Research-based Courses

In Defense of Core Lab

Posted on October 30, 2025October 30, 2025 by Haya Elamir

this image is to represent the kind of group environment that core lab represents, even if this isn't an actual core lab class depicted — *A classroom of students reading at Princeton (not core lab)*. *Photo credit: Ryan Halbe.*

Many STEM majors here have the same rite of passage: core lab. For non-lab majors, core lab is a class that is purely to teach you about lab techniques and critical thinking skills that are useful for writing our theses. They usually involve a bit of a simulated lab experience where you discover new findings while the teachers guide you through the motions of a lab research experience.

Molecular biology’s core lab meets twice a week for 3 hours and then a small 50 minute lecture/precept on Fridays for half the semester. Other majors have similar constraints. However, while at first it may seem a bit overwhelming and even redundant if you’ve already done these procedures in a lab or are in a lab that definitely will not be using any procedures you learn, core lab goes beyond just teaching you technical skills.

I too was confused as to why I was here and why this mattered, but over time, I began to internalize one of the real skills this class is meant to teach you, something that pipetting will never give you: asking the right questions.

Facilitating a Research Discussion in COS 436

Posted on October 23, 2025October 13, 2025 by Shannon Yeow

An example of human computer interaction — *A student writes on a tablet using a stylus, an everyday example of human-computer interaction*

Having facilitated a precept discussion in COS 436: Human-Computer Interaction, I was able to reflect on what it means not just to thoroughly read a research paper, but also to guide my peers through a structured discussion based on common threads reflecting their thoughts and insights. COS 436 explores how technology and design shape human behavior and counts towards computer science degree progress as a fulfillment of the breadth category. Engagement with foundational research papers in the field and a semester-long research project are the core components of the course. Each week, students are responsible for writing discussion posts on assigned research papers and take turns facilitating precept discussions.

Finding Your Focus: 5 Tips on How to Narrow Down Your Topic

Posted on October 14, 2025October 8, 2025 by Alison Fortenberry

A brainstorming man looks at a wall covered with notes and ideas — *Brainstorming Ideas. Photo Credit: Per Lööv*

As someone in the social sciences and humanities, I had a broad idea of what I was interested in when going into my independent research. But once it came time to propose a specific topic, I was overwhelmed by how many possibilities there were. I was drawing on a massive archive of documents that dated back to the 1890s, so trying to decide on just one moment or figure to focus on made me feel like I was leaving a lot of important stories out. The best research projects are the ones that you’re genuinely excited about, but what do you do when you’re excited by a lot of different topics? Here are five tips that have helped me narrow down a broad research interest to a specific research topic.

Classwork Meets Research Work: A Unique Field-Based Experience in Death Valley

Posted on April 9, 2025April 3, 2025 by Advik Eswaran

*The author and the rest of the GEO 372 field trip cohort at Dante’s View, Death Valley*

Many of us might think of classwork and research as two separate entities. Here at Princeton, we might think, we take classes to learn and to prepare ourselves for independent work, but the two are distinct concepts. But reality is, of course, much more complex: classes at Princeton can and do incorporate elements of independent research work. This spring break, I had the opportunity to conduct field research as part of one of my classes, GEO 372 (Rocks!). We flew down to Death Valley National Park for a week, collecting various rock samples and learning about the regional geology. For the rest of the semester, we’ll be analyzing the samples to answer our given research question.

Heads Up: You Might Need Study Approval from the Institutional Review Board

Posted on April 7, 2025April 3, 2025 by Alexis Wu

Image of a fountain in the foreground whose spray creates a rainbow. Background includes the School of Public and International Affairs — *A rainbow at the Fountain of Freedom (colloquially called the “SPIA Fountain”), taken during a break from working on my thesis*

Independent research at Princeton offers an incredible opportunity for students to explore their academic interests and gain experience in the research world. This year, I’m working on my Senior Thesis with Professor Aleksandra Korolova, conducting an audit of Google ad delivery optimization algorithms. Specifically, I am studying whether aspects of advertisements—the image, text, links, and so on—impact the demographics of the audience to whom the advertisement is delivered.

In the fall, many people were curious about how my thesis was progressing. The truth was, for a few weeks, I hadn’t started running any experiments, since I first needed my research to be approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Through this experience, I both gained insight into the IRB process and found that many students had never even heard of the IRB. In this article, I share my experience and offer advice for students who are planning to conduct independent research.

The Point of the Lab Component: It’s not Just Three Hours of Misery for the Sake of it

Posted on March 17, 2025February 19, 2025 by Haya Elamir

The image depicts an image of one of the more intensive lab components: organic chemistry. It's a depiction of my own experiment halfway through the procedure. — *Organic Chemistry Lab Procedure in Frick, taken by Haya Elamir*

For STEM majors, lab components of classes can be cumbersome. They can add stress to the classroom experience–not to mention the long hours. Unlike research in a lab as part of a thesis or independent work, these labs may not allow for self-direction, and can feel very methodical. Sure, they apply what we are taught in class, but for me personally, the rates at which lab and lecture move can be quite different, and I do not fee the benefits of the lab experience until later on in the semester when it finally clicks for me.

What’s the point of lab work then?

A Guide to Reading Research Papers Like A Pro

Posted on March 5, 2025February 19, 2025 by Haya Elamir

This is a blackboard featuring some difficult concepts from a neuro class I took. I had to read research papers a lot for this class, so it partly inspired this post, hence the inclusion of this photo — *Blackboard featuring some neuroscience concepts from a neuro class taken at Princeton*

We all have to do it: read research papers. They can be jargon-y, long, confusing, and all in all an upsetting experience, but there’s no way around it.

First of all, let’s start by approaching this with a more positive mindset. Reading research papers can give us access to a bucketload of information that no other resource can provide. It is the most updated source on your favorite scientific topics, a Vogue magazine for the scientific world if you will. As such, reading them can be fun–but only if you know how. Now that we are a bit more optimistic about reading them, we can start with the first few steps.

Citations, Citations, Citations: A Guide to Keeping Track of these Pesky Beasts

Posted on February 28, 2025February 19, 2025 by Advik Eswaran

*Many books in a library. Citing them all would probably take a long time. Credit: Emil Widlund*

If I have to be completely honest, dealing with citations is my least favorite portion of the academic writing process. Ascertaining what citation style I need to use, successfully figuring out how to actually format citations in that style, and managing the hodgepodge of footnotes and endnotes are all tasks that seem, to me, cumbersome. Of course, these are necessary tasks: it is imperative that if we paraphrase, quote, or utilize in any way the work of others, we should always attribute the proper credit to them. But recognizing the importance of academic integrity doesn’t prevent us from still finding the task of dealing with citations to be a chore! If you’re in the same boat as I am, I’ll try to provide some advice and tips on dealing with citations!

Inside the Neuroscience Lab: How Core Lab is Shaping My Research Journey

Posted on February 14, 2025February 13, 2025 by Angel Toasakul

This picture depicts the setup of crayfish dissection with the microscope positioned on top of the dissection, light source attached to the headstage on the right, and electrode coming in from the left. — *Extracellular recording of crayfish nerve*

For most STEM majors at Princeton, one of the requirements is a course known informally as Core Lab. This class aims to equip students with laboratory skills required to succeed as a scientist in the field. It is usually composed of two 3-hour labs and one lecture per week. As a neuroscience major, I am currently taking NEU 350: Laboratory in Principles of Neuroscience, a class designed to introduce students to modern methods of analyzing neural activity—from the level of single neurons to large-scale networks underlying cognition. The course covers a range of techniques, including intracellular and extracellular recordings, optogenetics, EEG, and fMRI. After weeks of conducting designed experiments, it culminates in an independent research project where students design and conduct their own experiments based on knowledge and skills learned throughout the semester.

A Guide to Poster-Making

Posted on February 7, 2025February 7, 2025 by Rebecca Cho

You’ve finished a research project and now you’re on to the final step: presenting your work! It’s time to share the incredible work you’ve done with the general public, and one of the best ways to do so is to create a poster conveying the significance and conclusions of your research. This will be an essential skill during your time at Princeton whether for a course or as a part of your junior and senior independent work. If this is your first time creating a poster presentation, check this blog out!

A student presenting her junior work as a poster presentation. — Sara Akiba ‘26 with her poster presentation on “Foraminifera-bound δ¹³C as a Paleo CO₂Proxy: Methods Testing” for the Geosciences Junior Poster Presentations! If you want a poster as great as hers, continue reading below for some advice.

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