Explore Research
Defining Research
Research is a process—one that takes time, patience, and care to do well. When approached thoughtfully, research can be a powerful tool for solving problems and shaping the future of our world. At Cornell, students engage in research in many ways. Some are inspired by ideas introduced in their coursework, others arrive with well-defined interests, and many are motivated to develop skills that will support their future careers.
Research can take several forms. Theoretical research seeks to prove or disprove a hypothesis and may explore questions that cannot yet be tested directly. Basic research focuses on answering fundamental questions within a discipline, expanding our understanding of core concepts. Applied research, by contrast, uses established theories and knowledge to address specific, practical problems or meet the needs of a particular client or context. Over the course of a project, you may draw on one or more of these approaches as you work to better understand and solve complex challenges.
In the Beginning: What to Consider
In many fields, you'll need to take some courses before you understand the work well enough to do research. If you have an interest already, speak with faculty members who work in that area and ask what they require from undergraduate researchers. Don’t have a defined interest yet? Take classes, and when you find an interesting topic, talk with the professor about your interest.
Research position availability may not necessarily correspond with your interest and your availability, so you may need to be flexible with your interests and open to trying new topics. You may also need to take additional classes, learn procedures, or get more experience before being competitive for a research project with some faculty.
When you begin to talk to faculty about projects, be sure to inquire where the work is done. There are a number of research labs and sites in Ithaca that will require you to travel to perform your work. Some of them are accessible by bus, shuttle, or bicycle. Other projects will allow you to work on a computer in any location in the world.
Students are always interested in how much intellectual input will be expected of them; this depends on the faculty member’s work and needs. In the beginning, everyone needs help and will be trained and closely mentored. Once you have the basics down, it will depend on your ability and interest in the project. There are some projects that are more technique-oriented, and once you learn the technique, you'll spend your time executing the technique and collecting data. Some groups will expect you to function at a high level and to be able to design, carry out, and analyze your work. If you are working on a project in the humanities, you should expect to have a great deal of intellectual input.
You may work independently or as part of a team. In some groups, there are researchers who have specialized training in different fields, and they'll use their very different expertise on a project. For example, the group may be identifying chemicals that inhibit bacterial growth in aquariums. In that one group, there may be an expert in the surface qualities of glass, a chemist who's experienced in inhibitory compounds, a microbiologist, and a fish expert. In other groups, each person may have a separate project that they're entirely responsible for.