RESEARCH PLANS AND JOURNAL OLGA PEEL Regional Science Fair Director Cape Town Expo

Contents Research plans and researching information before the investigation starts Journals during the whole of the investigation

Research plans Proposal on how the project will be carried out. Done right at the beginning. Teacher/mentor guides and evaluates research plan and assists with planning. Teacher/mentor assists with an ethics check. Easy to start again at this point. Can be assessed. Includes skills such as predicting & referencing. Teache/mentor signs at the beginning

Eskom Expo Research Plan   Question or Problem being addressed Hypothesis or Engineering Goals (engineering projects only) C. Description in detail of method or procedures that will answer the question you asked or solve the problem: The following are important and key items that should be included when formulating ANY AND ALL research plans: Procedures (method): Detail the method/all procedures and experimental design to be used for data collection Variables: list independent, dependent and at least 3 controlled/fixed variables Data Analysis: Describe the procedures you will use to analyze the data that answers the research question or hypothesis D. Bibliography: List the three (3) most important references (e.g. science journal articles, books, internet sites) that you used to get information about your topic and that you will refer to in your introduction/part A above.

Researching information before the investigation What has already been done by other scientists? How to choose a reliable source of information – 4 ways of checking a source. Teaches students reading and summarising skills. Teaches them about ethics (not plagiarising). Learning how to reference sources of information eg books, websites etc.

Reliable websites to reference Does the article have a proper heading? Is there an author name with contact details? Is the webpage dated? Is the author at an educational /scientific institution?

http://undsci.berkeley.edu/index.php

Planning steps for students Research plan: Get permission to carry out an investigation using human subjects/animals/chemicals etc & get research plan signed Find out what has already been done Decide on materials and apparatus needed Plan enough time to carry out the investigation Decide on a method of recording results including project data book Ensure reliability of results

Journals Essential part of any project Determines authenticity of work done by students Hand written or typed Every entry dated Current year data needed only ALL evidence of research in the journal Eg choosing a topic, deciding on hypothesis, interviews, research done, raw data Start on FIRST day of investigation Finish day before Expo

Examples of Journal entries 28TH APRIL 2016 Met to discuss Cape Town Science EXPO. Started journal and visited the Cape Town Science EXPO website to gather information. Received the EXPO category list to decide at a later stage what category we will be entering into. Researched the Project guide in order to begin research plan. Figure 1- EXPO Project Guide Website Taken from: http://www.exposcience.co.za/

Examples of Journal entries 29TH APRIL 2016 The research Plan was completed and a meeting with science teachers was arranged to discuss possible expanding options, errors/limitations and future extensions. The meeting gave insight into how Piezoelectricity works and where they are currently used such as microphones. The meeting also addressed how to construct an updated more efficient tyre.

electric charge in response to applied mechanical stress. 1ST MAY 2016 30TH APRIL 2016 Started more research on Piezoelectric Technology which is: The ability of certain materials to generate an electric charge in response to applied mechanical stress. 1ST MAY 2016 Started research on Bicycle components – wheel, tube, Tyre. How to integrate more Piezoelectric Transducer Plates into the tyre. The cross-section of a tyre diagram below shows suitable areas on where Piezoelectric Transducer Plates could be inserted as stated in our long term goal of this investigation. Figure 2: Diagram of a Car Tyre – Taken from http://www.abbsrytire.com/tirepiccc333.gif

To end... Questions? Contact details: Olga Peel opeel@bishops.org.za

Sources of information: Eskom Expo for Young Scientists: Guide book and Research plan www.exposcience.co.za