 10, 2012 This summer will also be my first research experience, although I'm finishing up third year. But the experience really all depends on your supervisor and whether they will give you a small project to complete, or if you'll just be assisting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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