Being "good enough" to do research with a professor? ( cse, undergrad ) I'm a computer science student at Stony Brook University. As the undergrad final project next semester, I am to do a research project under the supervision of a professor, whom I have to find this semester. 

I have not yet taken any classes with professors whose research I am interested in, How can I show that I'm "competent enough" for them to spend time on me? It feels like standards for computer science are different than say, biology. I also currently don't know a lot about the area I'm interested in (data systems/mining), though I will be taking the database course this semester. Would this be a major negative factor?
Research means diving into the unknown.

Committing to work on a research project with a mentor is also diving into the unknown.

What I can reassure you about is that 


Professors are used to undergraduates signing up for research projects with less preparation than would be seen in grad students
The stakes will not be as high for this as they would be as a grad student.  If you don't have any original findings to show for yourself at the end of the project, that won't be a disaster.


This is a chance for you to get your feet wet, to ask, I wonder... and then figure out how you might start working on an answer.

Give it a try!