I am a current MS student studying Conservation Biology. What I want to let you know is it is okay for ideas, topics, and plans to change. When I entered last fall I planned on going for a PhD and studying something rather obscure. I am now planning on finishing my MS on a more broad and applicable topic. I also have noticed that if you can find a place not just where research is needed but there is a need for this research in your community at large there will be greater prospects when you are finished. Eric
On Sat, Jul 21, 2012 at 11:23 AM, Nina T. Chaopricha <ntrautm...@gmail.com>wrote: > Jeremy and others interested, > > In March 2010, I developed a list of "Ideas for developing graduate > research questions" with the help of colleagues in my UW-Madison > China-IGERT program and the Soil Science Department. Some of the > ideas may be more appropriate for those interested pure vs. applied > research tracks. Here are the ideas we compiled. Others -- please > feel free to add to this list: > > • Read journal articles (especially review papers) in your area of > interest, and by key researchers in your field. Hunt for unanswered > questions, competing theories, and suggested research ideas. > > • Find ways to extend previous research, for example by applying > existing methods to new areas or situations. Or plan research that > modifies accepted answers to old questions, confirms contested answers > to old questions, or challenges accepted answer to old questions. > > • Talk with other researchers, both within and outside your own > field. > Chat with faculty and other grad students at informal campus events. > Attend classes and lectures that may spark ideas. Attend conferences > and meetings to meet potential collaborators. > > • If you are interested in a particular study area, go there and talk > with locals to learn about local issues. > > • Think about what information is needed for effective management of > a > particular environmental system or species or landscape of interest to > you. > > • Read books and articles about doing research, such as “The Craft of > Research” by Booth et al. and “The importance of stupidity in > scientific research” by Schwartz 2009. > > • Choose research projects that are easy to replicate (i.e. not > prohibitively expensive or laborious), so that others can extend or > continue your research and then cite you. > > • Team up with other young collaborators who have most of their > career > ahead of them, providing opportunities for long-term future > collaboration. > > • Consult lists of research needs in your discipline(s). Sometimes > these are generated at workshops/conferences and published. > > • Listen to media sources (such as the NY Times, The Economist, NPR, > BBC, blogs, and the web) to determine emerging issues where science > will be part of the policy discussion. > > • Plan your research around a needed product (map, model, technique, > protocol, policy recommendation, etc.) Talk with potential users > (policy makers, government agencies, university extension, non-profit > agencies, citizen groups, farmers, etc.) to determine specific needs. > > > -- > Nina T. Chaopricha > Ph.D. Candidate, Environment & Resources > T.A. Instructor, Envir St 600: Community-Scale Composting (Spring 2012) > Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies > University of Wisconsin-Madison >
