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I am planning my PhD and am applying to various labs and professors.
I am getting positive responses, but I am having trouble making a decision as to which lab to go for. How can I judge the quality of research of a group? What parameters shall be kept in mind while making a decision? I usually look for relevant research interests.
How can I judge the quality of research of a group?
This is the wrong question.
What you should be asking is "How can I judge which research group will best support my educational and career goals?" And yes, this is a very different question. And while lab productivity may be correlated with the future career prospects of its members, the two are not identical. Some great researchers are terrible advisors.
Are the lab's students happy?
Do the lab's students have a consistent strong track record of publishing new results?
Are the lab's students strongly represented at conferences, workshops, and the like? In particular: Are the lab's students given ample opportunity to present their research outside their home department?
Are the lab's students given ample mentoring and support, both in developing their own research agendas and in applying for external fellowships, lab exchanges, internships, postdoctoral positions, faculty positions, and so on?
Are the lab's students given ample opportunity for substantial intellectual contributions to the lab's published research, or are they just lab/code monkeys?
Does the lab's research agenda closely match your own research interests and abilities?
Most importantly: Where do the lab's former students work now? (The worst possible answer is "We don't know.")
Almost none of these questions can be answered accurately without physically visiting the lab and talking directly to the students without the PI present. If travel is impractical, use Skype / Google hangout / Facetime / whatever. Or telephone. Or, if all else fails, email.
A couple of major factors to consider would be to research and read the research papers produced from each of the research groups, paying particular attention to:
How many articles are published, particularly in high quality journals relevant to the field of interest
Is there a consistent strong track record of publishing new results?
Their history of representation and contributions to conferences, workshops and the like
Also consider the availability of resources (physical and intellectual)
Perhaps arrange some visits to the labs, so that you can gauge how well the members work together.
JeffE lists many proper good factors. Few extra to add to the list:
General:
Is the group in a good department, university? These also influence your experience and your resume. It's also nice to have fallback options if the fellow leaves/dies/loses funding, or you have a conflict.
Is it in a town you like and can have fun in? For most people major urban centers are a draw.
Group specific:
The H index truly is the measure you're asking for. Other considerations I'd throw in before you make such a key decision:
