All parts Due: February 13, 2007 (Except research plan)

Your topic in sixth grade is “How Things Work?” This may be about anything mechanical or living. This is not just a research paper. You need to pick a topic that you can do an experiment with. Ex. How the Eye Works. You can do an experiment on optimal lighting the eye sees best at. Create a log and detail all experimentation and create a table.  Be creative and have a thorough and interesting experiment.

Research Plan: (Due December 18, 2006)
Provide a typed research plan. The research plan is one to two paragraphs to include the following:

• Question: being addressed
• Hypothesis of Problem/Engineering Goals
• Description in detail of method or procedures (including chemical concentrations.) For human research, include survey or questionnaires if used, and critically evaluate the risk. (Ask for instructions for animal or human research) For vertebrate animal research you must briefly discuss potential alternatives and present a detailed justification for use of vertebrate animals. (Ask for help.)
• Bibliography: List at least 10 major references (e.g. science journal articles, books, internet sites) from your library search. If you plan to use vertebrate animals, give an additional animal care reference.

Abstract:

This is a short summary of the entire project. It must include a purpose, procedure and results in a paragraph form. You should limit yourself to no more than 250 words. The abstract is usually the first item the judges look at after the title. The purpose of the experiment is to find out which soap works best in removing ketch up stains. Ketchup stains of the same size were placed on pieces of cotton. Soap X and soap V were used to wash the stained cotton several times. In each case, soap X cleaned the pieces of cotton twice as fast as soap V. The hardness of the water may have affected the results. It would be interesting to find out if the results would be the same with different types of stains from other substances.

Writing the Abstract:

An abstract is a written summary of the major findings of your research project, even if you have not written an investigative research paper. At the Fair (Regional, State, ISEF) the project abstract has to be on display and available to the judges. General guidelines for Science Fair Abstracts:

•The entire Abstract is written as a single paragraph of 250 words or less.
•Use complete sentences with correct grammar, spelling and punctuation
•State the objective, hypothesis, results, and conclusions clearly and concisely.
•Do not describe detailed experimental procedures. If necessary, specify the general names for the
experimental method (examples: paper chromatography, spectroscopy...)
•Do not describe past research, only current findings.
•Use the third person voice and past tense in describing what was done. (Example: “The number of
amoebas per cubic centimeter were counted is correct, but not “1 counted the amoebas in a cubic centimeter...”
•Use present tense to state facts, findings, or conclusions. (example: “These results show that...”)

Report : A good research report should include all of the following: (You need a hard copy and a soft copy e-mailed to me.)

Report Length: Your report should be at least 5 pages including the Title pages, reference page and bibliography. Written in l2pt font, Times New Roman or Ariel only. Double spaced.

•Title Page: Create a Title page including names, date, school name, Science Fair Report, grade. You may use a bold and larger font with a picture on the Title page.

•First Page of Report: Title-Centered at top. No page number. Introduction of the report should be thorough and interesting the reader to read further. An explanation of your idea and reason why you picked the topic.

•Thorough discussion of How the item or process works: Self produced detailed pictures or diagrams help the reader understand the concept. (Do not copy & paste your pictures or diagrams.) You can build a model and take pictures to be added to your display later or draw your own diagrams. (Pages 2-5 should be numbered in the header area at the top right hand side of report.)

•Experiment or demonstration of your topic: You must create a simple experiment to see how it works, using the scientific method to explain your findings. (Purpose, Research, Hypothesis, Experiment, Analysis and possibly a conclusion.) One year, some students recreated a Catapult & experimented on how far it would throw by using different weights. Results were recorded and tables of results were made. This made the report more alive and understanding.

•Conclusion: Summarize your results and explanations. Do not keep the reader hanging.

Discuss your findings and results. Perhaps what you would do different next time if you worked on the same project.

•Reference Page or Footnotes: In order to give credit to the book that you got the info from, you may use footnotes at the bottom of the page, or use a separate reference page that is placed before the bibliography. Use a superscript number after the sentence or paragraph you reference. A superscript is the tiny number that hangs above a letter. Like in H20.

•Acknowledgements: You should also give credit and thanks for people who helped you in your research, and funding of projects.

•Bibliography: There needs to be at least 10 sources. 3 sources need to be from a hard source. This includes books, magazines, encyclopedias, etc. The other 2 sources can be anything, internet, interviews, books, software, etc. Please use your knowledge of writing a bibliography from the library, or you may use any standardized way of writing a bibliography such as MLA, APA, etc. (Do a search on bibliographies using any search engine for help.

•Bind the report: The report looks much more professional when it is nicely bound in a report cover.

You want to attract and inform. Make it easy for interested spectators and judges to assess your study and the results you have obtained. Make the most of your space using clear and concise displays. Make headings stand out, and draw graphs and diagrams clearly and label them correctly.

•A Good Title: Your title is an extremely important attention-grabber. A good title should simply and accurately present your research. The title should make the casual observer want to know more.

•Take Photographs: Many projects involve elements that may not be safely exhibited at the fair, but are an important part of the project. You might want to take photographs of important parts/phases of your experiment to use in your display. Photographs o other visual images of human test subjects must have informed consent forms signed. Also, if you use any photographs that you did not take, they must have a reference typed on them.

•Be Organized: Make sure your display is logically presented and easy to read. A glance should permit anyone (particularly the judgesO to locate quckly the title, experiments, results, and conclusions. When you arrange your display, imagine that you are seeing it for the first time.

•Eye-Catching: Make your display stand out. Use neat, colorful headings, charts, and graphs to present your project. Home-built equipment, construction paper, and colored makers are excellent for project displays. Pay special attention to the labeling of graphs, charts, diagrams, and tables. Each item must have a descriptive title. Anyone should be able to understand the visuals without furter explanation. Correctly Presented and Well Constructed. Be sure to adhere to the size limitations and safety rules when preparing your display. Display all required forms for your project. Make sure your display is sturdy as it will need to remain intact for quite a while. Recommendations for Poster Display: Please make sure that your poster complies with the safety and display regulations). Remember to include a copy of your abstract on your board.

Maximum Size: 30” in. Deep 48” in. Wide, 72” in. High,
Do not list sponsors
Do not post acknowledgements
Designate source of images (i.e. Photo take by student, book, magazine, website, etc.)
Poster size can be maximum of 3 feet wide, 2.5 feet deep and 7 feet high (Including table height of 30” in.
Electricity: Only provided if it is a necessity to the project, e.g., you have designed a computer program and need to run it for judging day. You will need to have a 20 foot extension cord if you need electricity. We must be made aware of this requirement well ahead of time.

Items for Display or Props: All items must fit in your designated area. Your poster should speak for your project. You can have pictures/visuals on the board that pertain directly to your project and should have captions under these pictures/charts, etc. It is our recommendation that students should only bring items essential to the explanation of the project and all of these items need a label/caption. If you have created something larger than the display space provided, then video the device working and bring a TV/VCR to run the video or, take a series of pictures of the device working and include these in your notebook or on your board. Be concise. Content counts no the amount or size of items in your display! Items of Value: Do not leave items of value with your projects. We are not responsible for any items that are lost, stolen or broken. Papers and Abstracts. In addition to a poster, our fair requires a paper and an abstract for your display area. Bring these items on Set-up day. Please read the handout from the Society for Technical Communications (STC for writing technical papers (the STC gives out substantial awards every year for papers.

Data Book:

This should be a log and collection of all your experimentations. This raw data is what you need to compile charts, and access results.