Changes in my Opinion on the Intensive Research

            The intensive research is changing my opinion of how research is done and what it would mean to be a scientist doing research as a career. I have a positive perspective about the overall idea of research and I know that it is significant, if not the most effective, way of learning and understanding a concept. As of any other things, it also has its own strengths and weaknesses. One can definitely argue that research does not play any role in the learning environment; but I strongly disagree with that. Research, especially and specifically, science research is the key to develop the sympathetic of the world around us. We all know completely nothing when we were introduced to the community we belong in and we have learned each and everything that we do in our daily lives gradually as we grow up within that community. It starts from things as simple (i.e. for most of the adult human) as walking and speaking. This phenomenon keeps on growing and developing gradually throughout the years and great achievements of the mysterious human brain and its interactions with other factors and individuals around it has reached since its creation and/or evolution from its ancestors. But, I want to point out the logic that this does not quiet happen just by the personal experiences of each individuals’. Knowledge has been flowing among generations in one way or the other. And this knowledge has to be gathered, supported and /or disclaimed by a research; especially, a science research.

            When I have started my research project in the fall of 2010, I was a new born child to the bimolecular and biochemistry world. I have had a great interest in knowing several techniques/protocols and understanding the minute details of how the nucleic acids function and all the other possible sub-sections of this field the study. I have known that getting engaged in a science research and working with these subjects being a first person myself. As a result, I have decided to start working in the DNA lab for an independent research study to have the experience of it. I have had a mixed feeling about it: interested and curious but confused and scared. I was not sure if everything would be flowing smoothly and positively or in a frustrating and surprisingly unexpected way. Anyways, it is called research because I have to find out all of these questions at that point of time answered by just doing it and learning each and every aspect of it. So, I have convinced myself to do it and keep on going forward with it, never give up or feel discouraged since nothing in the research is supposed to happen in a certain way always (I can say that now since I have learned my lesson). In general, my opinion about research in general was a distorted image for some reasons that I cannot tell how they have developed and why.

            After having a four-month-long experience of it and doing fairly for quite a while, I believe that research is a process of a chain of learning new things no matter how the results end up like or if it matches what I have planned in my hypothesis at the beginning. It is so great because it is always a win, win situation in which you still learn a thing or two out of every finding that your research would drive you into. With that been have already said, I used to think that independent research has meant by literally independent and left alone kind of sad situation; but guess what, once again I was wrong. Yes it is independent in the sense it is me who is the one who does all the active learning part and all the hands on experience but what I was missing was the huge picture behind all my studying experience in the lab: my mentor. It is a pleasure to work with one of this highly dedicated and devoted people who have already done most, if not all, of the procedures that we follow at some point in the past being a graduate school students or scientists. They are most definitely important sources of knowledge and ideas who are always next to us in our/my journey in the research experience. So, this also made me to come to the understanding that planning and brainstorming before the progress of the lab procedure and discussing and reflecting are also a very major, important aspects of the research experience. I actually have had a slight concept of this even before starting to work at my current research but I have not understood that it should also be done with other students who are studying similar and different fields and mostly my mentor. I believe it is one of the main reasons for having the mentor so that we can do the checklist method or some other related things with to ensure that I am on the right track. Shadowing others and learning and interacting with others is the other option of getting the best out of this research experience and making it more interesting. I believe everyone has limited amount of knowledge and applying that as the only way to approach a problem would not last for that long or make you reach that far; instead, diversifying those great ideas in each individual would make the overall ending much thoughtful and advantageous for the whole science community that is working independently but also together. This part of the research experience even glorifies the hidden image of the power of  the research in making a society and develops fraternity among those students/scientists both and/or either inside and outside the laboratory area. So, these and other some points are the changes in my understanding of how research is done.

            Finally, to be a scientist doing research as a career, in my opinion, means, first of all, determining one’s self for lots of exciting experiences and time committed into the laboratory. Obviously, the scientist’s expertise and credibility in the specific field of study that he/she is involved in would get much better and more trustworthy. In the meanwhile, the rest of the world and other scientists would be interested in getting to know and understanding the results of that scientist’s studies from his/her experiences so he/she would be invited to attend several conferences and seminars to learn more, share his/her achievements, get others opinions (i.e. such as in by shadowing) and suggestions for other possible alternatives to consider for their further studies in the search for better results. The world and most of the different communities in it are highly interested in finding the solutions to the major issues they are dealing with in their daily lives; so they/we are in so much need of as many strong-minded scientists as possible, not super heroes.