APPLICATION FOR PARTICIPATION IN RESEARCH METHODS MODULES 2008. Click here to view.

Aim

The aim of the SRP is to provide selected first-year JC H2 and Year 5 Integrated Programmes science students who have demonstrated interest in and an aptitude for scientific research the opportunity to participate in research projects under the guidance of scientists and engineers from NUS and established research centres.

Objectives

• To encourage students to undertake research projects in a scientific and technological community;
• To promote an early appreciation of the content, methods, culture and ethos of research through immersion in the process of scientific inquiry; and
• To enable students to engage actively in research by carrying out substantial parts of the research independently and responsibly.

Programme Description

Activities

Prior to admission in the SRP, short-listed students attend a module on research methods conducted from April to May to acquire specific research skills and to have an exposure to the current R&D available in participating departments/research centres. The purpose of the module is to enable students to identify and match a self-selected research topic with that of the prospective faculty research mentor, to perform background literature search and to formulate a viable research plan. Students with Research Plans certified by a prospective research mentor and acknowledged by a teacher mentor will be admitted in the SRP.

The SRP commences in June with at least a 2-week fulltime attachment. Fortnightly meetings resume from July onwards through October and January the following year for experimentation, data collection and analysis, and write-up of the research paper. Interactions between the faculty research mentor and student need not be limited to on-site lab visits as the student can regularly communicate the status of his/her project through e-mail or meetings. Flexibility will be provided for experimentation and duration of data collection, specific to the nature of the research project.

The H3-SRPians presents his/her findings through and oral defence in Feb/Mar while the Enrichment-SRPians, a poster presentation at the annual Research Congress in May the following year. A panel of assessors/ Judges comprising faculty staff will assess the oral defence/ poster presentation. The student is encouraged to submit his/her research paper to be published in scientific journals. The participation and attendance of the student is required throughout the mentorship attachment and at specific meetings with the research mentor or the teacher mentor.

Interested SRPian must first sought the approval of the mentor and the SRP Coordinating Committee before they apply for participation in any competitions/ science fairs.

Scope Of Research Projects

Students may embark on either a laboratory or non-laboratory based research in any of the mathematical, scientific, medical, information technological or engineering fields. The scope of the research must extend beyond the content of H2 and will require students to perform at least 2 of the following:

• Find novel solutions to problems by learning and applying new methods.
• Plan, design and conduct experiments to investigate and analyse scientific phenomena.
• Create devices to accomplish certain goals or to fit certain specifications using primarily engineering and physics principles.
• Develop understanding of mathematical theorems and apply mathematical principles to identify trends in data sets.
• Analyse data to develop theories.

The student in the SRP may submit his/her research project for assessment as a H3 subject.

Target Group

First-year JC H2 and Year 5 IP Science students