need research advice

[newguy2]

I'm in the second year of my masters degree in engineering and this is the first semester that I really have become involved research. I managed to get a head start from working with previous graduate students in my lab last year and have started writing a chapter for my thesis. I took the summer off for an internship. That being said, I haven't quite figured out how to manage myself in this environment and this is extremely new to me.

 

I have taken on two classes and two research projects this semester and it's been difficult trying to manage it all. I feel like I don't get very far in research because 1) of the workload of the classes and 2) from the fact that I have no idea what I am doing in terms of research. I run experiments, but have no idea as to what I am looking for so I feel I am doing my research blindly. According to my advisor, it isn't research if I know what I'm doing, which is probably very true. My advisor also hinted that research should take priority over classes, but I'm afraid that if I could fail my classes by doing that, which would hold me back from graduating on time. I have already falling behind in classes because of research.

 

What's also frustrating is that I have very little resources or training to do the work, so I spend a lot of time just restocking supplies and searching for people who know how to use certain equipment. I almost have to fight for the resources I need to do my job. I guess it has shocked me that I have to work almost 100% independently, with very little resources and training to do research. I feel extremely uncomfortable with the lack of structure.

 

As of now, almost half of the semester is done and I still have nothing to show for since last year. I am hoping to graduate by end of next semester or the summer due to a job offer, but the way things are going now, I feel like I may not graduate on time. Are these the typical growing pains of a graduate student? Could anyone offer advice on how to manage all of the crazyness?

[shadowclaw]

Well, it's a bit too late now, but you probably shouldn't have taken on a research project that uses techniques, equipment, etc that you are unfamiliar with unless you knew that you had time to learn them before beginning the project or had someone who could mentor you. If your advisor told you that you would be trained and then didn't follow through, then that's a different story and you should talk to him/her about it. Really, you should talk to your advisor anyway and see if someone is available to sit down and actually show you how to work the equipment, or maybe someone else can work on the project with you.

As for the statement, "it isn't research if I know what I'm doing," that makes no sense at all to me. I'm not an engineer and I don't know what your project is, but I can tell you that when I do research, I know what I'm doing. I know the techniques that I am using, and I know what kind of data I am collecting. Plus, I always have a research question/hypothesis when I do an experiment, so I know what I am looking for in the results. I don't do something like throw some bacteria in a Petri dish and put random chemicals on them and then look to see what happens. I have a plan and have some expectation of what the results might be.

Your advisor is right that research has a higher priority than classes, but if you feel that you might fail your courses because of your research, it means that you have taken on too much. I would personally either drop one of the courses, or drop one of the research projects if it isn't tied into my thesis. You should really talk to your advisor more about your concerns and let them know that you aren't trained enough for the research and that you have too much going on with 2 classes and 2 projects. If your advisor can't understand that, you could try talking to the head of the graduate program or members of your thesis committee and find out what advice they have for you.

[newguy2]

Well, it's a bit too late now, but you probably shouldn't have taken on a research project that uses techniques, equipment, etc that you are unfamiliar with unless you knew that you had time to learn them before beginning the project or had someone who could mentor you. If your advisor told you that you would be trained and then didn't follow through, then that's a different story and you should talk to him/her about it. Really, you should talk to your advisor anyway and see if someone is available to sit down and actually show you how to work the equipment, or maybe someone else can work on the project with you.

As for the statement, "it isn't research if I know what I'm doing," that makes no sense at all to me. I'm not an engineer and I don't know what your project is, but I can tell you that when I do research, I know what I'm doing. I know the techniques that I am using, and I know what kind of data I am collecting. Plus, I always have a research question/hypothesis when I do an experiment, so I know what I am looking for in the results. I don't do something like throw some bacteria in a Petri dish and put random chemicals on them and then look to see what happens. I have a plan and have some expectation of what the results might be.

Your advisor is right that research has a higher priority than classes, but if you feel that you might fail your courses because of your research, it means that you have taken on too much. I would personally either drop one of the courses, or drop one of the research projects if it isn't tied into my thesis. You should really talk to your advisor more about your concerns and let them know that you aren't trained enough for the research and that you have too much going on with 2 classes and 2 projects. If your advisor can't understand that, you could try talking to the head of the graduate program or members of your thesis committee and find out what advice they have for you.

 

As far as equipment training is concerned, I do know how to use it, but it's troubleshooting the equipment that was frustrating. I actually figured it out today, so I should be ok from that standpoint.

 

From the research standpoint, the objective of my project is rather broad, so there is more than one question to answer and solve. The problem for me is trying to narrow down my focus and try to solve one particular problem at hand, instead of tackling it all at once. Maybe I will figure it out as I go.

 

Classes are actually ok right now. I have done well in all of my HW and midterms are this week. I just recently fell behind a bit and I guess I exaggerated a bit about failing. I apologize about the previous post. I wrote it in a moment of extreme stress and frustration, which I am still trying to deal with.

[Eigen]

My guess is the statement is intended to mean that it's not really bushing boundaries if you know what will happen. And in general, I'd expect that to be the case. If you know what will happen, either someone else has done it or it's a derivative of known work, in which case it's not truly interesting research. 

 

You might have ideas of what you'll find, or you might be going in mostly blind and trying to figure out something very new in your field. 

 

That said, you should absolutely be familiar with the techniques, or able to learn them quite fast. 

 

Classes are far less important than research, and you shouldn't be in a position of being in danger of failing due to research. In our group, it's suggested (strongly) that you be in lab working about 8 hours a day when you're done with courses, or about 6 hours a day when you're in courses. I found that to be a fairly good guideline- classes didn't detract much from my research. That said, if your background is weak or you're transitioning into a different area, that might be different. 

 

It sounds to me like you might not have a lot of prior research experience, from undergrad? If so, a lot of what you're experiencing in terms of frustrations narrowing down or defining the question come more easily with experience, and some of the senior grad students can probably help you quite a bit. 

[newguy2]

My guess is the statement is intended to mean that it's not really bushing boundaries if you know what will happen. And in general, I'd expect that to be the case. If you know what will happen, either someone else has done it or it's a derivative of known work, in which case it's not truly interesting research. 

 

You might have ideas of what you'll find, or you might be going in mostly blind and trying to figure out something very new in your field. 

 

That said, you should absolutely be familiar with the techniques, or able to learn them quite fast. 

 

Classes are far less important than research, and you shouldn't be in a position of being in danger of failing due to research. In our group, it's suggested (strongly) that you be in lab working about 8 hours a day when you're done with courses, or about 6 hours a day when you're in courses. I found that to be a fairly good guideline- classes didn't detract much from my research. That said, if your background is weak or you're transitioning into a different area, that might be different. 

 

It sounds to me like you might not have a lot of prior research experience, from undergrad? If so, a lot of what you're experiencing in terms of frustrations narrowing down or defining the question come more easily with experience, and some of the senior grad students can probably help you quite a bit. 

 

You're right on the money there! I came into grad school without any prior research experience, so that may explain my struggles/frustrations. My research project is something completely different from my field so it's taking time to figure out what I need to focus on. I'm still fine-tuning my experimental technique, but the data analysis is something that is way over my head.

 

As far as classes go, pulling 6 hrs a day in lab with courses seems a bit of a stretch. I spend about 2 whole days on HW/projects for classes and the rest of the week for research. It will probably change some weeks due to projects for those courses. 

 

I am really hoping I get the courses/research routine down soon, as my hope is to graduate this year with my masters. I definitely feel burned out most days so it's extremely hard to stay motivated at times. Any advice for getting over burn out? 

Edited October 13, 2014 by newguy2