Graph Guidelines

About Graphs

A good graph helps the reader understand the data you have collected at a glance. If the graph is too complicated, it will not accomplish this task.

Graph Guidelines:

All graphs should be computer-generated
Make sure that you use a type of graph that is appropriate for your data. For instance, a pie graph should only be used when denoting percentages or pieces of a whole. (Often, a bar graph will illustrate the same concept more clearly - I find pie graphs messy.). Anytime the independent variable is time (hours, days, minutes, seconds, etc.) or different amounts of the same variable (such as different concentrations of a solution), an XY scatter graphis appropriate. Most of the graphs you make for science fair should be XY scatter or bar.
Be sure that the units on the graph are scaled so that they are appropriate (the computer usually does this automatically for you) for the graph. You might sometime have to manipulate the axes units so that your graph more clearly shows whether there is a significant difference.
Be sure that your graph has a title. A good guideline would be. "The dependence of <dependent variable> on <independent variable>".
Be sure to label both axes and use appropriate metric units in the labels.
Three-dimensional graphs are generally harder to read and distracting for the reader -- don't use them except if one of your data points on a bar graph is zero - in this case, a 3-dimensional graph will show the zero more clearly.
While it is okay to use some color in your graphing, try not to use too many colors or patterns --they are distracting.
If you do use color, be consistent. Use the same colors for each graph.
A narrative text summarizing the most important elements of the graph is really helpful. "This graph shows.., Notice that.., This suggests..." might be good sentence starters for a narrative text.

Your experiment may require you to make several different graphs. Try to use summary graphs on your backboard - you don't want to overwhelm the reader with a sea of graphs. Save the other graphs for your paper.

About Abstracts

An abstract is a mini summary of your entire project. It is meant to be a SHORT summary, several paragraphs at most. A good abstract is almost like a book review. It includes a purpose and hypothesis, an abbreviated procedure, summary data and results, and a conclusion. (If you have space, you may add whether or not your hypothesis was supported.)

Abstract Guidelines:

You should write your abstract AFTER you have completed experimentation.
The abstract should ALWAYS be written in third person. The majority of the abstract should be in past tense, except for background information, and, at times, the conclusion.
The abstract should be no longer than 250 words.

Sample Abstract 1

Studies have revealed that reused plastic water bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (pET) plastic leach chemicals into the water they contain.

This experiment studied the effect of reused plastic water bottles on duckweed (Lemna minor). Duckweed is a flowering monocot plant. Thefrond number and size of the duckweed acted as an indicator of normal or stressed development.

In this experiment, duckweed fronds were placed in sterile Petri dishes containing spring water and astandard sizedpieceof plastic cut from a used water bottle that had been exposed to one of three variables: heat,ultraviolet lightor manual pressure. There were four dishes, each containing 10 fronds,per variable. Positive controls contained plastic from a new bottle. Negative controls contained no plastic as to indicate normal duckweed growth.Labeled dishes wereset on a large windowsill for three weeks.Frond numberwas recorded every three days.

Chi-squared tests indicated that the difference in frond number between the controls and plastic samples exposed to both heat and UV light proved to be significant. Difference in number between controls and plastic subjected to manual pressure did not prove to be significant. Although the results for heat and UV were significant, the difference in number showed that plastic exposed to UV light and heat may actually help the growth of duckweed rather than have an adverse effect. Therefore, the original hypothesis that the reused plastic would have an adverse effect on the growth of duckweed was completely rejected.

Writinga background research paper

You must research that topic thoroughly so that you have a good understanding of the science behind it.

Once you have done some careful research, you are to write a short paper on your findings. This paper is important because it shows me that you have some knowledge about your topic. It is also important because you will take the entire body of the paper and insert it into your final. Here are some guidelines:

This preliminary paper should be about two pages in length - most of you will have no problem filling two pages with important and relavent information. If you are having trouble filling two pages, then maybe the topic you chose is not sophisticated enough and you had better re-think this topic.
It should be double spaced with 1 inch margins in New Times Roman font
Don't use any flowery adjectives or creative writing - this is a SCIENCE paper - get to the point!
The ENTIRE paper should be written in third person.
The paper doesn't necessarily have to flow - if you have researched several subjects that seem unrelated, you may put them in separate sections, each with their own heading.
Begin the paper by explaining the purpose of the project
End the written portion of the paper by re-iterating the purpose and proposing a hypothesis, based on all of the information that you have collected

Writing your Final Paper

Once you have completed your experimentation and analyzed your data, if is time to write your final paper.

General Guidelines

Your paper should be typed on white paper, using one inch margins and size 12 font (New Times Roman or another traditional font). The entire paper should be double spaced, with the exception of the abstract, which may be single spaced and inset. Your pages should be numbered, and you should follow the APA format. The entire paper should be written in third person. Overall, the paper should flow

Your final paper should contain the following sections:

CoverPage

Your cover page should contain the title of your paper in the center of the page.

You should include a table of contents. You may have more than one section on a page - that is ok, since your paper should flow.

Abstract (half a page)

Insert a final copy of your abstract after the table of contents. It may be single spaced.Begin the introduction on the next page.

Introduction (2 pages)

Your introduction should be in paragraph form. It should include a purpose and rationale for the project, background information (you should be able to cut and paste your entire background research paper), and a hypothesis

Materials and Methods

This section is basically an explanation of yourprocedure. It should be in paragraph form and in past tense (since you already did the experiment). You donot have to list all of yourmaterials, but you may want to explain the any special materials or instrumentation that youused.You should also include photographs your took during your procedure, diagrams, and/or pictures taken from websites (don't forget to cite all photos, diagrams, or pictures).

Data

This section should include summaries, in table form, of your data. You may include table for each of your trials if you wish, but if you have a lot of data, you should probably just includea table containing theaverages of your trials. You should also include your graphs in this section. Generally, summary graphs or graphs of your averages work best, but if you are trying to express a specific point, you may want to include additional graphs. Each graph should meet my specifications (see About Graphs) and have a narrative text. Graphs should be imbedded into the body of the paper - they should not be separate pages. If you used some type of statistical analysis (such as a t-test or ANOVA test), you should have a table that shows the p-value for these tests. You should include the mathematical formula and an explanation for any statistical test that you used (you may do this in the data section, or in the discussion).

Discussion (or Analysis)

It is sometimes difficult to determine what information belongs in a discussion (or analysis) and what belongs in a conclusion. My personal feeling is that as long as you include certain key points of information in one or the other, you will be okay. A written explanation of your data and observations. Include the results of and explanation forany statistical analysis you have performed

A comparison of your results to work that has been previously done and/or to expected results
A detailed explanation as to why your hypothesis was supported or rejected. (Many publications use the word "prove" - I would recommend that you do not use this word.)
An explanation of any inconsistencies in the data, possible errors, or uncontrollable events that may have affected your data
An explanation of what you would do differently if you were to repeat this project

Conclusion

Briefly restate your purpose or question, and then answer that question.
Discuss what value your work has to the scientific world and to society.
Mention new questions your investigation led you to ask.
State which areas, based on your results, you recommend for further study.

References

The reference page should be in MLA format