Timeline for Do's and Don't's of Undergraduate Research
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
11 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 13, 2014 at 13:08 | comment | added | Davidmh | In my master's project (being completely new to the field) I have had several discussions with my supervisor about techniques and approaches. I would say half of the time he was right and the other half I was. He has the experience, but I have been working with my data set and thinking about it much more than he has, so we both have very different perspectives. The risks of not following their advice are wasting time (the summer is limited) in something leading nowhere and the risk for the instrument. Discussion and suggestions are free in both cases. | |
| Mar 13, 2014 at 10:35 | comment | added | cbeleites | ... particularly as it also shows very clearly that the student does put his mind on the problem. In any case, as a student (and also later on) you can always formulate it as a question: "What are the reasons for approaching the problem this way and not say, from that (=new idea) angle?". For an undergrad internship the answer is usually known ;-). The point where I draw a line is that depending on how sensitive the lab equipment is, I may not like the idea of students trying out ideas on their own without consulting me first. If it was not a good idea: I have to realign the instrument... | |
| Mar 12, 2014 at 15:27 | comment | added | ff524 | I think this may be very field-specific - I see that you're in mathematics, where the role of undergrads in research is quite different than many other fields. In any event, acting on a "creative" idea without consulting your supervisor first can be bad - but I am always pleased when a student I am working with (undergrad, grad, or other) makes a suggestion. | |
| Mar 12, 2014 at 15:16 | comment | added | vadim123 | Look, I don't want to get in an extended debate here. The supervisor sets the parameters -- be creative in the areas where creativity is encouraged. Being creative "outside the box" is unlikely to lead to an outcome the OP wants, and in a lab science might even lead to someone getting hurt. | |
| Mar 12, 2014 at 14:54 | comment | added | ff524 | Undergrads are perfectly capable of having ideas that save time and improve the quality of the research (I have supervised several). If you think you have an idea, speak up - the worst that can happen is that your supervisor will explain why it isn't suitable (which is no big deal, wastes 2 minutes at most, and you'll learn something from it). The best that can happen is that it will be a really good idea that makes the research much better! | |
| Mar 12, 2014 at 14:49 | comment | added | vadim123 | It is bad to exceed expectations because of the likelihood of wasting time, both your own and the supervisor's. Keep in mind that this is an undergraduate, not a PhD student/postdoc. | |
| Mar 12, 2014 at 14:46 | comment | added | Tobias Kildetoft | I agree that that final comment really needs to be explained. Why would it be bad to exceed expectations? | |
| Mar 12, 2014 at 14:28 | comment | added | ff524 | I completely disagree - if you think you can do better than what your advisor tells you to do, you should absolutely speak up and suggest it. | |
| Mar 12, 2014 at 14:26 | comment | added | vadim123 | If you are given task A, and you do tasks A and B. Or, in a discussion, you are told to use method A, and you point out that method B may be better. | |
| Mar 12, 2014 at 14:24 | comment | added | ff524 | Exceeding expectations may not be a good thing; that's why I recommend doing it at most once - What does this mean? | |
| Mar 12, 2014 at 14:09 | history | answered | vadim123 | CC BY-SA 3.0 |