masters degree starts in about a month (asking for research experience)

[msee]

Hello,

Now I am starting a masters degree within a month. And I am so terrified about what I need to do.

Even though a master's thesis is optional at my institution, I want to have some research experiences and write a thesis in the end. I have no research experience from my undergrad. This makes me feel scared to approach a professor to ask for a research position/experience (lack of knowledge to have a in-depth research-related conversation with a professor).

As I have known what research area I want to do since applying grad schools, I have been interested in working with one professor. To know more of her research interest/work, I started to read her research group's publications more carefully (however, the problem is that I can't understand some of details of the publications). Is there any method/tactic/know-how for a new master's student to get more ideas from journals? Should I just keep reading even if I am not fully understood?

Also, I don't care about the money for my tuition or anything. I am not seeking for stipends. I can still be self-funded even if I join her group (should I call this a volunteer?RA?or what?). I mean it's better to be funded, but my priority is research. Should I mention this to the professor? If yes, how should I do?

please advise me.

Thank you so much in advance.

[Dal PhDer]

Hi There,

Even though you have no research experience on your side, you sound like you have a lot of motivation and determination (and interest)- which will work in your favour.

Here's some advice:

1) Your step towards reading her articles is really great!! It's not uncommon to not understand certain things in articles. What are you having problems with? Is it a content? A specific theory? Methodology? Statistical analysis? Whenever I come to a bump in an article that I don't understand, I normally just look towards the internet and surf around until I get a better understanding. Normally your UG doesn't go into a whole lot of detail around methods and stats- these are really things you will be learning during your masters. When I did my MA, myself and 1 or 2 other students actually had experience doing research- so you won't be alone. My suggestion to get through the articles is to try and teach yourself a little bit of the information!

2) Email the prof that you want to work with and say that you're interested in gaining more experience with research, specifically in her area (I might make reference to one of the articles you read if it's in line with what you want to do), and mention that you would like to chat with her about the potential to volunteer for them. (Some students would say don't upfront offer your time/work for free, but I have before just to show (1) that I am really interested in working with them and (2) to get a foot in the door. 100% of the time it turned into a paid position after I showed them I was a 'keeper'.

3) I might also be upfront with the advisor and say 'I am really interested in your work. I have this idea for a research thesis ____, I think your background/expertise could add _____ to the project. And I would really like to discuss the opportunity to work with you.'. If it's a thesis based program (or option for that track), then professors in the department will be use to students asking for this type of guidance. Go to them wit a strong idea/question and demonstrate to them that you know their background and what their contributions could be, and you'll impress them!

[TakeruK]

I agree with Dal PhDer's points and to expand on point #2 regarding volunteering. I think that working for free on a long term basis is a very bad idea but offering to volunteer for a prof upfront is a very good way to get your first research experience. Hiring research assistants is expensive and profs may be reluctant to hire you if there are other more experienced people. My first ever research experience was just one summer volunteering for a prof and he later hired me for other work.

Many (but not all!) profs do feel bad about not paying their students. The relationship between volunteer + prof is very different than one between paid research assistant + prof. For the former case, there is no formal responsibility between the volunteer and the prof -- the volunteer is basically doing this for their own benefit only. If you are hired though, then that creates a much more formal and stable working relationship. For this reason, even just offering to volunteer will show enough drive and motivation that might cause your prof to hire you (maybe after a few weeks to see how it works out).

I don't know if I really explained it clearly, but the bottom line is that the working relationship as a volunteer is very different than that of an employee and most profs would prefer to work with employees than volunteers. In fact, the prof I originally volunteered with was very reluctant to even take me on for free, but he didn't have funding that summer, so he made me promise to not work too hard, basically. It was a very casual job, after a few weeks of learning the basics, the rest of the summer was just checking on some simulations every couple of days (which takes 1-2 hours).

[msee]

Thank you very much for the answers!

I sent an email to meet the professor and have a talk few days ago. However, I didn't get any reply email from her. Should I just visit her office and tell her like"I sent an email for research experience and haven't received a reply from you, so I just came here to talk"?

[bryanilee]

"...Should I just visit her office and tell her like"I sent an email for research experience and haven't received a reply from you, so I just came here to talk"?..."

I hope you've now been in communication with her. I would in general recommend trying to stop by the professor's office, just in case the email ended up in a Spam folder. Or just got lost - I'm sure some professors are more organized than others. :-) When I found an advisor I did drop by offices. And of course, try and see if they look busy, and if so see if there might be a better time to chat. Best of luck!