ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an approach to tackling advanced lab independent projects when students are given the opportunity to design and carry out their own experimental project. Engaging in an independent project in an advanced lab course allows their to build a subset of skills that are often missing in other parts of the undergraduate curriculum. Even students who engage in undergraduate research experiences often do not have much opportunity to participate in research project goal setting, and they are not asked to develop contingency plans if things do not go as expected. Assessing the possible challenges they might encounter in their experimental project can be difficult, but one of the places where the actual project progress most often deviates from the work outlined in the project proposal is building apparatus from scratch. Commercially built apparatus are available from Pasco and Klinger, but they come with a price tag that can be beyond the budget of an advanced lab project.
