Orris

Hey ChatGPT, I am totally new to medical research, and everyone around me is talking about medical research. I am a first-year MBBS student in Dow Medical College, Karachi. I need to build my CV, so I need to start to just learn the fundamentals of research and then excel my progress. So can you guide me what to do, what are the resources, what are the websites, and how to do so?

Reading File
Medical research can be learned step by step. As a first-year MBBS student, your immediate goal should not be publishing quickly. Build research literacy, learn basic skills, find ethical mentorship, then take on small projects.

Your learning map

  1. Research fundamentals
    • Research questions, study designs, variables, bias, confounding, ethics
    • Reading a scientific paper and understanding abstracts
  2. Literature searching
    • PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library
    • Keywords, MeSH terms, Boolean operators, saving searches
  3. Critical appraisal
    • How to judge whether a study is reliable
    • Understanding risk of bias, p-values, confidence intervals, effect sizes
  4. Basic statistics and data handling
    • Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, t-tests, correlation, regression
    • Excel first, then SPSS, R, or Jamovi
  5. Research methods and ethics
    • Cross-sectional studies, case-control studies, cohorts, clinical trials, systematic reviews
    • Consent, confidentiality, plagiarism, authorship, ethics approval
  6. Writing and publishing
    • Protocols, abstracts, posters, manuscripts, reference management
    • Choosing legitimate journals and avoiding predatory journals
  7. Practical CV building
    • Joining a research group, attending workshops, poster presentations
    • Starting with case reports, audits, surveys, or supervised systematic reviews

A realistic first-year pathway

Months 1-2
  • Learn study designs and how to read a paper.
  • Create accounts on PubMed, ORCID, and Zotero.
  • Read one medical article each week, beginning with a review article in an area you enjoy.
Months 3-4
  • Learn PubMed searches and basic statistics.
  • Attend research workshops at Dow Medical College, DUHS, student societies, or online programs.
  • Identify 2-3 faculty members or senior students who publish responsibly and ask to observe or help with a small defined task.
Months 5-8
  • Join one supervised project. A literature review, cross-sectional survey, chart review, audit, or case report may be appropriate depending on the mentor and ethics approval.
  • Learn reference management with Zotero.
  • Aim to submit a poster abstract to a student conference, rather than rushing to a journal publication.
Months 9-12
  • Contribute consistently to the project: literature search, data cleaning, reference checking, tables, or drafting sections.
  • Keep a documented record of your actual contributions. Authorship should reflect meaningful work, not just participation.

High-level advice

  • Find mentorship before choosing a “high-impact” topic. A reliable mentor and an ethical, finishable project matter more than a fashionable subject.
  • Do not pay for authorship or guaranteed publication. These damage a CV and can amount to academic misconduct.
  • Avoid predatory journals. Warning signs include unsolicited invitations, extremely rapid acceptance, unclear editorial boards, and payment requests before transparent peer review.
  • Never collect patient data without formal approval and supervision.
  • Keep your academics strong. Research is valuable, but first-year anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry remain your foundation.
Which area should I guide you through first?
  1. Beginner roadmap - a detailed 12-month plan for an MBBS student
  2. PubMed and paper reading - how to search and understand articles
  3. Research project - how to find a mentor and get your first role
  4. CV and publications - ethical ways to build a strong academic CV
This is a shared conversation. Sign in to Orris to start your own chat.