How to Craft the PERFECT Science Fair Question:
Mar 2, 2024
John Doe
Want to come up with the perfect research question for a science fair?
Whether you're in middle school or high school, we'll help you make a research question for the science fair.
Rishab Jain, a Harvard student who has achieved success in numerous international competitions has an entire YouTube channel dedicated to science research and winning ISEF: How to win 1st place at ISEF: https://youtu. be/sqfzvvn2GY0?si=Zd4wscHTlm57U02q How to design a winning poster: https://youtu. be/qWERHVs14uE?si=2NOerF2jhwBowSr8 How to come up with a research topic: https://youtu. be/AEgL_sjoE4o?si=gzf4Mxa-EVbBPkL8 How to get a research opportunity in a lab: https://youtu. be/tKmS4UZbfII?si=tJaAVQ-5Fcm2hnla How to find a research mentor: https://www. youtube. com/watch?v=tKmS4UZbfII Paid coaching for winning science fair: https://rishabacademy. com/stem Introduction
- A Science Fair Question So, you're trying to crack the science fair.
You sit down on your computer, open a fresh google doc, and title it "Science Fair Ideas".
You scratch your head, deep in thought, and begin to furiously type out ideas after ideas on your screen, only to press the "delete" key enough times in the end to leave you back to square one.
Ultimately, you pull your hair out in frustration at the lack of progress you've made, and believe that failure will be imminent no matter what.
If this sounds like you, then follow me on this journey together, where we cut out the clutter and guide you through, step-by-step, exactly how to craft the PERFECT Science Fair Question to kickstart your pathway towards achieving success at the National or International level.
Let's go!
As someone who has won ISEF myself, I want you to be just as successful in YOUR future!
Step 1: Pick your Passion One of the most common misconceptions that students have when delving into the world of science research is that they must find the most advanced scientific topic and launch themselves into deep and profound research around that topic in order to stand out as the highest level intellectual at the Science Fair Competition.
This.
Is.
FALSE.
Students do this without having any love or understanding of the topic beforehand, and there lack of experience is evident in the end when their project fails to cover certain nuances.
Some of the best projects on display stem (get it? like STEM) from things that people just find themselves gravitating towards in their everyday life.
Do you like playing with puppies?
Brainstorm some project ideas on the veterinary science side of things.
Do you like legos or building things in Minecraft?
Brainstorm some ideas related to architecture.
Additionally, once you've found something that you even feel an inkling of interest towards, start consuming content.
These can be from renowned YouTubers and Podcasters online, articles you find on the Internet, information from your friends and family, or even from entertainment sites that give you a feel for what your hobby contains.
But beyond just absorbing content verbally
- and this might feel weird at first
- I want you to actually take physical notes to see everything around you linguistically rather than just in the form of entertainment.
It is quite easy to get carried away with the things you love, and it is important to re-align yourself with your purpose with all of this in this way.
Some things in particular to jot down include: Are there any gaping holes or alarming problems that you notice?
How can we make something about this experience better?
What are the different facets that constitute this passion of mine?
What are the commonalities that I see in terms of complaints in the media about this thing?
How can we get people to care about some of the issues surrounding this?
At the end of all of this, there should be at least a couple of things that you find interesting.
But wait Rishab.
Now I have another problem
- I have too many ideas!
I like all of these different things in my life, so how do I narrow down on one thing in specific to do my project on.
Should I just delete the things I have a slightly lower inclination towards?
Absolutely not.
As I've stated in my own video detailing precisely how to find your interrogative question, You SHOULD have many of these topics.
This is the very beginning.
You don't want to limit yourself down to one field specifically.
You want to explore, because often times, passion can change, interests can shift, and so you want to explore as much as you can until you can converge onto one idea.
PlayStill having trouble picking out a science fair idea?
Or do you simply just want to learn more about turning this idea into something concrete?
Check out the video above for all of that and more.
Step 2
- Do the Research Great, so you've found your passion.
Now what?
How does does "liking Rubik's cubes" or "cooking" help me get an interrogative question.
You've done your due diligence and taken notes on various videos around the topic, and now have a little bit of knowledge about some specific areas of concern within your passion that you may want to explore further.
It's time for research.
One of the best ways to do this is a literature dive, in which you go online, scour for certain articles and publications talking about similar fields of study, and assimilate as much information as your brain can possibly hold.
It is very common in these situations to have dozens of tabs open, and you essentially just want to really try and hone in on a problem within your category/passion that you sincerely believe needs some attention.
PlayHey!
Do you like doing research in general, and want to do it for more than just Science Fair?
Check out this whole FREE playlist from me showing you how to get more involved.
Huh?
Research?
How do I do that?
Unfortunately, that goes over the scope of this article.
If you would like a full, FREE guide on conducting deep research that will elevate your understanding of a subject even more, check out my product here.
Step 3
- Create Your Problem Statement By this point, you should've evaluated your passion and pinpointed a specific problem circumscribing that field that you would like to tackle.
Now, the final step would be to actually create the problem statement.
All there really is to this is just brainstorming some ways to actually test how this problem affects something, which you should have some insight to already from your research.
You have all of the pieces
- so just assemble them altogether.
Easy peasy, right?
Although there is some truth to that, this is still a very delicate and precise process, and forcing yourself not to take a reprieve and construct this problem statement as elegantly as possible can help you save a significant amount of points in your final scoring.
Here is my advice: Deduce whether to not this is actually testable.
Although erecting a nuclear reactor from scratch may sounds like an appealing pursuit, is it actually reasonable?
Figure out your expenses.
This goes along with testability.
You may have to budget your resources, taking into account the fact that judges don't actually want the fair to be a "pay-to-win" type system.
Talk about effects.
Figure out how different mechanisms, which are your independent variable(s), may affect your dependent variable(s).
Be specific
- Rather than simply stating "What is the effect of better gardening on plants?", try to rephrase it to "What are the effects of utilizing various federally approved pesticides on lima cons in a tropical area?".
Don't spread yourself thin.
As is true in life, you must try to hone in on a very particular problem and a very specific test case of this problem that you are conducting your experiment on to showcase a very exact trend.
Finally, I would HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend purchasing some form of coaching beforehand to ensure that your project statement is flawless.
Even if it means spending a little bit of money now, the delayed gratuity will pay you back 10-fold when that gold medal is strapped around your neck at the I.
S.
E.
F.
Remember: the problem statement is the foundation for the rest of your project, and therefore MUST be sturdy to guarantee success in the future.
Taking measures now to ensure it is perfect will help you tremendously.
A Masterclass in Science Fair Success all the way for High Schoolers in STEM?
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Overall, the key to creating the perfect science fair question is just to try to find something that you really love and explore something within it that you believe could use some improvement.
Take this thing, examine every fiber of it, and then watch as your experiment blossoms from it into something magical.
Interested in taking the next step from here and ensuring that the rest of your science fair project looks just as good as the question?
Check out my masterclass for more.
Good luck!.