A. CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION: 

Prerequisites: Biol 211A; B with grade C or better. This class is a requirement for students who wish to complete the Honors Degree in the Biological Sciences Program at CSULB. The primary purpose of this class is to provide students with an overview of the methodologies and technologies that are available to scientists for the elucidation of life processes. In keeping with the rapid advances in technology and the job opportunities that are currently available in the fields of genetics, biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, this class will concentrate primarily, but not exclusively, in the investigative microtechniques routinely used in these sub disciplines. Upon completion of the course, students will be expected to have gained the necessary skills to
design, initiate and successfully complete research experiments using appropriate designs and methodologies that best address and answer the questions posed by hypotheses. Individual research paper on the design, methodology and predicted results of their senior research thesis is required. (Lecture 3 hours). 


B. COURSE OBJECTIVES: 

Research Design and Methods is an upper division course that assumes prior exposure to Bio 211A; Bio 211B or an equivalent introductory course in biology. Students may find prior exposure to biostatistics, organic chemistry and biochemistry beneficial. There is no recommended text for this course. 

Our understanding of biological processes has grown rapidly over the last two decades and the information upon which this understanding and knowledge is based is growing exponentially. This rapid expansion in knowledge has been made possible largely by the development of new experimental techniques, particularly in recombinant DNA technology, monoclonal antibody production, cell culture and organismal cloning. In combination, these techniques have allowed researchers to experimentally test theorems, not only in the cellular and molecular sciences, but also in systematics, evolution and population biology. Refinements in these techniques, and the addition of other methodologies in analytical biochemistry, has provided the modern biological scientist with a bewildering array of different exploratory tools for investigative study. While each technique has virtues, the inappropriate application of a technique can give rise to problems in the interpretation of data, or in extreme cases, incorrect or inconsistent conclusions for the study. This course critically evaluates the statistical design of research experiments and the virtues and limitations of the major techniques in current use in biological research. It also aims to evaluate the conditions and circumstances under which they may, and may not, be applied for investigatory research. 

The course will concentrate specifically on the major techniques that are used in modern biology and will focus on those that have helped contribute to current understanding of life processes. However, we will also discuss some of the classical and current experiments which have served to define and provide a basis for our present understanding of how living systems function. In these discussions we will stress the importance of understanding underlying mechanisms.