Requirements for Research Independent Study
EVENTS REQUIRED FOR INDEPENDENT STUDY
An Independent Study student in the Department of Chemistry is treated like a beginning graduate student in a faculty supervisor's research group. Specific requirements concerning the number of hours spent in a laboratory, participation in research group conferences, and related activities are determined by the research director. Chemistry 191-192 is graded research and, as such, it is expected to represent at least 25% of the student's academic load. Normally this represents a minimum of 15 hours per week in the laboratory.
In instances where a student has begun Independent Study early and the research has gone well, there exists a possibility for continuation in Independent Study as Chemistry 193-194, but only upon recommendation of the research director and approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies. If a student is continuing, there should be consultation with the research director to determine whether the paper may be delayed until the end of the project, with only an interim report being submitted upon completion of Chemistry 192.
In conjunction with and as part of Independent Study (Chemistry 191-192 and 193-194, and equivalent courses in outside departments) students take part in a seminar series that will be organized and directed by the Coordinator of Independent Study, Dr. Roy. The purpose of the seminar series is to acquaint students with safety in the research laboratory, to acquaint students with our library, to expose them to a discussion of integrity and proper conduct in science, to provide practice in communication skills, and to provide a mechanism for them to become familiar with other Independent Study research projects.
FIRST AND THIRD SEMESTERS OF INDEPENDENT STUDY
At the beginning of the first semester of Independent Study, all majors participating in Independent Study complete on-line safety training as well as receiving further instruction in the department in which the major is carrying out his/her research project. The following link takes you to the on-line training area of the OESO web site.
From there, you select:
"All Other Training"
Enter your Unique ID number (it can be found on the back on your Duke Card or there is a search screen available if you do not know it).
Once logged in, you need to read and complete the brief quiz at the end of the following three selections:
"General Chemical Safety Orientation"
"Fire/Life Safety Orientation"
"Laboratory Safety Orientation"
If you will be working with or around lasers, then you should also complete the selection on "Laser Safety (non-clinical)".
If you are doing only computational work rather than work in a lab with chemicals, you can omit the "General Chemical Safety Orientation" unless the computer is located in or adjacent to a working chemical lab.
A permanent record is created when you pass the quizzes and are complete.
For those working in Gross Chemistry, additional information on chemical lab safety can be obtained from the following sites.
*Emergency Information
*Duke Chemistry Laboratory Safety Manual
*SafetyInfo
Also early in the semester, students in Chem 191 will be given a library orientation presentation by the Head Chemistry Department Librarian, Anne Langley. The orientation is based on the recommendations of the American Chemical Society concerning information retrieval in the chemical sciences. Mrs. Langley has developed a very helpful web site (http://library.duke.edu/chemistry/) for your use.
In the second month of the semester a presentation on integrity and proper conduct in science will be scheduled at a time when all students can attend (probably an evening). Background information concerning ethics in science is available from the following website.
Starting in the third month of the semester, each chemistry major who is in his/her first semester of Independent Study either in the chemistry department or any other approved department will give a brief oral presentation of his/her proposed research project (suggestions for giving oral presentations are available elsewhere on this chemistry web site). Because of the number of Independent Study students (including those taking Independent Study in departments other than Chemistry), for this part of the seminar the group will be divided into small groups for ease of scheduling and in order to complete the presentations in a reasonably short period of time. Faculty members whose students will be participating in one of the small groups may chair a session to provide order and sense of direction and to help in the follow-up question and answer periods.
Students in the third semester of Independent Study will participate only in the research presentations.
FINAL SEMESTER OF INDEPENDENT STUDY
About a month before the end of the semester, students who are completing Independent Study projects (i.e., those students who do not intend to pursue their projects further in any future semester) will again divide into small groups and give oral presentations, now on completed work. As before, faculty with students in the program may chair these sessions.
The last Friday of the Spring semester all students who are completing Independent Study projects (i.e., those students who do not intend to pursue their projects further in any future semester) will present their work at a Poster Session open to the general scientific public (suggestions for preparing and presenting a poster are available elsewhere on this chemistry web site).
A final research paper will be required of all students, with copies to be given to the Coordinator of Independent Study and to the student's research director. The rough draft of the paper, in the style of a technical paper in the scientific literature (guidelines for the preparation of the senior thesis are available elsewhere on this chemistry web site), will be due to the research director on the Monday before the Poster Session. The final copy, which incorporates changes suggested by the research director, will be due the Monday following the Poster Session.
Writing-in-the-Discipline (W) Credit for Senior Thesis
One of the graduation requirements for Curriculum 2000 is a competency in Writing which involves taking AW20 plus 2 courses coded W for Writing-in-the-Discipline. Most majors are aware that P-chem labs count as 0.5 cc for writing(W) each. A major can also earn an additional 0.5 cc W by taking Chemistry 110 (half course on using the chemistry library taught in the fall semester) and/or can earn a maximum of an additional 1.0 cc W through participation in independent study.
The procedure for W-credit for Independent Study is as follows. Prior to the end of Drop/Add of your final semester of participation in independent study, you can go to the following URL: http://www.aas.duke.edu/trinity/t-reqs/wcoding.html and print a form for requesting W-credit for one Independent Study course. Fill out the form, have your research mentor and DUS sign it, and deliver the completed form to room 011 Allen Building prior to the end of Drop/Add.