Researching & Publishing a Physics Paper as an Undergraduate

[D fatima]

Hi ! I want to do research and publish a research paper on a topic related to physics .
I am an undergraduate student , but I am much interested in research work.
Kindly suggest me a topic on which I should do research ?
And how much time will it take for the complete my research work ?

 

[Dishsoap]

Your best bet is to find out which professors in your department are doing research, and in what. Find one who does research you find interesting, and talk to him/her about potential research opportunities for undergrads.

 

[Stavros Kiri]

First of all welcome to PF!
(Not accidentally, your thread has been moved from General Physics to Academic Guidance, by a mentor I think.)

Are you looking for theoretical or experimental research topic?
Any particular field preference or field of expertise? (e.g. I saw the tags ... (?))

Also, are you looking for just an idea/topic, or also for guiding, supervising or even funding ... ?

(Some of the above may not be achieved within PF ...)

 

[ZapperZ]

Hi ! I want to do research and publish a research paper on a topic related to physics .
I am an undergraduate student , but I am much interested in research work.
Kindly suggest me a topic on which I should do research ?
And how much time will it take for the complete my research work ?

On your own, you are probably not equipped with the knowledge, the expertise, and the capability to do "research work" (presuming you know what that means) and to publish that work.

Therefore, you need a mentor/supervisor. Look at your school and see if there are already existing research group that you can join. Or find a professor that is already doing some research work and see if you can work for him/her. You can't start at the top. You need to be able to start slow and low and gain confidence, skills, etc. to be able to make a contribution that is worthwhile, and that results in a publishable work.

And just as a side note, you are approaching this all wrong. You shouldn't start with "Oh, I want to publish." Instead, you need to focus on producing important and original work. The "publishing" part comes only AFTER that, because if the work is significant enough, then the publishing part will come naturally. Simply getting into this JUST to publish is the wrong approach.

BTW, in case you missed this, I strongly suggest that you read these first:

https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/initiating-research-work/
https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/publishing-in-a-physics-journal/

Zz.

 

[Stavros Kiri]

Hi ! I want to do research and publish a research paper on a topic related to physics .

Well ?! ...
[I hope you won't do the same with your research topic ... ("Just post and go ...")]

 

[Dr. Courtney]

https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/niches-publishable-undergraduate-research/