Research Credit Requirements

Note:links will only work when the assignment and form are open for completion

1. Student information form

On Collab, under Tests & Quizzes complete the student registration form.

2. Research plan

Submit one paragraph (under Assignments on Collab) that outlines your research question (hypothesis) and how you aim to answer this question (test the hypothesis). This assignment needs to completed if this is your first semester of research for credit (CHEM3951) or if your research question and/or approach has changed since your last submission of this assignment. If no changes, just type “no changes” in the text box on Collab).

Before submitting your assignment check the document for plagiarism. There are several free online plagiarism checkers that you can use. Assignments will be randomly screened for plagiarism with an online too and all violations will be reported to the honor committee.

3. End of Semester Research Report

For the end of semester report, submit a one page summary of results from the semester (do not include data from past semesters). Incorporate figures and references (no included in one page limit). If your work has significantly deviated from the original research plan, rewrite the paragraph (include the original submitted at the beginning of the semester) and explain why the question and/approach has changed. Distinguished Major candidates should submit their thesis. Please submit in pdf format. Before submitting your assignment check the document for plagiarism. There are several free online plagiarism checkers that you can use. Assignments will be randomly screened for plagiarism with an online too and all violations will be reported to the honor committee. 

Late assignments are not accepted.

4. Student evaluation form

On Collab, under Tests & Quizzes complete the Student evaluation form. This is not the course evaluation.

Your research mentor must be a faculty member within a science department in the College, SEAS, or the School of Medicine. Your research mentor needs to complete the Mentor information and report on Collab under Tests & Quizzes. Your mentor should:

• Provide a genuine research environment and experience for you
• Communicate expectations
• Provide a safe research environment and ensure proper safety training
• Help you define and understand their research project
• Provide opportunities for you to contribute intellectually (e.g. group meetings)
• Provide opportunities for scientific communication
• Provide constructive criticism and feedback
• Support your involvement in scientific meetings and presentation
• Meet with you at least every few weeks
• Treat you respectfully; listen to and consider your ideas

You are expected to:

• work 10 hours/week in the laboratory according to a schedule agreed upon between you and your research mentor
• be present and punctual during the scheduled times
• manage your time efficiently and effectively when conducting research
• independently educate yourself on topics relevant to your research and the research group you are in
• listen carefully, take notes, and follow instructions
• follow all safety procedures
• regularly communicate with research mentor and group members
• gradually gain independence in order to independently analyze data, generate logical conclusions from the analysis, and propose future experiments
• be attentive and contribute scientifically
• work cooperatively, collaboratively, and respectfully with all laboratory members
• complete assignments for research credit

As you conduct your research you should think about your progress in the following areas:

• Demonstration of knowledge in project area
• Productivity
• Intellectual investment
• Ownership of project
• Professionalism: respectful and proper conduct
• Engagement of material
• Communicate clearly
• Manage time appropriately
• Uncovers and use a variety of resources
• Collect meaningful data
• Analyze data intelligently
• Draw logical and defensible conclusions

We trust every student in this course to fully comply with all of the provisions of the UVA Honor System. By enrolling in this course, you have agreed to abide by and uphold the Honor System of the University of Virginia, as well as the following policies specific to this course.

• When given permission to collaborate with others, do not copy answers from another student.
• Always cite any resources or individuals you consult to complete an assignment.
• All suspected violations will be forwarded to the Honor Committee and, at our discretion, you may receive an immediate zero on that assignment regardless of any action taken by the Honor Committee.

Please contact Professor Hsu or any member of the Honor Committee if you have any questions regarding the course honor policy.

If you believe you may have committed an Honor Offense, you may wish to file a Conscientious Retraction (“CR”) by calling the Honor Offices at (434) 924-7602. For more information, visit http://www.virginia.edu/honor/reports-retractions/ . For your retraction to be considered valid, it must, among other things, be filed with the Honor Committee before you are aware that the Act in question has come under suspicion by anyone. More information can be found at www.virginia.edu/honor.

A list of your College Honor representatives can be found at http://honor.virginia.edu/representatives.

For clarity, the following are definitions of academic fraud

(https://honor.virginia.edu/academic-fraud).

• Plagiarism: Plagiarism is using someone else’s ideas or work without proper or complete acknowledgment. Plagiarism encompasses many things, and is by far the most common manifestation of academic fraud. For example, copying a passage straight from a book into a paper without quoting or explicitly citing the source is blatant plagiarism. In addition, completely rewording someone else’s work or ideas and using it as one’s own is also plagiarism. It is very important that students properly acknowledge all ideas, work and even distinctive wording that are not their own. However, certain information in any discipline is considered “common knowledge” and may be used without acknowledgment. What is considered common knowledge varies among fields; when in doubt consult a professor or TA. Students unsure of how to properly acknowledge a source should consult your TA, instructor or manual of style. Frequently used style manuals include The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White, the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, published by the Modern Language Association; The Chicago Manual of Style, published by the University of Chicago; and A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations, by Kate L. Turabian.
• Multiple Submission: Multiple submission is the use of work previously submitted at this or any other institution to fulfill academic requirements in another class. For example, using a paper from a 12th grade English class for an ENWR 101 assignment is academic fraud. Slightly altered work that has been resubmitted is also considered to be fraudulent. With prior permission, some professors may allow students to complete one assignment for two classes. In this case prior permission from both instructors is absolutely necessary.
• False Citation: False citation is falsely citing a source or attributing work to a source from which the referenced material was not obtained. A simple example of this would be footnoting a paragraph and citing a work that was never utilized.
• False Data: False data is the fabrication or alteration of data to deliberately mislead. For example, changing data to get better experiment results is academic fraud. Professors and TAs in lab classes will often have strict guidelines for completion of labs and assignments. Whenever in doubt about what may be considered academic fraud immediately consult with the professor.
• Internet Resources: Internet Resources are quickly becoming popular materials used in academic research. As more and more people gain access to computer technology, the number of web sites devoted to academic pursuits is increasing dramatically. Many of these web sites provide reliable information; however, others may not include well-documented research. For this course, you should not cite urls for web resources (most of the electronic resources indicate primary literature that should be cited; one exception is PyMOL). You definitely need to cite the use of electronic resources; however, you should try to cite primary literature that describes the creation and use of the web resource and software.

CHEM 3951, 3961, and 4951 is graded as either satisfactory or unsatisfactory based on completion and quality of your assignments and forms and mentor’s evaluation. Students enrolled in CHEM 4961 have the option to receive a grade. All assignments and forms need to be completed on time for a satisfactory grade. For Collab “Assignments” and “Tests & Quizzes”, please ignore references to points and grades.