student research project -...

Student research project

Planning your project

Number: 43935 Title: Student Research Project

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Extracts from Science Syllabus Stages 4-5 © Board of Studies, NSW 2003 Unit Overviewpp iii-vi

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Planning your project 1

Contents – Planning your project

Introduction....................................................................... 3

Choosing a research project............................................. 5

Your research problem .............................................................5

Starting your logbook........................................................ 9

What is a logbook? ...................................................................9

Writing the hypothesis .................................................... 13

But what is a hypothesis?.......................................................13

Restricting your research................................................ 17

Time.........................................................................................17

Resources ...............................................................................18

Expertise..................................................................................18

Risk assessment .....................................................................18

Setting a timetable.......................................................... 21

Suggested answers ........................................................ 23

Exercises – Planning ...................................................... 25

2 Student research project


Introduction

As part of your science course you are expected to do a research projectthat shows the skills you have been developing. In Stage 4 (Years 7 and8) you should have done at least one research project in a group. In Stage5 (Years 9 and 10) you must do at least one individual project thatincludes a ‘hands-on’ practical task. This series of lessons helps you toplan and organise this research project.

Start thinking now of an area of science that you would like to knowmore about.

By the end of this part you should be able to:

• describe your research project

• state the hypothesis that you will be testing

• prepare a mind map about your topic

• describe the information you will need

• justify the project you have described in terms of your availabletime, resources, expertise and safety limits

• start a logbook to record your plans

• evaluate whether your topic is suitable as a research project.

The purpose of this work is to take you step-by-step through the processof carrying out your own research project so that you can improve anddemonstrate your skills as a scientist.


Choosing a research project

Before starting your research project you will have some questions thatneed to be answered.

Remember to consult your teacher at all stages of your project. Don’tstart something without first checking that the project can be done withinthe time available. Also, make sure that the equipment needed isavailable and that safety has been considered.

Your research problemWhat will you do your research on? One of the critical steps in researchis writing a research problem that is clearly defined and can beinvestigated by collecting data. Your investigations must be carried outusing the scientific method. So you need to choose a topic and write ahypothesis.


Do you have an area of interest?

Have you got a clearly defined research task in mind? Don’t beconcerned if you haven’t. You can start by identifying an area that youare interested in.

Look at the list below and see if you can find a topic that might interestyou.

• Do all spiders spin the same type of web?

• Do cola drinks dissolve teeth or coins?

• What fish species are in local rivers?

• What is the fat content of sausages?

• What pest species are in local waterways? (Salvinia, water hyacinth,Caulerpa taxifolia)

• Does white chalk last longer than blue chalk?

• What is the strongest type of different shopping bags?

• Which fertilisers improve plant growth?

• Do different lights affect the growth of plants?

• What is the effect of magnets on plant growth?

• Algal blooms – how can they be prevented?

• What are carp doing to our inland rivers?

• What is the best paper aeroplane design?

• Do plant roots always grow downwards?

• How fast do Venus flytraps close on their prey?

• Do normal and galvanised nails rust at the same rate?

• Does music increase the rate of plant growth?

• Does sugar in the water make cut flowers last longer?

• Which brand of disposable nappy holds the most water?

• Which toilet paper brand is the strongest?

• How do bubbles change as they move up a liquid?

• How thick is an oil film on water?

• Which brand of pen lasts the longest?

• Which paper glue is strongest?


• Which battery lasts the longest?

• What is the average size of a soap bubble?

• What is the effect of exercise on blood pressure?

• Do slaters prefer light or dark conditions?

• How much energy is there in a peanut?

• Which metal conducts heat fastest?

• Do parents and children have similar fingerprints?

• Which brand of aspirin dissolves fastest?

• Does human leg hair grow back faster after shaving or waxing?

• Does cold water or hot water freeze fastest?

• Do girls have faster reactions than boys?

• How acidic are different fruits?

• Do boys and girls have different resting pulse rates?

• On which surface does a ping pong ball bounce highest?

If not maybe the list has triggered an idea or topic you would like to takea closer look at.

The Internet is a good place to search for a project. Start with the YoungScientist Award site (http://www.stansw.asn.au/ys/ysmain.htm) and thenuse a search engine such as Google (www.google.com). Try the followingkeywords, 'science fair projects'.

Make sure that your experiment does not include explosives, does notharm any animals and is not destructive to the environment.

Go to the exercises section and complete Exercise: Choosing a project.


Starting your logbook

Often when you write something down an idea will pop into your mind.Keeping your ideas together in one place is a useful method of recordingyour progress through an investigation. For this you will need a logbook.

What is a logbook?A logbook records the steps you take to complete a project. It does notneed to be excessively neat. It is a record of what you did and what youwere thinking. It should show how your thinking changes throughout theprocess of carrying out a research project. The logbook also recordswhere things go wrong and what you did to overcome any unexpectedresults.

Starting your logbook

At this point start a logbook for your investigation by writing down anyideas you may have. You can use an exercise book or download a scaffoldfrom the Science Online website.

Use a computer to access the Science Online website.

www.cli.nsw.edu.au/kto12

Go to Science, Stage 5 Science and then Student research project.

Start with today’s date and write down what you did on this date. Includeany discussion you have had, any telephone conversations, letters youhave written and the resources that you have found related to yourproject. If you take any photographs or audio recordings write down inyour logbook where and when these were gathered.

You need to keep accurate records of your plans, what you do, how youdo it and what you find out. You will use your logbook when you prepareyour final report. You will also submit your logbook to show yourteacher how you organised your research and how you made steadyprogress.


Here is a sample entry into a student logbook.

Include all the things that affect the progress of your project. This meansall the things you do when you plan your project as well as summaries ofconversations and reading, lists of equipment, drawings of models,names and descriptions of resources used, your results and thoughts youhave along the way. Things that go wrong should also be written in thelogbook and any false starts or dead ends that you encounter.

Your logbook is evidence that you have worked scientifically. It is also arecord of the type of activities you carried out during your investigation.Your teacher may ask to see your logbook as part of your ongoingassessment.

Keep your logbook with you whenever you are working on your project.

Mind mapping

A useful tool for moving onto the next phase is a mind or concept map.Mind mapping is a method of visualising your ideas. You can use a mindmap to link old and new information and generate ideas. An example of amind map about investigating slaters follows.


Writing out the thoughts you have helps with your ideas. The next step isto identify sources of information. This may be a library, the Internet orthrough a first-hand investigation.

A good way to start mind mapping is to write some keywords into themind map boxes.

Your mind map

Start a mind map about your topic in your logbook. Write somekeywords, then list your sources of information.

Keep thinking about what you want to investigate – you'll be surprised bywhere and when you have good ideas!

Go to the exercises section and complete Exercise: Mind map.


Writing the hypothesis

Having a clear idea of what is to be investigated is one of the best waysto start a research project. A scientific investigation is guided by thehypothesis.

But what is a hypothesis?Here are some definitions that people use for a hypothesis.


Spot the hypothesis

Tick the boxes next to the following hypotheses. One of these statementsis not a hypothesis. Which one?

Hypothesis 1

If the amount of water is increased then plant growth increases.

Is the hypothesis the objective of the experiment?

Is it is a clear testable statement?

Is it a statement and not a question?

Does it express a relationship between two or more variables (things)?

Does it say what you expect in your results?

Hypothesis 2

Blue shopping bags can carry more weight than white shopping bags






Hypothesis 3

Why do magpies dive bomb?





It should say what you expect in your results

Hypothesis 4

On concrete tennis balls bounce higher than ping pong balls.





Does it express a relationship between two or more variables (things).


Check your answers.

Now have a go at writing a hypothesis for your investigation in the space

below.

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

Use the check boxes to make sure you have written a hypothesis and then

get your teacher to check if your hypothesis is testable.

The hypothesis is the objective of the experiment.

It is a clear testable statement.

It is not a question.

It expresses a relationship between two or more variables (things).

It should say what you expect in your results

Another way to write a hypothesis is to consider the independent anddependent variables in the experiment. The independent variable is whatis changed or manipulated during the experiment and the dependentvariable is what is measured. A scaffold for a hypothesis can help you towrite your own hypothesis in the correct from.

If the independent variable is changed, then the dependent variablewill respond.

Example:

If the independent variable is (increased, decreased, changed), thenthe dependent variable will (increase, decrease, change.)

Hypothesis: If the amount of heat is decreased then germination willdecrease.

In the example the independent variable is amount of heat, it will bedecreased, then the dependent germination will decease.


In the example of a student studying the behaviour of a slater, then theamount of light will be the independent variable and the movement of theslater will be the dependent variable. A hypothesis for this experimentcould be:

If the light is increased then the slater will move to where it is darker.

Spend some time getting your hypothesis right in your logbook. After

you are satisfied with your hypothesis write it in the exercises.

Complete Exercise: Your hypothesis.


Restricting your research

Many students set themselves projects that are far too ambitious tocomplete. It’s a good idea to work out the restrictions before you start.Restrictions that might limit you include:

• time

• resources

• expertise

• risk assessment.

TimeYou have a time limit in which to complete your project. Probably, youwill have about three weeks to complete the research and one week toprepare and present your report.

Do you realistically think you can complete your project in that time? Doyou need to make your project bigger or smaller? What could you add orremove?

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

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ResourcesList the resources that will be useful for your task.

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

Are all of these resources available to you? Where can you access these?

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

ExpertiseYou may need help with your investigation so seek advice from peoplewith more experience of the topic.

Name some people you could ask for help.

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

Risk assessmentThere are some safety issues that you need to consider. You may need tocarry out a risk assessment to identify the hazards. These will be differentdepending on your individual project.

However there are some risks that you must not take regardless of yourinvestigation. You cannot work with poisonous or explosive materials. Ifyou are going to do an electrical project do not use mains power. Otherrisks might include working outdoors and using equipment such as a saw.


Working with animals

Your experiment must not cause harm to an animal. If you wish to workwith a vertebrate you will have to follow the guidelines supplied by theDepartment of Education and Training. You must talk to your teacher ifyou wish to use a vertebrate animal in your investigation.

Safety with chemicals

The three main areas of your body that you should protect when you areusing chemicals are:

• eyes

• skin

• lungs.

Bodypart

Protection

eyes Protect your eyes by wearing goggles and making sure that chemicals intest tubes are never pointed towards anyone.

skin Protect your skin by covering the body with personal protective clothingmade of non flammable material.

lungs Avoid inhaling fumes as these may damage the soft tissue of the lungs.You may have access to a fume cupboard to reduce the risk of inhalingfumes.

Managing risks

Use the check list below to work out the risks involved in your projectand then describe what you are doing to overcome these risks.

Identify the risk Level of risk (low,medium, high)

Control method

transport to study site

sunburn

insect bites


chemical spills

burns from hot liquids

fire hazards

poisonous chemicals

cutting injuries fromsharp equipment(scalpels, knives)

electrical shock

injury from animals

injury from causticchemicals (strong acidsand bases)

water safety

infection from microbes

injury to animals

Make notes in your logbook about any follow up you need to do toensure a safe research project that doesn't affect your health and theenvironment.

Supervision

You need a responsible adult to check your plans and hypothesis. Workout how to carry and safely use equipment. Remember to follow thesafety rules for the use of any scientific equipment. Don't start anythinguntil you have your teacher's approval.

After all that planning, you should be fairly certain of what you are goingto try to find out in your research project!

Go to the exercises section and complete Exercise: Restricting yourresearch.


Setting a timetable

The secret of a successful research project is careful and thoroughpreparation. Since you must complete your project in about four or fiveweeks, you need to plan what you are going to do and when. This shouldbe done before you start.

The table below is one student’s estimate of the time required.

Things to do Time it will probably take

choose a research topic 1 hour

library 5 hours

talking to people 2 hours

summarising information 5 hours

design experiment 3 hours

organise equipment 1 hour

measure and record data 5 hours

pull ideas together 3 hours

prepare report 5 hours

From this estimate, the following timetable was created.


Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5

collect resources – library, talking

summarise information and ideas

formulate problem

design activity and test equipment

collect data

pull ideas together

prepar e report

You cannot expect to finish your project in just a few days. It requires aserious commitment to the task spread over the time allowed.

Now it’s your turn to prepare a timetable and a timeline.

Your plan

Follow the steps on the next two pages.

1 Job list

In your logbook make a list of the things you think you will needto do.

2 Time estimate

In your logbook predict how much time you will need for eachtask on your job list. Add in the extra tasks that you think of asyou go along.

Go to the exercises section and complete Exercise: Setting a timetable.

You will need to make changes to your plans but well done for gettingready to start!


Suggested answers

But what is a hypothesis?

Hypothesis 1

If the amount of water is increased then plant growth increases.






Hypothesis 2

Blue shopping bags can carry more weight than white shopping bags






Hypothesis 3

Why do magpies dive bomb?







Hypothesis 4

On concrete tennis balls bounce higher than ping-pong balls.






Hypothesis 3 is not a good hypothesis. It is not a testable question, and it iswritten as a question.


Exercises – Planning

Name ____________________________

Teacher ____________________________

Exercise: Choosing a research project

Write down any ideas you have for your project.

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________


Exercise: Mind map

1 Copy your completed mind map onto this page. You can writeand draw over the shaded guide or use the space provided toprepare your own mind map.

a

your area of interest


Exercise: Your hypothesis

1 Practise writing a hypothesis for each of the topics below. The firstone is done for you.

Does white chalk last longer than blue chalk?

White chalk will laster longer than blue chalk.

Different lights affect the growth of plants.

_______________________________________________________

Do plant roots always grow downwards?

_______________________________________________________

Compare rusting in normal and galvanised nails

_______________________________________________________

Does music increase plant growth?

_______________________________________________________

Does sugar in the water make cut flowers last longer?

_______________________________________________________

What is the effect of exercise on blood pressure?

_______________________________________________________

Do slaters prefer light or dark conditions?

_______________________________________________________

Which metal copper or iron conducts heat fastest?

_______________________________________________________

Does cold water or hot water freeze fastest?

_______________________________________________________

Do girls have faster reactions than boys?

_______________________________________________________

2 Write your research hypothesis here.

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________


Exercise: Restricting your research

1 What are some resources that you plan to use?

_______________________________________________________

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_______________________________________________________

2 What risks have you identified for your research project?

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

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3 What will you do to ensure that you, and others, are safe throughoutthis research project?

_______________________________________________________

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Exercise: Setting a timetable

Fill in your plan.

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5

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