Topic Selection

This is one of the most difficult things about doing a science fair project. Keep in mind as you are picking a topic that you will have to live with it for about 10-12 weeks. Once you choose an idea that you like, spend a few quiet moments thinking about how the whole project would work. If you can imagine obstacles that will be too difficult, then find a new topic. Don’t forget the cost of supplies and time constraints. If you change your topic after the deadline for the research sources, then you will lose 20 points off of your final score.

Sometimes the most interesting projects come from things that you like to do in your spare time. Think of your hobbies, sports, clubs, chores at home, etc. Is there some aspect of these that you could measure and test?

Refer to science project books in the library or ideas on the Internet. You will probably have to expand or change an idea in order to make it into a measurable and experimental project.

In the space below, describe in one paragraph what you would like to do for a science fair project.

http://cusef.byu.edu ( This is the CUSEF Regional Fair site)

http://www.scifair.org

http://www.scienceproject.com

http://school.discovery.com/sciencefaircentral/

http://www.scifair.com This is the Massachusetts State Fair site

http://www.sciserv.org/isef This is the International Science Fair site

http://www.ipl.org/youth/projectguide

http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/~jbarron/scifair.html

http://www.neltec.com/scifair

http://www.goto.com/d/search/p/clickheretofind/?Keywords=Science+Fair

http://www.emporia.edu/scimath/catalog/bsc0049.htm

http://members.aol.com/ScienzFair/ideas.htm

http://www.sciserv.org/isef/primer/index.asp

Do a search on Google for science fair project ideas

My Topic:

Teacher okay: _____

Problem Statement

The next step is to turn your topic into a problem statement for experimentation. A problem

statement is a sentence or question that identifies the independent variable and the dependent variable.

Independent variable: the variable or factor that you decide to change; the variable your are experimenting upon

Dependent variable: the effect that you measure as a result of the independent variable

Example: How does the amount of water affect the height of plants?

Independent variable: amount of water

Dependent variable: height of plants

Notice in the example that both the independent and dependent variables are in metric units.

Think about your topic and imagine a few possible independent and dependent variables that you could use. List them below.

Independent Variables Dependent Variables

________________________________ _______________________________

Now choose one from each list that will work well together and that you find most interesting. Write a problem statement including these as your independent and dependent variables for the project.

PROBLEM STATEMENT:

Teacher okay: _____

Research Explanation

When you do research, you want to find articles and books that can teach you something about the independent and dependent variables of your project. Learn about the topic so that you can make a hypothesis in the next step based on intelligent information. Your conclusion will have to be related to what you learn about the variables now and how they turn out in your experiment. Therefore, the research is the foundation of a good hypothesis and a meaningful conclusion.

No complaining about how hard it is to find sources for your topic. Don’t wait until the last minute. Take advantage of the librarians and interlibrary loan. Visit other libraries. This step is not hard, but it requires you to plan and be persistent.

YOU MUST HAVE AT LEAST 4 SOURCES:

1 BOOKS OR PERIODICALS

3 OTHER (encyclopedia, Internet, interview

with and expert in the field, book,

periodical, etc.)

Come up with keywords for your research. Use your independent and dependent variables, any words or phrases related to them, or synonyms.

KEYWORDS:

Bibliographic Format: Using APA Guidelines

Book with one author:

Creswell, J.W. (1994). Research design: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Book with two or more authors:

Webb, W.H., Beals, A.R., & White,C.M. (1988) Sources of information in the social sciences: A guide to the literature (3rd ed.). Chicago: American Library Association.

Journal article, single author:

Van Maanen, J. (1981). The informant game: Selected aspects of ethnographic research in police organizations. Urban Life, 9(4), 469-494.

Chapter or article within an edited book:

Soltis, J.F. (1990). The ethics of qualitative research. In E.W. Eisner & A. Peshkin (Eds.), Qualitative inquiry in education: The continuing debate (pp. 247-257). New York: Teachers College Press.

Materials from the Internet:

Li, X. (1996, July 26). Electronic Sources: APA Style of Citation. [WWW document]. URL http://www.uvm.edu/~xli/reference/apa.html

Mestre, L. (n.d./1998). Education Resources. {WWW document} URL http://www.library.umass.edu/subject/education/

(Source: Evans, D.R., Rossman, G.B. (1998). Using the work and words of other authors: A

short guide to using APA guidelines. Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts.)

Parenthetical Documentation

When you write research papers of any type it will be necessary for you to use the ideas of others to support your own views. There are three different ways that you can use the ideas of other people:

1. Summarizing

2. Paraphrasing

3. Quoting directly

All of these examples require you to acknowledge that the ideas or words are not your own. Whenever you write something you must identify which ideas are not your own and indicate where they came from. People reading your paper must know when things you write are not your own thinking and how to find the original source if they need to find it. (Evans, 1998)

Summarizing:

When you summarize the major point, the general position, or an overall argument by an author, then a reference to the work as a whole without a page number is okay.

Paraphrasing:

A good way to use another author's words is to take their ideas and put them into your own words. In this way you can put emphasis on the parts that relate to what you are studying. You need to make sure that your paraphrase is accurate. (Evans, 1998)

Paraphrasing should be in your own words. You cannot paraphrase by taking sentences or phrases and just changing a few words - that is plagiarism. Paraphrasing works best if you read the whole section you wish to refer to several times until it is clear to you. (Evans, 1998, p. 2).

Quoting Directly:

Quoting directly is using the author's exact words. You should only do this if the author has a very exceptional way of stating something. A good thing to do is paraphrase most ideas and use one or two direct quotes to capture something an author said. Direct quotes should be in quotation marks unless the quote is longer than 3 lines, then it should be indented without quotes.

Parenthetical Documentation Cont’d

Examples:

(Evans, 1998) - a summary - no page number necessary.

(Evans, 1998, p. 2-3) - a paraphrase - need the page numbers.

(Evans, 1998, p. 3) - a direct quote - need the page number.

(Source: Evans, D.R., Rossman, G.B. (1998). Using the work and words of other authors: A

short guide to using APA guidelines. Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts.)

Plagiarism

The school policy on plagiarism is as follows:

PLAGIARISM is considered a serious offense. Students, like other writers, are expected to acknowledge the work of others and to assist their readers in finding specific locations from which their ideas are drawn. In other words, if you are summarizing, paraphrasing, or quoting another person, attribute that material to its source. You may be taking the information from an interview or other oral text, or from the Internet, or from the conventional printed text. In either case, the source MUST be documented.

Failure to document carries severe penalties.

Mr. Grunander has determined that a plagiarized paper (essay, research paper, or other document) will warrant an automatic grade of zero (0).

What do you need to find me again

Book

Magazine Article

Internet Site

Interview

Online Journal

Newspaper Article

Documentary

Reference Work

Source Sheet for Science Fair Research

Sources	Question #1	Question #2	Question #3

Organizing and Planning Your Project

In order to make sure you know what you’re measuring, how you are going to measure it, and how you will set up your experiment, fill in the following worksheet.

1. Independent variable:

Units of measurement:

Instrument/tool for measuring:

2. Dependent variable:

Units of measurement:

Instrument/tool for measuring:

3. List all factors that must remain constant and explain how you will keep them constant.

4. Describe the control group.

5. Null Hypothesis (H₀):

6. Alternate Hypothesis (H_A):

6.Teacher okay: _____

6.Experiment - Materials

6.List all materials, supplies, equipment, tools, etc. that you will need for this project. Add or delete things from this list later when you perform the experiment so that the list you include in your final project is correct.

6.Typically, if you are using chemicals or plants, those things should be in a separate list next to the equipment. Make sure to include scientific names.

6.Teacher okay: _____

6.Experiment - Procedure

6.Write a list of all the steps you will need to follow to run the experiment. Another person should be able to follow your procedure without ever having to talk to you, so make it good. Although the procedure can be written as a numbered list or a paragraph, at this stage it is probably better to write it as a list so you can make changes as you go along for the final draft. You might want to set up the front and back of this page in two columns: one for the planned procedure and one for the actual procedure that you followed.

6.Teacher okay: _____

Poster Design

_____ Find and organize all of the information and materials for the project.

_____ Neatly recopy (using a computer) each of the written parts of the

scientific method onto its own sheet of paper. Use large, clear lettering

that can be read by people as they pass by your project.

_____ Get a piece of display board to attach your papers and pictures to.

_____ Write a title at the top of the board. Write your name near your title.

_____ Before you attach anything, arrange the papers of your experiment on the

display board to see how they look. They should be in order of the

scientific method. Once you are satisfied, attach them neatly to the board.

Feel free to have a colorful background. Use some creativity. Your poster

should be eye-catching.

_____ Set up other equipment in front of your poster to see how it looks.

_____ Make a sketch of your poster to turn in.

Example:

Question or Problem

Hypothesis

Background Research

TITLE

Methods, Materials, Pictures, Results, etc.

This section should be the “meat” of your science fair project

Data Analysis

Conclusion with small discussion of your results

Retest Possibilities

Applications

Teacher okay: ____

Oral Report Guidelines

_____ Prepare for your presentation by reviewing each part of the experiment so

that you know it well. Review your research so that you can speak

intelligently about your topic.

_____ Think about the following questions:

What were your results?

Why did you choose this project?

What was the hardest part (or easiest)?

What were the one or two things you learned?

What would you do differently next time? Why?

_____ Use note cards for your presentation. Do not read from your poster.

_____ Practice your presentation before you actually present.

_____ Prepare a 2 - 4 minute introduction of your project.

_____ Speak slowly, and do not chew gum. Take a deep breath if you get

confused.

_____ Explain how you tested your hypothesis.

_____ Review your major findings.

_____ Discuss your conclusions.

_____ Prepare a 1-2 minute conclusion to your presentation.

_____ Ask if there are any questions.

Science Fair Permission Form

Student Name________________________________________________________

Science Teacher______________________________________________________

Adult Sponsor/Parent Name_____________________________________________

Title of Project_______________________________________________________

Brief Description of Project_________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________(continue on back if needed)

The projects involving the following substances or devices are considered hazardous and students must be properly supervised by an adult. Please check any that apply: