THE SCIENCE RESEARCH

Bureau of Secondary Education Department of Education May 2008

Planning the Science Research
Identifying the problem; Identifying the variables; Formulating the hypothesis;
and Planning the experimental procedure
Identifying the Research Problem
Finding a Research Topic
Hardest part of a science research Need to focus on topics which are interest to
you Select a question that is going to be interesting to work on for at least a
month or two, and; A question that is specific enough to allow you to find the
answer with a simple experiment.
Some characteristics of a good science fair project question:
The question should be interesting enough to read about then work on for the next
couple months. There should be at least 3 sources of written information on the
subject. You want to be able to build on the experience of others!
Now, for something like a science fair project, it is important to think ahead.
This will save you lots of unhappiness later. Imagine the experiment you might
perform to answer your question. How does that possible experiment stack up
against these issues?
The experiment should measure changes to the important factors (variables) using
a number that represents a quantity such as a count, percentage, length, width,
etc. Or, just as good might be an experiment that measures a factor (variable)
that is simply present or not present. Your must be able to control other factors
that might influence your experiment, so that you can do a fair test. A “fair
test” occurs when you change only one factor (variable) and keep all other
conditions the same.
Is your experiment safe to perform? Do you have all the materials and equipment
you need for your science fair project, or will you be able to obtain them quickly
and at a very low cost? Do you have enough time to do your experiment before the
science fair? Does your science fair project meet all the rules and requirements
for your science fair? Have you avoided the bad science fair projects listed in
the table? (the Slide after the next)
Some science fair projects that involve human subjects, vertebrate animals or
animal tissue, pathogenic agents, DNA, or controlled or hazardous substances, need
approval from DOST before you start experimentation.
Some examples of good science fair project questions are the following:
How does water purify affect surface tension? When is the best time to plant
soy beans? How does arch curvature affect load carrying strength? How do
different foundations stand up to earthquakes?
Examples of bad science research topics that you should avoid are the ff:
Science Project Topics to Avoid Why Any topic that boils down to a simple Such
experiments don’t involve the preference or taste comparison. For kinds of
numerical measurements ex., “Which tastes better: Coke or we want in a science
fair project. Pepsi? They are more of a survey than an experiment. Most consumer
product testing of the “Which is best?” type. This includes comparisons of
popcorn, bubblegum, make-up, detergents, etc.
There projects only have scientific validity if the Investigator fully understand
the science behind why the product works and applies that understanding to the
experiment. While many consumer products are easy to use, the science behind them
is often at the level of a graduate student in college.

Any topic that requires people to recall things they did in the past.

The data tends to be unreliable.

Science Project Topics to Avoid

Why

Effect of colored light on plants Several people do this project at almost every
science fair. You can be more creative! Effect of music or talking on plants.
Difficult to measure.

Effect of running, music, video The result is either obvious (the games, or almost
anything on heart beats faster when you blood pressure run) or difficult to
measure with proper controls (the effect of music). Effect of color on memory,
Highly subjective and difficult to emotion, mood, taste, strength, measure. etc.
Science Project Topics To Avoid

Why

Any topic that requires measurements Without measurement, you can’t do that will
be extremely difficult to make or science. repeat, given your equipment.
Graphology or handwriting analysis Astrology or ESP Questionable scientific
validity No scientific validity

Any topic that requires dangerous, hard Violates the rules of virtually any to
find, expensive, or illegal materials. science fair. Any topic that requires
drugging, pain or Violates the rules of virtually any injury to a live vertebrate
animal. science fair. Any topic that creates unacceptable risk Violates the rules
of virtually any (physical or psychological) to a human science fair. subject. Any
topic that involves collection of tissue samples from living humans or vertebrate
animals. Violates the rules of virtually any science fair.
Finding Information on Your Research Topic
You can tap several sources from your immediate environment. You can talk to
other people with more experience than yourself: your mentors, parents, and
teachers. Record your sources and take good notes as you go.
Today, savvy researchers use their library and Internet to do background research
to help them find the best way to do things. You want to learn from the experience
of others rather than blunder around and repeat their mistakes.
Library Research
One of the most valuable resources at the library is not a book, but a person.
Public librarians, college librarians and certified school librarians are
specially trained to teach information literacy. Librarians are excellent sources
for organizing research, for teaching how to search, how to read and use
citations, how to narrow down web searches, and how to winnow out the good from
the bad.
The best place to start your background research is by looking up your keywords
in an encyclopedia, dictionary, or textbook. Read the background information and
note any useful sources listed in the bibliography at the end of the encyclopedia
article or dictionary entry. You can also check the subject headings of books and
articles as you look them up in the library catalog.
Periodicals are printed material like magazines and newspapers. Depending on your
topic, they may also contain useful information. You can look up your keywords in
a printed index available in your library. If your library is subscribed to
online resources, you can gain access to information unattainable in any other
way.
Internet Research
There are 2 primary ways to search for information on the internet. 1.To use a
search engine such as Google or Yahoo! 2. To search using a subject portal.
Search engines try to index everything on the internet. Subject portals list just
a small portion of the information on the Internet, but the sites listed have been
checked for relevance.
Two popular subject portals:
 Librarian’s Index to the Internet  WWW Virtual Library You can begin by
entering your keywords one at a time to search for information in the search
engines and subject portals; however, this will probably bring up too much
irrelevant information.
If you want some advanced tips on using the Internet to find information, here are
two good sites. There is valuable information here even for people who think that
they are good at Internet searching.
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu./TeachingLib/Guid A tutorial offered by the Teaching
Library at the University of California at Berkeley. Librarians’ Index to the
Internet: Internet Guide and Search Tools. Check out the tips in “Internet
Searching.”
To do an internet search for books containing information about a specific science
fair project, the Science Fair Project Index is a great place to start. The Index
is designed to allow the user to locate a particular experiment by the general
topic; by keywords in the experiment title or book information; by grade level; by
the materials or equipment employed; or by the principle demonstrated.
http://www.ascpl.lib.oh.us/scifair/
Finding Too Much or Too Little Information
If you are finding too much information, for example pages and pages of irrelevant
hits on Google or a periodical index, you need to narrow your search. You can
narrow your search by borrowing some of the terms in your research questions. If
you aren’t finding enough information, you need to simplify your search.
Most online search engines and periodical guides have instructions about how to
narrow and broaden searches. Just read the instructions for help.
In the end, never forget that your goal is to find information to answer the
research questions you asked about your topic. Don’t stop looking until you have
sources that will answer your questions! Be sure to ask for help from mentors,
parents, and teachers if you’re having trouble.
Identifying the Variables
Variable – is any factor, trait, or condition that can exist in differing amounts
or types. An experiment usually has three kinds of variables: independent,
dependent, and controlled.
Independent variable – one that is changed by the scientist. To insure a fair
test, a good experiment has only one independent variable. Dependent variable –
one which can not be changed in order to see how it responds to the changed made
to the independent variable. Controlled variable – quantity that a scientist
wants to remain constant.
In a good experiment, the investigator must be able to measure the values for each
variable. Weight or mass is an example of a variable that is very easy to measure.
In some experiments, it is not possible to demonstrate that a change in the
independent variable causes a change in the dependent variable. Instead one may
only be able to show that the independent variable is related to the dependent
variable. This relationship is called correlation.
One of the most common reasons to see a correlation is that “intervening variables
are also involved which may give rise to the appearance of a possibly direct
cause-and-effect relationship, but which upon further investigation turn out to be
more directly caused by some other factor” (Wikipedia, 2006).
Examples of Variables
Question Independent Dependent Variable Variable (What I observe) (What I change)
Water faucet Amount of water opening (closed, flowing measure in half open, fully
liters per minute open) Controlled Variables (What I keep the same)

How much water flows through a faucet at different openings?

• The Faucet • Water pressure, or how much the water is “pushing” “Different water
pressure might also cause different amounts of water to flow and different faucets
may behave differently, so to insure a fair test I want to keep the water pressure
and the faucet the same for each faucet opening that I test.”
Question

Independent Dependent Variable Variable (What I (What I observe) change) • Growth

of the plant measure by its height •Growth of the plant measure by the number of
leaves •See Measuring Plant Growth for more ways to measure plant growth

Controlled Variables (What I keep the same)

Does Amount of fertilizer fertilizer make a plant measured in grow bigger? grams

• Same size pot for each plant • Same type of plant in each pot • Same type and
amount of soil in each plot • Same amount of water and light •Make measurements of
growth for each plant at the same time “The many variables above can each change
how fast a plant grows, so to insure a fair test of the fertilizer, each of them
must be kept the same for every pot.”
Question

Independent Dependent Variable Variable (What I observe) (What I change) Voltage

of the Speed of rotation electricity measured in measured in volts revolutions per
minute (RPMs)

Controlled Variables (What I keep the same)

Does an electric motor turn faster if you increase the voltage?

• Same motor for every test •The motor should be doing the same for each test
(turning the same wheel, propeller or whatever) “The work that a motor performs
has a big impact on its speed, so to insure a fair test, I must keep that variable
the same.”
Formulating the Hypothesis
Hypothesis – educated guess about the answer to your question.
The hypothesis must be worded so that it can be tested in your experiment. Do
this by expressing the hypothesis using your independent and dependent variables.
In fact, many hypotheses are stated exactly like this: “If a particular
independent variable is changed, then there is also a change in a certain
dependent variable.”
Sample Hypotheses
“If I open the faucet [faucet opening is the independent variable]. Then it will
increase the flow of water [flow of water is the dependent variable].” “If a
plant receives fertilizer [having fertilizer is the independent variable], then it
will grow to be bigger than a plant that does not receive fertilizer [plant size
is the dependent variable].”
Notice that in each of the example it will be easy to measure the independent
variables. This is another important characteristic of a good hypothesis. If we
can readily measure the variables in the hypothesis, then we say that the
hypothesis is testable.
Planning the Experimental Procedure
The first step in designing your experimental procedure involves planning on how
you will change your independent variable and how you will measure the impact that
this change has on the dependent variable.
To guarantee a fair test when you are conducting your experiment, you need to make
sure that the only thing you change is the independent variable. And, all the
controlled variables must remain constant. Only then can you be sure that the
change you make to the independent variable actually caused the changes you
observe in the dependent variables.
Scientists run experiments more than once to verify that results are consistent.
In other words, you must verify that you obtain essentially the same results every
time you repeat the experiment with the same value for your independent variable.
This insures that the answer to your question is not just an accident.
Each time that you perform your experiment is called a run or a trial. So, your
experimental procedure should also specify how many trials you intend to run. In
some experiments, you can run the trials at once. For example, if you’re growing
plants, you can put three identical plants (or seeds) in three separate pots and
that would count as three trials.
In experiments that involve testing or surveying different groups of people, you
will not need to repeat the experiment multiple times. However, in order to insure
that your results are reliable, you need to test or survey enough people to make
sure that your results are reliable.
Two types of trial groups
1. Experimental group – consists of the trials where you change the independent
variable. Ex: If your question asks whether fertilizer makes a plant grow bigger,
then the experimental group consists of all trials in which the plants receive
fertilizer.
2. Control group – consists of all trials where you leave the independent variable
in its natural state. In our example, it would be important to run some trials in
which the plants get no fertilizer at all. These trials with no fertilizer provide
a basis for comparison, and would insure that any changes you see when you add
fertilizer are in fact caused by the fertilizer and not something else.
However, not every experiment is like our fertilizer example. In another kind of
experiment, many groups of trials are performed at different values of the
independent variable.
For example, if your question asks whether an electric motor turns faster if you
increase the voltage, you might do an experimental group of three trials at 1.5
volts, another group of three trials at 2.0 volts, three trials at 2.5 volts, and
so on. In such an experiment, you are comparing the experimental groups to each
other, rather than comparing them to a single control group.
Whether or not your experiment has a control group, remember that every experiment
has a number of controlled variables. Controlled variables are those variables
that we don’t want to change while we conduct our experiment, and they must be the
same in every trial and every group of trials.
Key Elements of the Experimental Procedure
Description and size of all experimental and control groups, as applicable A
step-by-step list of everything you must do to perform your experiment. The
experimental procedure must tell how you will change your one and only independent
variable and how you will measure that change.
The experimental procedure must explain how you will measure the resulting change
in the dependent variable/s. If applicable, the experimental procedure should
explain how the controlled variables will be maintained at a constant value.
The experimental procedure should specify how many times you intend to repeat
your experiment, so that you can verify that your results are reproducible. A
good experimental procedure enables someone else to duplicate your experiment
exactly.
Where will you conduct your experiment?
You may need a lot of room for your experiment or you may not be able to more your
experiment around from place to place. If you are working with human or animal
subjects, you may need a location that is quiet. You will need to think about
these limitations before you start your experiment so you can find a location in
advance that will meet your needs.
Conducting the Science Research
The second step in the science research process is conducting the research
consisting of: 1. Preparing for the conduct of the experiment; 2. Constructing the
data table; and 3. Conducting the experiment.
Preparing for the Conduct of the Experiment
Know what to do. Get a laboratory notebook for taking notes and collecting
data. Be prepared. Collect and organize all materials, supplies and equipment you
will need to do the experiment. Think ahead about safety!
Preparing the Data Table
Prepare a data table in your laboratory notebook to help you collect your data. A
data will ensure that you are consistent in recording your data and will make it
easier to analyze your results once you have finished your experiment.
Sample Data Table
Trial Faucet Opening (the Independent Variable) ¼ open Water Flow (the Dependent
Variable) [Write your date in this column as you make measurements during your
experiment.]

#1

#2 #3 #4 #5 #6

¼ open ½ open ½ open Fully open Fully open

Conducting the Actual Experiment
It is very important to take very detailed notes as you conduct your experiments.
As addition to your data, record your observations as you perform the experiment.
Write down any problems, anything you do that is different from planned, ideas
that come to mind, or interesting occurrences. Be on the lookout for the
unexpected. Your observations will be useful when you analyze your data and draw
conclusions.
Keep a lab notebook so that all your information is kept in one place. The data
that you record will be the basis for your science research final report and your
conclusions. If possible, take pictures of your experiment along the way.
Remember to use numerical measurement as mush as possible. If your experiment
also has qualitative data, then take a photo or draw a picture of what happens.
Be as exact as possible about the way you conduct your experiment, especially in
following your experimental procedure, taking your measurements, and note taking.
In fact, it’s a good idea to do a quick preliminary run of your experiment. Show
your preliminary data to your teacher, and make revisions to your experimental
procedure if necessary.
Stay organized and be safe. Keep your workspace clean and organized as you conduct
your experiment. Keep your supplies within reach. Use protective gear and adult
supervision as needed. Keep any chemicals away from pets and younger brothers or
sisters.
Processing the Results of the Experiment
STEPS: 1.Classifying data; 2.Calculating and summarizing data; and 3.Interpreting
data.
Classifying Data
Quantitative data – based on measurements and use a scale of equal interval.
Qualitative data – gathered using nonstandard scale or unequal intervals or
discrete categories.
Both quantitative and qualitative data can further be sub-divided into 4 scales of
measurement.
1. Nominal data – data placed in discrete categories which can not be ranked in
ascending and descending order. 2. Ordinal data – data placed into categories that
can be ranked or ordered in the ascending or descending manner.
3. Interval data – data collected using a scale with equal interval but no
absolute zero value. 4. Ratio data – data collected using a scale of equal and an
absolute zero value.
Calculating and Summarizing Data
A spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel may be a good way to perform
calculations, and then later the spreadsheet can be used to display the results.
Be sure to label the rows and columns.
You should have performed multiple trials of your experiment. Think about the best
way to summarize your data. You may want to calculate the average for each group
of trials, or summarize the results in some other way such as ratios, percentages,
or error and significance.
Perform any calculations that are necessary for you to analyze and understand the
data from your experiment.
Use calculations from known formulas that describe the relationships you are
testing. Pay careful attention because you may need to convert some of your units
to do your calculation correctly. All of the units for a measurement should be of
the same scale.
Graphs are often an excellent way to display your results.
For any type of graph: Generally, you should place your independent variable on
the x-axis of your graph and the dependent variable on the y-axis. Be sure to
label the axes of your graph – don’t forget to include the units of measurement.
If you have more than one set of data, show each series in a different color or
symbol and include a legend with clear labels.
Few of the Possible Types of Graphs
A bar graph might be appropriate for comparing different trials or different
experimental groups. It also may be a good choice if your independent variable is
not numerical. (In Microsoft Excel, generate bar graphs by choosing chat types
“Column” or “Bar”.)
Example
Time-series plot – can be used if your independent variable is numerical and your
independent variable is time.
In MS Excel, the “line graph” chart type generates a time series. By default,
Excel puts a count on the x-axis. To generate a time series plot with your choice
of x-axis units, make a separate data column that contains those units next to
your dependent variable. Then choose the “XY (scatter)” chart type, with a sub-
type that draws line.)
Example:
X-Y Line Graph – shows the relationship between your dependent and independent
variables when both are numerical and the dependent variable is a function of the
independent variable.
In MS Excel, choose the “XY (scatter)” chart type, and then choose a sub-type that
does draw a line.
Example:
Scatter plot – might be the proper graph if you’re trying to show how two
variables may be related to one another.
In MS Excel, choose the “XY (scatter)” chart type, and then choose a sub-type that
does not draw a line.
Example:
Interpreting Data
Steps: 1. Write a topic sentence stating the independent and dependent variables
giving reference to your tables and graphs. 2. Write a sentence comparing the
measure of central tendency of the collected data. 3. Write a sentence describing
the variations; and 4. Write a statement on how the data support the hypothesis.
Evaluating the Science Research
It is the last step of the science research process which involves drawing
conclusions and formulating recommendations.
Drawing Conclusions and Recommendations
Your conclusions will summarize whether or not your science research support or
contradict your original hypothesis. If the results of your science experiment
did not support your hypothesis, don’t change or manipulate your results to fit
your original hypothesis, simply explain why things did not go as expected.
Scientific research is an ongoing process, and by discovering that your
hypothesis is not true, you have already made huge advances in your learning that
will lead you to ask more questions that lead to new experiments. Science fair
judges do not care about whether you prove or disprove your hypothesis; they care
how much you learned.