By PRA Roma Kale

When I first started looking for undergraduate research, I thought the most important question was: “What do I want to study?” It seemed logical. If I was going to spend hours in a lab every week, I should find a topic I was completely engrossed in. I spent a lot of time thinking about what areas of science excited me and what research questions I could see myself working on.

But after exploring different areas of research throughout my undergraduate career, I’ve realized that there are a lot more questions worth asking:
Who do I want to learn from?
What skills do I want to develop?
What kind of research environment will allow me to grow?
What kind of researcher do I want to become?

Your research topic matters, but I’ve learned that it is only one piece of the experience.

Your interests are going to change

One of the best things about being an undergraduate is that you are still figuring out what interests you. The research you think you want to do when you first arrive at UConn might not be the research you want to do two years later. And that’s not a bad thing!

As you take new classes, meet professors, read papers, and get exposure to different fields, you are going to encounter questions you have never thought about before. Something that didn’t interest you initially might become fascinating once you understand it better.

I’ve experienced this myself. Research internships have allowed me to explore different questions and approaches to research, and each experience has shaped what I’m interested in today. Some of the things I’ve worked on were not necessarily topics I would have identified as my primary interests before getting involved. But once I was immersed in the research, I found myself becoming curious about the questions we were asking and wanting to understand more.

That’s one of the reasons I think it is important not to put too much pressure on yourself to find the “perfect” research topic. Your undergraduate research experience does not have to predict exactly what you will study for the rest of your life. Sometimes you have to try something before you know whether you like it.

Find a mentor, not just a lab

When looking for research opportunities, it can be easy to focus almost entirely on the research itself. You find a professor whose work sounds interesting, read through their lab website, and decide whether you want to reach out.

But something I have come to appreciate more and more is the importance of mentorship.

You can be fascinated by the research topic and still have a disappointing experience if you don’t feel supported or don’t have opportunities to learn. On the other hand, a great mentor can make you excited about a topic you never expected to study.

Think about what you want from the people you will be working with. Do they encourage you to ask questions? Are they willing to explain things when you don’t understand? Do they give you feedback? Do they gradually give you more independence as you gain experience?

For me, some of the most meaningful parts of research have come from the people I’ve worked with. Learning a new technique or getting an interesting result is exciting, but having someone who takes the time to teach you, challenge your thinking, and trust you with more responsibility can have an even bigger impact on your growth.

And mentorship goes beyond your PI. Graduate students, postdocs, research associates, and other undergraduate researchers can all become important mentors and teachers. When you are considering a research opportunity, don’t just ask yourself, “Do I want to study this?” Also ask, “Do I want to learn from these people?”

Think about what you want to learn

Another question I wish I had thought about earlier is: What skills do I actually want to develop through research? Research can look very different depending on the lab. Some students might learn experimental techniques in a wet lab. Others might work with large datasets, conduct interviews, analyze literature, develop computational models, or work on creative projects.

Before joining a lab, think about what you want to get better at. Maybe you want to learn how to work with a particular type of equipment. Maybe you want to improve your data analysis skills. Maybe you want more experience with scientific writing or presenting. Maybe you want to become more comfortable working independently or designing experiments.

You don’t have to know all of the answers to these questions before joining a lab. But having an idea of what you want to learn can help you identify opportunities that will give you room to grow.

And don’t be afraid to communicate those goals with your mentor.

As you become more comfortable in your research environment, you can ask questions like, “Is there an opportunity for me to learn this technique?”, “Could I take on more responsibility with this part of the project?”, or “Is there a way I could get more experience presenting our work?”

Research is not just something you participate in. It is something you can actively shape.

The skills you learn will follow you

The most valuable things I have gained from research aren’t necessarily the specific techniques I’ve learned or even the details of the projects I’ve worked on.

They are the skills that I know I will carry with me long after I leave the lab.

Research has taught me how to ask better questions. It has taught me how to troubleshoot when something doesn’t work, how to critically evaluate evidence, how to communicate complicated ideas to different audiences, and how to work independently while still knowing when to ask for help.

Most importantly, it has taught me how to be comfortable with uncertainty.

In research, you don’t always know the answer. Sometimes your experiment doesn’t work. Sometimes your results aren’t what you expected. Sometimes you have to go back to the beginning and figure out what went wrong.

You learn to make a hypothesis, look at the evidence, consider different explanations, and be willing to change your mind.

Those skills extend far beyond research.

Whether you eventually become a physician, engineer, educator, scientist, artist, or pursue a career that has nothing to do with your undergraduate research, knowing how to approach an unfamiliar problem, evaluate information, communicate your thinking, and keep going when things don’t work is going to be valuable.

So, what should you look for?

If you’re trying to find your first research experience, I don’t think there is one perfect formula.

Start with the topics that interest you, but don’t limit yourself to them. Be open to exploring something new. Pay attention to the people you’ll be working with and the kind of mentorship they provide. Think about the skills you want to develop and whether the research environment will give you opportunities to develop them.

And most importantly, remember that you are not just choosing a research topic. You are choosing a learning environment.

Your interests will change. Your skills will grow. The questions you care about will evolve. That’s part of being an undergraduate researcher.

You don’t need to find the perfect lab that checks every box or identify the exact research topic you want to pursue for the rest of your career. Instead, look for an experience where you can be curious, ask questions, learn from others, and gradually become more independent.

Because at the end of the day, the most important thing you take away from undergraduate research might not be the answer to the question you spent years investigating. It might be learning how to ask the next question.

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Fill out the form linked here to schedule an advising meeting with Roma or any of our other PRAs!

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