I Need Advice, Not Too Sure What I Am Doing At My New Research Lab

[futurepsyc]

I recently got a volunteer position in a sensation and perception lab at my university, as opposed to my other experience which is highly structured and strictly transcription I have a lot of freedom, and I am worried that I don't know what to do because of it. I have not had much lab experience, let alone being asked to generate research project ideas so I am a bit intimidated. Also the professor who runs the lab keeps sending on the lab list server manuscripts for us to go over with feed back and editing which I also have no idea how to approach that. I find it hard to be critical of a paper that I am reading that I feel is produced from a higher ability and knowledge on the subject. But I was just wondering if anyone has had any experience with looking over manuscripts, like what is somethings to look for etc.

 

 

[Bede]

This is a really good question and it is really good you asked because this could really sewer you even though it is a potential problem that you did not create. Your candidness is refreshing. You are correct, you're probably not in a position to be critical about these manuscripts.

 

All labs run differently. Some PI's run labs which are highly structured and some are really laissez faire. With a newer student such as yourself, the PI should really be doing his/her job and either personally mentoring you or assigning a post doc or senior PhD student to mentor you. Without mentorship, you will most likely flounder, be unproductive, and get turned off research. 

 

Here's what you need to do:

1) Read. Read a lot. This is how you learn what the state of the art of your subject is. Ask a senior lab member to recommend some good reviews. Start there and expand your knowledge. Try to figure out the unanswered questions in your field.

2) Try to get mentorship. If the PI won't do it (if it's a big lab, he/she won't have time.) Again talk to a senior lab member for advice. Not just academically, but how this lab rolls. There's a lot of non-academic stuff (how not to get abused, communication, dealing with admin staff, etc) in research that's just as important as the academic stuff.

3) Read the manuscripts and try to be critical. Before you make uneducated remarks, run your idea's by your mentor and see what they think about it. Think critically, what are the assumptions the paper makes? Are these assumptions correct? Look at the papers the assumptions are based on? Are they sound?

4) Once you figure out unanswered questions, make a list of research idea's as they come up. Rearrange the list in order of priority. Some days you will get 5 ideas at once and can't write them down fast enough. Other times, I don't come up with an idea for months. 

5) Despite your inexperience, you may be the ideal person to read these manuscripts. I assume you're a reasonably bright person, so if you don't understand what's going on in the paper, it's the writer's fault, not yours. See writing advice by Steven Pinker. Manuscripts should be understandable by anyone with a general science background, not a specialized background. The Intro/background of a paper is intented to be a primer on the subject for a generalist audience.

6) Don't forget to have some fun. Being locked in a basement lab/office is demoralizing. Enjoy yourself, make friends!