Which research experiences should I include in my SOP?

[Dedi]

Okay, so my SOP is supposed to be no longer than a page for one of the programs I am applying to.

The thing is, I have done quite a few research projects and simply cannot discuss all of them, plus my current research interests.

I'd rather not cut out anything from my current research interests (I feel it's important) so I need to select only a couple projects to reflect on.

I am definitely discussing my first independent research project, but the second one I am unsure of.

Which would look more favorable:

A research course project with distinctive results (that can be publishable with more subjects) but a simple research design (done by me); or

An outside project with muddled results, but a more complex design (done by my advisor, though)

 

I'm leaning towards the former, but I guess I wanted confirmation from others.

 

Also, as a side note, I'm willing to trade SOP drafts. Keep in mind that some stuff I mention in the SOP are still in progress, i.e., my research abroad experience.

[fuzzylogician]

Question(s): what did you contribute to each project? How long did you work on them? How do they fit with your current/future research interests? What can you say that you learned from each project? What relevant or transferrable skills did you gain from each one? How different are each of these projects from the other project you say you'll write about? 

 

Also, will you get letters of recommendation detailing your work on one, or both of these projects? Do they otherwise appear on your CV (they both should, I imagine, but still.)?

[Vene]

I would say all projects need to be mentioned so it's known that you have the experience, at least if they've been under different people. If you've spent the last three years doing research I don't know that it's vital to include the two weeks you spent helping a postdoc optimize their assay.

But, you don't necessarily have to go into detail. You could say something like 'I worked on a project where I investigated x with Professor Y. I also worked with Professor Q on project p. Afterwards, I assisted Professor W with her work on z. Some highlights from my research include [text]. From my experiences I decided I would like to focus on such-and-such subject because reasons.'

[Dedi]

Question(s): what did you contribute to each project? How long did you work on them? How do they fit with your current/future research interests? What can you say that you learned from each project? What relevant or transferrable skills did you gain from each one? How different are each of these projects from the other project you say you'll write about? 

 

Also, will you get letters of recommendation detailing your work on one, or both of these projects? Do they otherwise appear on your CV (they both should, I imagine, but still.)?

 

For the former project, with the exception of a few blind sessions with someone else, I did pretty much everything. I worked on it for a semester so far, but I plan to continue this project on my own free time this fall. I learned about single-case designs, which will be useful in future work outside of graduate school. I also learned about manuscript writing (since our course paper was in manuscript form) and how to be concise in my papers.

 

For the latter project, I worked on it for 1.5 semesters. Though I was working with other people on this project, I made a significant contribution and got highly involved. I learned a lot about research design (the muddled results came from a flawed research design). I also learned how to be flexible.

 

Both (which involved rats) are very different from the first independent project (which involved zebrafish). All have a purpose, though--the independent project involved my future research interests while the rat projects allowed me to work with the species I want to utilize for my research in grad school.

 

Both projects were supervised by my advisor and I am asking him for a letter of recommendation. Since they both resulted in a poster, yes, they are on my CV as well.

 

 

The hard thing about my situation is that my research experience is very fragmented because our university doesn't have research labs that we can apply to and work in for years (at least in biology and psychology anyways--chemistry may be different). I take whatever experience I can get, even if it's a research course or volunteer work. Last semester, I was working on 4 different projects. So it's hard to say in years how much research experience I have.

[ginagirl]

I personally would suggest focusing on the outside project, mainly because I think the experience of learning from "muddled" research is more worthwhile talking about than a successful independent research project (which you will still be including in your CV).

 

I worked on a project for 2.5 years in undergrad on a study which I did not design completely on my own. It stinks but we barely had anything concrete to show for it at the end, even with the regular, hands-on contributions of two full-time faculty members. Obviously I didn't discuss it quite in that way in my SOP (ha) but I think being able to say that you learned something about the research process itself is more valuable to an admissions committee than that you learned about a specific phenomenon. Not many people can say they worked hands-on with a design and can appreciate the work it takes to make a truly successful study. I personally feel I learned more from my 2.5 year project than my summer-long independent project that had no hiccups but was not engaging/challenging/rewarding.

 

Obviously this is all just my two cents, and possibly just a devil's advocate position. I would say as long as both are included in your CV you can't really go wrong, but I would suggest not trying to cover ALL the research you've done your SOP, just one or two specific studies.

** just as a sidenote, that long project was a rat study- I'm sure you can understand why it didn't always go according to plan

[Dedi]

I personally would suggest focusing on the outside project, mainly because I think the experience of learning from "muddled" research is more worthwhile talking about than a successful independent research project (which you will still be including in your CV).

 

I worked on a project for 2.5 years in undergrad on a study which I did not design completely on my own. It stinks but we barely had anything concrete to show for it at the end, even with the regular, hands-on contributions of two full-time faculty members. Obviously I didn't discuss it quite in that way in my SOP (ha) but I think being able to say that you learned something about the research process itself is more valuable to an admissions committee than that you learned about a specific phenomenon. Not many people can say they worked hands-on with a design and can appreciate the work it takes to make a truly successful study. I personally feel I learned more from my 2.5 year project than my summer-long independent project that had no hiccups but was not engaging/challenging/rewarding.

 

Obviously this is all just my two cents, and possibly just a devil's advocate position. I would say as long as both are included in your CV you can't really go wrong, but I would suggest not trying to cover ALL the research you've done your SOP, just one or two specific studies.

** just as a sidenote, that long project was a rat study- I'm sure you can understand why it didn't always go according to plan

 

That is a very good point, actually. Because of this project, my advisor and I have established a nice collaborative relationship. Because these results will not be publishable in a journal, he's going to give me a really positive LOR in return. I dedicated myself towards the project and took a leadership role. I probably do have more to say about this project than the other one, come to think of it...

[themmases]

Do you have to mention the same ones to every school? I personally think anything you planned and executed yourself is better, but if you have more than one project that shows your qualifications, maybe you should discuss different ones with different schools depending what you like about them. Then you can summarize your accomplishments on your CV.

 

For example, I talked about one of two studies I designed for every SOP, and then just listed the resulting projects that reused my method at the end, to demonstrate that it was successful. After that, for one program with a big imaging center, I talked about explaining advanced imaging to research subjects. For another one that's very involved in the surrounding community, I talked more about my experiences and philosophy around communicating with and educating research subjects on a specific study. For another one that has a giant data center I would want to work in, I talked about the second software project and implementing a study design that was initially not workable in our hospital.

 

Then my CV section for that time just had the bullet points so it was clear I was responsible for other stuff that didn't make the SOP, e.g. "assisted in design of x prospective studies" or "managed studies resulting in y published papers".

 

This was more work, but it looks like you have time and it could even help you decide if one project is the clear winner or summarize your other projects in a compelling way that fits into your SOP after all. You could also talk to your advisor about which projects you'll discuss in your SOP, so he can make clear in his LOR that your work was also good on other studies.