The College of Wooster Catalogue Junior Independent Study is designed to help Biology majors develop a variety of skills that are fundamental in planning and carrying out an independent scientific research project, as well as in communicating research findings to one's intellectual community. The semester-long course is partitioned, for administrative and scheduling purposes, into two parts. In the Tuesday class sessions, conducted under the supervision of a faculty advisor, students gain experience in reading and analyzing scientific papers, in writing clearly and concisely, and in framing testable experimental questions appropriate for a research project. In the Thursday class sessions, students conduct a concentrated study of basic biostatistics. Lectures cover descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, and parametric and non-parametric statistical procedures for data analysis.
Students prepare problem sets to practice statistical procedures.
The stats portion of the course concludes with appropriate examinations to test comprehension. In addition, students enrolled in Biology 401 are required to attend weekly departmental seminars. Preparation of the Junior Independent Study Paper. During the course of the semester, each student, in consultation with his or her independent study advisor, prepares a two-part paper which serves as a literature survey and proposal for the senior independent study research to be conducted in the coming year. In Part I of the junior independent study paper, the student is expected to include a thorough review of the existing literature on the topic being proposed.