Background Research

For the Science Expo you need to write your descriptive document. The document provides others with vital information on what your project is about as well as its effect on your understanding of the topic. There is no specific length of the document; it should be long enough to cover all necessary information and the required items. This document provides you with the opportunity to think about all the aspects of our project and share your ideas with others. Refer to the example documents on my website for help.  You MUST have a paper copy for your judge on presentation day. 

• • • Your descriptive document should be neatly bound in an attractive binder. 

    • It must be typewritten. Written in past tense. 

    • Double spaced (except for abstract). 1 inch margins and 12 pt, Times New Roman Font

    • Remember to put headings/titles on graphs/charts/tables, page numbers should be included(Insert, Page Number)  

    • All photographs must have captions explaining their significance

    • Before you hand in your document make sure to reread, revise, and rewrite.  Recheck your calculations, spelling, and grammar.

    • Do not use pronouns. EX: I, me, they, it, everything, ect.  BE SPECIFIC!! For example: Instead of “I” use “the researcher” or “the scientist” or reword your sentence.  Instead of “it” tell us what “it” is. 

    • If it does not say “this is its own page”, then the topics are on the same page: one after the other. 

    • NO personal opinions, such as “I enjoyed this experiment”.  This document should contain only facts.

    • No abbreviations. EX: mins. should be minutes 

A very important part of solving any scientific problem is finding as much information as you can about what you are testing. Learning about your topic will help you make a better hypothesis and procedure because you will have a better understanding about what you are testing. A good understanding of your topic will also help you to know WHY your experiment turned out the way it did. 

What to look for during Research:

1. Information about what you are testing: look up anything related to your topic, what factors will affect your topic, how does it work, have there been similar studies and what did they find out

Ex- If you are doing a project about plants; you should research what plants need to grow, how does photosynthesis work, a scientific journal on the amount of water and plant height

Ex- If you are testing what happens when you mix vinegar and baking soda; you should research what is in vinegar, what is baking soda, why do they react the way that do together, what is vinegar and baking soda made of

Ex- If you are testing something with batteries or electricity; you should research why/how batteries/electricity work, how do circuits work, types of batteries 

2. Information on How to do your Test

See if there is any information that would help you with your procedure.

3. You should have at least 3 different sources

At least one source should be a credible scientific article. Examples include: text books, interviews, scientific journals, published articles/books, science magazines, news articles, or other written text (these sources can be found online) 

All documents for a Science Expo project should include the following in this order:

✓ Title Page: The first page in your document should include the title of the project (Format: The effect of the IV on the DV) as well as the name of the student, Ms. House’s class, and 9th grade. This is its own page. Can be larger than size 12 font. 

✓Introduction: 

• Begin the opening paragraph with a few sentences containing supporting information about your topic. For a scientific research document, you can begin with a discussion of the significance of your study.  Tell them why this experiment is beneficial to society. 

• Consider other "starters" for your first sentence of the introduction.  Anecdotes, quotations, recent debates, or timely news stories can also be compelling ways to begin a research document. You can also introduce certain topics by comparing or contrasting 2 people, events, or ideas.  

• Continue your introduction by acquainting your audience with the major points of your document and your objectives and results of your experiment in the order they will appear in the document. This lets the reader know what to expect. 

• Place the thesis statement (hypothesis) in the final sentence of your introduction’s first paragraph. 

• Read your introduction, and then read your conclusion. Make sure there is a fluid transition between them. They should be similar. 

• Use in-text citations if you are referencing facts you found in your research.

✓ Hypothesis: You must have a hypothesis before you complete the project. A hypothesis is an educated guess about what you think will occur as a result from completing your experiment. 

• FORMAT of the hypothesis:  If (change made in the IV), then (DV will respond by doing what).

✓ Background Research: This is the part of the document that contains all the background information that you collected about your topic. Any books or articles read from the internet/journal, authorities on the topic that you talked to, or outside materials collected should be summarized in this section. 

• This section should be written in your own words and NOT copied from your sources. Refer to the background information page for more directions. 

• Use in-text citations. Refer to the MLA handout I gave you or your English MLA handout on how to do in-text citations.  

• Should include information from all three of the sources from your research. 

✓ Materials: This is a list of all the materials and supplies used in the project. Quantities and amounts of each should also be indicated. Brands/types should be listed as well. 

✓ Procedure: You will list and describe the steps you took to complete the project. It is listed in a numbered sequence. This part shows the stages of the project so that another person can carry out the experiment exactly the same as you.  

• Make sure it is very detailed. 

• Identify the independent variable, the dependent variable, the constants, and the control of the experiment in the procedure.

• No pronouns

✓ Observations and Results: In this section, you will tell what you learned from the project. This is a detailed description of all your results.  

• It is also IMPORTANT to include all graphs, charts, or other visual data (pictures), with labels, that helps to show your results.  Graphs and charts must be labeled. (x, y, title)

• Include all the numerical data as sentences.  Numbers less than 10 should be written out. 

✓ Analysis: In this portion, it explains why your project turned out the way it did. 

• It should offer an answer to the student's original purpose/question.

• You should explain why the events you observed occurred. Using the word “because” is a good way to turn an observation into a conclusion. EX: WHY was it the best or worst 

• You could also add what you know now that you didn’t know before you completed your project.

• Any sources of error and future improvements to the experiment should be explained. 

• Any further research into this experiment should also be discussed.   

✓ Conclusion : This is a summary of your project 

• This should mirror your introduction.

• The conclusion should tell whether the hypothesis was proven or not proven. 

• Give the reason(s) why you chose to learn more about the subject. 

✓ Works Cited Page: The works cited should list all the printed materials the student used to carry out the project. Items should be listed in alphabetical order in a standard format. *9th Graders, check out your MLA handout from Mrs. White or on her website! Her website is a great place to go to find the proper way of writing a works cited page.  This is its own page.