Getting Started: Establishing a Meaningful Program of Research or Creative Activities
Bart J. Kowallis, Professor of Geology
College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, BYU
I. Do Something You Love To Do
One of the great benefits I have here at the university is that I actually get paid to do things that other people have to pay to do! For example, over the past few years I have become very interested in geologic time—determining the ages of geologic events. This research has on many occasions taken me to fossil "digs" where I will collect datable materials to try and help the paleontologists get a handle on how old the fossils are. Invariably, some of the people helping at the fossil sites are people who pay to come because they love to help dig up dinosaur bones or prehistoric mammals.
As you start into your professional research career, make sure you find something to study that fascinates you, something that keeps you awake at night thinking, something that you can't wait to get back to school for on Monday, or that you have to come in for on weekends. Study something that you are passionate about. If you have this passion for your subject, you will be successful.
II. Learn To Ask For Help
New faculty often feel that they need to prove their independence, that they should not ask for help from existing faculty or colleagues. This will usually not lead to success in a program. Good research programs thrive on collaboration and good constructive criticism.
If you want to succeed, seek out faculty colleagues who you can depend upon to give you an honest opinion, and have them critique your research proposals and papers before they are submitted. Listen to their comments and use them to make your proposals and papers better.
Also seek out faculty who have similar interests and develop cooperative programs with them. The old adage really is true: “Two heads are better than one!” During my first few years at BYU, I continued to collaborate with my Ph.D. advisor. We published a number of papers together and had several research grants funded. This collaboration was critical to the development of my research here at BYU.
I continue to seek the advice of my colleagues in the Geology Department and to actively look for ways to collaborate with them. Yes, it is possible to be successful as a loner, but it is much more difficult and not nearly as much fun.
III. Don’t Be Discouraged and Be Persistent
My perception is that obtaining external funding for research is becoming more difficult. Government budgets have not increased as rapidly as have the number of researchers. The quest for research dollars will not, therefore, be an easy one. For example, the Earth Sciences Division of the National Science Foundation ( where most of my external research funding has come from) now funds only about 15% of the proposals submitted.
It takes a lot of effort to write a good proposal and it can be discouraging when it is not funded. Still, it is worth the effort. Every faculty member should go through the process of writing a grant proposal about once each year. The process of writing the grant has benefits for your research even when the grant is not funded. It sharpens your focus on the critical research problems you want to deal with, it forces you to organize a research plan, and it often shows you where there are flaws in your ideas.
In this process, don't get discouraged when you fail to obtain the desired grant or get the paper published. I know that when reviews come back from a rejected paper or proposal it can be a difficult time. I usually only look at them briefly when they arrive and then put them aside for a few days until I have calmed down and can evaluate the merits of the criticism. Usually the criticisms are valid and I can then go back and write a better proposal or a better paper.
Be persistent and submit proposals and papers on a regular basis. You will be much more successful if you do. Don't get out of the habit or practice of writing. It is not something that comes easily for most of us and if we do not practice it can become almost impossible.
IV. Be Careful with Good Ideas
By this, I don’t really mean that you need to be overly cautious in sharing ideas with friends and colleagues. I have never had a problem with someone stealing my ideas (that may be because they haven’t been all that great to begin with). What I mean here is that you need to be ready to write down your good ideas whenever they come to you. Don’t just assume that you will remember them. The best ideas often come when you are in the shower, or lying in bed trying to go to sleep, or out taking a quiet walk. Keep a notepad handy on these occasions so that good ideas, which may only come once, are not lost.
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