How to get research experience in comm

[hnotis]

Obviously, in order to strengthen my application I want to look into getting some kind of research experience in the Comm field.

I'm still unclear about the best way to approach this at the undergraduate level...

Maybe you all could share some stories about how you ventured into the world of research before grad school and maybe even post anything you published then as well.

 

Thanks!

[literary_tourist]

Hmmm...try to send read some of your papers in conferences? Conferences are great places to network and learn from others.

[CommPhD20]

See if any of your advisors/professors need research assistants. This is, IMO, hands down the best way to get research experience. Like literary_tourist said, try to present at a conference or two as well. Given that you're just getting your feet wet in research, target conferences that are targeted to undergraduates or are otherwise going to be warm and welcoming to someone who isn't exactly on the cutting edge. I'd make it a larger priority to try to find a research assistantship. If you can't find any listings (different schools have different ways of making these positions known), approach the professor you feel most comfortable with and see if they need any help with research tasks like coding, etc. If not, they might be able to give you advice on who could accommodate you.

 

Alternately/additionally, try to do an extended senior research project. This can give you a pretense to really get immersed in your field and find out where your interests fit and if you even fit at all. For instance, I know you mentioned an interest in gender/sexuality and media in another thread. This would provide you an opportunity to see if you are really interested in communication - maybe you'd realize that you're actually interested in media studies, literary theory, or gender and sexuality studies. It would give you something substantive to talk about in your application materials and on any visits/interviews as well.

Edited June 14, 2014 by JLRC

[hnotis]

Awesome thank you guys!  It looks like now I have some things to work toward in this final semester before I send out applications.  

[TheRufus]

If you're still in undergrad, I would strongly advise you to do an undergraduate thesis...check with your department or your university honor's program (if you're in it) for how. This will *create* research experience that you yourself can direct, and give you much more of it (coming up with a question, designing a procedure to answer the question, and going through the process of doing it) than piggy-backing on someone else's project, though you doing that can help you figure out how research works in a more general sense. This applies doubly if you want to go straight into a PhD program out of undergrad.

[hnotis]

While looking into the possibility of doing an undergrad thesis, I came across the opportunity to take up to 3 credits of Directed Study in Communication.  I'm hoping to be able to use that to work with my advisor on a research project next semester. I hope I can get enough experience in one semester to make an impact on my application!