Honors Contracts in Hardinger Classes

• Apply on line to start a new contract.
  

Picking and Executing a Project

• It is usually up to the student to suggest an honors project. The project must relate strongly to course material, and is subject to approval by the instructor. Most students opt to write a research paper, but other projects will be considered depending upon the student's interests.

• Other projects might include working with molecular modeling software, designing an appropriate web site, or performing web site reviews.  Recent experience suggests the Honors office is less inclined to accept web projects than in recent years.

• The paper must not be of less than ten pages of text length, using reasonable font and margin sizes. Papers with many or excessively large figures, tables, or illustrations will need to be longer.

• Try to make your paper as professional in appearance as possible. A good appearance suggests that you really care about the project.

• Papers must be word processed; hand-written papers are unprofessional and will not be accepted.

• Try to use software for drawing figures whenever possible. There is are several excellent programs for drawing chemical structures; some of which are free, other are available in various computer labs.

• The paper must be written in the research paper style: Introduction, in-depth discussion, summary, and references.
  

• Spelling, grammar, and other elements of style must be appropriate. The Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has some nice instructional materials concerning good writing.
  

• Use proper citation styles. Your project must contain appropriate reference notations within the text, and a full bibliography with up-to-date reference material. Except in rare cases, the reference material should not be limited to Internet or general textbook sources. Include more specialized books, monographs, or research literature as much as possible.  However, internet search engines such as Google and (better yet) Google Scholar (the best search engines for science) can be excellent sources of lead references.
• Excellent guides to proper citation:
• Bruin Success with Less Stress, an interactive tutorial designed to help students understand intellectual property issues and proper citing techniques.
  
• www.dartmouth.edu/~sources/
  
• The Curious Researcher is a paperback book that describes the process of researching and writing a paper. It may be available at the Ackerman Bookstore, Amazon or Alibris.
  

• Other guidelines may be applied to projects which are not papers.

• The final version of the paper must be submitted in two ways.
1. A final, printed copy given to Dr H. (The final copy must include a photocopy of the original honors contract.)
2. A copy submitted electronically for plagiarism analysis by Turnitin.com. (Accessed at your myucla web page.) If you have trouble accessing or submitting to Turnitin.com, please contact Dr H.
   

• Review paper: Most students elect to write a ten-page review paper on a topic that is clearly related to the course.  The topic must be approved before the Honors Contract will be signed.

• Tutorials: You may opt to write a tutorial as found on Dr H's tutorials web page.  While tutorials usually require little if any library research, they do require very careful attention to detail, writing style, and internal logic.  A tutorial usually consists of several parts, including sections on vocabulary and one for each basic concept you want to cover.  The tutorial must also contain 6 - 10 practice problems per concept section.  If your tutorial is good enough, I will add it to the tutorial web page, and credit you as author.  Tutorials are generally much harder to write than research papers.
  

• If you have another idea, contact Dr H.

• It is up to you to come up with a topic.  Choose carefully, because the topic must hold your interest for the many weeks it takes to research, write and refine your paper.

Research the Topic

• The Merck Index is an excellent lead reference on biologically-active compounds, and can be found in the Chemistry Library as well as online.
  

• The internet is useful, but has so much junk, bad science and outright lies that you must be very cautious when citing internet sources. On the other hand, internet searching is a very quick and efficient way to get started with a paper. The best general-purpose internet search engine is Google. Use Google Scholar for academic searches.
  

• SciFinder Scholar is an excellent way to search the primary literature.  Ask the Chemistry or SEL library staff about access and use.

• UC online library

• Searchable American Chemical Society journals

• The Web of Science

• The Chemistry Library full of these wonderful things called books, including exceptionally useful Chemical Abstracts (indices that suggest primary references).  4238 Young Hall.

• More great resources: A list of instructional resources assembled by Marion Peters of the UCLA Science & Engineering Library.

• Contracts are due in the Honors Office in Murphy Hall by 4 PM on the Friday of the second week of classes.  (Contracts are usually accepted or denied around the end of the fifth week of the quarter.) Please discuss the contract with Dr Hardinger well in advance of this deadline. A poorly-worded contract presented the day contracts are due will not be signed.
  

• You are encouraged (but not required) to show me a draft of your paper no later than the end of the seventh week of the quarter. I will not edit this draft, but rather make sure your project is proceeding appropriately. The draft can be handwritten, or word processed. It is best to submit the draft as an email attachment (if possible), or you can bring it to my office.
  

• The final version of the project is due no later than final exam.  No exceptions.

Evaluation Criteria

Your paper will be assigned a letter grade based upon:

• Completeness

• Scientific accuracy

• Spell and grammar

• Professionalism of presentation (computer-generated graphics look better than chemical structures drawn in pencil)

• Academic integrity (plagiarized papers earn nothing more than a visit with Dean of Students, and subsequent disciplinary action, which can be as severe as expulsion from UCLA)

• Other factors