Scientific Communication
How will anyone know about your work unless you tell them about it?
Publications...
Not incredibly common during your undergrad, especially with any significant papers. However, I did have the opportunity to publish a paper, which was definitely an interesting experience. The most grueling part is the review process, which could take months before it is approved. You’ll have to do quite a few revisions, and although the reviews can be incredibly stubborn with what they accept or reject, it’s all a learning experience, so don’t take what they say to heart. In general though, whenever you are doing research, you'll want to write a "final report", especially while you're in undergrad. Not only does this give you excellent practice, but if you need a writing sample for something in the future, this can be used as such. Additionally, you might need to have an undergraduate senior thesis, for which a final report is perfect for.
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Having or not having a publication won't affect your chances of getting into a graduate program. It does however help quite a bit if you had a lower GPA (I speak from personal experience on this), but as of right now, it’s not a requirement for an undergraduate student to have a published paper. It might be more of an expectation if you are applying to a PhD program from a masters program though...
The Art of Writing for Publication:
When you are writing a paper with the intent of publication, there are a few things that you want to be aware of, or at least have in the back of your mind while you work. This is especially true if you know that what you're working on will definitely be published, as there are some things to do to make your life much easier. Click on each of the tabs below to learn about how to get started, a general outline for your paper, and how journal revisions work.
Presentations
The most important part of doing research is the ability to present it, and convince others that your research is actually worth doing! Any time you get the opportunity to present your work, even if you don’t have any results yet, take it. As someone who is scared of public speaking (now, less so), I still took any chance I had to speak about my work. It’ll be much easier during undergrad to talk in front of people you know and professors that won’t ask you the most difficult questions then to wait until graduate school to have your first public speaking experience.
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During your undergraduate degree, you might have the opportunity to speak at a conference as well! I highly recommend CUWiP (Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics) - open to any undergraduate student! You can also find other conferences and resources using the APS link below:
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Ask your professors about any opportunities, either through conferences given outside of campus, or talks/colloquiums on campus! Note that you may be asked some questions after your talk, so be prepared for that! If you don't know the answer to something, it's totally fine to say that you don't know. Your professor might then say a few words to quickly answer the question. You're not meant to be a walking encyclopedia... yet! Visual learners, click below for an example presentation!
A quick presentation guide:
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Title slide with a title that is a clear and concise. Someone should be able to read only your title slide and know exactly what topic you'll be discussing. Yes, being creative is great, but it's better to have a slightly more boring title than having people not knowing what they'll be hearing about.
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Background information. No matter how knowledgeable your audience is, it's always nice to ease into your presentation with things that everyone knows. Think of every textbook you've ever read. No matter how difficult the subject is, there's always an introduction to things you should know before reading. The same thing applies with presentations - everyone wants to be on the same page.
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Motivations behind your work and scientific goals should follow. You want to briefly explain why what you're doing is important, why people should care about the science that's being presented. Here, mention any current models, what you're doing to improve upon them, and why they are better.
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Getting technical. Now that you've gone over what a majority of the audience can follow, you can get into the smaller details of your work. Show more in depth plots and diagrams, but make sure to not overwhelm your slide with paragraphs of words. Let the graphs take up most of the space, so the audience can focus on that, while listening to you explain. If you have too many words, you might as well have just printed out your powerpoint and handed it to everyone, as they'll read everything instead of listen to you.
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Summary slides. These should be placed towards the end of your presentation, reminding the audience what they just listened to, and bringing all the facts together. This should cover the main points and results, and any other important information.​
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Future work. What does your current work mean for the future of your field, and any upcoming projects? How will your work impact the ways in which others interact with your field? What are the broader connections this project makes?
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Don't forget about pictures! Try to have at least one image on every slide (and make sure that if you have an image or graph, that you're able to explain it). Equations should be kept to a minimum, unless they are absolutely essential to your explanation. If you have a slide that has a lot of important information on it, add information/slide transitions such that each piece appears slowly, and you have the time to explain it in a way that flows well and isn't overwhelming to your audience.