Developing an official "Research Interest"

[JuneTree]

I'm applying to grad schools in NY/NJ for Fall 2012 and will have 1.5 years of research experience, 3 labs. (yes, on the low side, but I am going to be working in 2 different labs concurrently for the .5 year). I have worked in a trauma lab (1 year, no pubs) and in an obesity research lab (2 months, project), but neither excited my passion, except confirming my love of stats.

Ultimately, I don't have a specific interest like "differences between neural substrates of positive emotional expression while underwater basket weaving in the Asian and Caucasion populations before and after puberty as measured by fMRI and PET."

So what fascinates me?

---Social neuroscience - (the brain and human social interaction - why we need it, how it works)

---Affective neuroscience (the brain and emotion)

---Analysis of personality and motivation

What should I do in terms of Personal Statements? I was planning to just rewrite it for each school, but I can't possibly be thorough enough between such different fields.

P.S. I am looking for fMRI experience in the NYC area.

Edited September 4, 2011 by JuneTree

[JuneTree]

Hi everyone,

Please someone advise me? Or at least let me know what I am doing that may be coming across the wrong way?

[neuropsych76]

The fields you mentioned are actually pretty similar. I think you would be able to make a standard PS that demonstrates your background and interest in social neuroscience but then you can tailor it to each school.

My PS's were all the same except for one paragraph which was tailored to the particular POI(s)

[socialpsych]

I think the level of specificity of your research interests is appropriate for your stage in the process, but you should probably come up with something more specific to put in your SOP. The statement of research interests in the SOP serves a few different functions: it demonstrates that you know what a workable and interesting research question is, that you can talk about research topics in the same way the pros do, and that you're the kind of student who would be able to get started right away instead of just waiting for direction from professors; plus it could help the program assign you to an advisor if you express interest in the research of multiple professors (which you should). However, you will NOT be committed to actually following up the specific research questions you raise in your SOP. If you feel uncomfortable presenting your interests as possibly more specific than they really are, you can present the more specific questions as examples of the types of things that interest you.

Maybe this will help: think about the study you would want to run right now if you were already in school. What seems to you like "low-hanging fruit" in the broader fields in which you're interested?

Edited September 7, 2011 by socialpsych