What else can I do to improve this process?

[splitends]

My McNair paper was pretty terrible. I still listed the project on my CV. Research experience is research experience-- you sell yourself short if you don't list everything relevant. Just don't turn it in as your writing sample.

[Khayembii]

What about the huge engineering project thingymajig? I'm sure that would be good to put on there as it shows my strong mathematical skillz. Would that count as original research, though?

EDIT: Here's another one. I co-manage a blog about current events surrounding Iran. We update it daily, but it is all news aggregation; we usually write our own stuff when there's an uptick in views (we only get like 30 views/day, but that goes up to thousands when Iran is in the news in a big way). It's not that great, but it's something I guess? I suppose I'm getting way too far ahead of myself as I shouldn't be worried about this stuff until after I pass the GRE and start looking at schools.

Edited March 9, 2012 by Khayembii

[splitends]

I don't think it's relevant in the sense that I would spend time talking about it in the Statement of Purpose, and definitely wouldn't submit it as a writing sample. It could be a line on your CV if you had a section marked "Research Experience." But honestly, it just doesn't seem like there are really transferable skills there or experiences there, unless for some reason you were using STATA or R while designing this building.

Remember, it's all about convincing a bunch of sociologists that you have the potential to be a sociologist, not that you were a good engineering student...

[Khayembii]

But honestly, it just doesn't seem like there are really transferable skills there or experiences there

Well someone was really playing up the idea that I have strong math skills and that is a big advantage, so I thought it would portray that? And yes, I am speaking of a line on my CV, not a writing sample and not in my SoP.

[RefurbedScientist]

I was always wondering why book chapters were not high in the publication hierarchy. What exactly is the logic behind this? Book chapters usually don't contain terribly important original research because if the research had been that important, it would've been published in a journal, etc.? Aren't many book chapters actually slightly revised versions of previously published journal articles?

Edited volumes are typically considered as a resource for teaching or as introduction/update in a topic. Usually a publisher and editor will approach profs and invite them to contribute chapters. The editor will review the chapters, but they're not subject to the rigorous double-blind peer review process that characterize academic journals. Edited volumes aren't exactly for a "popular audience", but they typically don't go deep into methodology or results, so you won't see data. All the nuts and bolts of research are backstage. You're right that oftentimes chapters are revised articles, which means they are somewhat behind the current state of research. Also chapters are frequently reviews of a particular branch of the literature with some argumentation added on. They're not usually the first product of an original research product.

[RefurbedScientist]

Well someone was really playing up the idea that I have strong math skills and that is a big advantage, so I thought it would portray that? And yes, I am speaking of a line on my CV, not a writing sample and not in my SoP.

Definitely put it on your CV. You can even mention it in your SoP as an academic product that you produced independently (or collaboratively with fellow students as they case may be), but don't give it more than a sentence. That might demonstrate work ethic or follow-through or something desirable like that, especially if you contextualize it along with math and analytical skills.

I think it would be very unusual for a adcomm to request to see a paper on your CV. I put a paper on there that is written entirely in Spanish, so it wouldn't have been very much use to them. It's worth putting on everything that relates and reflects well on you.

[ohhello]

If it somehow - in the remotest sense - relates to what you imagine you'll study, definitely mention how the skills or insights you've gained as an engineering student will benefit your graduate studies (perhaps in a concluding paragraph).

[jacib]

Yo, I go to a good school. I think in my cohort, the cohort above me, and the cohort below me, there were a total of like two to four publications for the 20 or so people in the program. It's not so important to have a publication to get into graduate school. What is important is to have a clear, well designed statement of purpose that matches your skills. I'm getting to the grant writing stage and what they always tell us is "present your research in such a way that you are the only person qualified to possibly do it" (make sure you sell your language skills). There's a few people here who have more conventional business backgrounds--they're writing about economic sociology. We just admitted a kid this year with a physics background, he's doing interesting networks stuff. One kid has a hard science background and is studying science policy in a country whose language she speaks. We've admitted a lot of lawyers in the past few years, most of whom have projects that in some way involve the law. Whatever you do, if you can make your engineering relevant, do so. Make your project about expertise, or trumpet your quant skills, something, but put your engineering in your statement of purpose and how it will make you a better sociology in such a way. Even if you really want to write about Iranian politics and you don't see the connection exactly, make a connection you can sell in your statement of purpose. Talk about how your quant skills will help that, how engineering got you interested in standards and expertise and now you're interested in how the ulema establishes the legitimacy of their rule through their monopolizing religious expertise. Or how with your fancy engineering quant skills you want to learn how do a network analysis so you can study how the leadership of Iran has X, Y, and Z'd, or how the government orchestrated systematically broke down the protestors' networks (network failure is a topic some people are interested in), and what would more resilient protest networks look like, whatever. Your statement of purpose for you is probably the most important important part--you need to sell yourself as a serious sociologist, capable of asking good, focused and interesting research questions.

Yes, make sure to mention your engineering thesis, definitely in your CV, but probably also as half a sentence in your statement (everyone will read your statement, but who knows if everyone will read your CV). You don't need to make that your writing sample and obviously you shouldn't.

And randomly, I do not know why people are saying (most kinds of) book chapters probably do count as "original research". I don't know who said that, but they're probably more legitimate than the bachelor's thesis I wrote that was the major research on my resume. They count less professionally because they're just not peer reviewed; you could write any old thing in them.

[RefurbedScientist]

And randomly, I do not know why people are saying (most kinds of) book chapters probably do count as "original research". I don't know who said that, but they're probably more legitimate than the bachelor's thesis I wrote that was the major research on my resume. They count less professionally because they're just not peer reviewed; you could write any old thing in them.

I'm making the claim that, for a grad student or junior professor, book chapters are less valuable than peer reviewed journal articles for the job market or tenure review. It would be quite unusual for an applicant to have a book chapter, but probably awesome.

[tt503]

Well for my engineering degree I had to present a senior design project which involved myself and three others as a group designing a three story building, which we designed according to LEED Platinum certification (highest environmental certification possible), as well as diverting part of a river to create a fish spawning basin, diverting bus routes and so on. Overall the entire report was a few hundred pages. Though it was a collaborative effort, would that count as "research" or "original research" as we designed it ourselves?

I also had to present an Econ thesis at the end of my major but TBH though I enjoyed reading about the thesis (Red Capitalism in China) the paper sucked ass.

I was on an engineering team that designed an eco-village (my group was responsible for surface and groundwater, wetlands, etc.). Our collaborative part of the report was 75 pages...I think it counts as "research" just as a "different kind"...I've included my explanation of this on an additional course list sheet (because some of my apps ask for an additional course list), and I may mention it in my SOP...it's not on my C.V. or anything though. If your thesis was part of an undergraduate symposium, you should list it. If it was just something you had to do in order to graduate, I'm not sure I would list it (e.g. I've "presented" my Master's thesis twice...the first time, was through a defense, and the second time was at an international conference...it is only listed on my C.V. for the international conference.)

[jacib]

Word, sorry I didn't read the context.