Chem 397 Undergraduate Research
Dr. Znosko
Office: MH 215
Phone: 977-8567
Labs: MH 214, 217
When you join my research group by enrolling in CH 397-13, we have a verbal
agreement that all of my expectations will be followed as outlined below.
Expectations:*
1) You must do research for at least two consecutive semesters. Not enough can be
accomplished in one semester to make it worthwhile for you.
2) In order to do research in my lab, you must enroll in CH 397-13 and register for 1-3
credits.
2) You are expected to be “doing research” 5 hours per week for 1 credit hour. Each
additional credit hour is an additional 3 hours per week. “Doing research” does not
always mean that you are in lab mixing chemicals. “Doing research” includes:
preparation for experiments, performing experiments, cleaning up, doing data analysis,
library work, creating posters and presentations, writing abstracts, writing papers, etc.
3) Due to the nature of the research, you are expected to work in lab every day M-F. I
would suggest one hour per day, although some experiments may require more than one
hour on a given day.
4) It is expected that you will plan your experiments such that you are at a suitable
stopping point over the weekends and that you are available to complete every
experiment that you begin. I will not complete an experiment that you have started.
5) Your attendance at Chemistry Department seminars is required, unless TA duties,
classes, or a job conflict. Seminars are usually held on Friday afternoons at 3:30PM.
6) All graduating seniors are required by the department to submit a senior thesis by
April 15 of their senior year. You submit the thesis to me, and I will return it to you with
corrections. Before May 3, you must submit an electronic copy of your final thesis to
me, along with a paper copy that I will file in the department’s senior thesis file. A thesis
must be received in order to get a grade for research.
7) Talks and/or posters will be given for the Marcus Award competition and/or at
undergraduate research conferences at my request.
8) Students may be asked to proof-read journal articles, posters, grant proposals, etc.
prepared by Dr. Znosko or other members of the lab.
9) All members of the lab will be required to attend a lab meeting twice monthly to
discuss lab issues, project progress and problems, literature, etc. The time and day of
these meeting are TBA.
Grading
The grade given for undergrad research is based on the following:

ATTITUDE: I expect that the student will be enthusiastic and interested in the
project. The student should show up for work each day. The student should
understand that I cannot always be present in the lab while he/she is working,
therefore, I expect the student to take the initiative to work independently and to
come and talk to me about their work.

REPORTS: The quality of the senior thesis will be taken into account. When
writing these up, follow the instructions given.

NOTEBOOKS: The quality of the lab notebook will also be considered. I
expect a table of contents, numbered pages, ink (no pencil), legible writing, and
no white out. Each entry should be dated, the experiment identified, and any
pertinent experimental conditions and results should be entered. I will be
checking the notebooks periodically during the semester, and they will be
surrendered to me upon completion of your stay in my research group.

HOURS: I assume the minimum number of weekly hours required for credit will
be completed. However, there are times when you may need to spend a few extra
hours working on research-related activities including graph construction, reading
of journal articles, and presentation preparation.
All students enrolled in undergraduate research will begin the semester with an A.
Deficiencies in any of the above categories will result in a lowering of the initial A.
A final semester grade of an A or B is not guaranteed.
* Dr. Znosko reserves the right to change, omit, or add expectations and factors for
grading at his discretion.
Guidelines for Thesis Preparation
All senior undergraduate students are required to write a final research paper. The
preparation of this final report is meant to help you think about what you have
accomplished, suggest what work can be continued, and give you experience writing
about your own work in the format accepted by the journal Biochemistry. The length
of the report is not critical and will depend on how much the student has
accomplished. The organization of the report must adhere to the guidelines set forth
here.
Format of the Research Report
The method of scientific reasoning includes the defining of a problem, creation of a
hypothesis, testing of the hypothesis with experiments, and the drawing of
conclusions. This framework is consistent with the following organization of the
research report:
Title
Abstract
Introduction
Experimental Details
Results
Discussion
Conclusion
References
Title and Title Page
The title should reflect the content and emphasis of the project described in the report.
It should be short and include essential keywords. The author’s name should follow
the title on a separate line, followed by the author’s affiliation (Department of
Chemistry, Saint Louis University, 3501 Laclede Ave., St. Louis, MO 63103). Also
include the origin of the report (in partial fulfillment of a Senior Thesis Project under
the supervision of Dr. Brent Znosko, Date). All the information included here should
be on a single page.
Abstract
The abstract should, in the briefest terms possible, describe the scope, the principle
findings, and the conclusions. It should be written last to reflect accurately the
content of the report. The length of the abstract can vary but should not exceed 200
words. The primary objective of the abstract is to communicate to the reader the
essence of the paper. If the report were to appear in the literature, the abstract would
serve as a key source of indexing terms and key words to be used in information
retrieval. Author abstracts are often published verbatim in Chemical Abstracts.
Introduction
A good introduction is a clear statement of the problem or project and why you are
studying it. The nature of the problem and why it is of interest should be conveyed in
the opening paragraphs. This section should describe clearly but briefly the
background information on the problem, what has been done before (with proper
references to the literature), and the objectives of the project. A clear relationship
between the current project and the scope and limitations of earlier work should be
made so that the reasons for the project and the approach used will be understood.
Experimental Details
This section should describe what was actually done. It is a succinct exposition of the
laboratory notebook, describing procedures, techniques, instrumentation, precautions,
etc. It should be sufficiently detailed that other experienced researchers (other
students in our research group) would be able to repeat the work and obtain
comparable results.
Results
In this section, relevant data, observations, and findings are summarized. Tabulations
of data, equations, charts, and figures can be used effectively to present results clearly
and concisely.
Discussion
The crux of the report is the analysis and interpretation of the results. What do the
results mean? How do they relate to the objectives of the project? To what extent
have they resolved the problem?
Conclusions
A separate section outlining the main conclusions of the project is appropriate if
conclusions have not already been stated in the “Discussion” section. Directions for
future work on the project should also be discussed here.
References
Literature references are listed in order at the end of the report. The format for listing
is that accepted by the journal Biochemistry (the first is a journal article, the second is
a book):
1. Fourmy, D., Recht, M. I., and Puglisi, J. D. (1998) Binding of neomycin-class
aminoglycoside antibiotics to the A-site of 16S rRNA, J. Mol. Biol. 277, 347362.
2. Gorenstein, D. (1984) 31P NMR, Principles and Applications, Academic
Press, New York.
Preparing the Manuscript
The personal computer and word processing have made manuscript preparation
and revision a great deal easier than it used to be. Students should use a word
processor and graphing software to prepare the report. All reports should be
spell-checked and proofread before submitting. Preliminary drafts should be
edited by the faculty advisor before the report is presented in final form.