Students: Please review the following sections: Tips for Entrants, Judging and Awards.
Parents, Teacher and Mentors: Students in grades 9-12 from Cayuga,
Cortland, Madison, Onondaga and Oswego counties are eligible to register for
the GSSSF. Students may work as individuals or as a team of two. At
this time teams are not eligible to be chosen as finalists for the Intel International
Science and Engineering Fair. Be sure your student understands the requirements
for an exhibit and the size limitations. Review all registration forms carefully
and make sure all needed forms with appropriate signatures are submitted. If
your school does not have an Scientific Review Committee (SRC), all projects
requiring advance approval must be submitted to the MOST before experimentation
begins.
You may copy any part of the guidelines. If you have questions, please call the 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 to gsssf@most.org
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
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All projects at the Senior level must comply with International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) Rules. You should obtain a copy of ISEF Rules when you are planning your project. If you school does not have a copy, the booklet is available for $1.25 from:
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 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 all online registration and 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 SRC is Friday, January 26, 2007
NO EXPERIMENTATION CAN BEGIN UNTIL THE SRC APPROVES THE PROJECT.
All students must submit the following forms:
- Registration form
- Form 1: Checklist for Adult Sponsor/Safety Assessment form
- Form 1A: Studnet Checklist
- Form 1B: Approval form
- Research Plan
Projects Requiring Advance Approval
If your project involves any of the following, the additional forms are REQUIRED:
- Human subjects (2 or 4)
- Non-human vertebrate animals (2, 5A or 5B)
- Pathogens, controlled substances, recombinant DNA (2, 3, 6A)
- Human and/or animal tissue (2, 6A or 6B)
- Hazardous substances (2,3)
- Work in an industrial or institutional setting (1C)
- Continuing project (7)
Certain areas of human research are exempt from Institutional Review Board (IRB) review. Research of students under 18 do not need Form 2 (Qualified Scientist) or Form 4B (Informed Consent) for the following:
- Research conducted in established settings (1) involving normal education practices and (2) 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.
Each senior level school is asked to establish its own IRB. The school IRB must include a science teacher; a school administrator; and one more member who could be a physician, registered nurse, psychologist or psychiatrist. In the case of human behavioral research, the third member MUST be a psychologist or psychiatrist.
TIPS FOR ENTRANTS
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The Scientific Method
Scientists follow this method for research projects.
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Purpose: Why are you doing your project? What is the question you want to answer? What is the problem you are trying to solve?
Hypothesis: What do you think your experiment will do? What do you want to prove?
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 your statement of purpose 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, magazine, 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. Accurately record all 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, 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 own 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. Leave a note at your exhibit if you have to leave the area during judging (example-- to use the rest rooms).
Sharing Your Accomplishments
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Your display, abstract (a project summary, usually one paragraph) 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. 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.
Be Prepared!
HAVE FUN!
A reason people become scientists is that doing research and talking to others about it is fun!
Click here to find great tips to help you succeed on your project!
JUDGING
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Judging is conducted in two phases. In the first phase, all exhibits are judged. Judges independently visit each exhibit assigned to their team, examine the projects and interview the students. Each exhibit should take 15 minutes or less. Be brief with your presentation and allow time for questions. At the end of the first phase, the judging teams meet to determine which projects are to be promoted to the second phase. The second phase begins with a brief meeting of the judging team captains where the results of the first phase are reviewed and the second phase of interviews are organized. The team captains visit the second phase exhibits as a group. After the visits are complete, the team captains meet to determine the award winners.
AWARDS
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GSSSF Participation Certificates are given to all students in recognition for their effort in developing research and creating an exhibit.
GSSSF Awards
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 has made an above-average effort in demonstrating a scientific principle.
High Honors: The student shows a good understanding of scientific methodologies. The exhibit, oral presentation and research paper show well-above-average effort, attention to detail and level of interest.
Highest Honors: The student shows a clear, in-depth understanding of scientific methodologies. The exhibit, oral presentation and research paper show superior effort, attention to detail and level of interest.
The following are further GSSSF awards given to superior exhibits:
First and second place will receive a plaque and represent this region at the International Science & Engineering Fair.
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 just a few organizations that have previously given awards:
United States Army
American Chemical Society, Syracuse
United States Air Force
Eastman Kodak
United States Public Health Service
Lockheed Martin
Yale Science and Engineering Association
National Association of Biology Teachers
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.