Research Option: Will You Take the Research, or the Option?
Yes, the option of research.Will you take the research, or the Option?
This is a question posed by many. In case you were wondering, what I was referring to above was the choice between research and the Research Option.These two things, although one word apart, refer to completely different things here at Tech.The Research Option is offered to undergraduate students seeking a more involved approach than that of just research.While research puts a student in an environment in which he must put together a project of his choosing, the Research Option asks students to write a proposal, research it, and publish their findings.The student is also encouraged to speak about it and inform others of his new findings.
Karen Harwell, Director of Undergraduate Research at Tech, said,“The program is designed to guide a student through all cycles of research... In the Research Option, most students develop their own ideas. Completion of a major research project and...a thesis are indicators to graduate schools and employers of higher [excellence] in research." The commitment and dedication are what set one research student apart from another. Few do research, but even fewer do the research option.“Eighty-two students have graduated with the option through Spring 2009. Of those students, 12 have been from the College of Computing,” Harwell said. Only 12 from the College of Computing. Imagine what kind of advantage you'd have if you were one of those 12.
But that's not what the Option is about. If you're doing it just for the resume, you might as well not do it, because employers and anyone else you can think of will see right through that.You should do it because you love it, not because other people want you to do it.
Indeed, there's a paper involved, the thesis paper.“Typical theses will contain an abstract, introduction, literature review (or background information section), a section to pose the research problem, results, and conclusions. References are required and appendices of additional information are often presented,” Harwell said.The thesis no pushover of a paper though, so don’t get yourself into trouble by picking the wrong one and regretting it. Do some research on it and get a good feel for what you think you’ll be able to commit yourself to. It will be nothing short of a lifesaver later on.
One other requirement is that the nine credit hours of research be completed over 2 (preferably three) semesters. Additionally, you can get paid for your research instead of getting credit for it, which is a viable option if you’re looking for some extra money along the way or have enough credit already.The CoC also offers an option that could help you; you could get three of the nine hours from CS 4980, the Research Capstone project. As you can see, there are many things to consider when delving into the Option.
If you're thinking about going into the scientific world, you almost need to do this. It's a great introduction to the area and takes you through one whole iteration of researching.“The program is designed to guide a student through all cycles of research – from conceiving an idea for a specific project to developing the goals and objectives for the project to completing the research to disseminating the results through oral presentations, posters, and an actual thesis,” Harwell said.You'll have the upper hand on the processes involved, which can often be a big help.
Some examples of past research topics that may be of interest follow. Approximation algorithms for finding planar and highly connected subgraphs, computer animation of multi-legged creatures, creating your own innovative programming languages, working with databases to make them more efficient, and many projects involving robots.These are some of the topics that have been researched in the past, just to what your interest or spark an idea that you could approach a professor with.
In the end, the Research Option can be for anyone.You just have to find something that really interests you.
