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[Student Area|Teacher Area|Judge Area]
The main objective of
an elementary or high school research project is to foster scientific
experimentation. The following are guidelines for judging and are not
meant to be a checklist.
Evidence of
knowledge gained
- Is there evidence
that the student has acquired scientific knowledge or scientific skills
by doing this project?
- Does the exhibitor
recognize the scope and limitations of the problem selected?
- Does the project add
to scientific knowledge?
Evidence of
scientific approach
- Has a scientific
approach been taken with the problem?
- Has the exhibitor
solved a problem by using known scientific facts or principles as a
basis for new conclusions?
Evidence of primary
experimental research
- Has the student
gathered data from experiments done by the student instead of from the
results of others?
- Has the student
devised methods of carrying out work unique to the project, such as
designing a special piece of apparatus or deciding on specified
materials needed?
- Is the exhibitor’s
equipment effective? Does it do what it was intended to do?
- Can the work be the
basis for further experimentation?
Evidence of
individual work
- Has the material as
a whole been gathered from various sources and reorganized according to
the student’s own thinking and research?
- Has the student set
up a systematic plan of work and secured
measurements?
- If the student has
had assistance, are those portions of the exhibit
which represent other people’s work clearly identified?
Evidence of
thoroughness
- Is the exhibitor
aware of the empirical method--of the necessity of
repeating trials and the importance of controlling variables in
experiments in order to reach valid conclusions?
- Has the analysis of
the problem been orderly?
- Has the original
plan been carried successfully through to completion?
Validity of
information
- Are known facts and
principles stated correctly and used accurately?
- Have results of
experiments been given accurately and used accurately?
- Is the data complete
or at least based on random (rather than selected) samplings?
Validity of
conclusions
- Has the student
started with known facts and evolved new experiments and drawn relevant
conclusions?
- Are the conclusions
consistent with the data?
Quality of written
presentation
- Do the Research
Summary and the Abstract follow the guidelines for format and length?
- Has the exhibitor
searched the literature concerning the projects by using materials
which are dated 1995 or later?
- Has the student made
thorough use of accumulated data, including
the Reference List, interviews, and correspondence?
- Considering age and
experience, does the project make use of the
exhibitor’s abilities?
- Does the Abstract
state the purpose, procedure, and conclusion in
a concise manner, adequately summarizing the project on paper?
Quality of visual
presentation
- Is the exhibit
attractive and does it adequately present the theme of the project?
- Has data been
presented in the most explicit way for the particular
type of information involved?
Oral presentation
- Is the presentation
lucid, articulate, and interesting?
- Does the
presentation include enough technical information to be
convincing?
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