Information for Students | Program
Description and Requirements | Reporting Requirements | Progress
Reports | Abstract | Final Report
All students are required to complete a final paper. Direct
questions to sfp@caltech.edu or call
626.395.2885. Please read all instructions below!
Instructions for Uploading Final Paper
The process for uploading the final paper and securing mentor
approval is described below. The important dates are:
Students must upload a draft of the final paper no
later than 5 PM on the fourth Friday in September.
Mentors must finally approve the paper no later than
November 1.
Students must upload their final technical paper into the SFP
Online system no later than the fourth Friday in September. The paper must
be in Microsoft Word or PDF format, and must not exceed 10MB. (If you absolutely
can't make your paper smaller than 10MB, please contact sfp@caltech.edu for
instructions.) Once the paper is uploaded it will be locked in the system,
and your mentor will be sent a message containing instructions for accessing
your paper online. Your mentor then has two options:
1. Approve your paper as is. You will receive confirmation
of this action via e-mail.
2. Disapprove your paper and give suggestions for improvements.
You will receive confirmation of this action via e-mail as well as your mentor's
comments. When your paper is disapproved, it is unlocked in the system. This
allows you to incorporate your mentor's suggestions, go online to delete
your previous paper, and then upload the new version. Your mentor will again
receive instructions for accessing your paper and the whole process starts
again. This can continue as many times as necessary until your mentor gives
final approval of your paper.
Once your paper is approved, your paper will remain locked.
If you would like to submit a revised version of your paper after a previous
version has been approved, e-mail your revised paper to sfp@caltech.edu and
we will replace your old paper with the new version.
Marcella and Joel Bonsall Prize for Technical Writing
Mentors of students in the SURF and Axline SURF programs will also be given
the opportunity to use the online system to nominate a student's paper
for the Bonsall Technical Writing Prize. If your mentor nominates your
paper, you will receive e-mail confirmation of this. Bonsall nominations
must also be received no later than November 1.
Final Report Writing Requirements
Final reports should be clear, concise, and written for a broad scientific
audience. Papers should be written in the style and format of the journal Nature.
It is suggested that you find a Nature article from your field after
which to model your paper.
As in a Nature article, reports should place all technical information
in the 'Methods' section at the end of the paper while making the main text
accessible to a nonspecialist audience. Use clear, significant words when
writing your paper and avoid using jargon or specialized terms whenever possible.
The main text of your article (excluding 'Methods', 'References', and 'Appendices')
should not exceed 2,000 words. Use fewer words if you can; a concise paper
is always better than a wordy one. It is often useful for authors to have
students in other disciplines read their papers to improve clarity. Mentors
are also encouraged to edit their students' papers.
If you are submitting an article for publication or if your mentor requests
that your paper be written in a different fashion, please check with the
SFP office. Such requests will usually be acceptable.
The Final Report Format:
- Title
- Author
- Faculty Mentor (and Co-Mentor if applicable)
Abstract. The abstract is a succinct outline of the
research project. For experimental projects, it presents the principal objective
and scope of the project, describes the methodology, summarizes the results,
and states the principal conclusions. For a theoretical paper, it describes
the issue and analysis, and states implications for further research. The
abstract should stand alone and be intelligible without the paper.
Text. The paper should begin by providing background, presenting the
nature and scope of the problem being investigated, and giving rationale
for the work. The main conclusions should be stated briefly in this section.
This section should be accessible to readers in any discipline (including
non-science fields) and readers for whom English is not a first language.
Following this introductory section, the findings should be described concisely
with brief descriptions of the methodology when necessary. The text should
finish with a discussion of the results. The implications of the research,
relation to other work in the author's lab, and future research directions
should be included in this section. Even though this section may be technical,
it should not be obtuse.
Methods. As noted above, materials and methods may be described briefly
in the text. However, as in a Nature article, lengthier descriptions
belong in a 'Methods' section at the end of the paper. This section should
be subdivided by short headings referring to the technique being used or
the experiment being explained. This section is directed toward scientists
in the author's field.
Figures. Include figures whenever possible to illustrate your
points. Explanatory diagrams may help explain background information
(pictures from textbooks are fine). Carefully choose your image size,
font size, line widths, and labels to ensure that your figures are
clear. Plot theory and experiment on the same graph and redraw screen
photos. All figures should be accompanied by explanatory captions.
References. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of references.
References should be numbered sequentially as they appear in the text
and should be listed at the end of the paper. Reference numbers should
be in superscript when cited in the text. References should follow the
style used by the journal Nature.
Acknowledgments. Acknowledge your mentor and all other individuals
who provided technical assistance, and the individuals, organizations,
grants, or contracts from whom you received financial support. Named
SURF students should be sure to include the names of their financial
sponsors.
Appendices. Large data files, catalogs, tables, diagrams, and archival
information may be included in 'Appendices' at the end of the paper.
Additional Suggestions. News and Views articles often accompany
important Nature papers to provide additional background and
discussion of the work's implications. A paper will be more accessible
if these additions are incorporated into the paper itself. Authors
are encouraged to use examples, stories, and analogies where appropriate.
These additions are highly recommended for students submitting their
papers to the Caltech Undergraduate Research Journal and will
greatly increase the odds of acceptance.
Adapted from the Nature Guide to Authors by Robb Rutledge (BS '02;
SURF '98, '00, '01).
Submissions to CURJ
Students may submit any paper that follows the SFP final report guidelines
to the Caltech Undergraduate Research Journal (CURJ). Accepted articles
will require the addition of subtitles and 'Further Reading' and the removal
of the abstract, 'References', 'Methods', and 'Appendices'. CURJ editors
will work with authors to prepare their articles for publication.
A publication release signed by the head of the laboratory
(not a graduate student or postdoc) will also be required. This document is
legally binding. You and your advisor are advised to consult with the appropriate
journals and must resolve any copyright issues before submission. Once your
paper is accepted, it cannot be withdrawn.
