Steps to Completing Your Science/Engineering Project

Review Scientific Language.

• • Click here to review some of the language that is commonly used in scientific research.

Pick a topic.

Before you begin, check with your teacher to find out what type of project is acceptable for your school/county. Decide if you want a science project (i.e. you design and conduct an investigation experiment) or an engineering project (i.e. design and engineer a practical solution to a problem). Here are some sites you can explore for project topics:

• • Internet Public Library

  • Discovery Education

  • Education.com

  • Institute for Environmental Insight

  • Take a Look at Intel Edison Award Winners for Project Ideas

Review the GSEF & ISEF Handbook for the appropriate forms and permissions.

• • Is your project a bit complicated? Are unsure about which forms your project requires? CLICK HERE FOR THE ISEF RULES WIZARD

  • To get a copy of your required forms, go to the ISEF Document Library or Click on the "Science Fair Documents" Tab on our website to download the appropriate forms.

Get Help from Experts.

It is always helpful to get help from scientists that specialize in the field of study you are investigating. Visit HOW TO APPROACH A SCIENTIST VIRTUALLY for helpful tips. BE SURE TO GET PARENT PERMISSION FIRST.

Conduct background research on the topic.

Background research is necessary to design and understand your experiment. To make a copy, open the Research Plan, Click "File" --> Click "Make a Copy" --> rename the file and it will create a copy in your google drive.

• • Research Plan - Basic

  • Research Plan - Hazardous chemicals activities or devices

  • Research Plan - Human subjects

    • Sample Informed Consent Form

    • After your participants sign your Consent Form, please save them in a safe place. Do not include the signed consent forms in your paperwork packet. Doing so jeopardizes the anonymity of your participants. You are only required to turn in a SAMPLE of the consent form you used!

  • Research Plan - Potentially hazardous biological agents

  • Research Plan - Vertebrates

  • Engineering Research Plan

Here are some things to consider when completing a background research plan/paper: Title page: Project title, name, address, school, grade, and teacher

• • Introduction/Problem: Explain the rationale/reason behind your topic. What intrigued you? What is still left unanswered about this phenomenon?

  • Scientific Variables: A variable is an item, factor, or condition that can be controlled or changed. For more examples, click here, here, or here.

    • Independent variable: The variable that is manipulated or changed by the scientist.

    • Dependent variable: The variable that is observed or measured during the experiment.

    • Control/Constant variable: The variable that the scientist wants to remain the same.

  • Key Vocabulary: Identify the keywords and concepts for your project.

  • Procedures: Your procedures should be detailed enough for another researcher to follow them, without assistance from you.

  • Data Collection: How to you plan to collect and analyze data? Choose your data collection site (i.e. school, research lab, etc.) and select the appropriate approval forms. There are two types of data that may be collected:

    • Quantitative Data - Uses numbers to describe the data. This data can be measured (i.e. length, height, area, volume, weight, time, speed, temperature, humidity, sound level, cost, members, ages, etc.).

    • Qualitative Data - Uses words to describe the data. This data can be observed but not measured (i.e. textures, smells, tastes, appearance, etc.).

  • Conclusion: Conclude by stating your research hypothesis and how this background research relates to it.

  • References: Be sure to use scholarly sources and cite your sources in APA (minimum of five sources for middle school and 10 sources for high school). Here are some links to help with APA citations:

    • Citation Machine

    • The Writing Lab at Purdue University

    • Citefast

Decide your methodology.

Do you need to state a hypothesis related to the topic (i.e. cause and effect statement that you can test) or make observations about a phenomenon (i.e. observe something, take and record measurements, and report your findings)?

Design and carry out your research.

Keep accurate records of everything you do and observe. Here are some resources to help you with your logbook:

• • What Makes a Great Science Project Logbook?

  • Science Logbook Instructions

  • Keeping a Good Laboratory Record Book

Design your poster presentation.

Select a poster from the "Science Fair Poster Templates" page to explain to others what you hoped to test or what questions you wanted to answer, what you did, what your data showed, and your conclusion.

Write your final research paper and give the sources of your research.

• Your final research paper will be several pages long, but don't be overwhelmed! Most of the sections are made up of information that you have already written in your background research or in your logbook.

• Be sure to save your document often or use a word processor that saves automatically (i.e. Google Docs)! You do not want to work hard getting something written the perfect way, only to have your computer crash and the information lost. Frequent file saving could save you a lot of trouble!

• Remember to do a spelling and grammar check in your word processor. Also, have a few people proof read your final report. They may have some helpful comments!

• Be sure to cite your sources!

Practice public speaking.

Practice describing your project's rationale, methodology, and results, so you are ready for your school's/district's fair.

• • To see a sample scoring sheet that judges will use to evaluate your project and interview, click here: SAMPLE Judging Form