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Phase 7 : Reporting The Results

Reporting the results of this science fair project can be done in a variety of ways from the traditional written report or display board to the more technologically advanced power point presentation. In whatever media you choose the components of the report are the same. The length of the report will vary, but can reach up to 20 pages in length. Students will be intimidated when they hear a number that high but the high number comes from all the data tables and graphs.

Final Report Guidelines PDF

Science Fair Report Score Sheet

Written Report

Science Fair Project Report Guidelines

A formal scientific report consists of the following sections:

You can have the students complete a report and a display board or just a display board. If the students will only complete a display board, they will not need to complete a title page or a table of contents.

Title Page
(1 page)

The title of your report should accurately describe what the project investigated. The title is often quite long.

Include :

1. Report title
2. Name of investigator(s)
3. Class period
4. Date report was completed

Table Of Contents
(1 page)

Include :

1. Headings for all sections
2. Corresponding page numbers for each section

Abstract
(1/2 – 3/4 page)

An abstract is a brief summary of the entire report. Its purpose is to give the reader a quick look at the research project; to entice the person to read through the entire document. All the sections of the report are summarized in the abstract. The abstract should be written last once all the sections have been written.

Include :

1. Brief background information – what was investigated
2. Purpose – what you were trying to find out
3. Hypothesis – your prediction prior to the experiment
4. Experimental Design – brief summary of how data was collected
5. Results – what was found (briefly describe patterns and trends in the data)
6. Conclusion – was the hypothesis proven, what do the results mean

Introduction
(1 - 2 pages)

An introduction provides the reader with background information on the topic of study. You want to prepare the reader as much as possible for what they are about to read. Background information about your topic helps the reader understand more about what they will read later in the report. They can understand the results easier if they some basic background information to fall back on.

Include :

1. Background information on the topic
2. Purpose
3. Hypothesis

Experimental Design
(1 page +)

This section serves as an instructional manual for anyone wanting to duplicate your research. All materials that were used should be accurately listed. The procedures for conducting the experiment should be given in a way that is clear to the reader and can be easily followed. Diagrams often help to explain the procedures. Anyone should be able to accurately repeat your experiment using only this section of the report.

Include :

1. Complete materials list
2. Complete procedures

Results
(3 pages +)

There are 2 parts to this section. The first part is the written results where you answer the, “What happened? question. Simply state the facts that were found, do not give any reasoning at this point. These come from the results statements from the student's data analysis chart. All they need to do is put those statements into paragraph form. The second part is the data, which follows the written section. Here you have your data tables, graphs, diagrams, maps, etc.

Include :

1. Written description (not analysis) of the data (1 page +)
2. Describe any patterns, relationships or trends
3. Explain what the data tells you
4. Explain any error in the experimental design/data collection or in the data
5. Data tables (1 data table per page with figure headings)
6. Graphs (1 graph per page with figure headings)

Conclusion
(1 page +)

Here is where you get a chance to analyze the data and answer the “How Come?” question. This section may be the longest depending on how in depth your analysis is. Here is where the conclusion statements from the student's data analysis chart come in. All they have to do is put those statements into paragraph form.

Include :

1. Brief summary of the findings
2. Data analysis
3. Explain if the hypothesis was proven or disproven and how
4. Explain how the experiment could be improved

Display Board

The display board is what most students associate with a science fair project. Unlike a straightforward, not too creative written report, the display board gives students a chance to showcase their creative talents. They will write up the sections just as they would in a written report, but they will also put those sections together in a visual manner on a display board.

Display Board Guidelines

If you have some sample display boards available, select a few for the class as a whole to evaluate. Have the students identify what is good about the board and what needs to be improved. This will help them identify what a quality product looks like. Students can be extremely critical here, really criticizing the “poor quality” display boards, even laughing at them. But when it comes to doing their own board, often the biggest critics are the ones producing boards of “poor quality” themselves.

Once you go over the guidelines with the students, have them create a display board plan on regular 8 1/2 X 11” paper. This will help them to begin visualizing the placement of materials on the board. Have them use rectangles or squares to represent