Beginning students who are interested in research often struggle with the questions of where to begin and how to do something truly original. Choosing the right mentor is essential, as asking the right question and designing feasible experiments are the most difficult to learn. Exploring an uncharted area can be frightening to some but is pure joy to those lucky few. A few articles are helpful to get started, and they are not just for beginners:
1) Goldstein JL. Starting out as a physician-scientist: the crucial first step on the ladder to success. J Clin Invest. 2017 Oct 2;127(10):3576.
2) Kornberg A. Ten commandments of enzymology, amended. Trends Biochem Sci. 2003 Oct;28(10):515-7, or the alternative: Ten commandments: lessons from the enzymology of DNA replication. J Bacteriol. 2000 Jul;182(13):3613-8.
3) Alberts B. A wake-up call. Nature. 2004 Oct 28;431(7012):1041.