Important:
This
manual is organized in the order of a
completed project journal. Ignoring this first page, it serves as a model of how
a journal is assembled. Each section of this manual contains instructions for
completing a section of your journal. The sections are not in the order that you should compose them. That order is found in
the “Overview & Checklist.”
Journals
are, by convention, written fully in the past tense, since the readers will not
see them until the completion of the experiment.
Publish
your written material with the aid of a home or school computer. Journal pages
are printed on only one side, and each topic starts on a new page. Sections that
are needed for both the journal and the display may be printed twice or
photocopied. Photocopies and
laser-printed pages are less susceptible to smudging than ink-jet print.
After completion, the word processor document can be converted into an
Internet web page.
Spelling
checkers should be used, but they must be used correctly, and are no substitute
for careful human proofreading. Check all written materials for spelling and
grammatical errors. Have others proofread your work. Remember too remove awl homonyms.
Fill empty
spaces on your project journal pages creatively with appropriate graphics.
Photos of you performing various science project procedures should be
included. Scanners and digital
cameras are available for use at school.
Unusual
fonts and unconventional graphs can be very artistic, but remember to keep
things easy to read. "Watermarked" or tinted paper can be very
attractive also, if they don't interfere with the clarity of the print.
The Project
Journal should be presented with the Project Display on the assigned due date.
The journal should be in an appropriate size three-ringed binder or
binders. Avoid the
"binders" that will not stay open by themselves when laid on a table.
Some students use plastic page covers.
These protect the pages from moisture and help secure photos. You should
create a cover page for the journal that states the title of your project, but not
your name.
The Effect of
Reading and Following Instructions on a Science Student's Grade
Table
of Contents
Important:
This is
where you list the sections found in the journal and the page that they start
on. The Table of Contents is located after the Abstract, and it has no page number of its own.
The Table of Contents is the last
page to be written. Each journal section will begin on a new page.
Example:
ABSTRACT
.......................................................…… i
PURPOSE
....................................................……....1
HYPOTHESIS
........................................................2
EXPERIMENT
DESIGN ............................................3
etc.
The
abstract is a summary of your project in 250 words or less. It is not designed
to give details, but rather to give an overview of your project. Compose the
abstract as if you are writing to another scientist. Imagine your journal as one
of 50 in front of this person, with them having the task of choosing the 2 or 3
journals that are most likely to help them with their work.
The trick is to paint only the big picture without selling your project
short.
It includes
portions or variations of your:
a.
Purpose statement.
What
did you hope to learn?
b.
Hypothesis (prediction only)
What
did you expect your outcome would be?
c.
Experimental Design, including descriptions of:
1.
What type
of experiment did you do?
2.
What was
the scope of your experiment?
3.
What were
the main steps you took to increase validity?
4.
What were
the limitations of your experiment?
d.
Conclusion you reached after
the experiment, relevance/usefulness of the findings, and the logical next
step(s) for investigation.
The abstract's pages are numbered in Roman numerals, starting with i (then ii, iii, iv, etc.).
The purpose
is a statement to clearly define:
a.
The problem
you are trying to solve with your experiment (The first sentence of the Purpose
might contain the title of your project, perhaps worded differently).
b.
Why
you wanted to solve this particular problem (what interests you about the
subject).
c.
Why
you think this experiment could benefit
anyone (including yourself, future generations, a specific profession, etc.).
A
hypothesis is an educated guess that tries to answer the question or solve the
problem you are investigating. The
hypothesis is made after the initial
research (library, etc.) has been completed, and before
any experimenting is done.
You must
include a reason for arriving at your particular hypothesis. This is why some
research must be done first. It is ideal if you can cite in this section a
source of information that led you to your prediction.
If you are
testing more than one hypothesis, state them separately.
You may
need to modify this format to suit a non-standard experiment - see your teacher
if you think this applies to you.
1.
The manipulated and responding variables
had to be defined in your purpose and were probably included in your project's
title. You will restate these two
variables again here.
The manipulated
variable is the condition you are testing.
This condition is typically the one you think may be the solution to the
problem you described in the purpose. Your
hypothesis statement should have described the manipulated variable. The things
or subjects to which you apply the manipulated variable are called the experimental group(s).
It is
important that your experiment have only one manipulated variable. It is, however, possible to have several experimental groups,
each of which tests a variation of the same basic manipulated variable.
The responding
variable is the way in which your experimental group responds to the
manipulated variable you subject it to. The
measurements that you make during an experiment are of the responding variable.
2.
A group of test subjects are called a control
group if they are not subjected to the manipulated variable.
In other words the "normal" group of test subjects are called
the control group. Identify your
control group.
3.
Next, you must identify and list the conditions that will not be changed during
your experiment. These conditions
are called "constants" or
called "controlled variables".
Be thorough here!
4.
If you design an experiment that requires more than one group of test subjects
subjected to a variation of the manipulated variable, then you should describe
how each experimental group is different from each other.
5.
There must be a description of what
you will measure. You must also describe how
you will measure it (tools and techniques).
State what metric units will be used for your measurements.
This
section of the Project Journal provides a list of those materials only needed to
carry out your experiment. List
quantities such as length, volume, or mass in metric units.
Be specific in your descriptions of the materials. Include the costs if
you made any significant purchases.
Remember to
keep sample size high whenever feasible.
Typically
you should include a photograph or illustration of how the equipment or
materials for your experiment will be set up or used.
Format:
QUANTITY
ITEM
__________
_______________________________________________________
__________ _______________________________________________________
The
procedures are detailed, step by step instructions to prepare and carry out your
experiment. The procedures are
written with information and detail similar to a cookbook recipe.
For example, a recipe will describe the techniques to clean, prepare,
mix, cook, and arrange ingredients. On
the other hand, once the ingredients ("materials") are listed, it's up
to the cook to find them and bring them to the kitchen.
You should
label each procedure with a number or letter.
Anyone reading the procedures should be able to duplicate your experiment
exactly, so again, you will need to be very thorough).
Repeat your
experiment whenever possible to increase validity.
This part of the Project Journal should be written from notes taken from
sources of information you found in libraries, through electronic media, and
from personal interviews. You should rewrite in your own words the information
you find from the sources.
Try to tell the reader as many facts as possible relevant to your topic
and experiment. You should organize the topics in the research report from
the most general to the topics most related to your project's topic (the
"funnel" approach). The
length of this section is important. Remember
you are demonstrating to the reader how much you have learned.
Include an introductory paragraph and perhaps a summary at the end.
The introduction should list the main ideas that you will discuss.
Title it, not too surprisingly, "INTRODUCTION."
A summary paragraph is similar to the introduction. These two are usually
written after you write the body of
the report.
Use headings to separate these main ideas.
Main headings should be typed in all capitals, and center justified
(aligned). Sub-headings, if any,
should have only the first letter and proper nouns capitalized, and should be
left justified.
In this
portion of the Project Journal, you will:
a.
Describe
what you wanted to do during the experiment (a brief re-stating of the Purpose).
b.
Briefly
describe what your data shows, in words (paragraph form). Don’t discuss the significance
of the results here, simply what happened (trends, patterns, etc.).
c.
Create
data tables and graphs, as necessary. You should enter your data in a
spreadsheet program (e.g., Microsoft® Excel). The spreadsheet can be easily converted into different types
of graphs. Be sure you use the
correct type of graph for your data! Refer to all table(s) and graph(s) in the
text somewhere before the table or graph is shown ("see table 1," or
"refer to figure 3")
d.
This
is a good place to include photographs of your experiment and/or test subjects.
In this
part of the science project you will:
a.
Discuss
what can be learned from your results.
b.
Compare
the results of your experiment to your original hypothesis.
1.
Re-state your hypothesis.
2.
State whether your results caused you to accept or reject your hypothesis.
c.
Mention
what question(s) may have been raised by the outcome of the experiment (After
seeing the results of this experiment, I wonder if…).
d.
List
possible sources of systemic and random errors that affect the validity of your
data. Discuss what part of the experiment
you could improve or expand upon if you were to do it all over again.
A
bibliography is an alphabetical list of sources of information used to form a
hypothesis, design your experiment, and compose your background report. You should gather as much information as possible from a
variety of sources. Each source of
information should be listed in the bibliography in alphabetical order by first
letter of the entry. You are
expected to use at least five sources.
Formats:
ENCYCLOPEDIA
(with an author's name given)
Author's
name, Title of article, Name of encyclopedia, Year
ENCYCLOPEDIA
(with no author's name given)
Title of
article, Name of encyclopedia, Year
BOOK
Author's
last name, first name, (use the Latin phrase "et al" if more than
three authors), Title of book, Place of publication, Publisher, Year.
MAGAZINE
Author's
name, Title of article, Name of magazine, Volume number, Date of publication,
Page numbers used.
VIDEO /
TELEVISION / RADIO
(Title of
episode in quotation marks if possible), Title of program (underlined), Name of
network, Local station, and Broadcast date.
GOVERNMENT
PAMPHLET
Name of
agency publishing the information, Name of publication, Place of publication,
Date of publication.
PERSONAL
INTERVIEW
Name of
person interviewed, Occupation, Place of employment, Date of interview.
ELECTRONIC
MAIL (Email)
Author of
Email message, Subject line of message, [Online] Available email: student @
address.edu from author @ address.edu, Date of message.
WORLD WIDE
WEB (WWW)
Author,
Title of item, [Online] Available http://address/filename, Date of document or
download.
USENET
NEWSGROUPS
Author,
Title of item, [Online] Available Usenet: group, Date of post.
For other
examples of how bibliography entries may be written, talk to a librarian, etc.
Sample entries:
Binkie,
Bartholemew. "Plant
Growth," World Book Encyclopedia, 1997.
DiStephano,
Vance, Guidelines for Better Plant Growth, [Online] Available http://www.usa.net/~
Farmer,
Fred, Expert Gardener, Washington State University Cooperative Extension, Sept.
8, 1996.
Heimler,
Charles H., et al, Focus On Life Science, Colombus, Ohio, Merrill, 1984.
Kanfer,
Steven, "Entre-Manure - Making
money from fertilizer!" Farm
Digest 24 May 1993: 71.
Photosynthesis,"
Groliers Encyclopedia, 1997
Plants.
Videotape. National
Geographic Video, 1985. 60 min.
Washington
Department of Tomato Growth Studies, Growing Tomatoes in the home garden,
Olympia, WA, 1993.
This is a
section of the journal where you can put different publications, pictures, notes
or data that you used during your project. You could make a glossary of
important words used in your project and put it this section.
This is a "catch-all' section to be used if you have any reason to.
If not, don't make one.