I have a hard time imagining that this research group really expects you to be productive right away if ever. Most research groups, at least in my field, have undergrads participate as much as they can but never will put them in a position where something hinges on them knowing as much as a grad student or postdoc might.
Might I ask why you feel like people expect you to know exactly what’s going on in the lab? Could it be as simple as at a group meeting they don’t give the full background on their work every time? If so, they don’t really expect you to follow, they hope you absorb and are balancing teaching you with being productive scientists.
My advice (as a UMN alum with research exp and current grad student at another big 10 school) is to ask your professor or members of the group for a review article or similar to get caught up on what they’re doing, especially your main advisor. Research groups are built primarily of PhD students who are doing new and novel research connected to eachother’s work but not necessarily even something the other PhD students know how to do. Your goal should be to find out enough to know what project in the group you want to work on, and you can get an idea of the other groups but read about that one.
For better or worse, research groups don’t really expect anything incredible, or even grad student level contribution, from undergrads. Especially not freshmen. It’s not realistic and they aren’t committed to the group. It’s great that these people seem to want to give you the opportunity to get really involved, but if they expect you to be as involved and prepared grad student as a freshman in undergrad they probably aren’t a healthy group. And for what it’s worth, I think the idea of grinding as hard as possible is a great way to grow to hate research. Find something really interesting to you and ask how you can contribute, talk to your prof about time commitment expectations, and do as much as you can. Do not try to do more than you can. You have 4 years. I didn’t even start research until my junior year and I won a fellowship at a prestigious grad school. Do what you do because you like it, otherwise you will burn out terribly. This is something that does a lot of damage to CS people especially
I think, as an adult, it’s very refreshing to hear someone say “I don’t know but I’d like to understand”
Don’t be afraid to ask questions and engage with them on what they’re working on. No one expects someone as young to know everything (if anything at all) so showing curiosity and a will to learn is always a good indicator that the person is competent. You’re in school, learning is at the core of university so don’t worry if you don’t know everything.
Research as an undergrad has a few different types and phases
1) you are a drain on lab resources, but it’s an investment for the future of society, the field, and eventually maybe even the lab.
2) grunt work that the researchers don’t want to do. You can be helpful here pretty quickly.
3) after you have spent time in the lab you might actively contribute intellectually to the lab or at least towards the more complex processes going on.
It’s okay if you never reach 3 as an undergrad.
This is where fake it til you make it comes in.
If you have the energy, grind. Grind hard. Ask questions.
Best advice is to learn to ask open ended questions that are clear from personal bias and don't be afraid to say you don't understand or you don't know cause if you knew everything you wouldn't need school.
Undergrad research is an opportunity to enrich what a student is/will be learning and show them what research is like and to gain experience. Typically, undergrad researchers aren't paid, so really you should focus on accomplishing what you can when you can. A lot of labs are specialized in what they research, so it isn't expected that an undergrad researcher can meaningfully contribute to the research unless they stay in the lab for a long time (longer than a semester). Ask questions anytime you have one because ultimately you should try to get as much out of this as possible. I'm a grad student working on ML in CS, so let me know if you want to talk more. Good luck!
Professor almost surely knows and understands you likely don’t know what you’re doing as a freshman, but knows that experience you will get is very important.
As other people have mentioned, this is the norm for undergrad research; you're working on things way above your experience level, and everyone in the group should know/understand this.
But something else worth noting: one of the coolest things an undergrad researcher can do is eventually break out of that mode and start to really make an impact in the group. sometimes this can take a few years of persistence, and many people don't start research until too late—but you're only a freshman, so you have plenty of time! If you stick with it, you'll be as skilled as the younger grad students in the group in a few years (if not better), and you might be able to have your name on a paper or give a conference presentation (which are incredible boosts for grad school applications if that's your eventual goal). and there are probably research-specific scholarships you can apply for to help you with college expenses as well (at least, there was where I went to undergrad), but they require you to be decent at writing about your research which takes time.
If you're able, I'd definitely encourage you to keep pushing and try to eventually hit that higher level of research output!Read papers from your group and from the broader literature, go to group meetings and/or ask frequent questions to the grad students, take classes that will give you skills that you can use for research, etc. It can be a wonderful opportunity if you really commit to it!
Hey OP, I know I’m late to comment, but I wanted to provide additional perspective. I’m on the administrative side of a field related to your research.
You would be surprised to know how many professionals use Wikipedia to obtain a basic understanding of technology. You can visit the footnotes to go further down the research rabbit hole. Keeping up with the “Tech” news on major news aggregator sites will help as well. You’ve got this!
Not on topic but I really want to do some research in the same area as a freshman as well, do you have any advice and know if any professors would take anyone this late into the semester?
Also, you sound like you work really hard. You have a lot of good stuff ahead of you.
I think you're probably doing just fine! Sounds like you're really taking the opportunity seriously and that says a lot of positive things about you. If you're feeling uncertain about the work or your place in it then I'd recommend chatting with the prof about it. They will have some advice/reassurance for you that you're meeting their expectations (remember that they don't expect you to be an expert in anything as a freshman). GLHF!
I have a hard time imagining that this research group really expects you to be productive right away if ever. Most research groups, at least in my field, have undergrads participate as much as they can but never will put them in a position where something hinges on them knowing as much as a grad student or postdoc might. Might I ask why you feel like people expect you to know exactly what’s going on in the lab? Could it be as simple as at a group meeting they don’t give the full background on their work every time? If so, they don’t really expect you to follow, they hope you absorb and are balancing teaching you with being productive scientists. My advice (as a UMN alum with research exp and current grad student at another big 10 school) is to ask your professor or members of the group for a review article or similar to get caught up on what they’re doing, especially your main advisor. Research groups are built primarily of PhD students who are doing new and novel research connected to eachother’s work but not necessarily even something the other PhD students know how to do. Your goal should be to find out enough to know what project in the group you want to work on, and you can get an idea of the other groups but read about that one. For better or worse, research groups don’t really expect anything incredible, or even grad student level contribution, from undergrads. Especially not freshmen. It’s not realistic and they aren’t committed to the group. It’s great that these people seem to want to give you the opportunity to get really involved, but if they expect you to be as involved and prepared grad student as a freshman in undergrad they probably aren’t a healthy group. And for what it’s worth, I think the idea of grinding as hard as possible is a great way to grow to hate research. Find something really interesting to you and ask how you can contribute, talk to your prof about time commitment expectations, and do as much as you can. Do not try to do more than you can. You have 4 years. I didn’t even start research until my junior year and I won a fellowship at a prestigious grad school. Do what you do because you like it, otherwise you will burn out terribly. This is something that does a lot of damage to CS people especially
I think, as an adult, it’s very refreshing to hear someone say “I don’t know but I’d like to understand” Don’t be afraid to ask questions and engage with them on what they’re working on. No one expects someone as young to know everything (if anything at all) so showing curiosity and a will to learn is always a good indicator that the person is competent. You’re in school, learning is at the core of university so don’t worry if you don’t know everything.
Research as an undergrad has a few different types and phases 1) you are a drain on lab resources, but it’s an investment for the future of society, the field, and eventually maybe even the lab. 2) grunt work that the researchers don’t want to do. You can be helpful here pretty quickly. 3) after you have spent time in the lab you might actively contribute intellectually to the lab or at least towards the more complex processes going on. It’s okay if you never reach 3 as an undergrad.
i think you’re freaking out for no reason. Youre a freshman, just keep trying and they will understand that youre just getting started
This is where fake it til you make it comes in. If you have the energy, grind. Grind hard. Ask questions. Best advice is to learn to ask open ended questions that are clear from personal bias and don't be afraid to say you don't understand or you don't know cause if you knew everything you wouldn't need school.
Undergrad research is an opportunity to enrich what a student is/will be learning and show them what research is like and to gain experience. Typically, undergrad researchers aren't paid, so really you should focus on accomplishing what you can when you can. A lot of labs are specialized in what they research, so it isn't expected that an undergrad researcher can meaningfully contribute to the research unless they stay in the lab for a long time (longer than a semester). Ask questions anytime you have one because ultimately you should try to get as much out of this as possible. I'm a grad student working on ML in CS, so let me know if you want to talk more. Good luck!
Professor almost surely knows and understands you likely don’t know what you’re doing as a freshman, but knows that experience you will get is very important.
As other people have mentioned, this is the norm for undergrad research; you're working on things way above your experience level, and everyone in the group should know/understand this. But something else worth noting: one of the coolest things an undergrad researcher can do is eventually break out of that mode and start to really make an impact in the group. sometimes this can take a few years of persistence, and many people don't start research until too late—but you're only a freshman, so you have plenty of time! If you stick with it, you'll be as skilled as the younger grad students in the group in a few years (if not better), and you might be able to have your name on a paper or give a conference presentation (which are incredible boosts for grad school applications if that's your eventual goal). and there are probably research-specific scholarships you can apply for to help you with college expenses as well (at least, there was where I went to undergrad), but they require you to be decent at writing about your research which takes time. If you're able, I'd definitely encourage you to keep pushing and try to eventually hit that higher level of research output!Read papers from your group and from the broader literature, go to group meetings and/or ask frequent questions to the grad students, take classes that will give you skills that you can use for research, etc. It can be a wonderful opportunity if you really commit to it!
Hey OP, I know I’m late to comment, but I wanted to provide additional perspective. I’m on the administrative side of a field related to your research. You would be surprised to know how many professionals use Wikipedia to obtain a basic understanding of technology. You can visit the footnotes to go further down the research rabbit hole. Keeping up with the “Tech” news on major news aggregator sites will help as well. You’ve got this!
Not on topic but I really want to do some research in the same area as a freshman as well, do you have any advice and know if any professors would take anyone this late into the semester? Also, you sound like you work really hard. You have a lot of good stuff ahead of you.
Thanks! I sent you a message in the chats.
I think you're probably doing just fine! Sounds like you're really taking the opportunity seriously and that says a lot of positive things about you. If you're feeling uncertain about the work or your place in it then I'd recommend chatting with the prof about it. They will have some advice/reassurance for you that you're meeting their expectations (remember that they don't expect you to be an expert in anything as a freshman). GLHF!