Science FairBackground Project Research Plan

[Pages:13]Science Fair Project Background Research Plan

Key I nfo

Background research is necessary so t hat you know how t o design and underst and your experim ent . To m ake a ba ck gr ou n d r e se a r ch pla n --a roadm ap of t he research quest ions you need t o answer--follow these steps:

1. I dent ify t he keywords in t he quest ion for your science fair proj ect . Brainst orm addit ional keywords and concepts.

2. Use a t able wit h t he "quest ion words" ( why, how, who, what , when, where) t o generat e research quest ions from your keywords. For exam ple:

W hat is the difference between a series and parallel circuit? W hen does a plant grow the m ost, during the day or night? W here is the focal point of a lens? How does a java applet work? Does a truss m ake a bridge stronger? W hy are m oths attracted t o light? W hich cleaning products kill the m ost bacteria?

Throw out irrelevant quest ions.

3. Add to your background research plan a list of m athem atical form ulas or equations (if any) that you will need to describe t he results of your experim ent.

4. You should also plan t o do background research on t he hist ory of sim ilar experim ent s or invent ions. 5. Network with other people with m ore experience than yourself: your m entors, parents, and

t eachers. Ask t hem : "What science concept s should I st udy t o bet t er underst and m y science fair proj ect ?" and " What area of science covers m y proj ect ?" Bet t er yet , ask even m ore specific qu est ion s. 6. I f you are doing an engineering proj ect , be sure t o include quest ions from t he Engineering & Program m ing Proj ect Tips page of t he Proj ect Guide at .

W hy the Need for Background Research?

So t hat you can design an experim ent , you need t o research what t echniques and equipm ent m ight be best for invest igat ing your t opic. Rat her t han st art ing from scrat ch, savvy I nvest igat ors want t o use t heir library and I nt ernet research t o help t hem find t he best way t o do t hings. You want t o learn from t he experience of ot hers rat her t han blunder around and repeat t heir m ist akes. A scientist nam ed Mike Kalish put it hum orously like this: "A year in the lab can save you a day in the library."

Background research is also im port ant to help you underst and t he t heory behind your experim ent . I n other words, science fair j udges like to see that you understand why your experim ent turns out the way it does. You do library and I nt ernet research so t hat you can m ake a predict ion of what will occur in your experim ent, and then whether that prediction is right or wrong, you will have the knowledge to underst and what caused the behavior you observed.

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Making a Background Research Plan: How to Know W hat to Look For

When you are driving a car there are two ways to find your destination: drive around random ly until you finally st um ble upon what you're looking for OR look at a m ap before you st art . ( Which way do your parent s drive?) Finding inform at ion for your background research is very sim ilar. But , since libraries and t he I nt ernet bot h cont ain m illions of pages of inform at ion and fact s, you m ight never find what you're looking for unless you st art wit h a m ap! To avoid get t ing lost , you need a background research plan.

Keyw ords

The place t o st art building your background research plan is wit h t he quest ion for your science fair proj ect ( see, we did t hat first for a reason) . Let 's im agine t hat you have asked t his one:

Qu e st ion : Does drinking m ilk help decrease spiciness bet t er t han wat er or Pepsi?

Begin by identifying the keywords and m ain concepts in your question. I n this case keywords would be:

? Milk ? Spiciness ? Pepsi ? Water

That 's pr et t y easy! Now, what m ight be som e of t he m ain concept s t hat relat e t o t hese keywords? Let 's t hink about spiciness first . You're going t o do a science experim ent , so knowing t hat a spicy food t ast es "hot" is probably not sufficient. Hm m m m , this is a little tougher than finding the keywords.

Question W ords Table

The secret is t o use t he "quest ion words" ( why, how, who, what , when, where) wit h your keywords. Ask why things happen, ask how things happen, ask what causes things to happen, ask what are the properties of key subst ances. Filling in a lit t le t able can help. Let 's do it for our keyword spiciness:

Qu e st ion W ord

Why How

Who What

When Where

Fill Your Keyw ords ( or Variations on Your Keyw ords) into the Blanks

These are just sam ples to get you thinking; there are alw ays m any m ore questions and the m ost im portant ones for your proj ect m ay not be in the list! Why does ________ happen? Why does ________ ________? How does ________ happen? How does ________ work? How does ________ detect ________? How does one m easure ________? How do we use _________? Who needs ________? Who discovered ________? Who invented ________? What causes ________ to increase (or decrease) ? What is the com posit ion of _________? What are t he properties and charact erist ics of ________? What is the relationship between _______ and ________? What do we use ________ for? When does ________ cause ________? When was _______ discovered or invented? Where does ________ occur? Where do we use ________?

Possible Questions for Background Re se a r ch

Why does spiciness happen? Why do spicy foods taste hot? How does t he t ongue detect spiciness? How does one m easure spiciness?

Who needs spiciness?

What causes spiciness to increase ( or decrease) ? What are the properties and characteristics of spicy substances?

When does spiciness cause upset stom achs? Where in t he body does spiciness occur?

Relevant?

No Yes Yes Yes

No Yes Yes

No Yes

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Those look like pret t y good quest ions t o research because t hey would enable us t o m ake som e predict ions about an experim ent . But what 's t hat colum n in t he t able called " Relevant ?"

You can always find m ore inform at ion t o research, but som e quest ions j ust don't have anyt hing t o do wit h t he experim ent you will define and perform . Quest ions t hat w ill help you design and underst and your experim ent are called relevant . Quest ions t hat w ill not help you design and underst and your experim ent are called irrelevant . Our t able of quest ion words is a great way t o generat e ideas for your background research, but som e of them will be irrelevant and we j ust throw those out. Som e of those irrelevant questions m ight be very interesting to you; they j ust don't belong as part of your science fair proj ect. We have to focus our efforts on what we feel is m ost im portant, or another way of looking at it, let's not spend tim e researching anything we don't need to. ( I 'm sure you have other things you'd like to do, too!)

For a good exam ple of how t he quest ion word t able can generat e irrelevant quest ions, let 's j ust look at som e possible questions if we fill out the table for another one of our sam ple keywords: m ilk.

? Why does milk happen? ? How does m ilk happen? ? Who needs milk? ? What causes m ilk to increase (or decrease)? ? What is m ilk com posed of? ? What are the properties and characteristics of m ilk? ? Where does m ilk occur?

I f we research every one of those questions we'll be studying farm s, cows, cow udders, baby cows, and what cows eat . Holy flying cows! That inform at ion is definit ely irrelevant t o our science fair proj ect quest ion: Does drinking m ilk help decrease spiciness bet t er t han wat er or Pepsi?

Even so, in t hat crazy list of cow science, t here are t wo quest ions t hat look relevant for your background r esear ch :

? What is m ilk com posed of? ? What are the properties and characteristics of m ilk?

Som etim es you won't be sure whether a question is relevant or not, and that's always a good tim e to get the opinion of m ore experienced people like your m entors, parents, and teachers. I n fact, the background research plan is a very im port ant st ep of your science fair proj ect and t wo or t hree heads are always bet t er t han one! Even wit h all t hat help, you m ay not be sure whet her som et hing is relevant unt il aft er you have done your experim ent, so don't let it bother you if that's the case.

Talk t o People w it h M ore Experience: N et w orking

As you can see wit h t he t wo above exam ples, spiciness and m ilk, t he quest ion word t able will work bet t er for som e keywords t han ot hers. You m ight have a science fair proj ect quest ion where none of t he keywords generat e relevant quest ions. Yikes! What do you do t hen?

One of t he m ost im port ant t hings you can do is t alk t o ot her people wit h m ore experience t han yourself: your m ent ors, parent s, and t eachers. This is called "net working." Som e of t hese people will have had classes or work experience that involved studying the science involved in your proj ect. Ask them , "What science concept s should I st udy t o bet t er underst and m y proj ect ?" Bet t er yet , be as specific as you can when asking your quest ion. Even expert s will look puzzled if you ask a quest ion t hat is so generic it leaves them pondering where to start. I nstead of asking, "How do airplanes fly," try asking, "What physical forces are involved in t he flight of an airplane," or " What role do propellers play in t he flight of a helicopt er?" ( Aft er all, t here's got t a be som et hing t hat causes t hat hunk of m et al t o go up, right ?)

For exam ple, let 's im agine your science fair proj ect quest ion is: Does t he velocit y of a roller coast er car affect whet her it falls off a loop? I f you ask som eone who has st udied physics in high school or college, t hey will t ell you t o ask t he research quest ion, " What is cent ripet al force?"

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Som etim es there is even a specialized area of science that studies questions sim ilar to the one for your science fair proj ect. Believe it or not, there are actually people who study "roller coaster physics." ( I s that a cool j ob or what ?) Oft en a good t opic for your background research is sim ply t he specialized area of science t hat covers your proj ect . For t he roller coast er exam ple you would research " roller coast er p h y si cs. "

How do you find t he area of science t hat covers your proj ect ? You guessed it , net work wit h your m ent ors, parents, and teachers. And by the way, networking is som ething m any adults don't expect students to be very good at , so you can probably surprise t hem by doing a good j ob at it ! The very best net workers, of course, enj oy t he spoils of vict ory. I n other words, t hey get what t hey want m ore quickly, efficient ly, and sm oothly.

The realit y is we have all net worked at som e point in our lives. Rem em ber how you " net worked" wit h your m om to buy you that cool water gun, or "networked" with your grandpa to buy you that video gam e you always wanted? Well, now you are "networking" for knowledge ( which is a very good thing to network for, by t he way) . Train yourself t o becom e a good net worker, and you m ight j ust end up wit h a bet t er science fair proj ect (and don't forget t hat you'll get a lit tle sm art er t oo in t he process) . So t ake our advice: work hard, but network harder.

Are You Doing an Engineering or Program m ing Proj ect ?

I f you are doing an engineering or program m ing proj ect t hat involves designing or inventing a new device, procedur e, com put er program , or algorit hm , t hen be sure t o check Engineering & Program m ing Proj ect Tips on t he Proj ect Guide page of . You should have som e special quest ions in your background research plan.

Sam ple Background Research Plan

Background research plan for t he science fair proj ect quest ion: Does drinking m ilk help decrease spiciness bet t er t han w at er or Pepsi?

Keywords --

? Milk ? Spiciness ? Pepsi ? Water

Research quest ions --

? Why do spicy foods taste hot? ? How does the tongue det ect spiciness? ? How does one m easure spiciness? ? What causes spiciness to increase (or decrease)? ? What are the properties and characteristics of spicy substances? ? Where in the body does spiciness occur? ? What is t he com posit ion of m ilk, Pepsi, and wat er? ? What are t he propert ies and charact erist ics of m ilk, Pepsi, and wat er?

Science concepts and/ or areas of science -- ? Tast e buds

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Background Research Plan W orksheet

You can use t he Background Research Plan Worksheet t o help you develop your own plan. Your t eacher m ight have passed t his out t o you, or you can find it on t he Proj ect Guide's " Background Research Plan" page under " Relat ed Links" at .

Ba ck gr ound Re se a r ch Pla n Che ck list

W hat Makes a Good Background Research Plan?

Have you identified all the keywords in your science fair proj ect quest ion? Have you used the quest ion word table to generate research questions? Have you thrown out irrelevant questions? Will the answers to your research questions give you the inform ation you need to design an experim ent and predict the out com e? Do one or m ore of your research questions specifically ask about any equipm ent or techniques you will need to perform an experim ent? ( if applicable) I f you are doing an engineering or program m ing proj ect, have you included quest ions from Engineer ing & Program m ing Proj ect Tips?

For a Good Background Research Plan, You Should Answ er "Yes" to

Every Quest ion Yes / No Yes / No Yes / No Yes / No

Yes / No

Yes / No

Reference List

Engle, Michael. ( 2003, May 20) . The Seven St eps of t he Research Process. Cornell Universit y Library. Ret rieved Sept em ber 22, 2003, from ht t p: / / library.cornell.edu/ okuref/ research/ skill1.ht m

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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. 2008/09/13

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