Where can I employ a private research assistant?

What should I review for an undergraduate research assistant position?

• I have an undergraduate research assistant interview soon and I need to know what to review to present myself in the best light. The people interviewing me know that I'm still quite early in my studies so I assume that they know my knowledge is somewhat limited; I say this because I need to know how extensively I must review their published research papers (genetics lab). The person who will be conducting the interview informed me that the interview will be very informal so would it be best to just talk about why I'm interested in the research and my career/academic goals. I don't think it'd be wise to read the research because I have a limited range of knowledge and any response I gave about the research would appear canned but I also don't want to come off as someone who is too lazy or uninterested to read the research.

• Answer:

  Read one or two of the recent papers. Ask what you'd be working on. Ask them to explain their research, what their goals are, why they chose to work in this field, etc. Don't try to display knowledge that you don't have, just take a sincere interest in their work.