Research- Getting Started

This guide is designed to help you get started with a research project, whether you want to develop your own project or assist with an existing study.  

And while this guide is for all ICOM students, we see it as being most helpful for those in your pre-clinical years. 

Go through the steps located in the menu (located above for mobile devices or to the left for desktops) for specific guidance or read the sections on this page for a general overview. Explore this guide, take the plunge, and reach out if you need a hand! 

Research is conducted in order to evaluate the validity of a hypothesis or an approach; to assemble a body of knowledge and findings and share them appropriately, ultimately generating more questions for further studies. Research is a systematic process of inquiry. It involves: proper, up-to-date documentation of all work; designing and completing experiments; collecting data; analyzing and interpreting data; and sharing the work through presentations, publications, and grant applications. Research must be conducted using suitable methodologies established by specific professional fields and academic disciplines.

Scholarly activity is a much broader term than research. Scholarly activities advance knowledge, synthesize knowledge, apply existing knowledge, and disseminate existing knowledge. Teaching and research are both types of scholarly activity. The term scholarly activity is used at particular places in this guide to showcase the breadth of opportunities available to student doctors.

Research and scholarly activity opportunities at ICOM or with collaborative partners include:

• basic science
• clinical
• community-based
• medical education
• survey development and implementation
• anatomical variation
• osteopathic principles and practice
• literature reviews  

Research at ICOM is a voluntary, approachable, goal-oriented collection of activities that exercise your critical thinking, communication, and teamwork skills. Some may see research as an overwhelming deep dive, but dipping your toes into the water by incorporating even small research practices and skills will synergize your academic and professional experiences. Immersing yourself in research will take you to greater depths of understanding and can be transformational for your career. Starting, whether it's something small or large, can be the hardest part.

Get Involved! There are many ways to get involved in research and scholarly activities at ICOM, even if you're not doing research yourself. Some options are included below:

• Student-led journal club
• Impact series seminars 
• Research@ICOM WebEx space
• Research Day

• There is no minimum GPA requirement to participate in research activities. 
• Students with a pending course remediation are required to pass remediation before beginning a research project.
• Students who fail a course after starting a research project must suspend their research and scholarly activities until remediation has been successfully achieved.

• If you don't know exactly what you want to research, you've come to the right place as this entire guide is largely focused on helping you find and/or select a research project! 
• If you wonder what ICOM faculty are working on, look through this list, and then reach out to them to see if they have room for you on their project.
• If you're wanting to see what's been done already, contact the ICOM librarians for help with searching databases and retrieving articles. 
• If you have questions regarding policies or procedures related to research, contact the Research Committee.
• If you have questions related to the ICOM Research Lab, contact Ms. Joanna Owen.