Defining a problem

• You'll want to pick a subject for your science project that you like. If you're not sure what you would like to do, consult with local professionals in the subject area you would like to investigate. Many people would be glad to help, they just need to be asked. Also, continue to keep in touch with them, as they could give you advice and direction throughout your project.You need to find out some background information on your topic and try to understand any terms associated with your subject that you’re unfamiliar with. From here you will start to see GAPS in our knowledge, the possibility of a project is beginning to show itself!

Formulating a hypothesis

• Come up with an idea about something you want to test. A hypothesis is just an idea of what you think might happen under a specific set of conditions. Setting a hypothesis at the beginning is to keep you focused on answering a specific question and to keep your experiment on track. It is not intended to lock you into one idea that can't be changed later on when you find that it was incorrect. An example of a hypothesis would be: Does cigarette smoke have a damaging effect on plant growth?

• Variables: Keep things as simple as possible. A variable is a condition of the experiment that you could change to affect the outcome, eg, temperature, amount of light, etc. It's much better to test only one variable thoroughly.

• Controls: You need to have a standard to test your experimental results against. For example, if you're studying the effect of cigarette smoke on plant growth, you will probably keep some plants that were not exposed to cigarette smoke to compare them the others to. The plants that grew in the same conditions except for being exposed to cigarette smoke are called "controls". Most experiments will have controls and it's worth taking time to figure out what a good control would be for your experiment.

• Sample Size: You will need to have several "subjects" in your experiment. For example, you'll need to test the effect of cigarette smoke on several plants, not just one.

• Time: Allow enough time for complications if things don't go right the first time. You might need to start your experiment over again. Allow 6-8 weeks to complete the experiment. It is usual for an experiment to be repeated. This needs to be taken into account as well.

Collecting data

• Keep a detailed notebook: Don't cross anything out, you might need to refer back to it later. Entries should be dated with the date and the number of days into the experiment. Include all observations, don't assume you'll remember points and particulars. What might not seem important at the time might be an important result later and might actually support your conclusion, so you'll want an accurate record of it.

• Quantify your results by reporting things in numbers, not just observations. For example, say that your plants grew 1 centimeter. Don't say that the plants "look bigger today than they did yesterday". Record your numbers in a table. These are "raw data", a list of numbers, and should not appear in your finished project. We will turn this list of numbers into a picture later on - a GRAPH.

Forming a conclusion

• Did your data support your hypothesis? If not, that's a result too. It doesn’t mean that the experiment didn't work. Also, consider other possible explanations for your results. Did your treatment kill your plants or was it that you forgot to water them? You're not out to "prove" your hypothesis. Think more along the lines of "here's what I thought was going to happen and here's what actually happened" and then go on to explain why you think it happened the way it did.