Re: [ECOLOG-L] How to chose a Master's Thesis in Biology
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.comwrote: 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
Re: [ECOLOG-L] How to chose a Master's Thesis in Biology
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
Re: [ECOLOG-L] How to chose a Master's Thesis in Biology
Maybe instead of asking whether you need graduate school to achieve your career goals, you should instead ask whether you would consider it an immense waste of time if it didn't lead to the career you expected. If so, maybe it's not for you. You've got to love learning, thinking, research, and sharpening your mind for its own sake in order to plow through the challenges, low pay, and uncertain employment prospects. Brad On Thu, Jul 19, 2012 at 11:54 PM, Aaron T. Dossey bugoc...@gmail.comwrote: Jane, I agree completely. In fact, even before asking the why question, or at least something to ask at the same time is: IF you NEED graduate school to achieve your goals (career, etc.). You should definitely decide WHAT your goals/dreams/interests are and then do your homework. If you can achieve them without graduate school, then graduate school is an immense waste of time in which all you'll achieve is helping some professor get promoted and boost their publication and grant record. Better to spend those years on things that take you steps toward your dreams (and hopefully making a little money along the way, and ACHIEVING something significant). If you decide that you must go to graduate school, do a LOT of research on the labs you are thinking about joining before picking one - and talk to EVERY and all people who work in those labs and especially those who use to (students and postdocs especially) and are now elsewhere. The latter can and will probably give you more honest and better informed opinions of the lab. Dr. Aaron T. Dossey Unemployed Ph.D. Entrepreneur On 7/19/2012 9:43 PM, Jane Shevtsov wrote: Hi Jeremy, You haven't told us the most important thing -- WHY you're doing a Master's and want to do a PhD. Answer that, and you'll be well on your way to picking a topic, with the rest being a matter of finding a specific question. I also highly recommend the book _On Becoming a Biologist_ by John Janovy, Jr. It is a very wise book that deals with these types of questions. Good luck, Jane Shevtsov On Thu, Jul 19, 2012 at 8:55 AM, Jeremy Fontaine fonta...@student.umass.edu wrote: Hello all, this upcoming Fall semester I will be attending the University of Massachusetts Lowell to obtain my Master's Degree in Biology with the possibility of a Biotechnology option. I want to do a Master's Thesis because I want to get my PHD later on, but I am really not sure what I want to do my master's thesis on. I completed my bachelors degree in Biology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and learned a great deal. Some guidance or advice for the process of picking a thesis topic or how to approach the situation would be very helpful. Thank you, Jeremy -- Aaron T. Dossey, Ph.D. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Founder/Owner: All Things Bugs Capitalizing on Low-Crawling Fruit from Insect-Based Innovation http://www.allthingsbugs.com https://www.facebook.com/**Allthingsbugshttps://www.facebook.com/Allthingsbugs 1-352-281-3643 -- Bradley Evan Carlson PhD Candidate Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology The Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802 Email: carb...@gmail.com http://homes.bio.psu.edu/people/faculty/langkilde/index_files/carlson.htm https://sites.google.com/site/bradleyecarlson/home
[ECOLOG-L] How to chose a Master's Thesis in Biology
Hello all, this upcoming Fall semester I will be attending the University of Massachusetts Lowell to obtain my Master's Degree in Biology with the possibility of a Biotechnology option. I want to do a Master's Thesis because I want to get my PHD later on, but I am really not sure what I want to do my master's thesis on. I completed my bachelors degree in Biology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and learned a great deal. Some guidance or advice for the process of picking a thesis topic or how to approach the situation would be very helpful. Thank you, Jeremy
Re: [ECOLOG-L] How to chose a Master's Thesis in Biology
Jeremy, What I suggest is to get to know the faculty at your institution (U-Mass Lowell) and what they do. You can begin doing so just by looking at the Department's website and from there, individual faculty links. Most will have much detail on their research focus, current funding, interests, and what their lab members do; often links to their publications. Pick a couple that seem in line with your own interests (what you like, or where you want to go), and contact them (ahead of time, or once there). Most faculty would be interested in recruiting capable students, or at the very least, receptive to talking to them, providing guidance, or make suggestions. Doing something like above will almost certainly result in several options on what to work for your masters, and very likely a faculty advisor and an exciting project. Good luck!! Francisco. Francisco J. Borrero, Ph.D. Research Associate Adjunct Curator of Mollusks Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal Geier Research Collections Center 1301 Western Avenue Cincinnati, OH 45203 tel:(513) 368-6515 email: borrerof...@gmail.com On 7/19/12 11:55 AM, Jeremy Fontaine fonta...@student.umass.edu wrote: Hello all, this upcoming Fall semester I will be attending the University of Massachusetts Lowell to obtain my Master's Degree in Biology with the possibility of a Biotechnology option. I want to do a Master's Thesis because I want to get my PHD later on, but I am really not sure what I want to do my master's thesis on. I completed my bachelors degree in Biology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and learned a great deal. Some guidance or advice for the process of picking a thesis topic or how to approach the situation would be very helpful. Thank you, Jeremy
Re: [ECOLOG-L] How to chose a Master's Thesis in Biology
Malcolm's rule for MS Thesis topic. #1. It must be doable within two academic years (if a field project that would be two summer sessions. #2. It should be a specific question that the results will be publishable unless something REALLY unforseen happens. #3. You should work with an organism that is easy to get in large numbers. #4. The topic should use a strait forward design and statistical analysis. #5. The outcome should be 1 very good publication in a very good journal, or 1 article in a decent journal and a minor pub. It should not be so long and involved that you are writing dozens of papers from it. (this does not mean you can't get othe rpapers during your MS, you just don't want it tied to it!!!). #7. Unless you have grant funding, the project should be fundable with resources that are already available. There is nothing wrong with a masters student seeking grant support, they should. But the short term nature of a masters does not give you much time to do it!! #8. The project should be hypothesis driven (preferably). #9. you should like the topic #10. you should like the organisms you are working with (or if cellular the techniques). #11. you should be proud that you are doing something few get to do. There is more, but that is a little list off the top of my head. On Thu, Jul 19, 2012 at 10:55 AM, Jeremy Fontaine fonta...@student.umass.edu wrote: Hello all, this upcoming Fall semester I will be attending the University of Massachusetts Lowell to obtain my Master's Degree in Biology with the possibility of a Biotechnology option. I want to do a Master's Thesis because I want to get my PHD later on, but I am really not sure what I want to do my master's thesis on. I completed my bachelors degree in Biology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and learned a great deal. Some guidance or advice for the process of picking a thesis topic or how to approach the situation would be very helpful. Thank you, Jeremy -- Malcolm L. McCallum Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry School of Biological Sciences University of Missouri at Kansas City Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive - Allan Nation 1880's: There's lots of good fish in the sea W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi) Wealth w/o work Pleasure w/o conscience Knowledge w/o character Commerce w/o morality Science w/o humanity Worship w/o sacrifice Politics w/o principle Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
Re: [ECOLOG-L] How to chose a Master's Thesis in Biology
Hi Jeremy, You haven't told us the most important thing -- WHY you're doing a Master's and want to do a PhD. Answer that, and you'll be well on your way to picking a topic, with the rest being a matter of finding a specific question. I also highly recommend the book _On Becoming a Biologist_ by John Janovy, Jr. It is a very wise book that deals with these types of questions. Good luck, Jane Shevtsov On Thu, Jul 19, 2012 at 8:55 AM, Jeremy Fontaine fonta...@student.umass.edu wrote: Hello all, this upcoming Fall semester I will be attending the University of Massachusetts Lowell to obtain my Master's Degree in Biology with the possibility of a Biotechnology option. I want to do a Master's Thesis because I want to get my PHD later on, but I am really not sure what I want to do my master's thesis on. I completed my bachelors degree in Biology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and learned a great deal. Some guidance or advice for the process of picking a thesis topic or how to approach the situation would be very helpful. Thank you, Jeremy -- - Jane Shevtsov, Ph.D. Mathematical Biology Curriculum Writer, UCLA co-founder, www.worldbeyondborders.org In the long run, education intended to produce a molecular geneticist, a systems ecologist, or an immunologist is inferior, both for the individual and for society, than that intended to produce a broadly educated person who has also written a dissertation. --John Janovy, Jr., On Becoming a Biologist
Re: [ECOLOG-L] How to chose a Master's Thesis in Biology
Jane, I agree completely. In fact, even before asking the why question, or at least something to ask at the same time is: IF you NEED graduate school to achieve your goals (career, etc.). You should definitely decide WHAT your goals/dreams/interests are and then do your homework. If you can achieve them without graduate school, then graduate school is an immense waste of time in which all you'll achieve is helping some professor get promoted and boost their publication and grant record. Better to spend those years on things that take you steps toward your dreams (and hopefully making a little money along the way, and ACHIEVING something significant). If you decide that you must go to graduate school, do a LOT of research on the labs you are thinking about joining before picking one - and talk to EVERY and all people who work in those labs and especially those who use to (students and postdocs especially) and are now elsewhere. The latter can and will probably give you more honest and better informed opinions of the lab. Dr. Aaron T. Dossey Unemployed Ph.D. Entrepreneur On 7/19/2012 9:43 PM, Jane Shevtsov wrote: Hi Jeremy, You haven't told us the most important thing -- WHY you're doing a Master's and want to do a PhD. Answer that, and you'll be well on your way to picking a topic, with the rest being a matter of finding a specific question. I also highly recommend the book _On Becoming a Biologist_ by John Janovy, Jr. It is a very wise book that deals with these types of questions. Good luck, Jane Shevtsov On Thu, Jul 19, 2012 at 8:55 AM, Jeremy Fontaine fonta...@student.umass.edu wrote: Hello all, this upcoming Fall semester I will be attending the University of Massachusetts Lowell to obtain my Master's Degree in Biology with the possibility of a Biotechnology option. I want to do a Master's Thesis because I want to get my PHD later on, but I am really not sure what I want to do my master's thesis on. I completed my bachelors degree in Biology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and learned a great deal. Some guidance or advice for the process of picking a thesis topic or how to approach the situation would be very helpful. Thank you, Jeremy -- Aaron T. Dossey, Ph.D. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Founder/Owner: All Things Bugs Capitalizing on Low-Crawling Fruit from Insect-Based Innovation http://www.allthingsbugs.com https://www.facebook.com/Allthingsbugs 1-352-281-3643
