Science Buddies Background Research Plan Worksheet
[Pages:2]Background Research Plan Worksheet
for an Engineering Design Project
Name: ______________________________
1. Define the problem you intend to solve. [Who] need(s) [what] because [why]: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. List the keywords and phrases from your problem and the topic in general. (Hint: Use an encyclopedia to help you.) __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ __________________________ __________________________
3. Now use your keywords to build some questions to guide your background research. Develop at least two or three from each "question word." Don't worry about whether you already know the answer to the question--you'll find the answers when you do your background research. And don't forget to "network" with knowledgeable adults who can help guide you toward good materials!
Question Area
Substitute your keywords (or variations of your keywords) for the blanks in Possible Questions (you can think of others) the previous column. Write down the relevant questions, and use them to
guide your background research.
Target User
Who needs _________? Who wants _________? Who buys _________? What does my target user (a child, an elderly person, whoever your target user is) need or want in a _________? How much would my target user be willing to pay for a _________? What size should I make _________ for my target user?
Page 1 of 2
Question Area
Substitute your keywords (or variations of your keywords) for the blanks in Possible Questions (you can think of others) the previous column. Write down the relevant questions and use them to
guide your background research.
How It Works, How to Make It
Who invented _________? How does a __________ work? What are the different parts of a __________? What are the important characteristics of a __________? How is performance measured for a _________? Where does _________ get used? What is __________ made of? Why is __________ made from or using __________? What is the best material, component, or algorithm for building ________? (You may even ask this separately for the different parts of your device or program.)
4. Ask questions to help you understand products or programs that fill similar needs to the need you identified:
? What products fill a similar need? ? What are the strengths and weaknesses of products that fill a similar need? ? What are the key, must-have features of products that fill a similar need? ? Why did the engineers that built products that fill a similar need design them the way they did? ? How can I measure my design's improvement over existing designs?
Copyright ? 2011 Science Buddies. All rights reserved.
You may print and distribute up to 200 copies of this document annually, at no charge, for personal and classroom educational use. When printing this document,
you may NOT modify it in any way. For any other use, please contact Science Buddies.
2011/04/12
Page 2 of 2
................
................
In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.
To fulfill the demand for quickly locating and searching documents.
It is intelligent file search solution for home and business.
Related download
- student project ideas step 1 background research
- how to write a science fair project report
- science experiment purdue extension
- writing a research paper for your science fair project
- background research plan worksheet
- science fair background report winston salem forsyth
- background research university of arizona
- science buddies background research plan and bibliography
- science buddies background research plan worksheet
Related searches
- background research science project
- science project background paper
- sample background research paper
- science project background example
- background research example science fair
- background research for science project
- science project background information example
- science fair background example
- background research science fair example
- science fair background research report
- science fair background research sample
- science fair background research