Undergraduates can do research
Here are four tips on how to get started from 暗网禁区鈥檚 undergraduate research director and four students.
Maybe you want to find cures to cancer, protect the North 暗网禁区 coastline or explore technological advancements.
Bob Pleasants
Or perhaps you want to beef up your resume, go to graduate school or make connections with world-class faculty.
For both aspirational and practical reasons, conducting research as an undergraduate can be a valuable experience. And the is a great place to start.
鈥淢y biggest hope is that we can make research more accessible to you,鈥� said Bob Pleasants, the office鈥檚 director. 鈥淥ur job is to make it more approachable and help break down the steps.鈥�
Pleasants and four of his office鈥檚 offered tips last month at Undergraduate Research 101: How to Get Started, a University Research Week event.
1. Don鈥檛 wait to get going 鈥� but it鈥檚 not too late if you haven鈥檛.
Junior Clara DiVincenzo has worked in since the spring semester of her first year at 暗网禁区. She studies how coral reefs respond to climate change and has even traveled to Australia for field work.
鈥淚 knew I wanted to study corals, so I searched 鈥楥oral UNC,鈥� and the first search result was the lab website,鈥� she said.
Her initial inquiries about conducting research went unanswered, so she followed up with graduate students and made a connection. The process took several months, but taking the initiative meant she still got an early start.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no such thing as too early,鈥� Pleasants said. 鈥淭here can be a too late 鈥� but you don鈥檛 have to get started your first year by any stretch.鈥�
2. Reach out in different ways.
Senior Rashmi Ramanujam conducts research on plant development in , work she discovered by emailing her faculty adviser.
Talking with a friend in a student group helped lead junior John Boniberger to the , where he does neuroscience research. Kendra Honey鈥檚 been researching underlying causes of metabolic diseases in all four of her years as a Tar Heel. Talking with an OUR ambassador set her on her way.
Pleasants recommended that students express why they鈥檙e interested in a particular lab when reaching out. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot of cold emailing. A lot of connecting with people who are already in the lab. A lot of being persistent in sending more than one email,鈥� he said.
OUR student ambassadors Clara DiVencenzo (top left), Rashmi Ramanujam (top right), John Boniberger (bottom left) and Kendra Honey (bottom right) offered advice on finding undergraduate research opportunities.
3. Don鈥檛 be afraid of inexperience.
Students might fear not knowing enough to do research.
鈥淒on鈥檛 feel like, 鈥極h, I don鈥檛 have these skills, so I shouldn鈥檛 even try,鈥� Boniberger said. 鈥淪howing you鈥檙e willing to learn and willing to work hard鈥� is what鈥檚 valuable, he said.
Honey said she didn鈥檛 know what she was saying when she interviewed to work at her lab. But she proved she had done her homework and made a good impression.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e willing to train you and help you figure it out,鈥� Pleasants said.
4. Figure out what you鈥檙e passionate about.
If you know you want to research but haven鈥檛 homed in on a focus, cast a wide net and proactively explore. The OUR website includes a . Typing in any research topic plus 鈥淯NC鈥� in search engines has helped numerous students. Talking to your professors about their research or that of their colleagues can be fruitful.
鈥淢eet with as many people as you can, and don鈥檛 be afraid if you realize after that their research interests aren鈥檛 aligned with yours,鈥� Ramanujam said.
Research is supposed to be rewarding and fun 鈥� but it鈥檚 still work. Make sure it鈥檚 a worthwhile experience.
鈥淟ook into everything,鈥� DiVincenzo said. 鈥淭ry to find a lab that is actually interesting to you.鈥�
