Final Draft of Research Paper - Guidelines
Page 1: Title page - project name and name of student(s)
Page 2: Abstract (see Science Fair packet for details)
Page 3: Table of Contents
Page 4: Introduction - What is the project and why are you doing it?
a. Background information and significance of the experiment- what sorts of observations, previous science experiments, etc... led you to your experiment. What is important about your experiment? Can it be used for you or for society in some way?
b. Purpose - what exactly is the point of your experiment?
c. Problem - what is the specific problem you are trying to solve or question you are trying to answer?
d. Hypothesis - What do you think is going to happen and why?
Page 5+: Experiment (Test)
a. Material - what materials did you use? May want to include diagrams of how you used them.
b. Methods (Procedure) - describe the procedure, step by step, for your experiment. Refer back to material diagrams if necessary.
Page 6+: Data and Results
a. Data tables, graphs, pictures - all should be labeled (ie. Figure 1, Table 1, etc...) with a caption underneath that explains what the table, graph, or picture is showing. (Ex. Figure 1: As time went on, student A picked up less beads than student B)
Page 7+: Discussion
a. Explain your results - refer back to your figures and tables to explain what happened in your experiment.
b. Refer back to your hypothesis - are you going to accept or reject your hypothesis? why?
Page 8+: Conclusion
a. Explicitly state what your results mean for your experiment
b. Explain how these results may be important for you, society, etc...
c. What sorts of problems did you encounter that might have altered your experiment? How can you fix them in the future?
d. What further experiments can be done to elaborate on what you've found?
Page 9+: Bibliography - include any and all sources (including pictures) in APA format (see webpage for details)
**Report should be bound with a report cover or binder
**If students used people for their experiment, names must not be used