Problems
By far, we have found that the most difficult project for undergraduate students—who have little or no actual research from which to draw—is writing the research report, or scientific paper. Here are some of the most common problems:
Understanding the research articles that they gather from their field (this is often a real eye-opener for students who think they will have no problem with the science)
Developing a methods section for a simulated research report
Arriving at or developing results for a simulated research report
Approaches
One, and perhaps the best, approach to this assignment is for students to use an actual research project that they or someone on their team is working on or has worked on. This project becomes the basis of the students' simulated report for a professional journal.
Another approach is for students to "extend" the methods and/or results of a previously published experiment that they have found in professional journals as part of their research. This can be accomplished, for example, by altering variables in the methods for specific purposes, thus necessitating a recalculation of the results.
Two problems can arise with this approach:
Students sometimes are not able to actually perform the calculations needed.
Students often have a difficult time getting away from the language of the original report, and thus problems with plagiarism can arise.
For students who don't have access to research they can use, the best approach may be for the students to use the Selected Case Studies as the basis of their simulation of their research report for a professional journal.
