CHEM 3542 - Research Methods in Chemistry III (ND)

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2016

This course will consider the application of a number of principles as applied to chemical research. This will be achieved by placing students in active research groups in the Discipline of Chemistry and providing them with the opportunity to carry out research activities. Lecture material will be provided that supplements the research placements, providing students with the opportunity to develop skills in verbal and visual communication.

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Course Details

Course Code	CHEM 3542
Course	Research Methods in Chemistry III (ND)
Coordinating Unit	School of Physical Sciences
Term	Semester 2
Level	Undergraduate
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 9 hours per week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Prerequisites	CHEM 3111
Incompatible	CHEM 3540
Restrictions	Available to BSc(EcoC), BSc(M&DD) & BSc(NScM) students only
Assessment	Research laboratory projects, exam and verbal presentation

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Associate Professor David Huang

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Course Learning Outcomes

1	Design, conduct, analyse and interpret results of an experiment, and effectively communicate these in written reports.
2	Develop interdisciplinary solutions to a variety of chemical problems.
3	Critically analyse and evaluate quantitative & qualitative chemical information.
4	Obtain and evaluate information from a variety of sources.
5	Communicate effectively in a variety of forms.
6	Use terminology appropriate to the field of study correctly and contextually.
7	Extend knowledge and understanding of a variety of chemical concepts in a range of contexts.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	2-4,6,7
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	1-4,7
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	5
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	1-4,6,7
Intercultural and ethical competency adept at operating in other cultures comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges	1,2,5
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	1,2,5

Learning Resources
Required Resources

There is no prescribed text for this course.

Recommended Resources
- 'Pushing Electrons’ (Weeks, 3rd Edition, Harcourt College Publishers, 1998).
- 'Organic Chemistry’ (Bruice, 5th Edition, Pearson Education, 2007)
- 'Organic Chemistry’ (Clayden, Greeves, Warren and Wothers, Oxford University Press, 2001)
- 'Inorganic Chemistry’ (Shriver & Atkins, 5th Edition, Oxford University Press, 2010)
- 'Physical Chemistry’ (Atkins, 8th Edition, Oxford University Press, 2006)
- 'A Guide to Lasers in Chemistry’ (Van Hecke & Karukstis, Jones & Bartlett, 1998)
- 'Spectrometric Identification of Organic Compounds' (Silverstein, 7th Edition, Wiley Press, 2005)
- 'SI Chemical Data' (Aylward, 6th Edition, Wiley Press, 2007)
- 'Modern Physical Organic Chemistry’ (Ansyln and Dougherty, University Science Books)
- 'Molecular Spectroscopy’ (Banwell, 4th Ed., McGraw Hill, 1994) out of print
Maths Resources

The Maths Learning Centre (MLC) helps all students learn and use the maths they need at uni. The MLC offers seminars, workshops, online, and print resources. It also run a drop-in room in Hub Central from 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday during teaching weeks. For more information, visit http://www.adelaide.edu.au/mathslearning/

For chemistry-specific maths help, visit http://www.adelaide.edu.au/mathslearning/resources/chem/
Online Learning

MyUni: Teaching materials and course documentation will be posted on the MyUni website (http://myuni.adelaide.edu.au/)
Learning & Teaching Activities

Learning & Teaching Modes

Lectures: 5 x 2-hour sessions with one session per week (including 2 presentation sessions)
Practicals: 10 x 6-hour sessions with one session per week (lab placement component)
Tutorials: 2 x 50-minute sessions with one session per week

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

A student enrolled in a 3 unit course, such as this, should expect to spend, on average 12 hours per week on the studies required. This includes both the formal contact time required to the course (e.g., lectures and practicals), as well as non-contact time (e.g., reading and revision).

Learning Activities Summary

The course content includes the following:

Lectures
Lecture material will be focused on topics relating to the conduct of research. Depending on availability of lecturers, this may include advanced topics in current research strengths of the discipline, material relevant to doing research (i.e. library skills, presentation skills, use of specialised software relevant to the discipline) as well as critical discussion of current literature.

Research Placements
All practical work will be conducted by a lab placements in the research lab of a Chemistry academic. One cycle of 60 hours will be conducted during the semester during the practicals. The placement will be assessed by 2000-word essay-style report submitted at approximately the halfway point of the placement and a 10-minute verbal presentation at the end of the placement.

Specific Course Requirements

Attendance is compulsory at all scheduled chemistry practical sessions. The learning outcomes for this course are substantially dependent on laboratory experience and practice. Therefore, missing any practical class in a semester will result in a grade of FAIL being recorded for the course.

Small Group Discovery Experience

The course comprises a research placement supervised by a Chemistry academic in which the student addresses a novel research problem.

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Type of assessment	Percentage of total assessment for grading purposes #	Hurdle Yes or No #	Outcomes being assessed/achieved
Library Skills Test	Summative	10%	No	3,4,6,7
Laboratory Placement Report	Summative	40%	No	1 - 7
Abstract and Presentation	Summative	50%	No	1 - 7

Assessment Related Requirements

Practical work is compulsory – This includes attendance, conduct of required experimental work, attendance at demonstrator interviews (as required) and submission of laboratory reports.

Assessment Detail

Library skills
The library skills component involves a summative quiz which will comprise 10% of the overall mark.

Laboratory Placement Report
Students will submit an essay-style report based upon their research placement up to the halfway point. The report will be 2,000 words (maximum) and worth 40% of the overall mark.

Abstract and Presentation
Students will give a 10 minute (plus 3 minutes for questions) verbal presentation based upon their entire research placement. In addition there will be a 200 word abstract submitted prior to the presentation. The presentation is worth 40% and the abstract 10% of the overall mark

Submission

Submission of Assigned Work
Coversheets must be completed and attached to all submitted work. Coversheets can be obtained from the School Office (room G33 Physics) or from MyUNI. Work should be submitted via the assignment drop box at the School Office.

Extensions for Assessment Tasks
Extensions of deadlines for assessment tasks may be allowed for reasonable causes. Such situations would include compassionate and medical grounds of the severity that would justify the awarding of a supplementary examination. Evidence for the grounds must be provided when an extension is requested. Students are required to apply for an extension to the Course Coordinator before the assessment task is due. Extensions will not be provided on the grounds of poor prioritising of time. The assessment extension application form can be obtained from: http://www.sciences.adelaide.edu.au/current/
Late submission of assessments
If an extension is not applied for, or not granted then a penalty for late submission will apply. A penalty of 10% of the value of the assignment for each calendar day that is late (i.e. weekends count as 2 days), up to a maximum of 50% of the available marks will be applied. This means that an assignment that is 5 days or more late without an approved extension can only receive a maximum of 50% of the mark.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator