Chemistry 496
Senior Research Projects II
Spring 2003

The main activity in CHEM 496 is laboratory research, although other types of projects may be approved. Completion of the course will satisfy the Senior Year Experience requirement for most students. Research can be a rewarding experience; it can also be frustrating. To provide the highest likelihood of success the chemistry faculty have adopted the following procedures.

Weekly Meetings

Each student has been assigned a faculty supervisor to direct the project. Students are responsible for keeping their faculty supervisors informed of their research plans and progress.

To insure that the project is done in a timely and continuing fashion, each student is required to set up a weekly meeting with the supervisor. Each week the student will report on the progress of the previous week and plan for the next week. In all cases part of the weekly report will be a summary paragraph entered into the laboratory notebook which will be brought to the meeting. Missing two consecutive weekly meetings will result in a lowered grade.

Title and Abstract

Due: April 2, 2003

This title and abstract will be used to prepare a program for the mini-symposium. Therefore, each student by the due date will submit a proposed title and abstract to their faculty supervisor for editing. The edited title and abstract will be electronically forwarded to Professor Goodney no later than April 7, 2003.

Research Report

Due: Friday, April 18, 2003

Each student will submit a written report to his/her research advisor. The report should be organized much like the Research Proposal prepared for CHEM 495. The style and quality should be commensurate with that found in primary chemistry journals (e.g., Journal of the American Chemical Society, Analytical Chemistry, Journal of Organic Chemistry).

Use the following format for your research report:

  • Title
  • Abstract
    A one paragraph summary of important results and conclusions.
  • Introduction
    Describes the problem and provides background information and references.
  • Experimental
    Describes laboratory procedures, lists data collected, and shows data manipulations and calculated results.
  • Results
    A clear presentation of all data with appropriate statistics.
  • Discussion
    An analysis of the data and its significance.
  • Conclusion
    Reports general conclusions and assesses the significance of the project.
  • Literature Cited
    Contains a list of the references cited using the style approved by the American Chemical Society (see The ACS Style Guide below).

Use tables, figures, or graphs to clarify and summarize information wherever possible in the report.

The ACS Style Guide: A Manual for Authors and Editors 2nd Edition (Dodd, J.S, Ed; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1997) contains a wealth of data on preparing scientific reports. This text is available in the faculty workroom for in-house use, which you may find helpful to answer your specific format questions. Other questions can be directed to your research supervisor. You will submit interim reports throughout the course of the semester (see detailed course schedule). A complete rough draft is due to your supervisor by Friday, April 18, 2003. Only under extreme conditions will the due date for this paper be extended. Requests for extensions must be submitted in writing to the chemistry faculty no later than Tuesday, April 1, 2003. The final draft is due May 6, 2003.

Oral Presentations

Mini-symposium: Friday, April 25, 2003

An oral presentation is also required to satisfy the Senior Year Experience. All graduating chemistry majors will participate in a mini-symposium (specific time and place TBA). Each student will have 15 minutes, including questions and answers, to present his/her research. The presentation will be formal, in the style of a scientific meeting.

The symposium will be open to the general Willamette community with all chemistry students encouraged to attend.

Willamette University

Writing Center

Address
900 State Street
Salem Oregon 97301 U.S.A.
Phone
503-370-6959

Back to Top