Course Goals Honors 495 - Introduction to Research

The general goal for this course is to prepare the Honors student for the task of successfully completing the Senior Honors Project, a year-long course which allows the student to investigate a topic under the supervision of a faculty advisor. This project provides the undergraduate with the opportunity to explore his or her topic in a manner that approaches post-baccalaureate work.

The topic is usually within the student's major, the faculty adviser is usually from the major department, and the project is usually a thesis-driven, researched essay formatted in the same way that research is presented in refereed journals within the student's discipline. However, the topic explored may be interdisciplinary in nature. Honors is also flexible about advisors if the student's major department is agreeable. In addition, the projects for fine arts majors and creative writers will be different, consisting mainly of their creative work but framed by a brief analytical introduction and a concluding bibliography.

Within this broad goal of preparation for the Senior Honors Project exist three more specific learning tasks, the student will:

• become familiar with the resources at Hamilton Library in general and the resources specific to his or her discipline as well as other University resources (e. g., special collections, research institutes, laboratories, expert faculty); become familiar with internet and world wide web resources.
• gain a broad picture of the various disciplines within a research university, one that requires the student to contemplate differences from and similarities to their projects and their colleagues' projects.
• learn that the writing involved in the project is a process of vision and revision, a process crucial to producing a quality product. Clarity of expression fosters accuracy and creates excellence: the Honors Program will stress this idea.

NOTE: Students should understand that HON 495 functions as a preparation or rehearsal for HON 496, not a substitute. Thus, even if students are sure of a topic, they will be expected to complete all assignments and participate in classroom activities.