Science Fair Research Paper Guidelines
Hello! It’s Miss Butler again, your good ol’ OHS Science Fair Coordinator, wanting to inform you about the second major step of the Science Fair process. Now that your topic selection has been approved, it’s time to write your science fair research paper. The purpose of this background research paper is for you to become more familiar with your topic and provide necessary information to others in order for them to fully understand your project. While doing your research, you may find that you need to tweak your hypothesis or procedures based upon enlightening information you come across. So, make time to head to the library, call the experts, and explore the internet to do your scientific research! J
Want to create an excellent research paper? Here’s how!
1. Find all the necessary subtopics you must research to find important and sufficient background information
a. What’s the HISTORY of your topic? (any important timeframes in history? Inventions? Scientists? Technology? …etc!)
b. What’s the SCIENCE behind your topic? (physics? Chemistry? Biology? Processes? Compounds? Reactions? Concepts? Laws? Theories? …etc!)
c. What’s the MATH within your project? (equations? Graphs? Data? Statistics? Theorems? …etc!)
d. Think about all aspects of your topic and ANY other subtopic that would generate interest and give an informative outlook on your project. Then, research it!
2. Find multiple sources to research.
a. Internet
i. Learn HOW to Google! Don’t put an entire question in the search box! Just search major terms or phrases
ii. Online Science Journals are awesome because they’ve been peer-reviewed!
iii. Check your sites. Stay away from “.com’s”. Use “.org”, “.edu”, “.gov”. You want to find information from CREDIBLE sources!
1. Wikipedia is NOT ok…anybody can post on there. No, online encyclopedias and/or dictionaries are not considered valid resources. Askjeeves, Ask.com, Bing, Google are Search Engines…NOT resources!
b. Experts in the Field
i. Call that veterinarian! Doctor! Research scientist! Nurse! Business owner! Factory!
ii. Interview the person either ‘in person’ or on the phone. Take good notes and quotes! J
c. Books
i. Books STILL exist…yes, real ones! Use them J
1. No encyclopedias or dictionaries.
2. Newspapers and scientific magazines are excellent sources.
3. Use your words.
a. Cite all thoughts that are not originally yours!
i. Save time by using a separate page (or index card) of notes for each source. Note the source on top of a page (or the side of an index card). Then, paraphrase notes (summarize notes in your own words) only from that source using a bulleted/chunking system. Bullet phrases/notes. Chunk similar notes together. You’ll be able to easily write and cite your information within the text when you know where it originally came from!
Alrighty, folks! It’s time to start that research! You’ve got the info you need to be successful. So, get ready…set…GO!!!
Have a blast with your research! Enjoy the Learning Journey!!! J