Experimental Research

[firefly28]

I'm thinking about what avenues of research to concentrate on once I start my doctorate in the fall. I already have a collection of ideas, about half of which are experimental in nature and half of which are not. Think it's better to concentrate on the non-experimental research topics? Experimental is costlier and harder to do, and I'm not sure if it's harder to get published in the better journals.

[hupr]

I'd say concentrate on getting your course work done first. Cart and horse and all that.

[firefly28]

I'd say concentrate on getting your course work done first. Cart and horse and all that.

Not bad advice, but the methodological concentration issue is one factor in my decision-making process: one of the two schools I'm considering has more folks with a background in experimental, the other has more of a focus on other methodology.

[Penelope Higgins]

Costlier, yes. Harder? Not necessarily.

Some journals seem to be publishing nothing but experimental work; some have no interest in it.

Don't make decisions about your research based on perceived sexiness of method or ease of publication. Do work that you find interesting and do it well. Nothing else matters, whether in grad school or beyond.

I'm thinking about what avenues of research to concentrate on once I start my doctorate in the fall. I already have a collection of ideas, about half of which are experimental in nature and half of which are not. Think it's better to concentrate on the non-experimental research topics? Experimental is costlier and harder to do, and I'm not sure if it's harder to get published in the better journals.

[maicondouglas]

I can't speak to how hard it is to publish experimental research. Just remember that the hoops you have to jump through when dealing with human test subjects are ridiculous. Everything needs to be approved by oversight committees and any snag could set you back six months or so.