INDEPENDENT SCIENCE RESEARCH PROJECT IDEAS



SCIENCE RESEARCH PROJECT IDEAS

Choosing A Topic

Directions: One of the most difficult aspects for a scientific research project is the selection of an appropriate topic. To that end, we are going to commence this process at the start of the first semester. The goal is to have a approved topic and the associated background research done before May.

The questions below are designed to encourage exploration of subjects that might be of interest to you. The time spent working on your project will be more interesting if you choose a topic that you like. In answering these questions, try to narrow down the area or field of science you would like to explore. For example, Earth Science, Environmental Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Computers, Psychology, Music/Art, even food science. Remember, these areas or fields have many, many subtopics. For example, in Biology there is health and wellness, botany (plants), microbiology, cell and molecular biology (DNA/genetics), biochemistry, anatomy and physiology, ecology, etc.

The next 15 questions are a suggested activity that will help you selecting a topic to research. These 15 questions will not to collected or graded.

1. What is your favorite hobby? How do you spend your free time? List at least five things.

2. What sports interest you? What sports to you participate in, coach, or watch?

3. What is your favorite subject in school? What specific topics do you like within this subject?

4. What labs or activities from previous classes have you enjoyed?

5. What are some of your favorite science topics?

6. What TV shows and/or movies have you seen lately that deal with “science”? What topics were in the show?

7. What interesting books have you read on a science topic?

8. What magazine do you receive at your house? Browse through them and look for science related topics. List them below.

9. What careers have you thought about?

10. To what clubs or organizations do you belong?

11. Have your parents ever done or heard of an interesting research project? What was it?

12. List all of the people you know (even remotely) who are scientists or work in a science field. What field do they work in?

13. Who is your favorite scientist? What is he/she famous for?

14. If you were being paid a million dollars to complete one year of actual science research, what problem would you like to look at or examine?

15. What issues or problems have been in the news lately that require research to define answers ?

Guided Reading Exercise (collected and graded) due on or before 10.14.11

Directions: This exercise is to be done with 2 references (sources) BEFORE you complete the 3 IDEAS assignment.

While reading a science-related book, article, or journal of interest in the area in which you think you want to experiment, reflect and expand on the following questions. Try to develop a researchable / testable question. The following link provides access to a variety of on-line databases. Refer to the end of this document for log-in codes. (Simply cut and post this link into your web browser).

1) What is the title of the book or article?

2) Who is the author?

3) Summarize what the article is about? (topic)

4) Why do you think the author wrote the article?

5) Did you like the book /article or think that it was interesting?

6) Explain why you did or did not like the article:

7) Do you think others would be interested in this article / topic?

8) After reading the book / article, think about a question(s) that may not have been answered

in the reading:

What contradictions were there in the reading?

9) If you were the one who wrote the book /article, what would you have done differently?

10) What references does the book / article list for additional reading or past works ?

11) Provide this article’s bibliography information below in APA format.

12) Loudoun County Public Schools On-line Data Base Log-in Codes

|Site |Access Science |CQ Researcher |EBSCO |eLibrary |

|Log-in |lcps |lcpsh |lcpsh |lcpsh |

|Password |science |high |high |high |

|Site |InfoTrac |net Trekker |NewsBank |SuperSearch |

|Log-in |No username needed |lcpsh |lcpsh |lcps |

|Password |high |lchigh |high |search |

If the Google Search Engine is used, select the following: Google : More : Scholar

Things to remember before presenting the proposal to your teacher:

1- Is the answer to your problem/question already known?

o Can the answer be found in a textbook, or science article?

2- Do you think this proposal idea is interesting to others?

3- Can the problem be experimentally tested and/or tested safely?

4- Can the results be presented in metric units?

5- Are the materials & equipment readily available to you, or do you need to purchase some items? How much will this cost? Where will I get the items?

6- Is the experiment repeatable? Keep in mind that at least 15, or more, trials per variable/condition will need to be completed to make the results statistically valid.

7- Can the experiment be completed in the fall or winter months? If not, you will need to plan ahead, get early approval from the school’s SRP committee/Science Department, and begin your experiment during the spring/summer between Honors Earth Science and Honors Biology.

8- You may need to follow additional teacher guidelines instructing you to get signatures/suggestions from other teachers. FOLLOW DIRECTIONS!!

9- A scientific paper should always be written in the third person (the investigator) rather than in the first person (I or we).

3 Topic Ideas (collected and graded) due on or before 11.04.11

You are to come up with three possible ideas for projects. It is strongly recommended not to use vertebrates. If you are interested in using this topic for next year’s science fair, appropriate supervision and facilities may be required.

Each of the three ideas are to typed on separate sheets with the following information. Save all files.

Title: (very specific) indicates the relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable

Purpose/Problem: (clear and concise) Describe the value or the concern that might be alleviated by the results of this experiment.

Hypothesis: (clear and concise) Statement predicting the effect of the changes made in the independent variable on the dependent variable. Generally it takes the form of

If ...., then....

Independent variable: (only one, clearly defined) The variable that is purposely changed or manipulated.

Dependent variable: (clearly defined, how it will be measured) The variable that changes in response to the independent variable

Control Group:

• What will be used as a standard for comparison? The control is the standard to which all experimental groups are compared.

• The control represents the “normal” situation, or the condition that is typically used and not altered in any way.

Constants:

• What things in the testing environment will stay the “same” for all parts of your experiment?

Based on the above, address the following so you can continue to develop your experimental design further:

• What topics and subtopics will be researched in the library, or using on-line databases?

• What background information is needed to design your experiment?

• This may be in the form of questions that need to be researched to support the experimental problem.

Procedures:

• Using numerical steps, write a general procedure for the experiment. This is a work in progress. You will probably have to edit your procedure several times as you develop your experimental design throughout 9th grade and early on in 10th grade. Do the BEST you can at this point.

• The steps need to be as specific as possible, and should include all safety precautions, quantities, units of measurement, scientific names, crucial steps that an experimenter needs to perform to correctly (error free) conduct the experiment.

Try to write the procedure as if someone was performing it for the first time

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