You’ve seen it: the Harvard admits, the thousands of dollars in fair winnings, the YouTube videos of ISEF first-placers walking up that illuminated stage.

You, too, want to enter and win first place, for a plethora of reasons: prestige, recognition, a nice addition to your college applications.

But. how?

Whether you dream of impressing college admissions officers, connecting with like-minded peers, or simply proving to yourself that you can tackle big questions, this guide to creating the PERFECT science fair project is your launchpad.

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 Why science fair?

Science research gives you the opportunity to dive deep into topics you're curious about.

As you put your project together, you're not just doing homework, but becoming a real scientist: tackling questions, solving puzzles, and sharing your discoveries.

When you present your work, you're not just talking to judges, either: you're sharing your passion and inspiring others.

And, with enough hard work, who knows: you might just come home with a patent.

If you’re even slightly curious about how to get involved in these fairs, here’s exactly how you should do it… Step 1: Know your niche Embarking on a science research project begins with immersing yourself in numerous works to figure out what you’re passionate about:

1. Mind mapping: Start by consuming all sorts of media, beginning with Wikipedia.

You’ll find that in Wikipedia articles, there are dozens of hyperlinks in each paragraph, and you’ll be able to jump quickly from one interesting topic to another.

Take notes on words and subtopics that pique your interest, creating a list of potential research ideas by mind mapping: organize the words and subtopics into categories by writing down just a few words that interest you, and then find the connections between them.

You’ll start to see the main areas you’re drawn to emerging!

2. Literature review: With your general topic identified, you’ll now need to start conducting an in-depth literature review.

This will help you to solidify your knowledge of your preferred area of study and develop new ideas grounded in existing research.

3. Ask the right questions: This is the part most students (and even seasoned researchers!) find themselves stuck on.

However, as you go deeper and deeper into your readings, I find that it starts to get easier to identify what YOU want to do your research on.

You may also draw from real life:  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?

How to Craft the PERFECT Science Fair Question: Come Up With Science Project Idea https://www. youtube. com/watch?v=RqNZ-L4E3Zw Need some help starting out (or just prefer your content in video form)?

Check out THIS great guide on choosing your research idea!

Step 2: Planning Developing a research plan is a crucial step in structuring your scientific inquiry to ensure it is systematic and effective.

Here's how you can develop a comprehensive research plan: Define Your Objectives: Begin by clearly articulating the goals of your research.

What are the key questions you aim to answer?

Ensure that your objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).

Then, based on your objectives, construct well-defined hypotheses.

Design Your Methodology: Detail the methods you will use to test your hypotheses.

There’s not much else to say about it, just make sure your steps are specific enough so that you AND another researcher can and will be able to follow it to a T.

By meticulously outlining each component of your research plan, you establish a clear roadmap for your study, enhancing its likelihood for success and impact.

Data Collection + Analysis: Specify how you will gather data.

Similarly to the last step, you should outline the step-by-step procedures for your data collection and analysis.

Specify the statistical tests and analytical methods you’ll be using, and make sure you know WHY you’re using them specifically.

Figure out your timeline: Develop a timeline for your research, including ideal start and end dates for each phase of your project.

Of course, research won’t always go according to plan, so make sure you’re giving yourself enough time to get everything done (most ISEF-level science projects take a few months to a year!).

Breaking down the project into manageable tasks and figuring out rough timeframes will really help you stay on track.

Review and Refine: Share your research plan with mentors or peers for feedback.

Be open to revising your plan based on their insights.

I would HIGHLY recommend purchasing some form of coaching to make sure that your project statement is bulletproof.

If you want great insight from a top ISEF winner, check out RISHAB’S 1:1 SCIENCE FAIR and RESEARCH COACHING.

Step 3: Do the work!

This step is pretty straightforward: do the work.

Run tests, set up trials, do wet-lab research if need be.

Though it might be tedious, make sure you’re examining everything thoroughly and really getting down to the nitty-gritty of the project so that you can produce the most and best results possible.

Analyze and organize all your findings afterwards!

For this step, many find that it’s best to find a mentor (if you haven’t got one already) guiding you through the process in a real lab.

If you don’t have a mentor, no worries!

Learn how to cold email researchers to land yourself a research position in no time in this article and the video below: https://www. youtube. com/watch?v=tKmS4UZbfII Step 4: Presentation Now comes time to prepare for the actual competition.

For the speech part, you should be clearly articulating your research question, methodology, results, and conclusions.

It’s been said time and time again that the best way to do this is to make your project into a STORY.

By creating a compelling narrative in your delivery, you’ll be able to make yourself memorable.

If you can manage to stick your research into the judge’s mind, you’re one step closer to a medal.

Rishab’s A-Z Science Fair Masterclass covers just this:  If you’re an ambitious STEM student hoping to hit the ground running for your next competition, get the package NOW and get expert insights into landing internships, winning top-level competitions, and bringing home tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships (hey, if Rishab did it, you can too!). https://www. youtube. com/watch?v=qWERHVs14uE Visuals are also your friend here: use charts, graphs, and models to illustrate your findings.

However, many people have trouble squeezing their project all onto one board because of how much content there is (not enough space to say all that there needs to be said).

So, here’s a comprehensive video on how exactly to structure the visual aspect of your board.

Step 5: Win gold You’re ready to win!

Now, to find to right opportunities to present your work.

Join the email list to get exclusive updates on upcoming competitions and programs where you get to showcase and DO your own research.

You’ve got this: now set up your project and bring that medal home.