General Would this be a good Research Experience?

[Goro]

Hello! I have a few questions about my research experience I am about to begin. First, I have no research experience yet and will likely have about 1 year before applying (among my other extra curriculars). I am curious about whether or not certain research is better than others. I will not be in a wet lab and currently have the choice between clinical research on pediatric oncology, postpartum depression, and acupuncture. Each of these projects have similar requirements involving working with spread sheets and doing a lot of tedious work. I am more than willing to participate in this and look forward to it but I am curious about whether or not this is standard for research. I will likely be working from home as well. Does any of this sound out of the ordinary or like I am robbing myself of beneficial research experience? I am still early enough in the process that I can change my mind and find something else. I apologize because I genuinely have very little understanding of research and how it works/what is expected for medical school and I appreciate your help.

Anything that teaches you about the scientific method is fine, even if you're studying clams in Tahiti

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[TheBoneDoctah]

Anything that teaches you about the scientific method is fine, even if you're studying clams in Tahiti

I wanna study clams in Tahiti.

...just do research. It doesn’t matter what it is.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Agree, any research is helpful. Undergrad is a nice time to do wet lab research because it's very hard to find time to do it in med school, but the research you're describing offers the chance to potentially get published quicker--if anything, pick the project that is most likely to get published faster. And yes, mining spreadsheets and doing data entry is totally standard for an undergrad/med student research experience

Keep in mind that it's definitely a "cherry on top" kind of EC that you should only really worry about doing IN ADDITION to clinical experience and volunteering.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Agree, any research is helpful. Undergrad is a nice time to do wet lab research because it's very hard to find time to do it in med school, but the research you're describing offers the chance to potentially get published quicker--if anything, pick the project that is most likely to get published faster. And yes, mining spreadsheets and doing data entry is totally standard for an undergrad/med student research experience

Keep in mind that it's definitely a "cherry on top" kind of EC that you should only really worry about doing IN ADDITION to clinical experience and volunteering.

Good point. At this point in your career, IMO, your goal of research is to get published, period. Regardless of journal or impact factor or author number or project type. 99.9% of students are not gonna be in a position to be doing real research themselves. Work on a project with a PI who published a lot and has something that looks promising.