Doing Research

A worthwhile research experience requires a solid effort. You should expect to put in at least as much effort as in any other course.

The normal stages of any research effort are:

1. Acquiring the background. This will involve reading the literature, and discussions with your research advisor.
2. Doing the work - analysis, synthesis - whatever the basic effort entails.
3. Evaluation. This involves a critical look at what you've done.
4. Reporting -- Both orally and in writing. (A written report is required for Independent Study.) Projects that work out well may merit submission of articles for journal publication. A published undergraduate research effort is a significant professional accomplishment.

In the simplest case these stages might follow in straightforward succession. In practice, as a project develops, evaluation leads back to additional planning and literature work, revised experiments, and so on. Even the process of writing up results often brings out the need for further work. One of the things you learn from a research experience is how complex any scientific effort can be.

To learn more about specific research projects individual faculty members are doing, review Gustavus Chemistry Faculty Research