Hints for Success in Undergraduate Research(Based on article by Armando Fox at UC Berkeley)Here are a few suggestions to help you find a good research project, and to help you succeed when you get it.
General ExpectationsRemember that from the point of view of the group that hired you, the goal is not to give you work experience, nor to pay you, nor to grade you on the result of some piece of work; it is to have you do some piece of work that has continuing value in the project. Therefore it's unlikely that you're being hired to do "make work"; the quality of your results will have a direct bearing on the research group's success. You will become an important part of a small, self-motivated, and dedicated team. In all likelihood, your immediate "managers" will be one or more of the graduate students in the group, not the sponsoring faculty member. You'll generally meet with the faculty member at least once a week for status updates. Some graduate students are better managers than others. If you have a problem with the relationship, try talking to the grad student first, and if that doesn't help, talk to the faculty sponsor. After all, they have just as much interest in seeing the project benefit from your help, so if there is a problem they will have a vested interest in helping to solve it.
What you can get out of a research project
Do you like this research area? Even if you've already chosen between more school and a job, you may not be sure on which area(s) to focus. A good one-semester project should give you enough exposure in that project's research area to allow you to decide how interesting it really is. Some areas seem more exciting on paper than they turn out to be, and some areas that don't sound particularly exciting turn out to be cool. Do you want a good letter of recommendation? Most faculty are happy to write you a letter, if they have firsthand evidence of your high-quality work. If you do good work for a research project, it is perfectly reasonable for you to expect the faculty sponsor to write you a strong letter. If you do mediocre work, you won't want the faculty sponsor to write you a letter. It's OK to say at the outset that this is one of your goals. Most faculty understand that letters are both important and difficult to get, and undergraduate research work is a great way to get them. Just be sure to deliver on your promises.
Why a research project is not like a class projectExpectations Beyond the End of the Semester. Unlike a class project, your involvement in a research project doesn't end when you graduate, when you leave the group, or when you complete your stated goals. It is highly unlikely that you were hired for a "make-work" position, which means that it is very likely your work will be picked up by someone else in the near future, perhaps immediately. For example, you may even be asked to give the newbie a training before you leave. So you should hold your results to a high standard, because unlike a semester project, these results will outlive you and will reflect on you once you are gone.Be Realistic When Promising Results. Be realistic about your own time constraints. Often you will be asked how long you think it will take for you to reach a particular milestone, or how far along you can get within a given period of time (say, the next demo opportunity or paper submission deadline). Set schedules that are aggressive but not unrealistic. Doing a thorough job on a modest-sized commitment is much more impressive to faculty than volunteering for a larger-sized commitment but being unable to follow through. Finally, remember you will be working on research projects, and thus everything will not always go smoothly or according to schedule - don't despair, that is the nature of the beast, but be sure to inform your supervisor immediately. Intermediate Milestones and Incremental Progress. Unlike final exams or class projects, many research projects are on schedules that have intermediate milestones. That means that if you've agreed to sign up for a 4-month (one-semester) project, you can't simply do all the work in the last four weeks, even if you are physically and mentally capable of doing so. If the research group is approaching a particularly important milestone, you may be asked (but you can't be coerced) to work more than your stated weekly hours to help meet the critical milestone. Helpful questions to ask
TroubleshootingWhat if you hit roadblocks? You should tell the other people in your group immediately. In some cases, it may be a simple matter to help you overcome the roadblock, especially if it's simply due to your not having taken some particular class, etc. If it is a serious roadblock, all the more reason to speak up early. Initiative and self-motivation are valued, therefore you're expected to ask for help. If the most efficient way for you to proceed is by asking a question, you should always ask it.
What if it doesn't work out?
If you think you won't be happy continuing in the project, you should
let the others in the research group know as soon as possible. If they
hired you, it means they have enough work to be done that they need an
extra person to do it, and if you're not going to be that person, you
should tell them as soon as you know. Most groups do not have the
resources to supervise more than one or two undergraduate researchers.
There won't be any hard feelings. |
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