How Do You Get Involved In Research.. So Lost

[lndale]

Hi everyone,

 

The title of this post sums up my question. I have tried contacting professors involved in research in my faculty (Nursing) and they have been extremely welcoming towards me. However, many of the projects are underfunded or need time for cadavers to be available and therefore cannot progress. 

 

I really want to get involved in research this summer, but I have no idea where to start. Should I be contacting professors in a separate faculty? Or is there a database which lists opportunities? I have tried to search on my own and what has shown up is studentships. 

[PurpleS]

What kind of research are you interested?

[lndale]

What kind of research are you interested?

 

I would love to get involved in research pertaining to human anatomy. But I am honestly open to any kind of research... I don't have any experience and anything would be great  

[medhope15]

I had the same types of problems when in undergrad. Face it, you're young, inexperienced, a student. Most research projects went to grad students or some other conditions like students with financial needs and minority students (based on research scholarships for underrepresented groups). Not always fair.

For me, it didn't really happen until grad school when I opened my horizons and networked. The other problem with research (as with any job), which you don't realize until you're older and "in the real world", most jobs/promos/opportunities are discovered by word of mouth...I network with people who are doing interesting things, tell certain people my interests and ask them to pass on any tips or opportunities they come across. Again, it gets better as you get older and gain a more professional network and have less competition with other students.

 

In retrospect, and to give you advice: it will come down to networking I think. Again, it's all a big competition in undergrad, people don't go to every office hour for fun, they want to meet the profs for letters, summer research gigs etc. I would say, pick a prof that is doing something that interests you and get to know that prof by participating in class, going to office hours and getting a very high grade in their course. Another important tip is to be realistic. If you are starting at zero you first need to build some basic research experience, learn the process, do the grunt work. Apply for and be open to doing something "less exciting" than what you envision. It's a start and the supervisor can always give you a reference for future research work, or they might even have a colleague doing something you're interested in. Be open to volunteering. My lab used to have lots of UG volunteers looking for experience. And look beyond the university at local hospitals and maybe contact some docs there to ask about helping/volunteering in their lab. I would also suggest maybe applying for those US summer research programs if you have the money for living expenses. I also just wanted to add, go to conferences and poster sessions - there should be events at your university or local hospital from time to time. I would say call labs / email labs and even approach people at networking events like poster sessions with your resume and intentions to volunteer or work to get some experience. 19 might say no or ignore you, but sometimes the 20th is more friendly and open and gives you a chance.

 

Good luck!

[lndale]

I had the same types of problems when in undergrad. Face it, you're young, inexperienced, a student. Most research projects went to grad students or some other conditions like students with financial needs and minority students (based on research scholarships for underrepresented groups). Not always fair.

For me, it didn't really happen until grad school when I opened my horizons and networked. The other problem with research (as with any job), which you don't realize until you're older and "in the real world", most jobs/promos/opportunities are discovered by word of mouth...I network with people who are doing interesting things, tell certain people my interests and ask them to pass on any tips or opportunities they come across. Again, it gets better as you get older and gain a more professional network and have less competition with other students.

 

In retrospect, and to give you advice: it will come down to networking I think. Again, it's all a big competition in undergrad, people don't go to every office hour for fun, they want to meet the profs for letters, summer research gigs etc. I would say, pick a prof that is doing something that interests you and get to know that prof by participating in class, going to office hours and getting a very high grade in their course. Another important tip is to be realistic. If you are starting at zero you first need to build some basic research experience, learn the process, do the grunt work. Apply for and be open to doing something "less exciting" than what you envision. It's a start and the supervisor can always give you a reference for future research work, or they might even have a colleague doing something you're interested in. Be open to volunteering. My lab used to have lots of UG volunteers looking for experience. And look beyond the university at local hospitals and maybe contact some docs there to ask about helping/volunteering in their lab. I would also suggest maybe applying for those US summer research programs if you have the money for living expenses. I also just wanted to add, go to conferences and poster sessions - there should be events at your university or local hospital from time to time. I would say call labs / email labs and even approach people at networking events like poster sessions with your resume and intentions to volunteer or work to get some experience. 19 might say no or ignore you, but sometimes the 20th is more friendly and open and gives you a chance.

 

Good luck!

 

Thank you!  This was extremely helpful:) 

[Nafrayu]

Also, if you are looking for an out of province experience, Quebec has very good opportunity for undergraduate research. You don't have to speak French in most laboratories, because the M.Sc. and PhD stuents might not even speak French. I'm always surprised when I hear student having difficulty doing research. I guess I am lucky at my University for that, as doing at least 3 internships of 4 months in laboratories was a REQUIREMENT for my Bachelor (Co-op). 

 

If you apply in Montreal for example or even Quebec city, in most laboratories you could ask to be financed and they would pay you something from 3000 to 5000$ for the summer from their own research funds. Although you are probably going to be expected to do real works and not just FOLLOW someone. You might even have your own projects but it really depends. Sherbrooke (where I study) is also another big hub for Research but don't expect as much english language there. A lot of French (from France) people come to study in Sherbrooke. There are a varieties of laboratories in different discipline but the big bulk of laboratories at the Hospital University Center are mainly focused on Diabetes and Cancer (Maybe half the labs or more). Montreal have thousands of laboratories in anything you want.

Another advice, if you are ever interested in Montreal, I know it's tempting to apply at McGill laboratories, but most of them will try not to pay you at all. If you are looking to get paid this might not be the best place to look for. And if you insist on McGill, look for researcher that have Quebec French sounding name if you can discern them from France french, because they are more likely to agree to pay you. A researcher that is from Poland or Germany will likely not pay you in most case but you can try anyway. When I applied for internship in Montreal for Fall 2014, I received 3 offers from McGill, one was an american saying he didnt have fund but could take me for free, the other one was a French from France and was offering me 2000$ for the summer and the third one was a researcher originally from Quebec and that did her postdoc at Oxford and she offered me 4500$.

 

If you need more info don't hesitate.

 

Also as you asked if you should ask teacher in other faculty, well if you are not in first year, any university might want to welcome you for internship if they happen to have a position. My best internship I did was because I applied to a tons of laboratories, didn't get answer/labs were full, reapplied a few weeks later to more, and someone answered and passed me in interview and accepted me, and basically the reason is because when I applied (already had lots of lab experience), one of the PhD had said he would quit the week before so he needed someone to take care of his project for the summer while he was looking for a new graduate student. It's always about being at the right place at the right time.

[lndale]

Also, if you are looking for an out of province experience, Quebec has very good opportunity for undergraduate research. You don't have to speak French in most laboratories, because the M.Sc. and PhD stuents might not even speak French. I'm always surprised when I hear student having difficulty doing research. I guess I am lucky at my University for that, as doing at least 3 internships of 4 months in laboratories was a REQUIREMENT for my Bachelor (Co-op). 

 

If you apply in Montreal for example or even Quebec city, in most laboratories you could ask to be financed and they would pay you something from 3000 to 5000$ for the summer from their own research funds. Although you are probably going to be expected to do real works and not just FOLLOW someone. You might even have your own projects but it really depends. Sherbrooke (where I study) is also another big hub for Research but don't expect as much english language there. A lot of French (from France) people come to study in Sherbrooke. There are a varieties of laboratories in different discipline but the big bulk of laboratories at the Hospital University Center are mainly focused on Diabetes and Cancer (Maybe half the labs or more). Montreal have thousands of laboratories in anything you want.

 

Another advice, if you are ever interested in Montreal, I know it's tempting to apply at McGill laboratories, but most of them will try not to pay you at all. If you are looking to get paid this might not be the best place to look for. And if you insist on McGill, look for researcher that have Quebec French sounding name if you can discern them from France french, because they are more likely to agree to pay you. A researcher that is from Poland or Germany will likely not pay you in most case but you can try anyway. When I applied for internship in Montreal for Fall 2014, I received 3 offers from McGill, one was an american saying he didnt have fund but could take me for free, the other one was a French from France and was offering me 2000$ for the summer and the third one was a researcher originally from Quebec and that did her postdoc at Oxford and she offered me 4500$.

 

If you need more info don't hesitate.

 

Also as you asked if you should ask teacher in other faculty, well if you are not in first year, any university might want to welcome you for internship if they happen to have a position. My best internship I did was because I applied to a tons of laboratories, didn't get answer/labs were full, reapplied a few weeks later to more, and someone answered and passed me in interview and accepted me, and basically the reason is because when I applied (already had lots of lab experience), one of the PhD had said he would quit the week before so he needed someone to take care of his project for the summer while he was looking for a new graduate student. It's always about being at the right place at the right time.

 

Thanks so much:) I will definitely try Quebec! I was in french immersion... maybe now I can finally put it to use haha

[kalischa]

I'm in my fourth year of biomedical sciences at UWO and I've been working at a lab for two summers now on internal grants from student competitions. I also volunteered in my first year with a prof (quite unsuccessfully I might add). One thing that's super important to know about (which many students don't) is internal grants. I won the Biochemistry Undergraduate Summer Research Program, which you apply for on your own and they match you up with a prof, and the Dean's Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, which you apply for with a few profs in mind (I was already working for mine).

 

Most schools have these, some of which almost nobody applies for (for example: http://cmhr.uwo.ca/). Try to find these out, apply for them, and you may get lucky. These do have entry requirements (ex. reference letter, grade cutoffs, year of study sometimes), but almost none ask for previous experience. That's my advice to you for getting into (paid) research!