You may copy any part of the guidelines. If you have questions, please call GSSSF Director Bobbi Alcock at the MOST Education Department at (315) 425-9068 x2146, 9:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m., Tuesday through Friday or e-mail gsssf@most.org
PREPARING A SCIENTIFIC PROJECT
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There are certain procedures that students are expected to follow. All projects must have a research plan and a set of procedures prior to the start of experimentation. The International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) guidelines established for students are nearly identical to those employed by professional scientists. In order to assure that students have followed appropriate and ethical procedures, a number of forms have been developed. BEFORE a project requiring advance approval can begin, the student MUST:
- Complete online registration and all required forms with the needed signatures
- Submit completed forms to the Scientific Review Committee (SRC) at the GSSSF or the school
- Submit any changes to the research plan to the SRC
The deadline for submitting paperwork to the GSSSF's SRC is Friday, February 1, 2008.
NO EXPERIMENTATION CAN BEGIN UNTIL THE SCIENTIFIC REVIEW COMMITEE (SRC) APPROVES THE PROJECT.
Projects Requiring Advance Approval
If your project involves any of the following, a research plan including experiment procedure and survey (if applicable) are also REQUIRED:
- Human subjects, including surveys
- Non-human vertebrate animals
- Pathogens, controlled substances, recombinant DNA
- Human and/or animal tissue
- Hazardous substances
All students must submit the following forms:
- Registration Form
- Checklist for Adult Sponsor/Safety Assessment Form
- Project plan (experimental procedure)
- Surveys (if applicable)
- Written parental permission of human subjects if subjects are under 18.
Certain areas of human research are exempt from SRC review. Research of
students under 18 do not need a Qualified Scientist or Informed
Consent for the following:
- Research conducted in established settings involving normal education practices, and research on individual or group behavior where the investigator does not manipulate the subjects' behavior and the research does not involve stress to subjects;
- Research involving observation of legal public behavior;
- Research involving collection or study of existing publicly available data.
TIPS FOR STUDENTS
The Scientific Method
Scientists follow this method for research projects.
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First, state the following:
A. Purpose: Why are you doing your project? What is the question you want to answer? What is the problem you are trying to solve?
B. Hypothesis: What do you think your experiment will do? What do you want to prove?
Next, design your Procedure:
A. Research: Get background information on your experiment.
B. Experimentation:
- Collect data
- Compare data with theoretical results or a controlled experiment
- Compare data with hypothesis
- Keep accurate records
C. Results: What data did you collect? What are the most important facts you learned from the project?
D. Conclusion: What do your results mean? Can you compare your results to anything else you know? Do your results give you any ideas for future projects?
The Project
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State your purpose simply and clearly. One of the best ways to state your purpose is in the form of a question your experiment will answer. You need to give a clear, simple, concise picture of what you plan to do. Write out the purpose. HINT: Ask a few adults whose judgment you trust to read it and see if each understands your purpose.
Research
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Read first to gather background information for your project. Document material taken from books, magazines, pamphlets, newspapers, videos, television, people and the Internet. Record the title and author; date it was published or broadcast; and company (e.g., publisher, TV station, website address, video producer). HINT:This is your bibliography. What do authorities say about your project? Ask them, but do it AFTER you have learned enough about your project to ask intelligent or appropriate questions. These people are usually very interested in your work and may give you advice to help with your project. HINT: You can find these people at local companies, hospitals, colleges and universities, and professional organizations.
Experimentation
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This is the heart of your project. Plan your experiment carefully. Get approval from an adult before beginning your experiment, even if you are doing it at home. Keep a log book of all your experimentation and acurately record all your results. An important part of doing experiments is to be able to make accurate comparisons. HINT: Whenever possible, use a duplicate set-up called a CONTROLLED EXPERIMENT. Create another set-up just like the one you are using, except for the one factor you are testing. This way, you can compare one thing at a time. Controlled experiments are often used in research projects.
Exhibit Requirements
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An exhibit of a project requires an abstract (a project summary, which is usually one or two paragraphs), visuals (example - exhibit board), a written report with documentation of your research and bibliography, and an oral presentation (about three or four minutes). The maximum space allowed for each exhibit is 48 inches wide by 30 inches deep by 72 inches high (above table top). Photos should be taken of any exhibit that does not fit in this space. Many students will be exhibiting their projects at the fair. Be sure to bring all the supplies you need, including tape, scissors, markers, extension cords and AV equipment. LABEL EVERYTHING with your name and your school's name. Have your written report and several copies of your abstract available. Be prepared to explain your project and answer questions about your project and sources of information (in your bibliography). Be prepared to be at your exhibit until all judging is done.
Sharing Your Accomplishments
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Your display, abstract and your ability to talk and answer questions about your project are very important. Practice talking about your project with others. Judges are very interested in what you are doing and are willing to listen to your explanations. Don't be afraid to ask them questions or for more clarification. This will make you more comfortable during the question-and-answer phase of judging. For some projects, it is easier to explain your results by making charts or illustrations of what happened. HINT: Photographs of your project can be very useful. They can supply data and proof that you have a project, just in case it blows up the day before it is due or the plants you fed special chemicals decide to die or the project is too large for the alloted space.
Be Prepared!
HAVE FUN!
A reason people become scientists is that doing research and talking to others about it is fun!
JUDGING
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An exhibit is expected to demonstrate a scientific principle and the student's understanding of the principle. The following aspects of each exhibit are used to judge how well this expectation is met:
- Written report of project
- Exhibit layout/presentation
- Oral explanation
- Question and answer session
- Understanding of scientific or engineering principles
Judging Procedure
Judges will separately visit each exhibit assigned to their team. They will examine the exhibit, review the written report, listen to your oral presentation and ask you questions. Don't be afraid to ask if you do not understand something they say. At the end of the judging period, each team will meet to determine award winners.
SCIENCE FAIR AWARDS
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The success of a science fair project is judged by a number of standards but should not be measured by the awards a student receives. The goal of taking part in a science fair is the satisfaction of investigating and discovering new things--even if it's new only to you.
GSSSF participation certificates are given to all students by their judges in recognition of their effort in developing a project and creating an exhibit.
GSSSF Awards
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One third to one half of the exhibits will receive a GSSSF award. Three levels of GSSSF awards are given based on the following criteria:
Honors: The student(s) has made an above-average effort in demonstrating
a scientific or engineering principle.
High Honors: The student(s) shows a good understanding of a scientific
or engineering principle. The exhibit, oral presentation and written report show
well-above-average effort, attention to detail and level of interest.
Highest Honors: The student(s) shows a clear, in-depth understanding of
a scientific or engineering principle. The exhibit, oral presentation and written
report show superior effort, attention to detail and level of interest.
Special Awards
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Several organizations present their own awards to students in a variety
of categories. These awards are based on the organization's own criteria. A separate
set of judges select special award winners. The following are examples of organizations
that have previously given awards:
American Chemical Society, Syracuse
United States Air Force
Sigma Xi, Chapter 023
United States Army
Lockheed Martin
United States Public Health Service
Discovery Young Scientist Award
Up to ten percent of students in grades 5-8 exhibiting at the fair will receive the Discovery Young Scientist (DYS) Award. Winners of this award need to complete and submit an application booklet to be considered as a finalist. The application booklet contains essay questions about your science project and interests in science. The national organization will choose 40 finalists to participate in the Discovery Young Scientist Challenge in Washington, DC in the fall, all expenses paid. Finalists will be competing for $40,000 in scholarships and prizes, including a top prize of a $10,000 scholarship.
TIPS FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS
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Parents and teachers play an important role in the science fair process. As you guide and support a student's project, you show that scientific experiments and problem solving are an important part of everyday life. Problem solving is usually associated with science, but it's all around us and it can be fun. While you may assist a young problem solver, please remember that a student's project is his/her own and he/she should do the work. In the end, a project should be something students are proud of because they did it themselves!
In preparing a science fair project, students will go through several steps. Helping your students to plan ahead and set deadlines for each step teaches them skills in planning and organization. The project will be more manageable if students break it down into smaller steps. As a rule of thumb, allow at least one week for each step.
Selecting a Topic: Try to keep it simple. Ask your student what question he or she would like to answer. Use a hobby, sport, toy, book or interest for inspiration.
Purpose and Hypothesis: The purpose is a description of what the student plans to do. The hypothesis is an explanation of what he or she thinks will happen.
Research: Let your student find out about his or her topic by asking professionals in the field, consulting reference books, materials and magazines in a library's children's section, and accessing the Internet. Make suggestions and help your student locate resources.
Experiment: The student should have a plan of exactly what he or she will do. The student should record everything that happens or does not happen as the experiment progresses. The student should vary only one part of the experiment at a time and should do the experiment more than once to verify the results.
FAIR DAY PRESENTATION
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Written Report: This can be one or many pages and it can contain charts, illustrations and photographs. There are three main elements:
- the topic's name, why it was chosen and what the student hoped to find out
- how the student did the experiment and the information that was collected; and
- the conclusion that was reached.
It should also contain a bibliography of the research information.
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Exhibit: A free-standing display board can be purchased inexpensively at most office supply stores. The students can use drawings, photographs, charts or anything else that describes their project visually.
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Oral Presentation: Have the student practice a three-to-four minute presentation about his or her project, including why he or she chose the topic, what the experiment entailed and what was learned. It is a good idea for the student to think of what questions judges may ask. This may help the student be more comfortable during the question phase of judging.
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Judging: Judges want to know how the project was done and what you learned from it. Even if you learned that your idea didn't work, the judges realize that learning from something that didn't work is just as important as learning from something that did.
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If you are a registering exhibitor go to and print the Registration Checklist to help with the registration process. The above links will take you back to the museum's regular Web Site.