Smoothing a Critical Transition: Nontechnical Knowledge and Techniques for Student Researchers

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This textbook equips students interested in becoming researchers with the essential nontechnical skills. After an introduction to graduate schools, it discusses preparing for research, reading and organizing literature, writing research articles and other documents, publishing papers, presenting research findings at conferences, collaboration with advisors and other researchers, patent applications, research ethics, and how to improve research by learning about the history of science. These nontechnical skills are just as important as technical ones in terms of becoming a successful graduate student, yet they have seldom been taught systematically in courses. Further, they can bridge the gap from the classroom to the lab, making one of the most critical transition periods-from student to researcher-smoother and more enjoyable. The book features a wealth of real-life examples and exercises, which readers can easily apply in their own research. Intended mainly for graduate and upper-undergraduate students just embarking on lab research, it can also be used as a textbook or reference guide for courses on research methodology and related topics.