Organizing  Your Work | Preliminary Research | Extensive Research |
Note taking and Outlining | Rough Draft | Final Draft | Bibliography | Related Web sites

1. CREATE A SCIENCE FOLDER:  In this folder you will keep all the information you collect regarding your project and the research that goes with it.   Create a calendar and set deadlines with your teacher and/or parents.

2. PRELIMINARY RESEARCH: Once you have chosen your topic, you need to do some research so that you can make your hypothesis.  Remember, a hypothesis is an educated guess.  Your research will give you that "education."  You make look in books, or do an online search.
Some kid friendly sites are:
Yahooligans  or Ask Jeeves for Kids

Here are some other sites you can go to.
Ask An Expert
Internet Public Library :  Science Net
Scienz Fair Research Links
Science Links
Tools for Your Research

Keep the information you find  and the list of resources you used.  You will need this information to write your research paper if your teacher requires one. Keep a numbered list of your resources so you can use it later for note taking and for your bibliography. 
IMPORTANT:   If you copy something out of a book that you don't take out of the library, or you have to return a book to the library, make sure you get all the bibliographic information because you will need it later on. 

3. EXTENSIVE RESEARCH:After you have narrowed your subject down to the topic you have chosen, you now have to do research to find out as much as you can about the topic.  The more informed you are, the better your experiment will be.   Pick three related topics that will help you with your experiment. 
Examples:

• If your experiment is "Does Fat Keep An Animal Warm?", you might want to research such topics as  "whale blubber", "insulation",  and "animal adaptation".
• If your experiment is "Does Music Affect Plant Growth?", you might want to research such topics as "plant growth", "tropism", and "sound frequency."
• If your experiment is "What Type of Soda is Most Dense?", you might want to research such topics as "density", "sinking and floating", and "the different ingredients in regular soda, diet soda, and caffeine free soda." 

As you use resources, add them to your numbered list of your resources so you can use it later for note taking and for your bibliography. 

4. NOTE TAKING and OUTLINING:
Use any method that works for you:

• Index cards  - each color coded for each subtopic of your report. 
Hint:  Take a bunch of cards and hold them together.  Take a marker and run it over the top of the stack.   Or you can just put a dot on the corner of each card.  Somewhere on your folder, keep a "key" so you know what each color means. 
• Notebook paper (each labeled with the name of the subtopic.) 
• Note taking grid (click here to see a sample.)

HELPFUL HINTS WHEN NOTE TAKING:

Read an encyclopedia article first so you have a broad idea of what the topic is about and what is important if you read a longer book.  Read through the whole article first before you start taking notes,

Write down the information that is related to your topic. 

Try to summarize the information in your own words so it makes sense. 

DO NOT try to write down every word. 

Write down the main ideas, content, and information. 

Develop your own way of abbreviating words BUT don't use abbreviations if you don't know what they abbreviate.

Separate notes by skipping lines, numbering them, or bullet them so they are easy to read later.

Leave room next to each note in case you want to add information later. 

Here are some web sites that might help you if you're in an upper grade:  Taking Notes and Taking Notes From Texts

• Put your notes together before you make your outline.
• Make a topic outline that will be the framework of your report.
• Keep it simple.  Use main ideas and not complete sentences.
• Here is a web site that will help you:  How To Write An Outline

5. ROUGH DRAFT:  Start your rough draft.  You may do this in your science notebook/journal or on a disk.  Keep the disk in your folder. 
 

• Organize your notes. If you using index cards, put them in order.  If you are using sheets of notes, put them together.
• Write your report, following your outline, and putting in facts from your notes.   If you didn't put your notes in your own words, make sure you do now.  Remember, if you copy someone else's words, its called plagiarism and it's against the law.
• As you use a note, check it off.
• Reread your report. 
•  Edit it for grammatical and spelling mistakes.
•  Does it make sense?   Is it in a logical order?  If you need to move, revise, and/or delete parts. 
•  Does it give you enough information to conduct your science fair project satisfactorily?
•  You may need to go back to your notes or resources and get more information. 
• Edit your rough draft and then turn it into your teacher if (s)he request it.

6. FINAL DRAFT: Your final draft should include the following components:

• Cover (related to topic and designed to capture the reader's attention)
• Title Page (centered)
Student's Name
Grade and Teacher
School's Name
City, State, Zip code
Date (of fair or when project is handed in )
• Dedication (a simple acknowledgment of the people who helped you on the project.
• Table of contents 
• Purpose (an opening paragraph)   It clearly and briefly states why you chose this topic to research and what your goals and objectives were for creating this science fair project. 
• Content (the three subtopics you researched).  Information should be relevant to topic.
Each subtopic should start a new page.  This part should be about 5-10 pages long.  Check with your teacher for exact amount.
• Closing  A paragraph that summarizes your report and tells how your research helped you reach the goals of your purpose
• Illustrations You may want to include pictures, graphs, tables, photos, etc.  (either copies of ones on your display board or different ones).
• Bibliography Check with your teacher for a copy of the correct bibliographic format required. Click here to find a copy of the one we use in our school district. There are also many resources on the Internet if your school doesn't have its own format.   Try this one at Long Island University (it has links to different types of formats). 

• If typed, double-space and use 12-14 font with one inch margins around paper.
• If hand-written, use black or blue pen and and cursive writing.  Do not cross out.  White-out is acceptable if used sparingly.  Have a one inch margin around paper. 
• Proofread.  Check for spelling and grammar mistakes.  Remember spell-check only catches words that are spelled incorrectly, not words that are spelled correctly but used incorrectly.