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Preparing the Research Paper

See Also: Sample Research Paper

A paper describing your research and an abstract of your research are required of all students who wish to enter the research competition. The paper and abstract may be mailed or sent electronically as an Email attachment to the Symposium office to be received by January 15, 2010. You are to select the most appropriate field of your research from the six categories established by the Symposium. The six categories are:

  1. Environmental Science; Earth and Space Science
  2. Engineering
  3. Physical Sciences (including Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy)
  4. Life Sciences
  5. Medicine and Health; Behavioral and Social Sciences
  6. Mathematics and Computer Science.

Your paper must be prepared in 12 point type and if mailed stapled in the upper left hand corner.   Two copies of the research paper should be prepared: 1. an original with the names of the student, high school, and supporting teacher sponsors and/or research mentor on the cover page; and 2. a second copy of the paper without this information on the cover page to be used for judging.  Research papers should be written in third person using the following format.

Format for the Research Paper

Cover Page - The cover page must contain the title of the research and the category of the Research Field selected from on of the six listed above.  Make sure your title is concise but also descriptive.  On one copy also include the student's name, sponsor, and school address.

Animal Research - If your research involves animals include a statement of approval of your research by the animal research review board of the laboratory or university in which the research was conducted.

Acknowledgment of major assistance - Include a statement on where and when the research was done and acknowledge those who assisted you with the study.  If the work was part of a larger project involving other scientists (e.g., college students, postdoctoral or other professions), be sure to list what part of the work you were engaged in. 

Project Information Form – The accompanying form needs to be filled out by student and signed by both the High School Teacher Sponsor and the Research Mentor under whose guidance the student conducted the research.  A single copy of this form needs to be submitted with the research paper.  Completion of this form is a necessary requirement to be eligible for the TN-JSHS competition.

Table of Contents - List the topics and sub-topics in order and the page numbers on which they start. Add to the table of contents, a list of all graphs, tables, and other representative figures. These should have a title and page number.

Introduction - Write the introduction to provide background, details, or the setting of your specific research problem. Assume that the reader will be scientifically literate, but he or she may not be familiar with the details. In the introduction, first state the purpose of the research study. Secondly, state the hypotheses that you are testing. Thirdly, describe what is already known about the research.

Materials, Methods and Procedures - State the materials, methods or procedures used to conduct the research in a step-by-step manner. This section should be written specifically enough so that the research could be replicated.

Results (Data or Findings) - Present the results of your research finding in logical order. Use graphs, tables, nd/or other representation. Tables and graphs should be numbered separately and include captions. Numbering will enable you to refer to them in text quite easily. Explain in text the important features of each table, graph, etc. Report the results of statistical analyses of your data and the type of statistical test used.

Discussion and Conclusions - In this section interpret your results. First, restate the hypotheses, and explain how the data either supported or rejected the initial research questions. Discuss your research findings in relationship to what is already known about the research problem (reported in the introduction section). Draw conclusions based upon your research findings. The conclusions can include relevant, subjective observations or comments, but do state that these are speculation.

Acknowledge any limitations which affect the research results. For example, what further experiments need to be performed? Statistical techniques used to manipulate the data may have limitations. Some of the treatment effect might have been caused by a random, uncontrolled intervening variable. Again, acknowledge these limitations and other factors over which the researcher had no control, and state how these might have influenced the study outcomes.

Literature Cited - This is a list of citations for every article cited in your text. Endnotes are needed for all direct quotations and for all important statements of facts or opinions that are taken from written sources. Figures, dates, descriptions of situations, scientific data, opinion, representations and the like which are presented to advance the subject of the paper need a stated source. Check with your teacher or other advisors if you need further assistance in the format for endnotes.

Appendices - In some cases, you may wish to include large tables of raw data in your report. You should include such items in an appendix at the very end of your research report. Label and paginate your appendices.

Helpful Hints for Abstracts and Papers

  1. Use past tense and third person in describing completed research, present tense when stating existing facts and what is in the paper.
  2. Incorrect spelling and sentence structure will discourage interest in your project.
  3. Assume that the reader has a good general technical vocabulary but try to avoid use of highly-specialized words or abbreviations.
  4. In an abstract, if reference to procedure is essential, try to restrict it to identification of method or type of process employed. In the research paper, discuss the details of procedures a nd equipment.
  5. State results, conclusions, or findings in a clear, concise fashion.
  6. Have your teachers read your abstract and paper to make sure it communicates well.
  7. Use the Judging Criteria to see that all parts of your abstract and your paper are present.

References for Abstracts and Research Papers

  1. Blakeman, John A. "Elements of the Science Symposium," Science and Math Events: Connecting and Competing. Washington, D.C.: National Science Teachers Association, 1990. p. 56-57.
  2. Cothron, Giese & Rezba, Students and Research (ISBN 0-8403-7766-5)
  3. Laursen, Gary, and Schamel, Doug. "Guidance on conducting research, a draft publication of the National JSHS. 1994. University of Alaska, Fairbanks.
  4. Matthews, Bowen & Matthews, Successful Scientific Writing (ISBN 0-521-55948-0).
  5. Ragsdale, Ron. "Writing a research paper for the Intermountain JSHS. "Publication date unknown. University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT.
  6. Rezba, Sprague, Fiel, Funk, Learning and Assessing Science Process Skills (ISBN 0-8403-8430-0).

The following research paper is that presented at the 2002 TN Symposium and is included with the permission of the researcher, Mr. Kenneth Robertson, then a senior at Dickson County High School.