Undergrad researching but not publishing

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Having completed two official research projects in plasma physics and operations research/statistics, the individual presented their findings at conferences but did not achieve publication. The first project may contribute to future graduate research, while the second has a slim chance of publication unless unique findings are discovered. Concerns were raised about the impact of having only conference presentations on graduate school applications. However, it is emphasized that admissions committees prioritize the insights and skills gained from research experiences over publication outcomes. The focus should be on the depth of understanding and contributions made during the research rather than solely on publication success.
Hercuflea
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Hi all

I have had two "official" research experiences/projects in the last year. The first one was in plasma physics and now I am doing one in the math department in operations research/statistics. Both projects were interesting and resulted in presentations at symposia/conferences. The first one was not published, but the data may someday be used by a graduate student for his graduate research. the second one I presented at two math conferences, but there is only a remote possibility of publishing that one and I would have to work really hard to find something uniquely original and that has never been done before in it. My question is, does it look bad to graduate school applications that I have only done conference presentations, but none of these resulted in published papers? Does that make them think I will be a bad researcher?
 
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No, it doesn't look bad. The real question they will want to know is what you got out of the experience, not how well your supervisor could navigate the publication minefield.
 

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