How do I know what my research interest is, especially when there are so many topics I could study?
Ever felt like a kid in a candy store, surrounded by a mesmerizing array of research topics, but unsure which one to pick? Don't worry, read on:
Here are 2 steps to narrowing down your research interests:
Read research papers and books on topics that fascinate and intrigue you, and that you would like to explore further.
For example, in 11th and 12th, I was fascinated by social psychology.
In college, I further narrowed it down to behavioral economics in the social sector and policy (specifically, the work of Prof. Sendhil Mullainathan, Prof. Jens Ludwig, and Prof. Anuj Shah at UChicago)
And, remember that it’s completely okay to be fascinated by a lot of topics.
There are no shortcuts to narrowing down research interests by elimination.
You will have to get research experience in those topics to know if it’s something that you enjoy doing.
Enjoying reading about something, and enjoying doing something are two very different things, and it’s okay if you’re interested in just reading.
For example, I got research experience in Behavioral Economics at the Cambridge Political Psychology Lab, which clarified my confusion about enjoying reading about Beh Econ vs actually researching it.
And that’s how I knew that I wanted to study and apply behavioral economics further.
Believe me, there’s no limit to curiosity =)