How to Come Up with a Research Idea: Lecture by Rishab Jain

Introduction

• Speaker: Rishab Jain, senior at Westview High School, Portland, Oregon.
• Background: Published three papers in high school, won honors in science competitions like Regeneron ISEF.
• Focus: Guide on finding research topics in science, aimed at motivated students interested in STEM.

Overview of the Lecture

1. Introduction to Scientific Research
2. Finding Your Passion and Research Idea
   • Step-by-step process
3. Examples and Resources
   • Free resources for executing ideas
4. Science Fairs and Research Competitions
   • Executing research procedures

Finding Your Passion and Research Idea

Process Overview

1. Finding Your Interest

   • Start with consuming content (YouTube, podcasts, blogs, lectures).
   • Examples: Courses from Stanford available on YouTube for free.
   • Importance of note-taking: Journal notes to trigger ideas.
   • Don’t limit yourself initially, explore various topics.

2. Literature Dive

   • Use sources like Wikipedia to explore topics.
   • Utilize SCI Hub for accessing scientific articles.
   • Take extensive notes on each topic.

3. Gravitation Concept

   • Organize notes and identify what you naturally gravitate towards.
   • Narrow down on specific topics or fields.

4. Selecting a Research Question

   • Differentiate between Engineering Solutions vs. Scientific Inquiry.
   • Generate ideas and evaluate them with pros and cons.

Examples and Free Resources

Project Examples

1. Pancreatic Cancer and AI (6th Grade)

   • Interest developed from biology class and visiting a lab.
   • Conducted literature dive and combined AI with pancreatic cancer research.

2. Brain Tumor Modeling (Research Science Institute)

   • Approach: Extensive literature review, proposing ideas, learning specific skills.
   • Used Google Docs for notes, GitHub for coding, learned from YouTube videos and conferences.

Executing the Research

Steps

1. Do the Research

   • Seek internships or lab opportunities.
   • Focus on learning necessary skills and using appropriate tools.

2. Competing in Science Competitions

   • Recommended for feedback and motivation.

3. Publication and Sharing Findings

   • Explore journals for publication.
   • Use pre-print services to share work.

Conclusion

• Encouragement to engage with available resources and videos.
• Useful resources: Discord server, detailed videos, Google doc with research opportunities.

Additional Resources

• Videos on how to get research opportunities, publish research, and compete in science fairs.
• Free access to a document listing 35 research opportunities and programs for high school students.