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Which topics should be covered in instrumental analysis lecture and which instrumental techniques should be used in the instrumental laboratory? We surveyed a randomly chosen group of analytical chemistry faculty using a survey that had been used before. We compare our 1998 responses to those obtained in 1981 to observe long-term trends in the teaching of instrumental analysis and instrumental analysis laboratory.
Our survey shows that the instrumental laboratory has changed more than the instrumental lecture. Four experiments that were often used in 1981, infrared, NMR, electrochemical methods, and gas chromatography, have declined in usage. Six experiments are increasing in usage: molecular fluorescence, atomic absorption spectroscopy, GC-MS, cyclic voltammetry, HPLC, and elementary electronics. It appears that there is a consensus about which experimental techniques the instrumental course should offer to undergraduates.
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