HGHS-SR - Sophomore Tips

Before Sophomore Year

Complete your summer assignment.

If assigned summer work, complete it before the school year starts. This program is unique in that it allows students to take their own initiative. Many find this independence to be freeing. While there is always immense support from teachers and fellow students, procrastination will be extremely detrimental to students in their research endeavors.

Seek out inspiring experiences.

Visit the local wolf sanctuary. Volunteer at a hospital. Observe earthworms in your own backyard.

In this program, sophomore year is centered entirely around finding inspiration. While inspiration can be found by consuming scientific literature, students most often discover their interests through actual experiences. Alumni of the program strongly recommend that sophomores keep their initial exploration broad; aim to experience a variety of different scientific fields.

During Sophomore Year
Discover your natural system of organization. Find a system that works for you. A calendar? A to-do list? Use some system to set small goals. Set reminders on your phone for assessment meetings: one the afternoon before, and one the day of. Come prepared for your meetings with clarifying questions. This is the perfect time to ask for help if you need it. Certain fields involve complex language. If you are exploring one of those fields, keep track of vocabulary in a glossary. Set up a Google Drive Folder: Introduction to Science Research. Your teacher will most likely tell you which subfolders to add, but in any case, we recommend the following: Assignments, Assessment Meetings, Presentations, Articles, Notes
Match patience with persistence. Getting inspired, learning how to read research papers, developing presentation skills... It takes time and perseverance. Know that you will come out of this year as a more persistent person because of it.
Keep your scope broad. Do not limit your scope to a single area of interest, even if you have a favorite. Wait to finalize your topic until third quarter. Seniors often note that they wish they had kept more of an open mind in sophomore year. Not only will you have an easier time finding research to participate in, but you will be more much confident in your decision when you finally decide on a topic. You should keep your scope broad in the literature you read and also in the kinds of experiences you pursue. Engage in conversations with other students, teachers, or researchers. This kind of human connection is often more inspiring than online research.
Relax. (Just a little bit.)Do not place too much pressure on yourself; everyone is just as inexperienced as you are. The purpose of this program is to familiarize yourself with research, not to cure cancer (nor COVID)!
Begin by reading secondary articles. Science Daily, NewsELA, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the US, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Science News, National Geographic
Now try reading some primary articles. Break them down section by section. Annotating helps a lot. Ebsco Discovery Service, Public Library of Science, Springer Nature, Science, DOAJ, Google Scholar, arXiv.org
Familiarize yourself with databases. If you can't find research in junior year, you may choose to do an independent project which uses data from a public database. Therefore, you want to start getting familiar with public datasets in your sophomore year. They look scary at first, but once you understand how to use them, they are extremely interesting and useful. Google Trends(!), DAVID database, Allen Human Brain Atlas, STRING, Panther Classification System, Pubmed
Practice presenting often. In-class practice presentations are great opportunities to get comfortable in front of a crowd. A scientific tip: practice "anxiety reappraisal," in which you tell yourself that you feel excited whenever you feel nervous because those two feelings are rooted in the same hormones. Enthusiasm is everything. Seriously. If you seem excited about your presentation, it will stir an enthusiasm in your audience which is, frankly, much more fun. If there is a part of the research that you do not understand, reach out for help: teachers, authors of the paper, researchers in the field. Also, attempt to figure it out on your own. However, if you are unable to get the concept by the time you present, do not present that part. Reference all images and diagrams, use animations to physically circle important data points, and make sure the figures are visible (even if they have to take up entire slides of their own).An easy way to immediately catch the attention of an audience is to use a color scheme that is not common. Orange is a personal favorite. When asked a question, navigate to the relevant slide in your presentation before you begin to answer it.
Try to find a summer research mentor. The more research you are able to do over the course of the program, the better. This said, if you can not find a mentor, don't sweat it. Email the authors of the articles you have been reading. Ask them questions about their work. Ask them if they have an open research position in their lab. Use your personal connections to your advantage. Reach out to family friends that work in research settings or, perhaps, natural settings in which you can conduct research. Apply to summer research programs. Send many emails. Be persistent. Check out the Junior Tips page for in-depth mentor-finding advice. Check out the Resources page to find email templates, research programs, and more!

After Sophomore Year

Stay curious. Continue to read articles during the summer, both pertaining to your topic and even those of unrelated scientific fields. It is never too late to change your topic, and you want to be confident in your choice. This is something you are going to study for two more years, so you want to make sure it is something that you are excited to learn about.
Keep seeking out experiences and research opportunities. Send emails to potential mentors.Apply to programs of interest.Spend your summer visiting new places, volunteering, and exploring new fields.

Complete any assigned summer work. Junior year is more academically intense than sophomore year, so you don't want to enter the school year on the wrong foot.
If you have secured a mentor, perform summer research. Congratulations! Enjoy your research experience and simply aim to stay as curious about your project as you can. Always ask more questions.

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