BSCI 286: Independent Lab Study

Introduction
Independent Study (2-6hrs) is defined as scholarly activity that includes the conception and execution of a project by the individual student. Although independent in activity, the student enrolled in an Independent Studies course has frequent and regular supervision by a sponsoring faculty member. Reading and writing are again important ingredients of independent study but this course also provides more opportunities for conceptualizing and demonstrating originality.

BSCI 286 (Independent Laboratory Research in Biological Sciences) may be taken more than once.

a) Objectives
b) Prerequisites
c) Selection of a research mentor
d) Registration
e) Requirements
f)  Grading

BSCI 286 is intended primarily for students who have successfully completed BSCI 283. Students enrolled in BSCI 286 should be prepared to perform independently in the laboratory, without direct supervision by the research mentor. BSCI 286 students are expected to take a major role in defining a problem, and then to design, perform, and interpret experiments that help to gain insight into the problem, with only minimal input from the research mentor.


Consent of the course coordinator, and an overall grade average of B.
Completion of BSCI 283 before enrolling in BSCI 286 is not required, but is highly advisable.
Students who have completed BSCI 283 and intend to enroll in BSCI 286 will usually continue with the same research mentor. However, this procedure is not required. Students often prefer to broaden their research experiences by performing research projects in different fields.


The student will select a mentor from the faculty of the Department of Biological Sciences. Faculty from departments other than Biological Sciences are not eligible to serve as research mentors unless they play an active role in the teaching of Biological Sciences majors. It is recommended that students interview several faculty members before making a selection. The research interests and recent publications of the Biological Sciences faculty may be found at the Department web site. Once the student has made arrangements to work with a specific mentor, the course coordinator should be notified and the Approval Form (see link at the top of this document) completed. It is recommended that interviews, arrangements, and notification of the course coordinator be completed before the conclusion of Phase I of registration.



Students can not register BSCI 286 on OASIS. You will be registered upon receipt of the e-mailed receipt of the application form. (see instructions below).

 Instructions for completing the application form
 The checklist is required.
 Applications not meeting length specification or missing information will be returned.
 BSCI GPA does not include General Chemistry or Organic Chemistry.

1. Read the course requirements
2. Select a research mentor. Before deciding on a research mentor, contact several faculty members and    discuss potential projects. Decide on a project by agreement with a potential research advisor.
3. Submit Application Form to your research mentor. Complete the application form and e-mail it as an attachment to your research mentor. Paper forms will not be accepted. Include a short text message to the effect that the application is attached. Your research mentor should then forward the entire e-mail, including the attachment, to the Angela Fournier(Administrative Assistant to Professor Singleton)  at angela.fournier@vanderbilt.edu.  This process assures the department that the research advisor has seen and approved the proposal. Assuming you meet all of the requirements and have taken the appropriate prerequisites, you will be registered.
4. After the semester begins, submit a one page research proposal to your research mentor. to your research mentor Download and complete the proposal and e-mail it as an attachment to your research mentor. Paper forms will not be accepted. Once your research advisor has approved a final proposal, he/she should forward the proposal to Angela Fournier at angela.fournier@vanderbilt.edu The research proposal is due by the tenth day of the semester.

Instructions for completing the proposal:
The proposal form is not the same as the application form. Students must have submitted the application form before submitting this form. The project title may be modified from the title originally submitted with the application form, but only when the research advisor considers modification to be absolutely necessary. Modifications should only be made when there has been a fundamental change in the planned nature of the project. The proposal should include:

•  The Research Proposal section must be between 1200 and 2400 characters including spaces.
•  a statement of the problem and its significance
•  a general description of the proposed experiments
•  a statement about how the experiments may be expected to address the problem. The proposal should be developed in consultation with the research advisor.
•  The proposal is required, but will not normally affect the student's grade. However, late proposals and proposals that do not contain the required information in the required format will adversely affect the grade.
•  The proposal form must be received by Angela Fournier by the tenth day of class.

1. Written research proposal. Use the proposal form (link at the top of this document). The proposal should be developed with the mentor and must be approved by the mentor and the coordinator no later than the tenth day of the semester.

The proposal is required, but will not normally affect the student's grade. However, late proposals and proposals that do not contain the required information in the required format will adversely affect the grade.

2. Research effort. In research, it is difficult, if not impossible, to predict the amount of time and effort required to complete a research project. Unlike didactic laboratory experiments in BSCI 110 in which specific results are expected, experiments in basic research are often ambiguous and results are sometimes difficult to obtain. For this reason, the effort made by a student to understand the experimental concept and perform the experiments is perhaps more important than the actual results. Consequently, the final grade for the course will depend heavily on the effort made in the laboratory. As a guideline, it is expected that the student work at least 4 hours a week in the lab for every hour of academic credit. For example, 4 credit hours would translate into approximately 16 hours a week of laboratory work.

3. Written research report. This is a 10 to 18 page report on the work accomplished during the semester. One copy should be submitted to the mentor and another to the course coordinator. The report is due at the end of the day on the last day of classes for the semester. The report should be written as a scientific journal article detailing original research, with a title page and abstract and a main body with introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, and references sections. More information on the format and the content of each section will be distributed at mid-semester.

After a discussion with the mentor concerning an outline and the general content of the paper, the student should independently prepare a rough draft that the student feels is of sufficient quality for the mentor to read. At this point, the mentor and student will continue to refine the manuscript until the mentor is satisfied with the final version. There are two important points to pay attention to, bearing in mind that 30% of your final grade is based on the written report. Firstly, it will not be possible for the mentor and student to refine the report adequately if the first draft if prepared too close to the deadline. Secondly, a quality first draft will not only speed the process along, but also provide the mentor with a good evaluation of the student's progress during the semester and result in a higher grade for the student on this section. 



4.Oral Report. During the week of final examinations, all BSCI 286 students will present talks on their research. The talks are 15 minutes including 3 minutes for questions. the coordinator will notify participating students and faculty of the dates and times of the presentations. The talks will be attended by other students, the departmental faculty, and invited guests. This presentation should be prepared with the advice and help of the mentor. More information on the presentation will be distributed at mid-semester.

Back to class list