Science Fair Project How-To Guide
Copyright 2003-2019 by Shane Price. All Rights Reserved.
This page is currently under construction. However, feel free to browse while I tidy things up. -- SP
If you are a Science Fair veteran or just looking for a BRIEF summary, check out the
Quick Start Guide.
Overview
If you are looking to create a winning science fair project, take the time to read and follow the instructions contained in this How-To Guide. Here you will find information, ideas, instructions, best practices, and answers to many of your questions. The instructions and suggestions in this guide will help you qualify for participation in ISEF-affiliated science fairs, including the Jefferson High School Science Fair, the Jefferson County Science Fair, the Eastern Panhandle Regional Science Fair, the West Virginia State Science and Engineering Fair, and ISEF, the International Science and Engineering Fair.
Ready to Get Started?
Scroll down or click to skip ahead to these topics:
Introduction - What is a Science Project? ↥
Science Fair is an institution. Fairs originate during the Cold War in the 1950's.
Projects for the Science Fair consist of two major components, each divided into several parts:
1. Conduct a Scientific Investigation or Experiment:
- Select a Project Topic
- Formally research the topic (including Bibliography)
- Design an Experiment
- Conduct Experiment and Collect Data
- Analyze Data and form a Conclusion
2. Presentation of Findings:
- Write a formal report that outlines previous research and describes the current experiment in detail.
- Construct a presentation board or poster that summarizes the project.
- Present an oral presentation before an audience (including judges).
Why Do A Science Project? ↥
Scholarship money, academic recognition, bragging rights, fun!
How to Make a Winning Science Project
What are the judges looking for?
Knowledge Gained- Is there evidence that the student has acquired scientific skills and/or knowledge by doing this project? Is this an appropriate project for the student’s level?
Scientific Approach – Has a scientific approach been made to the problem? Is the question clearly stated? Does the student have a clear hypothesis with one variable? Is the experiment appropriate to answer the question?
Experimental Research – Has data been gathered from work done by the student rather than the results from the work of others? Does the experiment do what it was intended to do?
Individual/Team Work – Has material been gathered from a variety of sources and cited in a bibliography? Is there a logbook present for examination? If a team, is evidence of collaboration present?
Thoroughness – Is the student aware of the necessity of repeating trials and the importance of controlling the variables? Was a control used? How successfully was the original plan carried to completion?
Data – Have measurements been made and recorded? Are results (tables, graphs, pictures) shown and accurate?
Conclusions – Has the student started with known facts and drawn his/her own conclusions? Do conclusions agree with the results?
Written abstract – Are all components of the abstract present (question, purpose, procedures, results, conclusions, & application)?
Visual Display- Are all parts of scientific method present? Are all words spelled correctly? Is the use of punctuation/language appropriate? Is the display neat & attractive? Does the display follow a logical order?
Interview – Is the student able to successfully communicate his/her knowledge on the project? Is the student comfortable talking about what he/she did and why?
Rant about Team Projects ↥
Don't get me started.
Become familiar with the Rules and Regulations ↥
Scientific research must be done safely and ethically. All scientists - even student scientists - must abide by certain
common-sense rules of safety and ethics. Students wishing to compete in the Jefferson High School Science Fair and beyond must abide by the
Intel ISEF (International Science and Engineering Fair)
rules.
Understand the rules
Before you start your project, familiarize yourself with the rules. Read the list of some of the important things you need to know, checking off each item as you read. Ask your teacher to explain any that you do not understand. Refer back to the rules as you are working on your project and after you have finished it to make sure you have followed them.
Evaluate Your Resources ↥
Equipment and Supplies
Where to do Research?
Expertise
Time
Once you have a project idea, you must design an experiment. This plan should explain how you will do your experiment and exactly what you need to do it. Make a list of materials and equipment, and all the steps you will do in your experiment. Discuss it with your teacher to make sure it is designed scientifically well. Design an experiment that not only interests you, but can be done in the amount of time you have.
Select a Topic ↥
What do YOU want to explore? Choose a topic for your project, you could look through magazines, books, textbooks, etc. that deal with the type of science that interests you. Ideas might come from hobbies or problems you see that need solutions. List the categories or ideas that you have selected and choose a specific topic.
Research your topic-go to the library or Internet and learn everything you can on your topic. Gather existing information on your topic. Look for the unexplained or the unexpected. Talk to professionals in the field, write or e-mail the companies for specific information, and obtain suggestions from them. Take notes on what you find out about your topic leaving out the information that is not helpful. Keep a bibliography of your sources of information.
Organize everything you have learned about your topic.
Hone in on a specific question to answer. You have done your research. What questions do YOU have about your topic? Develop a question about the topic and form a hypothesis to test.
Application for Pre-Approval
Begin the Research Plan ↥
Once you have a project idea, you must design an experiment. This plan should explain how you will do your experiment and exactly what you need to do it. Make a list of materials and equipment, and all the steps you will do in your experiment. Discuss it with your teacher to make sure it is designed scientifically well. Design an experiment that not only interests you, but can be done in the amount of time you have.
Safety Precautions
Submit the Application Paperwork ↥
To qualify for entry into ISEF affiliated fairs, students must accurately complete and submit several ISEF Forms. While some forms are required of all projects, there are several forms that are only required under certain circumstances. Students formally apply to participate in the science fair by submitting these documents, together with the Research Plan.
There are several important considerations before getting started on the paperwork:
- Will this be an individual or team project?
- Do you have a clear idea of your experimental procedures?
- Where will you conduct your experimentation?
Your project must be formally reviewed and approved BEFORE you begin conducting any experiments. The forms below are designed so you can type directly on the form before printing. To preserve your work, you must download and save a local copy before typing in them.
The following forms are REQUIRED for all projects and must be submitted for approval:
Your project may require one or more of these forms as well. See the
Official Rules for more information.
- Form 1C: Regulated Research Institutional / Industiral Setting From - Required if conducting research anywhere other than home or school. (To be completed AFTER experimentation.)
- Form 2: Qualified Scientist Form - Required if using animals, potentially hazardous biological agents, hazardous substances or hazardous devices; may also be required if research involves human participants.
- Form 3: Risk Assessment Form - Required if using laboratory chemicals, microorganisms, potentially hazardous biological agents, potentially hazardous substances, potentially hazardous devices, or any activity that poses any potential harm.
- Form 4: Human Participants Form - Required for all experiments involving human participants.
- Human Informed Consent Form - A completed, unsigned sample of this form must be included with Form 4. During experimentation, all human participants (and parent or guardian, if applicable) are to read and sign copies of this form. You must keep the original signed Human Informed Consent Forms with your paperwork.
- Form 5A and 5B: Vertebrate Animal Forms - required for all experiments involving vertebrate animals.
- Form 6A: Potentially Hazardous Biological Agents Form - Required for research involving microorganisms, rDNA, fresh/frozen tissue (including primary cell lines, human and other primate established cell lines and tissue cultures), blood, blood products and body fluids.
- Form 6B: Human and Vertebrate Animal Tissue Form - Required for research involving fresh/frozen tissue (including primary cell lines, human and other primate established cell lines and tissue cultures), blood, blood products and body fluids. If the research involves living organisms please ensure that the proper human or animal forms are completed. All projects using any tissue listed above must also complete Form 6A.
- Form 7: Continuation/Research Progression Projects Form - Required for projects that are a continuation or progression in the same field of study as a previous project. Form 7 must be accompanied by the previous year’s Abstract and Research Plan/Project Summary.
Conduct an Experiment ↥
Conduct your experiment and take photos-During experimentation keep detailed notes of each and every step, measurement, and observation. Keep a research journal and give dates and times when possible. Try to take photographs as you are doing your experiment and the results of the experiment. Remember to change only one variable at a time when experimenting, and make sure to do a control experiment in which none of the variables are changed. Make sure you include at least five or more test subjects in both control groups. Note any unusual changes you had to make in your procedure and that may show up in the results.
Finalize the Research Report ↥
Prepare a written report on what you have learned and how you have learned about your topic. First make a rough draft, writing in enough detail so that the reader could repeat your research if he/she wanted. Leave plenty of space between lines to allow room for corrections. Think about what to say and express it clearly. A good report will include a title, acknowledgements of people who helped, an introduction to your topic, discussion of the problem, list of materials and equipment you used, your step by step procedure, observation and results, conclusions, and bibliography. Write your final report neatly on white lined paper or type it.
Revise Experimental Design
Data Analysis
when you complete your experiments, examine and organize your findings. Use a chart, graph, table, etc. to show your results. Did your experiment give you the expected results and why or why not? Was your experiment performed with the exact same steps each time? Are there other explanations that you had not considered or observed? Remember that the understanding unusual results is NOT a scientific failure, but still is valuable information to be reported.
Conclusion
Answer the following questions: Which variables are important? Did you collect enough data? Do you need to conduct more experimentation? Did you support your hypothesis? If your results do not, what may have happened? Remember an experiment is done to prove or disprove a hypothesis.
Acknowledgements
Research Plan Checklist
- Title Page
- Table of Contents
- Introduction / Background / Problem
- History
- Other Research
- Why your research matters (how it benefits society, etc.)
- Current State of the Art (What is the current technology?)
- Purpose
- Hypothesis (Question)
- Problem to be solved or question to be addressed.
- Safety Precautions
- What dangers exit
- What are you doing to minimize risk (wear safety goggles, etc.)
- Materials List
- Procedure
- Step-by-Step (Numbered list, like chemistry experiments.)
- Data
- Your raw data, in simple charts and tables.
- Analysis
- Graphs and Tables, broken down and organized, with explanations of how data is organized, why you included or excluded data, etc.
- Discussion
- What does the data mean? (“The graph shows…”)
- Conclusion
- Concise wrap-up of what your experiment revealed. You DO NOT need to explicitly state that your data supports or rejects your hypothesis. Rather, re-state your problem or question as a conclusion statement.
- Recommended areas of further research.
- Bibliography
Writing the Abstract ↥
*Form can be accessed at
*What should be included in your abstract?
This is a ONE page summary of the following:
-Research question
-Purpose (why did you choose the project you did)
-Procedure
-Results
-Conclusion
-Application (in the future, how could this project help someone)
An abstract is a complete but concise summary describing your work. In a paragraph or two, and in 250 words (1,800 characters) or less, abstracts typically include:
-
Purpose of the experiment
-
Procedure
-
Summary of Data / Analysis
-
Conclusions
-
(optional) research applications
The follwing items must NOT be included in your abstract:
Things to Consider:
-
Your abstract summarizes the major points and most important ideas about your project.
-
An abstract allows others to quickly determine the nature and scope of your project.
-
Focus only on the current year’s research.
-
Keep it simple by leaving omitting details and discussions.
-
Use the past tense when describing what was done.
-
Use active verbs rather than passive verbs where appropriate.
-
Use short sentences, but vary sentence structure.
-
Use complete sentences. (Don’t abbreviate by omitting articles or other small words in order to save space.)
-
Avoid jargon and use appropriate scientific language.
-
If you’re doing a continuation project, be sure to emphasize the current year’s research, and only make a brief mention (1-2 sentences) of previous years’ research.
Project Board / Display ↥
Now that your research and scientific work is done, you must display what you have learned. Neatness, clarity, and organization are keys to a successful display. Check spelling, punctuation, and grammar as well as the accuracy and completeness of your information. Your display materials do not need to be expensive. You will need some type of free standing backboard. It can be poster board, fabric on a frame, or cardboard. Use color, creativity, and care as you organize an attractive display. Your display may include whatever objects that are not excluded by rules to show what you have learned. Your display should include title, question, hypothesis, list of materials, procedure, observations, conclusion, report, and abstract.
Display rules
Display Checklist
Abstract-Summary of your experiment, results, and conclusions.
Question-what you want to find out.
Hypothesis-what you thought would happen.
Research-information on the topic up to the time of your experiment (Bibliography needs to be here).
Materials-what you used in your experiment.
Procedures-step by step listing of what you did in the experiment.
Results-what happened listed in tables and charts.
Conclusions-what you learned from your experiment.
Future directions/Application-where you would go next with this experiment.
If you want to win, you should have your research paper and your raw data (a log book is ideal) available. A good research paper will include a title, acknowledgements of people who helped, an introduction to your topic, discussion of the problem, list of materials and equipment you used, your step by step procedure, observation and results, conclusions, and bibliography. It should be typed.
Going to the Fair ↥
Oral Presentation ↥
The oral presentation is an important part of the judging process. During your presentation you should explain to the judges: why you chose your topic and question, how and where you gathered your information, how you tested your hypothesis and what observations you made, and what conclusions you reached. You may want to write note cards or refer to parts of your display in order to plan what you are going to talk about. Be well rehearsed and know what you are going to say-do NOT read it. Your presentation should only be 3-5 minutes.
After the Fair ↥
Additional Resources ↥
Mr. Price is serious about science fair. If you are too, email
d.price@k12.wv.us or stop by JHS B-14 anytime.
-- Updated 2/6/2019 SP
Research your topic-go to the library or Internet and learn everything you can on your topic. Gather existing information on your topic. Look for the unexplained or the unexpected. Talk to professionals in the field, write or e-mail the companies for specific information, and obtain suggestions from them. Take notes on what you find out about your topic leaving out the information that is not helpful. Keep a bibliography of your sources of information.