On-Line Seminar, Fall 1998

Lesson 1: Getting Started

The focus of this project is to develop a research plan that will allow you, the student, to solve a specific scientific problem. This is unlike an elementary school report that you may have done, where you summarized information gleaned from an encyclopedia entry. Instead, you will need to collect data, compare results, analyze significant relationships, and draw conclusions in an attempt to resolve your problem.

Starting Your Research Project:

1. Identify a subject area of interest or a phenomenon that you would like to study.



• Since you will be spending several months conducting your project, it should be focused upon something for which you have a genuine interest. Use a search engine, such as Yahoo on the Internet, to conduct a key word search for project ideas. Go to the library and scan the science magazines or newspapers for articles of interest. Think of events you have experienced that are difficult to explain, but you would like to find the answers. You can even get ideas by watching educational TV programs! Projects using human subjects or vertebrates will not be allowed due to the potential for legal liability or mistreatment of the subjects.


2. Develop a possible topic question/problem in your area of interest that you will try to answer . Ask yourself, "What would happen if.......?"



• This problem statement needs to clearly define what aspect of your subject area you plan to focus on, yet it should not be too simplistic. For example, if you wanted to study the factors that effect the growth of grass, varying the amount of water or light is suitable for a second grade project. Using various household liquids to water the grass raises the project to a middle school level. Comparing the effects of acid rain on grass makes the project more relevant to today's environmental concerns. Your problem could be focused even more when written as, "Which application of acid rain causes the greatest damage to grass; as a liquid absorbed through the roots, as a liquid sprayed on the blades, or as a gaseous acid anhydride?"


3. Determine how to evaluate/compare your question. What variables will you change and how can you quantitatively measure the results?



• Consider which factors you will keep constant for the control in your experiment, and which factor(s) will be varied. Use incremental changes in the variables to see how the results are effected. The results must be measurable in terms of specific units of measurement, such as mass, time or temperature values. Effects of changing environments on living organisms can be conducted using invertebrates, such as daphnia, brine shrimp or flatworms.


4. Develop a feasible experiment/research design. Take into consideration the analytical equipment available, the time needed for completion of the project, and any expenses involved. Make a list of all materials needed.



• To be fair to your parents, there is a spending limit of $15 for any materials or supplies required. Typical laboratory equipment and chemical supplies can be borrowed for student use. Check with your teacher to see what's available before you go out and buy anything. Partnerships can be formed with local colleges, industries, and hospitals to gain access to more advanced equipment, such as electron microscopes, IR spectrophotometers and x-ray machines.

Internet Sites of Value for Starting your Project:

1. Science Fairs: http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/resources/cf/steps.html
   This site provides a simplified, step-by-step method for developing a science project.



2. Mad Scientist Network: http://medinfo.wustl.edu/~ysp/MSN/
   More than 200 scientists worldwide will answer your questions. An archive of past questions are available and are subdivided by grade level of the questions/responses.



3. Ask Dr. Math: http://forum.swarthmore.edu/dr.math/
   This site allows you to ask a specific mathematical question you would like answered or search an archive of more than 4500 previously asked questions. To obtain some specific ideas for math projects, add tocs/project.high.html to the URL address above.



4. Ask an Expert: http://njnie.dl.stevens-tech.edu/curriculum/aska.html
   Provides a site to get advice on general areas of interest, including using the Internet and library reference questions.



5. Ask a Geologist: http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/docs/ask-a-ge.html
   Questions are e-mailed to a US Geological Survey earth scientist who will provide answers to general questions about earthquakes, mineral deposits, etc.



6. Ask Dr. Neutrino: http://nike.phy.bris.ac.uk:8080/dr_neutrino/ask.html
   Allows you to search the archives or ask questions related to physics.



7. Ask A Scientist: http://www.bvu.edu/depts/science/askascientist.html
   This site lets you look at general questions previously answered by scientists in various fields. You are supposed to be able to also ask new questions, but there seems to be an error in the URL address or else the service is temporarily off line.



8. Science and Technology: http://a2z.lycos.com/Science_and_Technology/
   This is the Lycos search engine address that allows you to look further to find more information on general science and technology subjects.



9. Government Research Labs: http://www.yahoo.com/Government/Research_Labs/
   Use the Yahoo search engine to tap into the vast bank of knowledge found in government labs. Search for info by keywords or by accessing the individual labs themselves.



10. Discover Magazine Archive: http://www.enews.com/magazines/discover/page1a.html
    Archive of the articles found in issues from the last four years.



11. Journal of Chemical Education Index: http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/Journal/index.html
    Provides a brief abstract of articles found in recent issues from the past two years. This journal contains many experiments and chemical demonstrations that can be adapted to a research project.



12. Woodrow Wilson Chemistry Activities: http://www.woodrow.org/teachers/chemistry/
    This site contains activities and experiments in chemistry that can be adapted into a research project. The materials were developed at summer institutes held at Princeton, NJ by selected high school teachers from across the country.



13. Woodrow Wilson Biology Activities: http://www.woodrow.org/teachers/biology/
    This site contains activities and experiments in biology that can be adapted into a research project. The materials were developed at summer institutes held at Princeton, NJ by selected high school teachers from across the country.



14. Woodrow Wilson Environmental Activities: http://www.woodrow.org/teachers/environment/
    This site contains activities and experiments in environmental studies that can be adapted into a research project. The materials were developed at summer institutes held at Princeton, NJ by selected high school teachers from across the country.
15. Woodrow Wilson Math Activities: http://www.woodrow.org/teachers/math/
    This site contains activities and experiments using mathematics and graphing calculators that can be adapted into a research project. The materials were developed at summer institutes held at Princeton, NJ by selected high school teachers from across the country.

Finding a Topic Using Search Engines

There are several search engines that can be used to find sites pertaining to a particular topic. It is important to be as specific as possible in your search request to narrow the focus and limit the number of matching sites. Any phrase should be enclosed in quotation marks to indicate the desired grouping. For example, if you wanted to find sites discussing the pros and cons of block scheduling for classes, you must enter your request as "block scheduling". Otherwise, the search engine might include a "Lego Building Block" site or a "time management" site as possible matches to your request.

Yahoo at http://www.yahoo.com This search engine is designed to find topics by pre-organized categories, that begin with the most general topics and become more specific as you dig deeper.

The following search engines are designed to search for key words or phrases.

Infoseek at http://guide.infoseek.com/

Excite at http://www.excite.com/

Altavista at http://altavista.digital.com/

Webcrawler at http://Webcrawler.com/

Lycos at http://www.lycos.com/

Hotbot at http://www.hotbot.com/

Suggestions for conducting more efficient Internet searches are described by Engine Tips at http://www.monash.com/spidap.html

Meta-search Engines(simultaneous multiple searches) are designed to scan several search engines and list all sites that contain the key word(s). Try either of the following meta-search engines to see how they work.

All-In-One Search at http://www.albany.net/allinone/

Dogpile at http://www.dogpile.com/

Communicating Through the Internet

Electronic mail (e-mail) is a tool used to send and receive text messages over the Internet. It features near instant delivery, and you can also attach pictures, sounds, video, and even software. There are no long distance costs, and it enables individual teachers to share classroom strategies, trade success stories, locate other curricula, and develop truly global Òlearning circlesÓ.

How to Use E-mail

Search for e-mail addresses at http://twod.med.harvard.edu/labgc/roth/Emailsearch.html to find out who is connected to the web.

Learn the general practices used when communicating through the Internet with E-mail netiquette at http://www.albion.com/netiquette/

Find ideas for classroom e-mail projects at either of the following two sites:

stolaf site for e-mail classroom connections/projects at http://www.stolaf.edu/network/iecc/

School World e-mail classroom connections/projects at http://www.schoolworld.asn.au/

Listserv - e-mail Mailing Lists

A listserv is an online discussion group that allows a forum for project collaborations and feedback on a specific topic. The following sites can be used to find a listserv that will fit your particular interests:

Descriptive listserv information at http://www.algonquinc.on.ca/pilot/people.html

Specific lists for every subject area at http://tile.net/lists

Newsgroups for Schools

Newsgroups are the mechanism where mail messages are made available to large groups of people through specific online bulletin or message boards.

Webteacher newsgroups at http://www.Webteacher.org/winnet/newsgroups/newsgroups.html

Searchable Usenet Newsgroups using at http://www.Dejanews.com/

Time Schedule for Completion of the Research Project:

All steps of the project MUST be completed prior to the following dates. Work not handed in on time WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED RESULTING IN A ZERO.

Monday, September 28: Select a topic/area for your project. Decide if you are going to prepare a research paper or enter the science fair. Submit the specific problem to be analyzed and a brief description of how you will conduct your project in terms of the variables, control, and method of analysis.
VALUE = 10 POINTS, counted as a homework grade

Monday, November 2: You will have completed most of your reading research, written a preliminary bibliography and formulated a hypothesis for your research. Submit the title(problem), the hypothesis of your project, a brief background of related work, a statement to justify the significance of your project, a specific experimental procedure, and a bibliography. The bibliography must contain a minimum of five (5) sources, with at least three (3) of them being references other than encyclopedias and/or textbooks. No changes can be made in your project after this date.
VALUE = 20 POINTS, counted as a homework grade

Monday, December 14: You will have completed most of your preliminary experimentation/analysis. Submit a rough draft of your research report, including specific procedures used, methods of analysis, preliminary results and your final bibliography.
VALUE = 25 POINTS, counted as a quiz grade

Monday, February 1 through Friday, February 19: You will be assigned a date to give a 5-10 minute oral presentation of your completed project in class. Include any 2-dimensional audio-visual materials that will enhance your report. These could include, but are not limited to, charts, graphs, drawings, photographs, slides and demonstrations.
VALUE = 30 POINTS, counted as a quiz grade

Saturday, March 6 (tentative): Oral presentation of projects at PJAS science fair. Points awarded based upon the average of the judges scores.
VALUE = 50 POINTS, counted as a test grade

Monday, March 8: Submit a formal, typed research paper that is a minimum of 1000 words in length and a maximum of 3000 words. This requirement is optional for those who are participating in the PJAS science fair!!!
VALUE = 50 POINTS, counted as a test grade

Presenter(s) for this seminar:

Mark A. Case

Emmaus HS, 851 North St., Emmaus, PA 18049

The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation webmaster@woodrow.org
CN 5281, Princeton NJ 08543-5281 Tel: (609) 452-7007 Fax: (609) 452-0066