Hi,
I have an idea for a research project I want to conduct, but I had a few questions. First of all, my research is medical, and I would need to contact patients in order to ask them some questions (not people in the hospital; I'm looking at the long-term (10+) effects of common surgical procedures). Is this feasible, and, if so, how would you suggest tackling this?
Secondly, do you think there would be any profs out there interested in mentoring this? Any idea what faculty/course?
Thanks!

Originally Posted by Zebedee

Hi,
I have an idea for a research project I want to conduct, but I had a few questions. First of all, my research is medical, and I would need to contact patients in order to ask them some questions (not people in the hospital; I'm looking at the long-term (10+) effects of common surgical procedures). Is this feasible, and, if so, how would you suggest tackling this?
Secondly, do you think there would be any profs out there interested in mentoring this? Any idea what faculty/course?
Thanks!

Is this more than a one year research? I'm not sure how long it takes, but because you are contacting people you have to go through an entire process. You have to first write up a research proposal and then get it approved by McMaster's REB. You also have to somehow get each hospital to allow you access to patient information (I'm not sure if this comes before the REB or after). There is also some protocols surrounding contacting patients that you'll have to figure out. I'm not sure how hard it would be to get your research proposal approved by the REB, it would probably be in your best interest to get a supervisor who has dealt with the REB in the past. I'm probably missing some stuff too, but here are some relevant links:

http://ethics.mcmaster.ca/chart/
http://www.mcmaster.ca/ors/ethics/index.htm

Also, for the faculty you'll probably want to look at Health Science.

Hey!

I think that having your own research proposal is great, but it would be much easier for you (at the undergrad level especially) to contact a professor who does similar research to what you are looking to do and ask for a position (volunteer or paid) in his/her lab. From there, either you can tell them about your research proposal to see what they think or you can work on one that they suggest.

Profs definitely have a lot of experience with what will and won't work so their input in this would be great. Good luck!