How do I ask for undergraduate research? Literally what do I say and to whom?

Are they more likely to say yes if it's for credit?

That shits like from a saw movie or something, but its real.

Really fucked up. These fucks will experiment on humans too. Don't kid yourselves.

Yes, IMO. The reason is simple: for a PI, signing off on credit hours is much easier and much preferred to paying a student. With the exception of the minority of labs with the lion's share of funding (HHMI, multiple R01s, etc.), the few thousand dollars to pay an undergrad to wash dishes just isn't in the budget.

That said, you need to be cognizant of how your school gives out credit. Some schools will cap research credits after one semester; others after two semesters. This matters because your major degree program won't give you credit for dish washing and autoclaving for a semester.

My undergrad, for example, gave one semester of credits for "directed" research (read: getting your feet wet in the lab; you report that can do techniques, more or less), and one semester of credits for "independent" research, wherein you actually push forward your own project and write about that.

I think the best way to go about this is to talk to a PI towards the end of your freshman year or the start of your sophomore year. You can swing things so you'll get your feet wet as a sophomore, then hit the ground running as a junior or senior. The PI may be more willing to pay you as a sophomore on the basis that you'll be doing research as a junior -- where you'll use up your major credits for your degree.

Another tip, if you're at a big-name research institution with a med school and PhD programs: go to the med school to find labs! Less undergrads to compete with; more PhDs, MD/PhDs, post-docs, etc. is better for undergrads to learn. The labs in the basic science departments are inundated with undergrads. They're a day care for 10 or 15 undergrads who end up not really doing much.

Should I ask about op's pic? Animal testing site?