I took this class the first quarter it was online. If you can, I would definitely recommend taking it in person, because there are a lot of really fun labs (such as sequencing your own mitochondrial DNA to discover your ancestry, and running an EKG etc) that I wish I got the chance to actually do. Online, we just used a data base and wrote reports based on that data. The amount of work we have is very manageable, and the class is organized super well so everything we have to do for the week is clearly laid out. The scientific articles we had to write were actually my favorite part of the course, because I found the process of reading published research papers and learning how to set them up to be very beneficial to my learning and applicable to my future. Also, I really loved the peer-review system for grading. You have six peers review your paper so it is very fair, and reading other students' papers is helpful so you know where you stand in your writing. The grading is incredibly generous and as long as you do all the work you can easily get an A. Dr. Pfluegl is also very nice and definitely shows that he cares a lot about his students!

Good class. Very interesting material and the teaching team was very helpful. Remote learning for this class very clear. There were clearly listed bullet points of lab and writing requirements for each week on CCLE. This made each week's work very easy to follow. Although there were some labs that were complicated, the use of the discussion forum as well as the teaching staff made it good. The professor himself is a great person!

I absolutely ADORE Professor Pflugel! This man is the human embodiment of sunshine. He is so sweet and understanding, his lectures are so clear, informative, and entertaining. I can't say enough good things about him.
As for the class itself - it was a lot of work. With COVID and having to do remote learning, it was an interesting class. We used Labster to conduct online labs, and honestly it was fantastic. Everything was super informative, and I genuinely learned a lot in this class.
10/10 would 100% reccommend and take again!

Dr. Pfluegl is very accomodating and cares about his students. He and the TAs have been responsive to feedback.

All of the assigned worksheets have been manageable. Most students will usually ask questions on the discussion forum for help and Dr. Pfluegl tends to go over how to complete the assignments during lecture. The three writing assignments were also very simple to write. We were given one week to write the paper, another week to assess each other, and a third week to write a reflection. Overall, I would say the workload for this class is not too heavy.

This was a great class if you’re interested in the material. It was also quite easy bc all answers and good study material for quizzes were available if you looked for them!
I’m also selling the newest edition (6th I think) of the lab manual for $20. If interested, text me at 8182742372

This class should be an easy A with the adjustments that Dr. Pfluegl has made. For one, he drops the lowest grade in all sections of the class (pre-lab, in-lab, post-lab quizzes, as well as lab worksheets.) Secondly, the lab worksheets are relatively easy and do not really require prior knowledge of the material. As long as you follow the lab manual, you should be good to go. Moreover, pre-lab, in-lab and post-lab quizzes can be found online.
A big component of the class is the CPR assignments. There are 3 CPR assignments on the labs done in class. One of them calls for students to write the first half of a research paper, the second one has to do with the second half while the third one is a full research paper. A big part of CPR assignments is peer review. Even with an average text grade, a perfect peer review grade can really bring up the assignment score. The professor does offer extra credit that increases text rating by 5 points (out of 10). So, if you get anything above a 5 as a text rating, your score can be boosted up to full points.
The final exam is pretty easy and you can score well just by reading through the lab manual once or twice before taking the exam.

Is anyone selling their lab manual 6th edition? Email me at jaslouie319@g.ucla.edu

This class was super easy. I think it was one of the easiest lab classes I've taken because I had a super chill TA. Email me if you want to buy the lab manual "Introduction to Laboratory and Scientific Methodology" Edition 5 for $20! I used it while others were using the edition 6 lab manual. They're the same content, so don't worry about it being outdated. Email: creamycreationscafe@gmail.com

This class is relatively easy but it's easy to miss points and end up with a lower grade. Look out especially for CPR points and pre-class quiz points. They also reuse questions for the quizzes and Final exam.

I'm selling Final exam questions, pre, post and in-lab quizzes, as well as sample CPR essays that I've compiled for a cheap price. Email me at docsucla@gmail.com for a quick response.

LS23L was not difficult, but the PCR is NOT a fair system and really takes a toll on your overall grade. The labs aren't very interesting, but they are easy to complete and you don't need to do a lot of prep for them. If you are taking this class, it's probably a requirement, so it won't take up a lot of your time or be super difficult, but just be weary of the PCR assignments and focus on those.