Inquiry question: How do scientists present a scientific research report?
Students:
– title
– abstract
– literature review
– scientific research question
– hypothesis
– methodology
– results
– discussion
– conclusion
– reference list
– appendices
The requirements from NESA is that the third assessment task for science extension must assess the Scientific Research Report with a weighting of 40%.
Potential due date (to be negotiated): Monday 3pm, Week 10 Term 2, 2019.
Draft handed in for feedback: Week 1 Term 2, 2019.
The following is taken directly from the science extension syllabus:
A scientific research report or paper (approximately 2500–3000 words) has a formal structure. Regardless of the scientific discipline the report is prepared in a way that can be clearly interpreted by academics or other scientists. The order in which the sections of a report appear are, however, not necessarily in the order they are written. For example, the abstract appears at the beginning but is written once the scientific research findings have been determined.
A title is a stand-alone statement that is specific, precise and informative, and provides the aim of the investigation. It is not a restatement of the scientific research question or the hypothesis. The title should appear on the cover page.
The abstract is a one paragraph (approximately 100–200 words) summary of the scientific research investigation. It contains the question, the methods, key results and conclusions. It should be accurate and precise. Referencing is not needed in the abstract.
This section (approximately 750–1000 words) is designed to inform the reader of the relevance of the scientific research and includes background information enabling the reader to understand the key areas involved. It is usual to start the review with a broad scope and become more specific. Sources used are to be current and, where possible, original articles referenced rather than reviews of the articles.
The scientific research question addresses a single independent variable but may be broken down into subparts if multiple aspects are involved and are directly related. The Scientific Research Project should have a single major focus and subsequently only one main scientific research question. The question should be clear, precise and specific; written in scientific language, and be developed from the review of the literature.
Once the scientific research question has been chosen, a hypothesis is then formulated. A hypothesis is a statement that relates an independent variable to a dependent variable in a causal relationship that can be tested.
The methodology is usually written first and is refined as the scientific research progresses. The methodology should be written in passive voice, simple past tense and contain enough specific and detailed information so that it can be repeated by another scientist to obtain the same results.
The results are based upon the facts. This section describes what was observed, calculated or the trends discovered. It is not an explanation of the results. The order of the results can either follow the order of the methodology or, maybe, in order of most important to least important. Results may include tables, graphs and/or other visual representations to highlight important features. It may be relevant to comment on the degree of uncertainty stated for each set of data collected. All visual displays should be labelled with a number, concise name and a stand-alone description of how the result was obtained. It is useful to integrate visual displays with text so that the reader is guided through the research.
The discussion (approximately 700–1200 words) forms the argument and provides an explanation of the phenomenon that was investigated. Other peer-reviewed scientific research should be used and referenced to discuss findings and to form an academic argument. The discussion includes an evaluation of the data-analysis and an explanation of the results, why they occurred, key limitations and further implications with suggestions for future directions of scientific research.
The conclusion (approximately 250–500 words) is a summary of the scientific research findings and is usually one or two paragraphs in length and should not introduce new information.
All sources of information and data that are used to inform the scientific research should be cited using an appropriate footnoting and referencing style.
Appendices are not essential, but are used to include relevant documents that are either too large or that detract from the flow of the report. They are to be numbered and referred to in the text.
The Scientific Research Report will be internally marked by teachers and will contribute to a student’s school-based assessment mark.
Students may be required to refer to parts of their Report during the HSC Science Extension examination.
A copy of each student’s Scientific Research Report must be uploaded to Schools Online by the class teacher in Term 3.
Instructions on the process of uploading the Scientific Research Report will be available under Memos and Documents in Schools Online. The final due date for uploading the Scientific Research Report will be advised each year.
The uploaded Scientific Research Report must comply with the following prescribed parameters. This information about the Scientific Research Report should be read in conjunction with the Science Extension Stage 6 Course Structure and Requirements and Content.
The uploaded Scientific Research Report must be 2500–3000 words. Word limits are indicated for selected components of the Scientific Research Report. The word count is based on all words written, as shown by a computer word count or manual count of each word. In-text referencing or footnotes are NOT included in the word count.
The uploaded Scientific Research Report must be word-processed, with the body text in 12 point Times New Roman or Arial, with 1.5 line spacing.
A footer with the student number and page reference should be included. The student’s name and school must NOT be included.
The Scientific Research Report must be saved and uploaded as a PDF document with the headings listed above. To facilitate access by students and markers, each heading must be set up as a thumbnail. Students may use pictures and can imbed an audio, video or interactive object into the PDF.
Instructions on creating bookmarks and thumbnails and imbedding files can be found at https://helpx.adobe.com/support.html