Download - SIR Student Guide
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2011-2012 SIR Student
Guide We surveyed current juniors and seniors to see what they had to say about their SIR experience(s). Here is a compilation of what we found.
Enjoy :)
Presented by: IMSA Student Council
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Dear rising juniors,
IMSA is known for a lot of things: being the home of “Illinois’ best
and brightest”, giving students a LOT of work, having no ceilings in
the classrooms, etc…But what IMSA is possibly most recognized for
is the Student Inquiry Research program (a.k.a. SIR). This unique
program offers students the chance to pursue an investigation in
any field of their choice. We strongly urge students to consider
pursuing a SIR, as this will most likely be a once in a life-time
opportunity.
With that being said, we thought we should help you out a little
with this decision process. So, we asked current juniors and
seniors what they thought about their SIR experiences. We have
compiled all of their responses for your viewing pleasure. Note
that the responses are the opinions of individual students, and we,
Student Council, simply want to share the opinions objectively.
Thus, we ask that you take into consideration all the various
opinions, but in the end, make an informed decision based on what
you believe is best for you.
We hope you enjoy and find this is helpful :)
With much love (and on behalf of StudCo),
Julianne Crawford
Class of 2012
Brinda Gupta
Class of 2012
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Here are some options:
Architecture
Biochemistry Bioengineering
Biology
Business
Chemistry
Computer Science:
Economics
Education
Engineering
English
Environmental Science
Fine arts
History
Law
Mathematics
Medicine
Physics
Psychology
Social Science
Space Science
Theology
What types
of SIR are
there to
pursue?
This year SIR ranged from being in the field
of architecture to focusing on theology.
Don’t hesitate to look outside the realm of
scientific research.
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ON-CAMPUS
vs.
OFF-CAMPUS
Some students prefer an on-campus
SIR, while others prefer an off-
campus SIR; it’s really up to you.
Whichever you choose, know that
there is no difference in the credit
that you will receive. Remember that
off-campus SIR buses leave about 7:00
a.m. and don’t arrive back at IMSA until
around 6:30 p.m. Make an informed decision
based on what you think you can handle.
Here are the major benefits of both:
Benefits of having an OFF-CAMPUS SIR:
“Being able to work with a well-known professor.”
“Exposure to the field of research and being able to conduct an investigation with more depth than an on-campus SIR.”
“I think that one major benefit was that my advisor explained to me what he was currently studying, and how that was relevant to research today. On-campus SIR's must choose their own focus, but my adviser had his focus, which obviously influenced the focus of my investigation.”
“I got to work with an actual architect, rather than just a staff member or faculty at IMSA.”
“The kinds of tests we were able to run along with the cell lines and lab resources available would not have been available to us on-campus. Additionally, the information given to us about our project by our advisor would not have been available on campus.”
“I got to work with professionals in the field. I had many resources available to me. I was able to pursue a very refined idea. I got to see a little bit how a college works, and I met some undergraduates.”
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Benefits of having an ON-CAMPUS SIR:
“I got to run the entire project from start to finish, gained some awesome lab skills, devoted much more time than would have been possible off-campus, and got to design my own project. I truly understood my project, in a way that not many off-campus students seemed to. I gained a TON of confidence in the lab and am now confident that I can go into a real research lab with enough experience to understand what's going on.”
“Less time spent in transportation. You know about your advisor going into it.”
“Flexibility of scheduling. I was able to meet with teachers on I-days and do an SIR.”
“Still having time to meet with teachers as you could when you were a sophomore.”
Some students may tell you that having an on-campus SIR requires
much less time, and that it is easier to slack off. However, with an on-
campus SIR, you are expected to commit a good amount of time to
your investigation, as you would do with an off-campus SIR. We
surveyed students with on-campus SIRs to see how much time they
invested each Wednesday to their investigation:
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My SIR was
OFF-Campus
this year and I
plan to…
Pursue another off-campus SIR next year:
“I would like to continue to research the investigation I am currently involved in.”
“I want to get the experience of working with professionals outside of the IMSA campus.”
“I want to do something different, but I really enjoyed my experience off campus. Leaving IMSA is always a good change of scenery.”
“I think that being able to go off campus and experience a professional work setting is one of the greatest benefits that the SIR program offers.”
Pursue an on-Campus SIR next year:
“I did not enjoy my off campus experience and often found myself too drained to fully understand what was being done. An on campus SIR in a more interesting field will make the SIR process much more enjoyable.”
“Losing the I day was too hard.”
I think I still would like to do SIR, but I would also like to have free time on Wednesdays during my senior year.
Not Pursue another SIR:
“I Plan to take applied engineering rather than SIR.”
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My SIR was
ON-Campus
this year and I
plan to…
Pursue another on-campus SIR next
year:
“My advisor asked for me to work with
him again on a similar project.”
“I'm going off campus this summer,
because there's less stress involved, so I'll
do a more manageable project on campus
come time for college apps.”
Pursue an off-Campus SIR next year:
“I ended up with an on-campus SIR because 16 off-campus advisors turned me
down (start early---I started in July). I ended up working with Don Dosch, which
has been a phenomenal experience. I definitely learned a ton and wouldn't trade
it for anything. However, he does not want as many SIR students next year and
has encouraged me to pursue an off-campus SIR next year to get true lab
experience. I would like to see how true cancer research is conducted.”
“I want to be able to work with someone researching in medicine for my SIR.”
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WAS YOUR
SIR
EXPERIENCE
BENEFICIAL?
*As you can see, the
vast majority of
people agree that yes,
SIR was a beneficial
experience.
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DID YOU
ENJOY YOUR
SIR
EXPERIENCE?
*As you can see, the
vast majority of people
agree that yes, they
enjoyed their SIR
experience.
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DID SIR GIVE
YOU THE
OPPORTUNITY
TO PURSUE AN
INVESTIGATION
THAT YOU
WERE
INTERESTED
IN?
*As you can see, the vast
majority of people agree
that yes, SIR gave them
this opportunity.
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WAS GOING
FROM HAVING
ALL DAY
WEDNESDAY AS
A SOPHOMORE
TO HAVING TO
GIVE UP TIME
TO PURSUE AN
SIR WAS A HARD
TRANSITION?
*Though some may agree
that SIR was a hard
transition, we can say
from personal experience
that it is easy to adjust
quickly and having an
SIR helps you manage
your time accordingly.
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SIR REQUIRES A
LOT OF TIME
AND EFFORT,
BUT IT’S
MANAGEABLE.
*As you can see, the vast
majority of people agree
that yes, SIR is
manageable with all of
your other work.
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WOULD YOU
RECOMMEND
THAT THE
RISING JUNIORS
PURSUE AN
OFF-CAMPUS
SIR?
*This is a wonderful
opportunity, and you
should take it while you
have the chance!
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Finding an SIR Advisor
The first step of the SIR program is to find an advisor and an investigation or research
topic. As with research, the SIR student is expected to independently accomplish this
task, with guidance from the SIR staff. Here are some basic steps and things you should
do that will help you in this process.
1. Don’t Procrastinate! The deadline for signing on with an advisor is in mid-September,
and this process takes time. Start early and be persistent in pursuing options and
interests.
2. Choose an area of interest that you want to study; don’t just choose a topic because
you think it’s “impressive.”
3. Find potential advisors at IMSA or in the Chicago-land area that have a current
project in your area of interest. You can find ideas of investigations by searching past
SIR abstracts on the SIR website:
https://www3.imsa.edu/learning/inquiry/Outcomes/SIR/Abstracts. Once you have
identified a few names, find the potential advisor’s institution website. Do a literature
search to see what this investigator has recently studied.
4. Write your biography and introductory email. In this document you should a)
introduce yourself briefly; b) indicate what specific skills you have obtained, and how
you obtained them (IMSA class, science fair, and so forth); c) indicate (demonstrate
knowledge) that you know some specific information about what the research
investigation is that you are applying for; d) tie these two things together, stating how
your skills would be a benefit to this project. The SIR staff will be happy to review your
emails and provide feedback before you send them. Biography examples are included
in this document.
5. Proof your emails! No one is impressed by typographical errors and grammatical
errors!
6. Send out the email, to one investigator at a time. Give the investigator 24 to 48 hours
to respond. If there is no response, then you can either follow up with another email
or a phone call. Be persistent but polite. Remember that these investigators (potential
advisors) would be investing a significant amount of their time if they agree to take
you on as an advisee.
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7. If the investigator says “yes,” you should most certainly also say “yes.” It is not
appropriate to tell the advisor that you have changed your mind, or that you will get
back to him/her after you follow up on some other leads. At this point, you should get
all of the contact information for the advisor (name, address, phone, email) to Dr.
Scheppler ([email protected]).
8. If the investigator says “no,” respond with a brief “thank you for your consideration”
e-mail and move on to the next person on your list.
9. Investigation openings (advisors seeking SIR students) are posted regularly on the
window outside the Grainger Center in the fall. Check these postings daily to see if
there are any in your area of interest.
10. Argonne National Laboratory and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory have very
specific application procedures that you must follow. Do not directly contact staff at
these facilities. Information about applying to ANL or FNAL is e-mailed to current
sophomores and juniors. Application does not assure placement, and if you apply to
either of these places you are expected to accept that placement if offered. You may
not apply elsewhere until you have a response. If you are not placed, the SIR staff will
do its best to assist you with finding another placement.
11. Begin approaching potential advisors in May and June. Make an appointment to visit
them over the summer, and perhaps spend a week (or more) working with them
during the summer to increase your familiarity with their work. This can be especially
important with lab-based investigations, as one day each week is not optimal when
some experiments require multiple days to complete. Summer SIR credit is available,
providing you meet SIR standards and program requirements. Additionally, if you one
of your peers has an adviser that you would be interested in working with, be sure to
get his or her contact information as soon as possible.
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SIR Recommendation
If you are seeking an off-campus SIR placement, it may be beneficial for you to have one
recommendation on file in the SIR office. There is a simple form that IMSA teachers can
complete and email to Dr. Scheppler. Do not wait until May, when your teachers are very
busy, to ask them to complete this. You can ask the SIR office/Dr. J to send this
recommendation along with some SIR information to potential advisors.
Brief Biography
Write about yourself and your skills and abilities. What did you learn in your MSI
investigation? In your classes at IMSA? Other relevant experiences? What are your
objectives in obtaining an investigation with this specific advisor? What career path are
you interested in pursuing? How can a placement with this advisor assist you with this?
Remember: Demonstrate, don’t tell.
Sample Biography
My name is Joe Smith ([email protected]) and I am a junior at IMSA. I am
inquiring about a Student Inquiry and Research investigation related to physics,
electronics, and/or engineering. I am very interested in all types of physics and math and
am open to many areas. Last year, I took my first physics class and I thoroughly enjoyed
it. The mix of math and science was very fun to me. I am very interested in exploring
many new areas in physics as I am creative and love to learn about new things. This year I
am taking an Advanced Physics class and an Electronics class. I am also planning on
taking an engineering class my senior year. I work fairly well with computers and I learn
quickly when it comes to using new programs. I have some experience in Java
programming and wouldn't mind doing something that involved programming. I am
looking forward to working diligently this year, too.
Email tips
• Use your IMSA email address, and use a good email subject line
Working with an SIR advisor is a tremendous gift. They want serious and hard-working
students, but they really do want to support you and encourage your interests in their
field. Occasionally you may find that the experience is not what you expected. Maybe
it’s much better than expected, or maybe it’s not. In any case, you should accept it for a
learning experience and try to make the best opportunity from it that you can. Many
things have a way of coming back and rewarding you when you least expect it.
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NEED SOME ADVICE? TAKE IT FROM US…
Having a partner might
make the SIR experience
easier, but if you prefer
working alone, do that.
Have fun
:)
“Bring a
blanket and
pillow for
those bus
rides.”
“I would really
encourage the
rising juniors to take part in SIR
(whether on-
campus or off-campus). SIR is
unique to IMSA
and you will most likely not
find an
opportunity like this anywhere
else.”
“Work hard.”
“I spent around 2 months waiting for IRB approval. Get those forms
turned as early as possible.”
“Make sure to manage time
wisely.”
“Send out emails early!”
“Do your best to ensure you
get a good mentor. Whether
that means asking
upperclassmen which
mentors are good, or doing
research from past abstract
books, do whatever it takes.
And then make sure you don't
slack off. For the most part,
mentors are pretty iffy about
taking high school kids and it
doesn't take much for them to
conclude that you're not
going to be useful to them
and that you don't have the
background to learn much.
However, if they feel you are
capable, they can give some
cool responsibilities and you
can learn a lot.”
“Pick one in a subject area that you
enjoy. Don't pick one just because you think you will get awards if you do
something in that subject area. If you are
passionate about your topic, you will definitely be able to go farther with it.”