BIOLOGY 499R Information, Schedule, And Registration Page1 & 2 for the student. Page 3 & 4 for the mentor. Page 5 for Biol499 Registration. WHO CAN SIGN UP? 1. You must have declared as a Biology major. 2. Take Biol499R for a minimum of two semesters for 4 credits each semester. If acceptable to your research mentor, the two semesters do not have to be consecutive, for example, if you are studying abroad one semester or want to do 499 in the Spring then the Fall. HOW DO I SIGN UP? This is a different type of course in that you have increased responsibility for structuring the research interactions, meeting deadlines, and following requirements: 1. Find a research mentor. The mentor must be a member of the Emory faculty but does not have to be in the College. See other advice provided in Getting Started in Undergraduate Research in Biology about finding a research mentor, http://www.biology.emory.edu/research-opportunities. 2. Submit a Biol499 application EACH semester and fill out the online 499 form and survey. Print out this application, fill in your information, ask the faculty mentor to fill in her/his information and the information for a secondary mentor, if you will be supervised more closely by someone else in the lab (often a post-doctoral fellow or graduate student). Give your Faculty Mentor their page and bring the Director's page to the 499 Information Sessions at the beginning of each semester (see Biology Major emails for the announcements). I will discuss the expectations for the course and give you a permission number. Use the permission number on OPUS to register for the number of credits agreed to by your mentor (you HAVE to change the default setting of 1 credit to 4 credits). Take the online survey and fill out the online form (links on Blackboard) about your research. WHAT DO I DO? 1. Establish with your mentor: The scope of your project. Science is collaborative, but you should have increasing ownership of your intellectual research question, experimental design, and data analysis as the semesters progress. Expectations for the amount and schedule of your research work. It is expected that you work for 12-16 hours per week. This includes time in the lab and outside the lab reading and writing on the topic. A schedule for regular meetings with your Faculty Mentor and, if applicable, your Direct Mentor (often a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow in the lab) to review the progress of your work, discuss your results, and prepare your final report and poster. 2. Course meetings and assignments: Attend four class meetings (dates and times are published each semester in an email to Biology Majors and posted on the 499 Blackboard site). Students with conflicts must watch the class video. In addition to your final report (Fall) or poster (Spring), you will have three mid-semester course assignments concerning your lab and your research project each semester. Late submissions will affect the grade for the course. Fall: Submit a paper reporting the progress of your work by the last day of classes each semester. The paper must: 1) include the required title page, 2) conform to the format of a journal article in a journal that you and your mentor have chosen, and 3) be signed by your Faculty Mentor. Pay particular attention to appropriate citations. There is no minimum page limit. Late papers will receive a lower grade unless given an excuse from me one week before the deadline. Spring: Present a poster in the Spring Biology Undergraduate Research Symposium (held the last week in April). Information about preparing and printing posters will be available on Blackboard. 3. Arrange for your faculty mentor to submit a grade form by the last day of classes each semester. You are responsible for checking that the mentor has received this information and has time to complete the form. Your faculty mentor s evaluation of the quality of your research and submissions will be reviewed by the Director and Biology faculty to determine your final grade.
BIOLOGY 499R Schedule (for Student Records) There will be four course meetings each semester on Tuesdays at 5:30. Please avoid scheduling other classes at that time. Only those with class conflicts will be given access to videos of the course meetings on Blackboard. Check Blackboard for updates during the year. All meetings will be held on Tuesdays 5:30-7 pm in Room 230 at 1462 Clifton Rd. approximately every 4 weeks, followed by an assignment due ~ two weeks later. You are responsible for planning ahead with your mentors to be able to meet the assignment deadlines. Assignments will be submitted electronically on Biol499 course Blackboard (BB) site. Feedback is available upon request. FALL Aug 30 5:30pm Sept 13 Sept 27 5:30pm Oct 12 Oct 25 5:30pm Nov 8 Nov 29 5:30pm Dec 6 Dec 17 MEETING: Introduction, Registration, and Reference Management DUE: Bibliography of 5+ references for your project background for your Introduction MEETING: Scientific Writing and Integrity DUE: First draft of Introduction MEETING: Scientific Publishing and Peer review DUE: Peer review of Introduction, Outline of Project Report MEETING: Project Paper Workshop DUE: Final Project Report including Title Page, Introduction, Methods, (Preliminary) Results, Discussion / Future Directions, and Bibliography DUE: Grade Submission from Faculty SPRING Jan 17 5:30pm MEETING: Introduction, Registration, Scientific Communication Jan 31 DUE: Draft of Poster Abstract (250 words maximum) Feb 14 5:30pm MEETING: Peer Review and Poster Preparation Workshop Feb 28 DUE: Peer review of Abstract and Sketch of Poster Mar 14 5:30pm MEETING: Scientific Communication Mar 28 DUE: Elevator Speech Video and Draft of Poster and Registration for Symposium (including final Abstract and Poster Printing Time Signup) Apr 11 5:30pm MEETING: Poster Presentation Workshop and Prospective Student Information Apr 12-19 DUE: Final Poster Draft for printing Apr 20 DUE: Present poster at BIOLOGY UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH Time TBA SYMPOSIUM (Location TBA) May 5 DUE: Grade Submission from Faculty
BIOLOGY 499R Information (for Mentor Records) Student: Fill out this page to give to your faculty research mentor for their records. Semester: Fall / Spring 20 Student Name ID Student Telephone Student Email Dear Faculty Research Mentor: Thank you for agreeing to mentor this undergraduate researcher in your lab. Information and forms about Bio499 can be found online www.biology.emory.edu/research-opportunities or on the Bio499 Blackboard course website. In registering for Bio499, students are agreeing to do research in your lab for at least two semesters. S/he is agreeing to work ~12-16 hours per week in and out of the lab on their project. Students will work on the project both semesters, gaining more independence throughout the year in understanding the scientific background, designing experiments, analyzing data, and reporting conclusions. In intellectual ownership, they are more than just work/study laborers but are not yet at the level of graduate students. Your mentorship will help them develop their scientific knowledge and skills. Students are expected to arrange meetings with the faculty mentor minimally three times during the semester (for 499 application signature and discussion of expectations, mid-semester check-in, and final review). Students should also meet regularly with you or their more direct mentor (sometimes a postdoctoral fellow or graduate student) initially to discuss expectations for the project and thereafter to review their progress. Students must also attend four course meetings about research and science communication skills during the semester and turn in three assignments before their final project report or poster. We welcome your support of your students efforts on these preliminary assignments, but your signature of approval is only required for the final report/poster. At the end of the fall semester, the student will submit a research report. The report should include the background information on the area of research and the methods used, any data gathered, and analyses completed. The format of this report should follow that used in a scientific journal appropriate to your field. The student will find the title page template and sample reports on Blackboard. In the spring semester, the student must present a poster at the Biology Undergraduate Research Symposium. The student will find instructions about making and printing the poster on Blackboard. You will give the student a grade based on the level to which s/he met expectations discussed at the beginning of the semester with respect to learning the field, working in the lab, and writing the report/poster. Please help the students deal with the inevitable experimental complications or failures but also help them develop organizational skills and resilience. Projects are commonly incomplete at the end of a semester; preliminary results and future directions should then be included in the report/poster. Periodic emails concerning mentoring undergraduate researchers will be sent to provide this information in a timely manner and to provide advice for making the experience rewarding for both student and mentor. Please contact me if you have any questions, Dr. Rachelle Spell, Director of Undergraduate Research in Biology 2015 Rollins Research Center, 404-727-5828 rspell@emory.edu
BIOLOGY 499R Schedule (for Mentor Records) Students are responsible for planning meetings with you and/or their immediate mentor in order to meet the course deadlines. Several deadlines involve drafts of their final products in order to help them work towards the completed assignment (a paper due in the Fall and a poster due in the Spring). We welcome your support of the student s efforts on these preliminary assignments, but your signature of approval is only required for the final report/poster. FALL Aug 30 5:30pm Sept 13 Sept 27 5:30pm Oct 12 Oct 25 5:30pm Nov 8 Nov 29 5:30pm Dec 6 Dec 17 MEETING: Introduction, Registration, and Reference Management DUE: Bibliography of 5+ references for your project background for your Introduction MEETING: Scientific Writing and Integrity DUE: First draft of Introduction MEETING: Scientific Publishing and Peer review DUE: Peer review of Introduction, Outline of Project Report MEETING: Project Paper Workshop DUE: Final Project Report including Title Page, Introduction, Methods, (Preliminary) Results, Discussion / Future Directions, and Bibliography DUE: Grade Submission from Faculty SPRING Jan 17 5:30pm MEETING: Introduction, Registration, Scientific Communication Jan 31 DUE: Draft of Poster Abstract (250 words maximum) Feb 14 5:30pm MEETING: Peer Review and Poster Preparation Workshop Feb 28 DUE: Peer review of Abstract and Sketch of Poster Mar 14 5:30pm MEETING: Scientific Communication Mar 28 DUE: Elevator Speech Video and Draft of Poster and Registration for Symposium (including final Abstract and Poster Printing Time Signup) Apr 11 5:30pm MEETING: Poster Presentation Workshop and Prospective Student Information Apr 12-19 DUE: Final Poster Draft for printing Apr 20 DUE: Present poster at BIOLOGY UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH Time TBA SYMPOSIUM (Location TBA) May 5 DUE: Grade Submission from Faculty
BIOL499R Registration Form (For Director Records) Fill out and submit this page to Dr. Rachelle Spell for registration before the end of Add/Drop. Student Name Semester: Fall / Spring, 20 ID # of previous 499 semesters 1. I confirm that I am a biology major. (Student initials) 2. List any science coursework relevant to this research project and the grade earned. Bio141 Bio142 3. The Student should read and sign the following statement (see Student page for more details): I have read and agreed to the course requirements as described here and on the Biology Department website www.biology.emory.edu/research-opportunities. I am aware that I am required to take two semesters of Biology 499R. I am aware that I will have to submit an application and add Biology 499R to my schedule each semester via the normal registration procedure. I will uphold the Emory Honor Code in my work, including providing proper citations when referring to others work, ideas, data, figures, or writings. Student Signature: _ Date: 4. The Faculty Research Mentor should read and sign the following statement (see Research Mentor page for more details): I have reviewed this student s former coursework, and I agree to supervise for at least two semesters this student s research project. I am aware that my approval will be required for this application, for the final report (fall) and poster (spring), and for the grade form at the end of each semester. Faculty Signature: Faculty Name (printed): Date: Department: Email: If the faculty mentor is not the direct mentor, please list the name and position of the person who will most closely supervise the student, if known: Direct mentor: Position: Email: Please contact me if you have any questions, Dr. Rachelle Spell Director of Undergraduate Research in Biology 2015 Rollins Research Center, 404-727-5828, rspell@emory.edu