Research Process Course

Instructors: Dr. Smith


Contact Email: mdsmith@vcu.edu


Click on the links in the menu to the left for more information on the following topics:

  • Scientific Research
  • How to Read a Scientific Article - Authorship
  • Working with a Mentor
  • Communicating Research
  • Research Community and the Responsible Conduct of Research
  • Research Questions and Hypothesis
  • Designing Experiments

Ever wondered what tools one needs to become a researcher?

The goal of this course is to provide you with the introductory skills to both evaluate and carry out biomedical research. We, the facilitators for this course, will introduce you to some of the basic skills and tools used in research in the biomedical sciences. 

 

The primary text book for this course is Scientific Integrity (fourth edition) by Francis L. Macrina. You may check out the e-version of this book from Cabell Library.

 

Upon completion of this course you will acquire skills in the following areas

Professional Development:

You will

  • Define roles and responsibilities of members in a research group.
  • Discuss the forms and consequences of scientific misconduct.
  • Contribute to peer review in the learning community and explain the role of peer review in science.

Research Process Skills:

You will 

  • Be able to define research question and/or hypothesis for a project.
  • Find and evaluate relevant primary literature and background information related to a project.
  • Be able to design experiments to test a hypothesis.
  • Learn and follow appropriate protocols for documenting research.
  • Analyze experimental data.
  • Be able to use logic and evidence to build arguments and draw conclusions about their data.

Communication:

You will

  • Be able to connect research to issues relevant to society at large.

Please contact Dr. Smith at mdsmith@vcu.edu, if there are problems with accessing course content.

 

Additional topic of interest:

CITI Training

While some of you may not be engaging in basic human or animal related research, we are asking all HERO-T Fellows to complete the CITI Training. Instructions on how to complete the CITI training can be found on the VCU Office of Research and Innovation. Follow the instructions for new subscribers. To access the actual training you will need your VCU eid and e-mail when you go to the CITI website. To access the CITI training modules you should go to the CITI website.