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Where do I get my research idea from? How do I get a prof to sign on? What about grants?

2007-02-12 14:48:09 · 2 answers · asked by trueblue88 5 in Education & Reference Higher Education (University +)

University of Michigan

2007-02-12 15:01:31 · update #1

2 answers

research ideas typically come from yourself. If you're a Jr. or Sr. then you have taken a decent bit of courses and probably have some interest in a particular aspect of what you are studying. The basic idea is to come up with a question about why something happens and try to understand that better. When I was doing my undergrad research at Purdue in polisci I researched why some terrorist groups constantly use women as suicide bombers, while others rarely do, and some groups never do. I had to research the role of women in Islam and the different ideologies of the various major terrorist groups to see why they treated women differently. There was no grant for this, but I did work closely with one of my professors who later gave me a good recommendation to get me into grad school. That research paper was also sent with my grad applications to all the schools i applied to, so there are some benefits to doing the hard research, but rarely are the benefits monetary.

You didn't say what your program was, but if you are in the sciences, then perhaps you can get a grant if you're looking to do some kind of experiment. I would say that this is pretty rare and you will most likely have to pay out of pocket. Most grants are reserved for grad students. I would also suggest that you go on facebook and find some grad students in your program if you do not already know many. See who is doing what research and talk to them to get a better idea of how it is done. You can also go online to amazon.com and order used books, which I always do. Get some books that talk about how to do professional research and get published. While only a small number of undergrads get published, that doesnt mean you shouldnt present research in a professional style. good luck to you. from my experience, thinking of a specific question that you want to answer is the toughest part and your classmates, grad students, and prof can help you formulate that specific question. One you have that, the research and writing isn't that hard.

2007-02-12 21:12:09 · answer #1 · answered by Matt 2 · 0 0

I can't help you a lot because I don't know what school you go to, and every school probably has a different process. You can get your research idea by taking classes you're interested in and asking questions about things you learn in those classes. You can also read more about subjects that interest you and see what research has already been done and what gaps there are or areas that you could expand on. Talk to professors in your major or for the classes you take about helping you with your research project. They will also probably be able to refer you to who to talk to about research grants.

2007-02-12 14:58:54 · answer #2 · answered by cg17 4 · 0 0

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