As a first-generation student, finding opportunities to advance in your career can be a daunting task. For me, I really wanted to get involved in research and see if my interest in learning and psychology applied to conducting research. Here is my journey, ways I sought out opportunities, and advice I have for those interested in undergraduate research.
My Journey:
In 2019 I started my bachelor’s in psychology. I had a curiosity for understanding psychology and just doing all that I can within reason. Because of my curiosity shining through in class and being a member of my university’s honors college, I had one of my professors reach out to me about being a lab assistant. They needed volunteers and often asked the honors college for possible candidates. I was going to start collecting data until we had to halt all in-person data collection in March 2020. Instead, I learned much about the literature review (preliminary research on the given topic) process and how to highly efficient in finding and organizing articles. I spent two semesters as a lab assistant working in literature review and data checking, and one semester in data collection.
In 2022, I joined Trio McNair Scholar program. I learned about the program largely because my roommate worked in their office and really pushed me to submit my application. McNair is focused on helping students be prepared for graduate school through undergraduate research opportunities, grad application fee waivers, GRE fee waivers and much more. Although I mainly joined because my roommate really wanted me too, I have greatly benefited from their program.
With McNair a large part of it is to help students get their feet wet with research and pair them with a faculty mentor to guide them through the process. This mentor is supposed to be a part of your field and interest. I found my wonderful mentor through casually mentioning it to a professor and they connected us. Together, we figured out my research interests, narrowed down my broad idea into a specific topic, and worked together in making the research project. By May 2022, I had a topic, interview questions, a solid plan, and an IRB application submission. McNair funded me to conduct my research, complete my lit review, and really get my feet off the ground during the summer.
Now, March 2023, I have my literature review, interviews, and transcriptions all completed. My mentor and I are working on analyzing the transcriptions and preparing for my presentations in conferences. She has been instrumental to my progress and understanding of qualitative research, even when she moved to another university.
My Advice:
- It’s key to come in with curiosity and determination to learn.
- Ask around about opportunities and get to know the faculty in your field. Faculty in higher education want to see students succeed, and for them to give you opportunities, you need to make your interest known.
- It will be frustrating with the learning curve, be patient and ask lots of questions.
- Find someone to help guide you. Preferably someone who does the kind of research you want to learn about and do. I wanted to do qualitative research about Latin Americans and language, so I found someone who worked with qualitative research with Latin Americans. Our specific interests are different, but she was equipped to answer my questions about IRB applications and data analysis using interviews.
- It will be slower progress than you want it to be. Given that you are likely doing research alongside classes, work, and life, the project will likely take longer than a person doing research as their job. Researchers who do research daily have more experience and time, and resources to work on it. I found myself setting unrealistic goals about my timeline and beating myself over them. Be patient, and take your time.
- Your undergraduate research will likely be the starting point of research and not the be-all and end-all. We all need to get our start, so don’t try to make it perfect. It’s meant to be an experience to build on, so don’t pressure yourself to make it Ph.D. level or perfect.