Science Department - ISP

As discussed in the first day of class, and as pointed out in the course syllabus, each student will have to write a "Research Paper" for me every quarter. The paper will be based on current scientific articles that deal with physics topics that you find interesting. It is recommended, but not necessary, that the topic you deal with is somehow linked to what we are currently doing in class.

Like any written work, the paper must have at least four main parts. The first line of the paper must be the title that you have selected for it. Your name must be printed below it, to the right. The first part of the paper must be the introduction to your work. In this section you will discuss the aim of your paper. It must contain a clear statement of the problem or research topic that you will deal with, followed by pertinent background information on it. The second part is body of the work. In essence, it should be a summary of the articles you have read. The main points of the articles must be adequately explained, to show that you have understood (and hopefully learned) something from the material that you have reviewed. Quotes should be used to support what you write, without being overused. The vocabulary should be well chosen. Concepts that are new for you should be properly defined.

In the third part you must give a conclusion to your work. These are simply your personal final comments to what has been written. Here you should give your personal impression, reflection, and point of view on the material you have read. To complete this section, you must write about your motivation on selecting this topic, and its scientific, technological, or practical importance. The last section of the paper must contain the references to all the articles you have read, adequately written. At the end, you must present printed copies of all the original articles used to write your work.

You must not use one single source of reference to write your papers. A given article could be used as the focus of your work, but it must be complemented with at least two more related articles that contribute to your knowledge and understanding about the topic discussed. Articles should come from scientific magazines. You should also try to use at least one reference from the Internet, but you have to make sure that it comes from a reliable source. If you have doubts about a given source, I suggest that you show it to me before making the decision to use since, unfortunately, not everything on the Internet is "good stuff".

Papers will be marked as follows:

10 points - Presentation
15 points - Appropriate choice of topic
10 points - Introduction
40 points - Contents of the paper
15 points - Conclusion and/or Final Comments
5 points - References appropriately listed
5 points - Copies of original articles used.

All papers must be typed, and submitted on the date that will be given in class. The due date will be assigned with 2 or 3 weeks of anticipation. However, you know that a paper will be written every quarter, so start writing it early, since only under extenuating circumstances papers will be received late. Normally, papers received late carry a penalty of 10 points per day. The maximum mark for a paper will be 100 points. This will correspond to 5% of the quarter grade, as specified in the syllabus.

Finally, as always, if you need advice on anything related to your work, do not hesitate to visit me. However, remember that this work requires a good amount of time to be done properly, so start on time.