{"id":41387,"date":"2020-03-20T08:03:52","date_gmt":"2020-03-20T12:03:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/?p=41387"},"modified":"2020-03-20T10:57:38","modified_gmt":"2020-03-20T14:57:38","slug":"undergrad-research-self-directed-studying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2020\/03\/20\/undergrad-research-self-directed-studying\/","title":{"rendered":"Undergrad Research & Self-Directed Studying"},"content":{"rendered":"Hey everyone! I\u2019m sure we are feeling a bit anxious and stir-crazy at this time, and perhaps especially overwhelmed with having to do school work on top of everything. I originally planned to write this week\u2019s post about my experience doing undergraduate research, and I still plan on doing so, but with a twist that feels more relevant right now.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n\"Desk.\"<\/a>\r\n\r\nQuick background: I applied to do a research project at the end of last year (with the Jackman Humanities Institute) and have since been doing research for basically an entire year. I\u2019m supposed to finish my academic article (about Atwood and Euripides\u2019 different uses of nature as setting) by April. Ack!<\/span>\r\n\r\nBut the one thing that both research projects and completing school work in self-isolation have in common is that they are both self directed. I\u2019ve been finding it difficult to keep up with school work these past few days, however, I\u2019ve also learned a few things about study habits from doing my undergrad research!\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nWhen there is no in-person class to attend it is important to:\u00a0<\/strong>\r\n\r\n1.<\/strong> Take time just to THINK about the work. I usually do a lot of brainstorming during lecture because it\u2019s when I\u2019m most focused on the subject matter. At home, sometimes I just lie on my bed, eyes closed, so that I can come up with more ideas for my next essay etc.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n2.<\/strong> Make a schedule, and stick to it. This doesn\u2019t mean knowing when things are due. No, its best to have a schedule for each day (or at least week) with what you need to accomplish.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n3.<\/strong> Have a conversation if you are feeling stuck. I have my research advisor to consult with when I\u2019m having difficulties understanding content\/getting work done. Professors are definitely willing to help you out at this time. However, having a convo with a friend or a family member (my go-to is my mom!) about the subject usually helps sort out thoughts and helps with motivation.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThose are the most important things I\u2019ve learned about doing a self-directed research project this year, and I hope some of this helps right now.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\"Books.\"<\/a>\r\n\r\nI know it\u2019s a weird time to think about these things but, if you are interested in doing a research project, get in contact with the undergraduate coordinator of your department and\/or the professor you hope to have as your advisor (and they can set you up with a 299\/399 course).\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThree things I would tell my past-self before starting the research project:<\/strong>\r\n\r\n1.<\/strong> It requires A LOT of reading, and you will never feel confident that you\u2019ve covered<\/span>\u00a0 everything.<\/span>\r\n\r\n2.<\/strong> You will doubt yourself (and possibly have multiple breakdowns about your research not having any relevance in the grand scheme of things). But that\u2019s okay, it doesn\u2019t have to be groundbreaking, you\u2019re still doing something!\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n3.<\/strong> You need to motivate yourself constantly. It is up to you to be excited about the work you\u2019re doing! (Your research advisor is there to help you along the way too, but it makes all the difference if you make sure you\u2019re keeping on top of things).\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nIf you have any tips about keeping on top of our online coursework please comment below. Stay healthy everyone!\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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\nHey everyone! I\u2019m sure we are feeling a bit anxious and stir-crazy at this time, and perhaps especially overwhelmed with having to do school work on top of everything. I originally planned to write this week\u2019s post about my experience…\n<\/div>
Continue reading “Undergrad Research & Self-Directed Studying”<\/span>…<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>
Continue reading “Undergrad Research & Self-Directed Studying”<\/span>…<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":376,"featured_media":41388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6669,68],"tags":[15882,9443,25507,1553,441],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41387"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/376"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41387"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41395,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41387\/revisions\/41395"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}