RESEARCH PAPER

Writing a Research Paper for Your Science Fair Project

Science Buddies is a great resource for help with your science fair research paper. The following information was taken from the science buddies web sight and customized for Detroit Christian students. 

Key Info

As you do your research follow your background research plan for an invention or your background research plan for an experiment and take notes from your sources of information. These notes will help you write a better summary.  The purpose of your research paper is to give you the information to understand why your experiment turns out the way it does. The research paper should include:

• ·               The history of similar experiments or inventions

• ·               Definitions of all important words and concepts that describe your experiment

• ·                Answers to all your background research plan questions

• ·                Mathematical formulas, if any, that you will need to describe the results of your experiment

For every fact or picture in your research paper you should follow it with a citation telling the reader where you found the information. A citation is just the name of the author and the date of the publication placed in parentheses like this: 

(Author, date).This is called a reference citation when using APA format and parenthetical reference when using the MLA format. 

Its purpose is to document a source briefly,clearly, and accurately.  If you copy text from one of your sources, then place it in quotation marks in addition to following it with a citation. Be sure you understand and avoid plagiarism! Do not copy another person's work and call it your own.  Always give credit where credit is due! 

Your research paper should have these sections, in order:

• ·        Title page (with the title of your project, your name, and the date)

• ·        Your report

• ·        Bibliography

Overview

Year after year, students find that the report called the research paper is the part of the science fair project where they learn the most. So, take it from those who preceded you, the research paper you are preparing to write is super valuable.

Here is a  SAMPLE RESEARCH PAPER. Your research paper should look something like this.

What Is a Research Paper?

The short answer is that the research paper is a report summarizing the answers to the research questions you generated in your background research plan (see the links above).  It's a review of the relevant publications (books, magazines, websites) discussing the topic you want to investigate.

The long answer is that the research paper summarizes the theory behind your experiment. Science fair judges like to see that you understand why your experiment turns out the way it does. You do library and Internet research so that you can make a prediction of what will occur in your experiment, and then whether that prediction is right or wrong, you will have the knowledge to understand what caused the behavior you observed. From a practical perspective, the research paper also discusses the techniques and equipment that are appropriate for investigating your topic.Some methods and techniques are more reliable because they have been used many times.

Can you use a procedure for your science fair project that is similar to an experimentthat has been done before?

If you can obtain this information, your project will be more successful. As they say, you don't want to reinvent the wheel! If these reasons sound to you like the reasons we gave for doing background research, you're right! The research paper is simply the"write-up" of that research.

Special Information to Include in Your Research Paper

Many science experiments can be explained using mathematics. As you write your research paper, you'll want to make sure that you include as much relevant math as you understand. If a simple equation describes aspects of your science fair project, include it.

Writing the Research Paper

Note Taking

As you read the information in your bibliography, you'll want to take notes. These notes should answer the questions you prepared from your background research plan.  I recommend taking notes on note cards. Each card contains the source at the top, with key points listed or quoted underneath.Others prefer typing notes directly into a word processor.  I have provided each student with a few cards already made up. 

How to Organize Your Research Paper

The best way to speed your writing is to do a little planning. Before starting to write, think about the best order to discuss the major sections of your report. Generally, you will want to begin with your science fair project question so that the reader will know the purpose of your paper. What should come next? Ask yourself what information the reader needs to learn first in order to understand the rest of the paper. A typical organization might look like this:

• ·        Your science fair project question or topic

• ·        Definitions of all important words, concepts, and equations that describe your experiment

• ·        The history of similar experiments

• ·        Answers to your background research questions