Overview
The Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry offers four research tutorials: 1) Chem 99, 2) Chem 196A, 3) Chem 196B, and 4) Chem 199. To enroll in Chem 99, please consult the Undergraduate Research Center.
To enroll in Chem 196A, 196B, and 199, students are required to first submit a research proposal describing their research project. The proposal should clearly describe the student’s research project as this will assist the student when carrying out their research during the quarter and when drafting their research report that must be submitted at the end of the quarter. Students are recommended to work with their faculty advisor when preparing their proposal and research report.
A student’s research proposal should include the following:
- A descriptive Title.
- A brief (<250 words) Abstract describing the background, long-term goal(s), short-term objectives, and specific methods of investigation of the proposed research project.
- A brief Introduction summarizing the background of the proposed investigation and the student’s previous research accomplishments on the project (if applicable). The background should clearly summarize the essential chemistry or biochemistry relevant to the project and place the student’s project in context of known science. The student must have citations to the scientific literature. The student must indicate how this quarter’s objectives relate to their work completed in previous quarters (if applicable). The student must explain how it is different (if applicable).
- A description of what the student proposes to do (Methods). What hypotheses will the student test or what questions do they hope to answer? The student should describe the tasks or plan of experiments they will be performing including laboratory techniques they will be learning (or applying) and the kind of data they will be collecting (if applicable).
- A brief Discussion describing how the student’s proposed experiments will contribute to the short or long-term objectives of their research project (i.e. how does their work fit into the “big picture”). The student should describe the direction the research project will follow in succeeding quarters.
- A list of cited References using the proper format for literature citations. For Chemistry research use the format found in the Journal of the American Chemical Society and for Biochemistry research use the format found in Biochemistry.
In addition to the guidelines outlined above, students are required to indicate the following:
- The amount of time the students expect to spend on the course (12 hours/week is considered the minimum for 4 units of Research Tutorials) AND
- How frequently the student expects to meet with their faculty mentor.