How to understand the broader goals of profs' research projects? Firstly, I should note that this is a cross-post from Reddit r/AskAcademia, and the link to the question is: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskAcademia/comments/knw86c/how_to_understand_the_broader_goals_of_profs/
I really hope to improve my situation, thus, I would love to get more perspectives on this problem!

Hi there! I'm a first-year undergrad student looking for my first ever research position. I have a hard time understanding the big picture/question/goal the professor is trying to solve/work towards when reading about their projects. I am often overwhelmed with the technical details that are way beyond my current scope of knowledge, and this has made their research appear a lot more tedious to me
I'm seeking ways to improve this situation, particularly things I could do to aid me in understanding the broader goal of the project.
Thanks in advance for any help!
I would suggest it is unreasonable for an undergraduate student to try to understand the big picture before approaching a prof for a first research position.
I know that at least from my point of view if an undergraduate approached me with interest that would be good enough for me. I would just draft an email for several profs that essentially said something like this--but in your own words of course:
&quot;Dear xyz, I am looking for a lab for my first research position and the topic of your research is interesting to me because . Would you have 30 minutes for me to learn more about the research in your lab and to explore if it would be possible for me to perform a research rotation in your lab?&quot;
For one thing, you'd narrow down the profs/labs who are willing to explain their research/teach and are open to take on first year undergrads. You can then still try to read a single review or two on the topic or just read through the lab webpage before you have the first meeting. I'd argue too that if a prof is unwilling to take 30 min of their time to chat about their research, that is a good enough reason for you NOT to chose the lab for your first research project.