Project Title 1

Sample Research Paper
Title
The title should be less than ten words and should reflect the factual content of the paper. Scientific titles are not designed to catch the reader's fancy. A good title is straightforward and uses keywords that researchers in a particular field will recognize.
Name(s)
STEM Project
January 19, 2013
Table of Contents
Abstract1
Introduction 2
Materials and methods4
Results – Data collected5
Discussion7
References11
Abstract

The purpose of an abstract is to allow the reader to judge whether it would serve his or her purposes to read the entire report. A good abstract is a concise (less than 250 words) summary of the purpose of the report, the data presented, and the author's major conclusions. The wording must be written in a manner that any scientifically minded individual, who may not be familiar with the topic, can quickly understand the projects important points. Do not use pronouns when writing the abstract. Refer to yourself or team members as “the researchers”. Refer to your experiment as “the investigation” or “the experiment.” Specifically, below are some guidelines to help you write an abstract. Summarize each of the following a 1 or 2 sentences:

1. The purpose of the experiment - The problem that was investigated

hypothesis or technological design statement.

2. procedural summary - A brief description of materials and methods used in the actual experimentation.

3. data Summary of the results obtained from experimentation.

4. The conclusions drawn form results including statement as to whether the hypothesis was validated or not validated.

Do not be concerned with including all of the details in the abstract. The key point to remember when writing an abstract is to keep the wording brief and concise. Use complete sentences. Avoid personal pronouns like I and My. Abstracts should provide only information essential to understand the projects basic points and importance. Omit needless words, especially adjectives and adverbs that have no statistical reference or validity. Please note, your abstract will probably not fill a whole page, like this example. Please begin the intro after the abstract.

Introduction

The introduction defines the subject of the report. It must outline the scientific purpose(s) or objective(s) for the research performed and give the reader sufficient background to understand the rest of the report. Care should be taken to limit the background to whatever is pertinent to the experiment. A good introduction will answer several questions, including the following:

  1. Why was this study performed? Answers to this question may be derived from observations of nature or from the literature. This includes the question you asked.
  2. What knowledge already exists about this subject? The answer to this question must review the literature, showing the historical development of an idea and including the confirmations, conflicts, and gaps in existing knowledge. Use the background research your team did here.
  3. What are some of the scientific terms specific to the subject?
  4. What is the specific purpose of the study? The specific hypotheses and experimental design pertinent to investigating the topic should be described.
  5. Why was this investigation important or interesting?
  6. What were the objectives of the research and how did the investigation fill holes in knowledge?
  7. What was the method of investigation and why was it selected?
  8. What were the principle results and conclusions of the investigation?

Materials and Methods

As the name implies, the materials used in the experiments should be reported in this section. The difficulty in writing this section is to provide enough detail for the reader to understand the experiment without overwhelming him or her. When procedures from a book or another report are followed exactly, simply cite the work, noting that details can be found in that particular source. However, it is still necessary to describe special pieces of equipment and how they are used. This can usually be done in a short paragraph, possibly along with a drawing or photo of the experimental apparatus. Generally, this section attempts to answer the following questions:

  1. What materials were used? List them
  2. How were they used? Give specifics if necessary
  3. Where and when was the work done? (This question is most important in field studies.)

Results

The results section should summarize the data from the experiments without discussing their implications. The data should be organized into tables, figures, graphs, photographs, and so on. Data must include SI units (meters, grams, liters.) All figures and tables should have descriptive titles and should include a legend explaining any symbols, abbreviations, or special methods used. Figures and tables should be numbered separately and should be referred to in the text by number, for example:

  1. Figure 1 shows that the activity decreased after five minutes.
  2. The activity decreased after five minutes (fig. 1).

Figures and tables should be self-explanatory; that is, the reader should be able to understand them without referring to the text. All columns and rows in tables and axes in figures should be labeled. This section of your report should concentrate on general trends and differences and not on trivial details.

Discussion

This section should not just be a restatement of the results but should emphasize interpretation of the data, relating them to existing theory and knowledge. Includeobservations that cannot be added to the compiled data, and explanations of outliers in the data, and possible errors. Speculation is appropriate, if it is so identified.

Suggestions for the improvement of techniques or experimental design may also be included. In writing this section, you should explain the logic that allows you to accept or reject your original hypothesis. State why your findings are or are not important. How do they relate to the real world, or how can this new information be helpful. In other words, why does your experiment and the results matter? (The judges will ask you this.) You should also be able to suggest future experiments that might clarify areas of doubt in your results.

Finally, I realize that this is a science class and not an English class, but please try and write the best paper possible. Two of the most important things you can do are: 1) proofread your paper, and 2) Ask a friend, parent, or sibling to proofread your paper. The following list provides some general comments about typical errors students make when writing science research papers:

1. All scientific names (Genus and species) must be italicized, capitalize Genus, lowercase species name.

2. Use the metric system for all measurements. If you did not record your data in the metric system that is alright. Just convert your numbers to the metric system in your lab notebook, and then report the metric numbers in your paper and on your trifold board. If you need help, there are automatic conversion calculators online which are quick and easy to use.)

3. “No naked numbers.” Report proper units. Abbreviations of units are used without period following them. “24 m” not “24 m.” for 24 meters

4. Be aware that the word data is plural while datum is singular. This affects the choice of a correct verb. The word species is used both as a singular and as a plural.

5. Numbers should be written as numerals when they are greater than ten or when they are associated with measurements; for example, 6 mm or 2 g,whereas, two explanations or six factors would have the numbers written out. When a list contains numbers over and under ten, all numbers in the list may be expressed as numerals; for example, 17 sunfish, 13 bass, and 2 trout. Never start a sentence with numerals. Spell all numbers that are at the beginning of sentences.

6. Be sure to divide paragraphs correctly and to use starting and ending sentences that indicate the purpose of the paragraph. A report or a section of a report should not be one long paragraph. The only exception is your abstract.

8. Avoid using the first person, I or we, in writing. Keep your writing impersonal, in the third person. Instead of saying, "We weighed the pennies and put them in a jar," write, "The pennies were weighed and put in a jar."

9. Avoid the use of slang and do not use contractions. In other words write “do not” instead of “don’t.”

10. Be consistent in the use of tense throughout a paragraph--do not switch between past and present. Your English teacher may prefer that you write in the present tense on essays, but for a science paper it is best to use past tense.

Conclusions:

This is a brief, final summary of the conclusions drawn from your discussion.

After writing a report, read it over, watching especially for ambiguity. Each sentence should present a clear message. While proof reading think about what you wrote to ensure it is easily understandable.

References

This section lists all the internet sources, articles, or books you referred to when doing your research. The reference list should begin on a new page with the word reference centered at the top. The listing should be alphabetized by the last names of the authors. Use the following to format references:

For Internet sources: Author’s last name, first and middle initials. “Title of article.” Name of home website. Date listed. if any, that the article was published on the site. Date you accessed the article.<URL in brackets>.

For example:

Reuben, Paul P. “Chapter 10: Late Twentieth Century--Eudora Welty.” Perspectives in American Literature: A Research and Reference Guide. 24 July 2001. 9 Nov. 2001 <

For articles: Author’s last name, first and middle initials. Date of publication. Title of article. Journal name in italics volume number: page numbers.

For example:

Fox, J. W. 1988. Nest-building behavior of the catbird, Dumetella carolinensis. Journal of Ecology 47: 113-17.

For Books: Author’s last name, first and middle initials. Date of publication. Title of book. City of publication: Publisher name.

For example:

Bird, W.Z. 1990. Ecological aspects of fox reproduction. Berlin: Guttenberg Press.

Please note, the following page lists the above examples as they should appear in a paper.

References

Bird, W.Z. 1990. Ecological aspects of fox reproduction. Berlin: Guttenberg Press.

Fox, J. W. 1988. Nest-building behavior of the catbird, Dumetella carolinensis. Journal of Ecology 47: 113-17.

Reuben, Paul P. “Chapter 10: Late Twentieth Century--Eudora Welty.” Perspectives in American Literature: A Research and Reference Guide. 24 July 2001. 9 Nov. 2001 <

Notice, the references are alphabetized. Double spaced. Entries that take up more than one line are indented. Please also pay attention to periods, colons, and date notations.