Do not fret, as for those who yearn to become the next Alexander Fleming or harbour the wish to win a Nobel Prize in Medicine/Chemistry someday, there are several elective subjects pertaining to research works that you could take when doing Pharmacy in IIUM.
Those elective subjects are Literature Search, Research Project 1 and Research Project 2. In this post, I'm going to talk about the first step of doing research. The Literature Search.
Literature Search
What is it all about?
Known as LS by the students and lecturers, this 2 credit-hours subject is usually offered to the 3rd year Pharmacy students of IIUM, although there is a small number of 2nd year students taking this subject.
True to its name, Literature Search is a subject whereby you are required to gather facts and information related to your research scope from the literature. Scientific literature which include books, journals or articles in their printed forms where you could find at the library, or digital forms from reliable online databases such as sciencedirect.com and Cochrane Library, among others.
No, wikipedia is not classified under reliable online scientific databases.
So, how do you begin?
First of all, you have to find a lecturer who is willing to take you as his/her research student. But the choice of lecturers also depends on which field of Pharmacy study that you are interested in. If you're interested in drug design and developments, then choose a lecturer from the Pharmaceutical Technology department. If the very mention of the subject 'chemistry' and handling dangerous chemicals intrigue you, then you should find a lecturer from the Pharmaceutical Chemistry to be your LS supervisor.
Note: There are 4 departments in Kulliyyah of Pharmacy; the Pharmacy Practice Department, Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, Pharmaceutical Technology Department and also Basic Medical Sciences Department.
Different lecturers from different departments have their own research projects/studies. It is rare that you get to create your own research titles as these lecturers would usually assign their own research topics for you to do more research on. I mean, come on. We are only undergraduate students. Literature Search serves as a platform, a stepping stone towards preparing for the high level of research studies (Masters/Doctorate). For now, let's just regard ourselves as 'Research Assistants' to the lecturers. Moreover,you could get the chance to propose your own unique, brand new research topic when you do your Masters/Doctorate studies. :)
But sometimes, the lecturers let you create your own Research Topic. Like I said, it depends on the lecturers.
There is also the 'luck' of having a certain sort of lecturers, if you know what I mean. I am very fortunate to have Dr A from the Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department as my LS supervisor as she is the kindest and most understanding supervisor ever!
Different lecturers from different departments have their own research projects/studies. It is rare that you get to create your own research titles as these lecturers would usually assign their own research topics for you to do more research on. I mean, come on. We are only undergraduate students. Literature Search serves as a platform, a stepping stone towards preparing for the high level of research studies (Masters/Doctorate). For now, let's just regard ourselves as 'Research Assistants' to the lecturers. Moreover,you could get the chance to propose your own unique, brand new research topic when you do your Masters/Doctorate studies. :)
But sometimes, the lecturers let you create your own Research Topic. Like I said, it depends on the lecturers.
There is also the 'luck' of having a certain sort of lecturers, if you know what I mean. I am very fortunate to have Dr A from the Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department as my LS supervisor as she is the kindest and most understanding supervisor ever!
Dr A specializes in Herbal Plants and Herbal Medicine. So, I had given the task to do research about this particular plant which has a potential anti-microbial activity woohoo!!! Alexander Fleming woohoo!
It is not that easy of course. You couldn't just search any remotely related facts and twist them to your own likings.
The Process
Doing LS is super hard. You have a supervisor, all right. But don't expect he/she to constantly monitor your progress or performance, no way. You are a university student man! No more spoon-feeding just like when you were at school/foundation studies. You have to create your own framework, hypothesis and the contents, you have to read and comprehend every single information that you have found, and that you have to constantly book for appointments with your supervisor throughout the semester to discuss on your findings and progress. Gahh... It's like a mini thesis. Undergraduate level.
And in that thesis, you are also required to make a research proposal to test your hypothesis. This is no mere proposal of 'I propose that a study should be conducted to investigate the effect of this onto that'.
Rather, a research proposal comes in the form of creating your own experimental procedures, complete with materials, apparatus, chemicals and such. And that you have to present your proposal at the end of the semester in front of other lecturers that there is absolutely no chance of you crapping and making your own facts there. THEY.WILL.KNOW.
With 8 other core subjects under your belt, plus the agony of having to complete another research paper for the semester (core course), more than 50% of my classmates had dropped this subject in the middle of the semester.I do remember that it was the busiest semester throughout my 4 years of study there.
I had persevered throughout the semester, with a lot of sleepless nights. I did not sleep at all the day before the presentation (not a single minute of sleeping) and on the day itself, I was a bit loony, cranky, delirious, and I couldn't think straight, LOL.
The Fruit of Success
Alas, all the hard works and sleepless nights had paid off for I had obtained a Solid A for this subject, Alhamdulillah! Well actually, it's not that hard to obtain a solid A for this subject. Many of my friends got A for this. It depends on your lecturers, and also your efforts of course.
The Process
Doing LS is super hard. You have a supervisor, all right. But don't expect he/she to constantly monitor your progress or performance, no way. You are a university student man! No more spoon-feeding just like when you were at school/foundation studies. You have to create your own framework, hypothesis and the contents, you have to read and comprehend every single information that you have found, and that you have to constantly book for appointments with your supervisor throughout the semester to discuss on your findings and progress. Gahh... It's like a mini thesis. Undergraduate level.
And in that thesis, you are also required to make a research proposal to test your hypothesis. This is no mere proposal of 'I propose that a study should be conducted to investigate the effect of this onto that'.
Rather, a research proposal comes in the form of creating your own experimental procedures, complete with materials, apparatus, chemicals and such. And that you have to present your proposal at the end of the semester in front of other lecturers that there is absolutely no chance of you crapping and making your own facts there. THEY.WILL.KNOW.
With 8 other core subjects under your belt, plus the agony of having to complete another research paper for the semester (core course), more than 50% of my classmates had dropped this subject in the middle of the semester.I do remember that it was the busiest semester throughout my 4 years of study there.
I had persevered throughout the semester, with a lot of sleepless nights. I did not sleep at all the day before the presentation (not a single minute of sleeping) and on the day itself, I was a bit loony, cranky, delirious, and I couldn't think straight, LOL.
The Fruit of Success
Alas, all the hard works and sleepless nights had paid off for I had obtained a Solid A for this subject, Alhamdulillah! Well actually, it's not that hard to obtain a solid A for this subject. Many of my friends got A for this. It depends on your lecturers, and also your efforts of course.
In my next post, I'm going to talk about Step 2 of the IIUM Pharmacy's 'Novice Researchers Programme': Research Project 1
No comments:
Post a Comment