Faculty Resources Assignment

Evaluation of a prospective advisors for your senior thesis is a critical step in the shaping of your science education. Consequently, this is a topic that should be preceded by some significant background research and critical, impartial evaluation of available data. As you have undoubtedly seen, the FGCU science faculty have prepared short biographies about themselves for your use (click on Science Faculty above).

Your challenge is to utilize the resources available to you to learn about the research interests, backgrounds, and talents of the FGCU science faculty. Subsequently, evaluate these data in conjunction with your own research proposal in order to assess which of our faculty might be of assistance to you in your senior thesis.

For the sake of providing a framework of evaluation, you may want to use the following organizational framework for this assignment, though you are not required to do so. Simply assess each faculty member in the relevant categories.

Faculty Member

Relevance of Past Research

Relevance of Theories Utilized

Relevance of Methodological Experience

Availability for Project Assistance

Personality Match

Prospective Advisors from Outside of FGCU

Occasionally a student may need to have a scientist from outside of the University. If you have someone from outside of FGCU, please include that person in your analysis.

The Assignment

Evaluate all science faculty at FGCU (minimum those listed on the Science Faculty page) for their ability to assist you in the development of your project (should it ultimately become your senior thesis).

1. Type your name.

Type your proposal’s research question.

2. State which faculty member (one) would best serve as your advisor and justify this assessment with data collected either through the use of the course web site or through other means.

3. Provide the names of at least two additional faculty members you believe would be of significant value to you in the development of this project with a brief justification for each of them.

4. Ask each of the above faculty if they are willing to review your proposal assignments throughout this semester. Please know that there is NO obligation on your faculty advisor(s) to become your senior thesis advisor after the completion of this course.

5. Have one of your faculty advisor check your research proposal question to see if it is focused (not broad). Revise accordingly!

© Meers, Savarese, Demers, Barreto, Kakareka, Volety, Everham, Cruz-Alvarez, Loh, Goebel, Fugate, Bovard, Mujtaba, Hartley & Gunnels 2009.

This is an official FGCU web page. Florida Gulf Coast University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution.

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