Professional Contact - Thread 1

If you have not done so, establish a connection with a professional on your topic of research.
Blog a brief entry on your experience.
~~~~
I discussed contacting a professional in a previous blog entry, but I'll review it again:
I contacted, via email, an author of an article that I found. He emailed me back within a day or two. He doesn't work in the specific area of research I am now focusing on, but he said he has a colleague that is more familiar with the area and he will keep me in mind if he hears anything interesting. I also emailed a graduate student at another university that did her thesis in an area similar to mine. She is going to send me her data and presentation information as soon as her computer is up and running again.
Both of these were simple contacts to make. I don't expect to do anything further with either person, as my project will be laid to rest as soon as I turn in my research proposal for Research Methods, and I don't have a need to take up more of their time. Even though I may not use these connections further, it was a good experience to decide who and how to contact a "professional."