Question about research experience

[Hopeful678]

Hello, my query is about whether you think direct research experience in the area you want to do your PhD work in is essential to being admitted to a PhD program. Over the last 5 years I have been involved in many different ares of research in Linguistics, Psychology, and Neuroscience, which has resulted in a few publications. I now want to do cognitive based research in autism spectrum disorders, however, I don't have direct research experience in the population nor have I worked in the population. My only involvement has been in theoretical autism papers derived from the literature. Do you think this is a fools errant or is it possible for me to be admitted to a PhD program switching research areas?

Edited March 8, 2015 by Hopeful678

[gliaful]

I don't know what you mean by "theoretical autism papers". That aside, I'm switching research areas and I have no background in my new field (other than a class I took and personal time spent reading). My background is in general biology and I'm going into neuroscience. It sounds like you have a background in psych and neuro, which seems perfect if you're looking to do cognitive research -- so I feel like I'm missing something. You don't need to have an extensive working knowledge of ASD to do research concerning ASD, if that's what you're asking.

Edited March 8, 2015 by pasteltomato

[Vene]

My pre-grad school research was in chemical formulation. Now I'm doing work on protein function. The important thing is to have research experience and an idea of what you want to do next, not that your experience is a perfect match.