Thank you for supervising physics undergraduate research projects. This page provides information about the thesis-writing aspect of the research project and outlines the advisor role.
| The research project |
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| You and the student should agree on a project that o allows the student to conduct research in a quasi-independent manner. The research does not have to be original or publishable, but the student should have responsibility for managing and executing a project with guidance from you and your research associates. o introduces the student to the norms of research: diligent process, record-keeping, literature review, professional integrity, equipment issues, etc., as appropriate. o allows the student to make enough progress on the project to have significant portions of the writing in progress early in the winter term of the senior year, and be nearing completion early in the spring term of the senior year. The hardest part of the thesis writing class is to get the students to revise their writing more than once. Mostly, they are still waiting for results at the last minute, so this makes revision difficult. So please push them towards completion of the project early. |
Advisor's responsibility: o ensure that the project can be completed in a timely fashion. Often, a portion of an ongoing project is sufficient for a thesis. o meet with the student on a regular basis and provide guidance on the research process. o approve a written thesis proposal in the Fall term. o check the written material for factual veracity and appropriate scope and content, and assign a grade to the thesis in the spring term. |
| Writing the thesis |
| PH403 meets weekly for 1 hour. This forum provides a means for students to peer-review each other's work, learn the basic structure and norms of writing, presenting information, and time management. It is also a forum for learning about other projects that peers undertake. Advisors are not expected to engage in line-by-line editing of the thesis, nor in correcting grammar errors, or even structure. Advisors may certainly undertake these tasks if they wish to! However, peers and the thesis instructor are not in a position to correct content errors, so this is the advisor's main role. Advisors should point out large-scale problems with structure, grammar, vocabulary etc., and the students should use the PH403 forum to address these problems. Advisors read and approve a thesis proposal in the fall term. As in all research, the course of the actual project may deviate from the proposed project, but do remember that time is short. Advisors assign a grade to the thesis in the spring term, based on a very general evaluation rubric. |
| Timeline |
| Completed thesis due on 16 May, 2014. This due date ensures that the students qualify for the OSU research transcript notation on their diplomas. They also have time to focus on their oral presentations and study for finals. |
| Oral presentations on Finals week - TBA. Students present 10-minute talks at a mini-conference. Presentation is required, but is not graded. For Honors College students, special defense dates are arranged, and there the Honors College thesis fair (posters) is also in May, 2014. |
