It is a well-known fact that students who are more comfortable with the research process are more likely to enjoy their time studying. My students are often asked to give feedback on their research projects, and I am always impressed when they are able to express their opinions in a way that is both thoughtful and articulate.
But email is a terrible way to express opinions. To quote the guy from the movie Office Space: “I can’t do it through email, I have to do it in person.” I think this goes for everything, really. However, while email is not ideal in all situations, it can be a good way to get feedback on your research, and it can also be great for connecting with your professors.
In my office, I communicate with professors via email, but in my other, less formal settings, I like to write emails to professors in person. This allows me to convey my thoughts in a way that is both thoughtful and articulate. It also helps that I have a desk in my office, so I don’t need to keep walking around to the other side of the room to talk to somebody.
I find the emails I send in person very helpful, but also often useful for connecting with other people. Especially people who are not professors. I’ve found that the professors who respond are typically very engaged in their research, and some even ask questions and sometimes provide helpful advice.
I know what you’re thinking. “But my email sucks! What am I going to tell the guy in the office who has no idea if my email will be of any use to him?” But I have to point out that the emails I send in person are much more likely to be useful than the ones that I send via a computer.
I would say that professors tend to be more engaged in their research when they are actually meeting with you. I’ve received emails from professors that included questions about my research (and the answers were all useful). When I do an email interview, the professors are still engaged and they are giving very helpful advice.
Email interviews are also a great way to find people who are interested in your research topics. In my most recent email to a professor I sent him a link to this article about how to be a more effective research adviser. The article itself was a great read as well.
When you’re doing an email interview with a professor or researcher, it’s always good to make sure they’re not trying to convince you to do something you obviously already are doing, or to somehow change your research focus. Professors and researchers often take a lot of pride in saying something is “helpful” to their research.
This is basically what is is. As a general rule, if it is something a professor would like you to consider doing, such as writing a paper, then they will likely consider your research and give you some guidance on how to proceed. However, sometimes professors will take it upon themselves to inform you about what they think will work best for your research.
This is because professors are human too! They often get involved in research for altruistic reasons. While professors may be interested in what you think you can do to make your research better (i.e. if your research improves the lives of people), they may in fact be taking this approach because they want to help you. In the same way that you may want to improve the lives of people, you may also want to improve the lives of professors.
