Intro to Academic Research: Notes and Reflections from a Research Mentor

Last semester I served as a Research mentor in a mentorship program by Frontera Devs, and got the chance to mentor an undergraduate student one-on-one about academic research. At first I was a bit nervous because it was my first time doing something like that; I’d never formally taught or mentored anyone before, let alone “teach” about conducting research, but as soon as I read my mentee’s application (all mentees were asked to provide a brief description of what they wanted to learn during the program) all of my fears were replaced with excitement.

My mentee, N, asked questions that many people, especially students, have about academic research: What is it? How do I get into it? What can I research? And where do I start?

Reading her application took me back to when I first joined a research lab: Back when I was still figuring out what I wanted, I had no idea what I was getting into, and didn’t even know what to expect from my supervisor. At the time I was just looking to gain career experience, and doing research was more within my reach than doing an internship (if you’re an international student you know what a pain in the butt it is to get an internship). I’ve grown a lot since then, and I can say now that I genuinely enjoy doing research projects: I love asking questions and finding the answers through different methods; I love writing articles, and sharing knowledge, and talking to others about the things I learn and those I ignore.

N conveyed a deep and genuine interest in learning about academic research, so I (obviously) couldn’t contain my enthusiasm and, as the big nerd that I am, I developed a variety of documents and assignments to address her questions to the best of my ability, and in that way ensure she’d get the most out of the program. As we progressed, new inquiries arose, and in conjunction we came up with new small projects and topics we had not foreseen. When the 8-week program came to an end we had developed a good set of resources for introducing academic research to those who, like N, want to learn how they can get into research but do not know where to start, or who are, at the very least, curious about it. And that’s essentially the goal of this blog post (hopefully a series): to share with you what I’ve learned in the last 5 years about academic research, hoping that it’ll help you further your professional development.

In this blog post I’ll share some of the questions asked by N, as well as a few others of my own, and my answers to them. Keep in mind that these inquiries come from the perspective of someone who is almost fully unfamiliar with what academic research is. Also, the mentorship program in which I participated was centered around Computer Science research, but because my research interests are more in the sociological realm, my mentoring approach included a little bit of both fields; That is, as my commentary comes from personal experience, some of my suggestions may apply to the Social Sciences but not to Computer Science, and vice versa. Lastly, because this post is mostly guided by N’s initial questions and what we discussed during our first meeting, the leading questions, or section headers, are taken from N’s application, as they are the topics that arose during our discussions.

Before jumping into my comments and recommendations I first want to share some of my background.

About Me

This is almost a personal blog, so if you’re reading this you probably know me irl. Still, I want to share a bit about myself and my academic background in case you either do not know me that well or don’t know me at all, and you’re asking yourself why you should read what I write.

In 2017, while I was doing my undergraduate in Computer Science, I joined a research laboratory on Human-Robot Interaction 🤖 and became a research assistant (RA). One of my professor’s main research topics was the uncanny valley phenomenon, but she also researched antisocial behavior (verbal insults; physical assault) from humans towards robots. The latter is what I mostly worked on; at some point I collaborated on some articles and, as time passed, I even led a research project. My professor’s research was highly interdisciplinary, exploring topics at the intersection of Cognitive Psychology, Computer Science, and Sociology, among others. As I continued my work with her, I developed my own research interests (also interdisciplinary), which eventually led me to pursue a Master’s degree in Sociology.

Now, without further ado, let’s get started!

About research

To me, research (in general) is about answering questions that you find interesting, with the goal of advancing knowledge in your field. When getting started it’s important you understand that there are a myriad of topics that you can investigate. Fields of study like Computer Science and Sociology are so broad and ever changing that research is basically never ending. Further, fields have subdisciplines, and these subdisciplines can be broken down into more specific topics. For example, Computer Science comprises Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), and within HCI we can ask many things (topics of interest): Why do users prefer certain websites over others? How does online communication affect social relationships?

I wanted to mention this because some students may feel like there is only a small set of research topics to “choose” from, and some may even think, like I initially did during my undergrad, that the only topics are the ones our professors specialize in. This, as we can see, is far from the truth. The limit is your imagination 🌈

Getting started

If you want to learn about academic research in your field of interest but do not know where to start, I’d suggest, if it’s within your possibilities (e.g., if you’re a student at a research institution), that you meet with at least 2 or 3 professors and ask them about their research. Who knows? You may even want to join their lab 👀

I understand that reaching out to a professor may be intimidating, but relax! I assure you most of them would be happy to see that a student is interested in their work. Try scheduling an appointment with them through email, or drop by during their office hours.

If you do not have someone within your reach, consider reaching out to a researcher whose work you like and would like to learn more about. They can be someone who wrote an article, blog post, or book that you enjoyed, or maybe someone that gave a really good lecture on YouTube. I’ve personally emailed a few researchers that I met in conferences, so another option is to look into the websites of professional organizations, and in recent journal abstracts (thanks to Jim for suggesting this!). You don’t need to have met the researcher in person, just be sure to introduce yourself in your message, and let them know why you want to meet.

Here’s an email template you can use, just remember to modify it accordingly:

Hello Dr. [Professor’s name],

Hope you’re doing well! My name is [your name], I’m an undergraduate Computer Science student looking to learn more about research in [field of interest].

I was hoping we could meet to chat about your research work (how you got started, what your topics of interest are), as discussing these inquiries would be a great way for me to understand the many opportunities within research.

Let me know if you would like to meet, and when would work best for you. I’m available [dates and times when you’re available].

Thank you in advance! I look forward to hearing back from you.

Best,

[Signature]

Meeting with a person that conducts research projects and is active in the field, and have them explain their work to you as well as why they do it, will help you understand the topics that exist within your field of interest and their importance.

Here are some things you can ask in the meeting:

• What are your research topics of interest, and why?
• Why do you do research?
• How did you get involved in academic research?
• What is your process for conducting research?
• Tips for getting started with research
• Venues (for example, journals or conferences) where they have published and/or presented their work
• If they have Research Assistants, and if they do, about the tasks they are assigned

…and anything else you want to know!

What should I learn if I want to do research in X field? (original question: What CS courses should I focus on if I want to do CS research?)

I would say that this is entirely dependent on what your interests are and what it is that you want to learn. For instance, I find the “social” side of technology very interesting: why people use certain technologies; how robots are designed to make human-robot interactions friendly; how technologies discriminate against certain groups of people, so throughout my career I took courses that emphasized these characteristics, such as Human-Robot Interaction, Human-Computer Interaction, Interactive Design, Race and Ethnicity, etc.

If you are not too sure about what your interests are, try to think about the classes you’ve taken that you enjoyed, or the things that you find interesting and like to read or investigate about.

A great tip from my friend Jim, a Computer Science graduate student: If you’re just starting out in your major, plan ahead your electives. Talk to the professors offering those classes and pick the ones you’re most interested in. If you like it, you can get involved, and if you don’t, you’ve still earned a credit and now you know not to dedicate your life to that topic in particular.

Think about questions that you have and ask yourself what you’d need to learn in order to answer them. Also, keep in mind that your interests do NOT need to remain static; people change! And so do our interests!!! Many researchers focus on only one area, but many others do not.

How do I know if I’m ready to do research?

I think we are all ready to do research. We all have questions about things we do not know of, and that’s essentially what research is: come up with questions about things you want to know, and then get the information that you need to answer that question. I would say as long as you are curious and willing to experiment, you are ready to get into research.

In my experience I’ve learned that there are certain skills that I would deem necessary for conducting research, especially if you want to work as an assistant:

• Even if you have never done research before, your supervisor will want to see that you’re interested in their work and that you are proactive in your learning, that is, that you are willing to learn both from them as well as on your own. Approach your professor and show interest in their work, that’s always a good start.
• Creativity for developing research questions about things you’re curious about, and perseverance, because research projects usually involve a long process.
• Enjoy, or at least be comfortable with, reading technical documents, developing and conducting experiments, and writing. It doesn’t have to be your favorite thing in the world, but it’s definitely important that you take on these tasks.
• Be ready for receiving lots of feedback, and remember that nothing is personal. With time you’ll learn to discern good from bad feedback, and you will eventually also learn to push for certain decisions in your work.
• Good communication skills! This is a must for approaching professors as well as for reporting your results, especially if you want to write for different audiences (e.g., professionals in your field; general audiences without a technical background). Good writing skills are also necessary for applying to events like conferences, school showcases, etc.
• Confidence! Don’t be scared of trying out new things or messing up.

When should I get started with research if I want to apply to grad school?

From my experience I know it looks good on a resume when an undergraduate student has publications, but they are not really expected to. It will probably be helpful for getting into grad school depending on your school of interest, but I wouldn’t expect it to be a requirement. You’ll likely get started with doing your own research when you get in a graduate program, especially if you work on a thesis.

Is it better to focus on a broader research problem or a more narrow one?

Overall the narrower and more specific a research question is, the easier it is to develop a methodology for answering it. The scope of your research question will depend on factors such as your interests, your resources, physical and time constraints, etc.

Closing thoughts

Some closing thoughts and last tips I’d like to share before reaching the end (aka things I would’ve done differently): Be meticulous in your work and follow your supervisor’s instructions closely. Try to perform the best you can, and ask questions when in doubt. If there are other students interested in the same thing you want to learn, or if you’re in a research lab with other assistants, ask for their help when you need it. Lastly, take on opportunities that you think you’d be able to tackle even if you don’t meet all of the requirements, but never take anything that will compromise your mental well being.

So that’s it, you’ve reached the end of the article! Yay! 💃

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog post, it’s greatly appreciated 💖 I look forward to hearing your thoughts and continuing developing more posts like this. Meanwhile, you can take a look at this repository where I’ll be uploading some documents and useful resources.

Thanks again! Take care, and stay safe! :)