Research Documentation for Grad School Apps

[mg0stisha]

Hello all,

I am a freshman at a meduim-sized Wisconsin University and have had the opportunity to partake in my first research while on campus. That being said, I am wondering what i should write down about this research as far as putting it onto Grad School apps in the future.

Thanks, and any help is appreciated!

 

[Choppy]

For most undergraduate research experiences the most important part is what you learn from it. Ideal documentation would include:
- a record of the different tasks assigned to you
- a quick summary of the project itself
- details of the project and your roll within the bigger scheme
- a record of any skills you pick up in order to advance the project (ie. programming languages, machine shop experience/qualifications, etc.)
- a record of any publications, including conference abstracts and local presentations
- up to date contact information for people involved in the project
- a record of any awards you were granted to partake in the project, or those earned as a result of the project
- EDIT: it may also be wise to include tasks you specifically COMPLETE within the project, not just those 'worked on' - this may come in handy if you ever find yourself in a position arguing your relative contribution to a particular project (not that you ever want to get into that)

All of this will help come time for graduate school applications. In ~ 4 years, it will help tremendously if you can email the professor who mentored you in your first year and include this kind of summary to jog his or her memory (if that happens to be one of the people you're hitting up for a reference).