Finding Research
So you’re interested in research. Now what? There are so many different types of research, but this simple guide will help you navigate them. It is essential to first distinguish between two kinds of research: primary and secondary.
Common types of Primary Research
Case Reports: A case report comprises a detailed article about an individual with a unique case, often outlining their experience receiving treatment for an unknown disease or a novel variation of one that hasn’t been well-reported in prior literature. Because case reports are so limited in their scope (because they only involve one person), they are regarded as the weakest of statistical evidence. On the other hand, case reports are the first pieces of evidence to surface, meaning they lay the groundwork for further research.
How is this looked upon for medical school admissions?
Although a case report is primary research(collected first hand), it does not require one to ask thought-provoking questions--which is what admission committees seek in quality research experiences. Unless the case report is exceptionally unique, it is usually an anecdotal experience that does not hold much significance within the greater scientific community.
Wet lab: Wet lab is a category of primary research that involves interacting with chemicals, liquids, and other compounds. This is carried out in a typical science lab setting and requires extensive bench work. Results take a much longer time than in a dry lab, so it’s not for the impatient!
How is this looked upon for medical school admissions?
Many medical schools prefer that pre-medical students engage in wet-lab research because it builds technical and leadership skills. You may learn various lab techniques such as Western blots, ELISA, or PCR - all of which are valuable techniques to understand.
Dry lab: Dry lab is a term for research that doesn’t need to be done in a lab setting and doesn’t involve chemicals. These projects usually involve coding, computation, bioinformatics, engineering, etc., done on a computer. Both types of labs are highly interconnected and rely on each other to produce results.
How is this looked upon for medical school admissions?
While clinical and bioinformatics research may be slightly less skill-building than wet lab research, these types of experiences are usually looked upon favorably by medical school admissions committees. If your research involves clinical trials where you are working with or interacting with patients, this could also double as clinical experience.
Common types of Secondary Research
Meta-analysis: A meta-analysis is a research process used to combine and compare the results of multiple studies on a similar topic. This offers a greater scope of magnitude when determining the statistical significance of results and provides a way to analyze differing results between studies.
How is this looked upon for medical school admissions?
Meta-analyses are not primary research, and you aren’t the one asking the first questions and building a research method--the skills admission committees look for in research. If you have the option to do primary research, which we covered earlier, go for it!
Literature Reviews: A literature review is a comprehensive review of all scientific literature revolving around a specific topic. These are incredibly time-consuming and require accumulating information from published and unpublished studies and ongoing research.
How is this looked upon for medical school admissions?
Literature reviews are not primary research, so these do not involve collecting and analyzing data. They are just combining many studies into one article. As stated before, medical schools want to see direct research, so these aren’t looked upon as favorably as primary research.
