Research Methods

Catalog description

Credits: 4 Lecture-Laboratory Prerequisite: 8 hours of lab-based science Research Methods is a non-specialized course looking at the generalities of how research is carried out, what goes into designing a strong experiment, what can be done to increase the reliability of the results, and how data from research is analyzed. We will also emphasize critical analysis of individual experiments to determine their strengths and weaknesses. Because no specialized knowledge of biology will be required, any upper-year student who has taken two semesters of a lab-based introductory science course is welcome to take this course. The lab portion of this course will involve designing well-controlled non-specialized experiments to test simple, every-day hypotheses