Science Fair Projects
2. Research and Background Information
Learning outcomes
- I can locate reliable scientific sources.
- I can summarize scientific information in my own words.
- I can distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources.
- I can use background research to improve my investigation.
- I can cite sources appropriately.
Research and Background Information
A strong science fair project does not begin with the experiment. Before designing the investigation, scientists first find out what is already known about the topic.
This process is called background research.
Background research helps you understand the science behind your project, develop a stronger research question, make a reasonable hypothesis, choose appropriate variables, and design a better experimental method.
Research is not simply collecting information from websites. Good scientific research requires you to:
- find appropriate sources
- judge whether those sources are reliable
- understand what you read
- summarize information in your own words
- keep track of where information came from
- cite your sources
- use what you learn to improve your investigation
Why Do Background Research?
Suppose you want to investigate:
How does water temperature affect the time required for sugar to dissolve?
You could immediately begin experimenting, but some background research would help you understand:
- what dissolving means
- how particles behave in a solution
- how temperature affects particle motion
- what factors influence dissolving
- how dissolving rate can be measured
- which variables should be controlled
Your research might reveal that stirring, particle size, temperature, amount of solvent, and amount of solute can all influence your results.
That information helps you design a fairer and more scientifically meaningful investigation.
Background research therefore connects:
what scientists already know → your research question → your experimental design
Start with Your Research Question
Research is easier when you have a reasonably clear question.
For example:
How does light duration affect the growth of bean plants?
This question suggests several areas to research:
- photosynthesis
- plant growth
- light requirements
- factors affecting photosynthesis
- methods of measuring plant growth
- environmental requirements of bean plants
You do not necessarily search for the exact answer to your research question.
Instead, you research the scientific concepts needed to understand and investigate the question.
Finding Scientific Information
Scientific information can come from many different sources.
Useful sources may include:
- science textbooks
- reference books
- scientific organizations
- universities
- government science agencies
- museums
- educational institutions
- peer-reviewed scientific journals
- reputable science education websites
- databases
- reports produced by recognized scientific organizations
Not every project requires university-level scientific papers.
The goal is to find information that is both reliable and understandable at your level.
A high-quality textbook or educational resource may be much more useful to a school science project than a highly technical research paper you cannot understand.
Searching Effectively
Typing an entire question into a search engine can sometimes work, but learning to use keywords often produces better results.
Suppose your question is:
How does temperature affect seed germination?
Useful search terms might include:
seed germination temperature
factors affecting seed germination
temperature and germination rate
conditions required for seed germination
You can then make searches more specific.
For example:
bean seed germination temperature
or:
effect of temperature on bean germination
Good searching is often a process of trying several combinations of useful scientific terms.
Use More Than One Source
You should usually avoid relying entirely on a single source.
Using several sources allows you to:
- compare information
- identify information that is consistently reported
- find different explanations
- notice disagreements
- obtain more complete background information
- reduce your dependence on one author's interpretation
Suppose three reputable sources all explain that increasing temperature generally increases particle motion.
That agreement increases your confidence in the basic scientific idea.
However, agreement alone does not automatically make something true. The quality of the sources and the evidence behind their claims still matter.
Reliable and Unreliable Sources
Information being published online does not automatically make it reliable.
Anyone can create:
- a website
- a blog
- a video
- a social media post
- an infographic
Some contain excellent scientific information. Others contain mistakes, outdated information, unsupported claims, advertising, or deliberate misinformation.
You therefore need to evaluate the source, not simply accept it.
Who Created the Information?
One of the first questions to ask is:
Who wrote or published this?
Look for information about the author or organization.
Ask:
- Is the author identified?
- Does the author have relevant expertise?
- Is the organization recognized?
- Is the information connected to a university, government agency, scientific organization, museum, or educational institution?
- Does the author explain where the information came from?
For example, information about earthquakes published by a geological research agency would generally deserve more confidence than an anonymous social media post making unsupported claims about earthquakes.
The authority of the source matters.
Look for Evidence
Scientific claims should be supported by evidence.
Reliable scientific sources often include:
- experimental results
- measurements
- observations
- graphs
- references
- citations
- links to original research
- explanations based on established scientific principles
Be cautious when a source makes dramatic claims but provides no evidence.
Statements such as:
"Scientists don't want you to know this!"
or
"This proves everything we know is wrong!"
should make you investigate carefully rather than immediately accept the claim.
Extraordinary claims require strong supporting evidence.
Check the Date
Scientific knowledge changes as new evidence becomes available.
Ask:
When was this information published or updated?
An older source is not automatically unreliable. Newton's laws, for example, do not become incorrect because a textbook is several years old.
However, the date can be extremely important for rapidly developing fields such as:
- medicine
- genetics
- climate science
- biotechnology
- astronomy
- artificial intelligence
- environmental monitoring
For these subjects, newer information may incorporate discoveries unavailable to older sources.
Check the Purpose
Ask:
Why was this information created?
Possible purposes include:
- education
- scientific communication
- entertainment
- advertising
- persuasion
- selling a product
- attracting clicks
A commercial website may still contain accurate information, but you should consider whether the organization has a reason to present information in a particular way.
For example, a company selling a product is not necessarily the strongest independent source for claims about how effective its own product is.
Look for References
Reliable scientific sources often tell you where their information came from.
Look for:
- references
- citations
- bibliographies
- named studies
- links to original scientific research
This allows you to trace a claim back to its source.
A page that makes many scientific claims without identifying any evidence deserves more careful scrutiny.
A Simple Source Check
When evaluating a source, ask five questions:
Who?
Who created the information?
What?
What evidence supports the claims?
When?
When was it published or updated?
Why?
Why was it created?
Where?
Where did the information come from?
You can remember this as a quick 5-question source check.
A source does not need to be perfect in every category, but these questions help you decide how much confidence to place in it.
Example: Comparing Two Sources
Imagine you are researching how fertilizer affects plant growth.
Source A
The article:
- is published by a university agricultural department
- identifies the author
- explains the science of plant nutrients
- includes references
- gives a publication date
- discusses limitations
Source B
The page:
- has no named author
- sells a fertilizer product
- claims its product will "double plant growth"
- provides no experimental evidence
- gives no references
- has no publication date
Source A would normally be a much stronger source for your background research.
Source B does not necessarily contain false information, but its claims would require independent verification.
Primary and Secondary Sources
Scientific information can also be classified according to where it originated.
A primary source reports original research.
Examples include:
- scientific research papers
- experimental reports
- original datasets
A secondary source explains, summarizes, or interprets information from primary sources.
Examples can include:
- textbooks
- review articles
- reputable educational websites
- science reference books
For many school science fair projects, good secondary sources are extremely useful because they explain complicated scientific ideas more clearly.
You may also use primary sources when they are appropriate and understandable.
Peer Review
Many scientific journals use a process called peer review.
Before a research paper is published, other experts in the field examine the work.
They may evaluate:
- the research question
- experimental methods
- data analysis
- conclusions
- whether the evidence supports the claims
Peer review is an important quality-control process, although it does not guarantee that a study is perfect or that its conclusions will never change.
Scientific conclusions can be questioned, tested, repeated, and revised as new evidence becomes available.
Summarizing Information
Once you find useful information, you need to record it.
A summary gives the important ideas from a source in a shorter form.
Suppose a source explains that increasing temperature increases the average kinetic energy of particles, causing particles to move faster and increasing the frequency of collisions.
A useful summary might be:
Higher temperatures increase particle motion. Faster-moving particles collide more frequently, which can affect processes such as dissolving and chemical reactions.
You have preserved the important scientific meaning without copying the original wording.
Writing in Your Own Words
Changing one or two words is not the same as writing in your own words.
Good paraphrasing requires you to:
- Read the information carefully.
- Make sure you understand it.
- Look away from the original source.
- Explain the idea using your own sentence structure and vocabulary.
- Compare your version with the source to make sure the scientific meaning is still correct.
- Cite the original source.
This final point is important:
Writing something in your own words does not mean you no longer need to cite the source.
The idea still came from someone else's work.
Example of Paraphrasing
Imagine a source explains:
Plants use light energy during photosynthesis to produce glucose from carbon dioxide and water.
A poor paraphrase might be:
Plants use energy from light in photosynthesis to make glucose using water and carbon dioxide.
Very little has actually changed.
A better summary might be:
During photosynthesis, plants capture light energy and use it to build energy-rich glucose molecules from carbon dioxide and water.
The scientific idea remains, but the explanation has been genuinely rewritten.
The source should still be cited.
Avoid Plagiarism
Plagiarism occurs when someone presents another person's words, ideas, or work as their own without appropriate acknowledgement.
Examples include:
- copying a paragraph from a website
- copying sentences and changing only a few words
- using someone else's diagram without appropriate acknowledgement when required
- using another person's idea without identifying the source
- submitting someone else's investigation as your own
Good research practice means clearly distinguishing:
your ideas
from
information obtained from other sources.
Taking Research Notes
Instead of copying large sections from websites, create short research notes.
For example:
Topic: Factors affecting dissolving
Important information
- Higher temperature usually increases dissolving rate for many solid solutes in liquids.
- Stirring brings fresh solvent into contact with the solute.
- Smaller particles have greater surface area.
- Amount of solvent should be controlled.
How this helps my investigation
- Keep stirring method constant.
- Use equal-sized sugar samples.
- Use the same volume of water.
- Change only temperature.
This approach makes the background research directly useful to your experiment.
Keep Track of Sources Immediately
A common mistake is researching first and trying to find all the sources again later.
Instead, record each source when you use it.
Depending on the citation style required by your school, useful information might include:
- author's name
- title
- organization or publisher
- publication date
- journal or book title
- page numbers
- web address
- date accessed, when required
This makes creating your reference list much easier.
What Is a Citation?
A citation tells the reader where information came from.
Citations are important because they:
- give credit to the original author
- allow readers to check your sources
- show that your statements are supported by research
- help distinguish your ideas from other people's ideas
- reduce the risk of plagiarism
A citation does not weaken your work.
Good citations usually make scientific work more credible because they show the evidence and research behind your explanations.
In-Text Citations and Reference Lists
Many citation systems use two connected parts.
An in-text citation appears within your writing and briefly identifies the source.
A reference list provides more complete information about the source.
For example, the exact format might depend on whether your school uses:
- APA
- MLA
- Chicago
- another school-approved system
The most important rule is to use the required style consistently.
Your teacher may provide a particular citation format for the science fair.
Using Background Research to Improve Your Question
Research can reveal that your original question needs to change.
Suppose you begin with:
Does temperature affect plants?
Background research shows that temperature can influence:
- photosynthesis
- respiration
- germination
- water loss
- enzyme activity
- growth
Your original question is far too broad.
You might refine it to:
How does temperature affect the percentage of bean seeds that germinate within seven days?
Research has helped turn a vague idea into a specific and measurable investigation.
Using Research to Improve Your Variables
Background research can help you identify variables that need to be controlled.
Suppose you are investigating:
How does light duration affect plant growth?
Your research may show that plant growth is also affected by:
- water
- temperature
- soil
- nutrients
- plant species
- starting size
- light intensity
This tells you that these factors should be controlled as carefully as possible.
Without background research, you might accidentally change several variables at once.
Using Research to Develop a Hypothesis
A hypothesis should not simply be a random guess.
Background research can help you make a scientifically informed prediction.
Suppose your question is:
How does water temperature affect the time required for sugar to dissolve?
Research about particle motion could lead you to predict:
If water temperature increases, then the sugar will dissolve in less time because particles in warmer water have greater average kinetic energy and move more rapidly.
The explanation after because connects your prediction to scientific knowledge.
Using Research to Improve Your Method
Background research can also help you decide how to perform the experiment.
Suppose you want to investigate seed germination.
Research may help you determine:
- suitable temperatures
- how long germination normally takes
- how much water seeds require
- appropriate containers
- what counts as germination
- how frequently observations should be made
This prevents you from designing an experiment that cannot produce useful results.
Follow the Evidence
Background research may sometimes reveal information that contradicts what you expected.
That is not a problem.
Scientific research is not about finding sources that agree with you.
It is about asking:
What does the evidence show?
A good researcher is willing to revise an idea when stronger evidence becomes available.
Be Careful with Search Results and AI Tools
Search engines and AI tools can help you find ideas, identify useful terminology, or locate possible sources, but information should still be checked against reliable scientific sources.
An answer that sounds confident can still contain:
- mistakes
- outdated information
- missing context
- incorrect citations
- oversimplifications
For important scientific claims, trace the information back to a trustworthy source.
A useful rule is:
Use tools to help you find and understand information; use reliable sources to support your scientific claims.
Common Mistakes
Using the first search result
The first result is not necessarily the most reliable.
Evaluate the source before using it.
Assuming a professional-looking website is reliable
Appearance does not prove scientific accuracy.
Check the author, evidence, references, date, and purpose.
Copying and pasting research notes
Copying text makes plagiarism more likely and does not demonstrate understanding.
Read, understand, summarize, and cite.
Changing only a few words
Replacing several words with synonyms is not genuine paraphrasing.
Explain the idea using your own understanding and sentence structure.
Forgetting to cite paraphrased information
Paraphrasing removes the original wording, not the need for a citation.
Relying on only one source
Use multiple suitable sources where possible so that information can be compared and checked.
Choosing sources that agree with your prediction
Your job is not to prove yourself correct.
Look for the best available evidence, including evidence that challenges your expectations.
Leaving citations until the end
Record source details while researching. Finding them again later can be difficult.
Researching without connecting it to the experiment
Background research should help you improve your:
- question
- hypothesis
- variables
- method
- interpretation of results
Key Terms
Background research — Research completed before an investigation to understand the relevant scientific concepts and previous knowledge.
Source — The original location from which information is obtained.
Reliable source — A source that provides trustworthy information supported by appropriate expertise and evidence.
Unreliable source — A source whose claims may lack sufficient evidence, expertise, accuracy, transparency, or appropriate review.
Credibility — The degree to which a source can reasonably be trusted.
Authority — The expertise or qualifications of the person or organization providing information.
Evidence — Observations, measurements, data, or other information used to support a scientific claim.
Bias — A tendency or influence that may affect how information is selected, interpreted, or presented.
Primary source — A source reporting original research, observations, or data.
Secondary source — A source that summarizes, explains, or interprets information from other sources.
Peer review — Evaluation of scientific work by other experts before publication.
Keyword — An important word or phrase used to locate relevant information.
Summary — A shorter explanation containing the main ideas from a source.
Paraphrase — An explanation of another source's information using your own wording and sentence structure while preserving its meaning.
Plagiarism — Presenting another person's words, ideas, or work as your own without appropriate acknowledgement.
Citation — Information identifying the source of an idea, fact, quotation, image, or other material.
In-text citation — A brief source acknowledgement placed within the main text.
Reference — Detailed information identifying a source.
Reference list — A list containing the full details of sources cited in a piece of work.
Bibliography — A list of sources consulted or used, depending on the citation system being followed.
Publication date — The date on which information was published.
Research question — The focused scientific question an investigation attempts to answer.
Hypothesis — A testable prediction supported by scientific reasoning.
Key Takeaways
- Background research should be completed before designing the final investigation.
- Research helps you understand the science behind your project.
- Good research can improve your question, hypothesis, variables, method, and interpretation.
- Do not automatically trust information simply because it appears online.
- Evaluate who created the source.
- Look for scientific evidence supporting important claims.
- Check when information was published or updated.
- Consider why the information was created.
- Look for references showing where information originated.
- Use multiple appropriate sources rather than depending entirely on one.
- Primary sources report original research.
- Secondary sources explain or summarize existing research.
- Peer review is an important scientific quality-control process, but it does not guarantee perfection.
- Effective searches use specific scientific keywords.
- Summarize information after making sure you understand it.
- Write information in your own words rather than copying.
- Paraphrased information still needs to be cited.
- Record source information while you research.
- Citations give credit to the original source and allow readers to verify information.
- Avoid plagiarism by clearly distinguishing your work from information obtained elsewhere.
- Background research should directly influence the design of your investigation.
- A hypothesis should be based on scientific reasoning, not simply a guess.
- Reliable research may cause you to change your original idea—and that is part of good science.
- The goal is not to find information that agrees with you.
The goal is to find the best available evidence.
Check Your Understanding
1. What is background research?
2. Give three ways background research can improve a science fair investigation.
3. Why is the first result from an internet search not necessarily the best source?
4. List five questions you could ask when evaluating a scientific source.
5. Why is it useful to compare information from several sources?
6. Explain the difference between a primary source and a secondary source.
7. What is peer review?
8. Why does peer review improve confidence in scientific research without guaranteeing that the research is correct?
9. What is the difference between summarizing and copying?
10. Why must paraphrased information still be cited?
11. Explain what plagiarism means.
12. Give three pieces of information you should record when keeping track of a source.
13. Why might the publication date of a source be important?
14. A website selling a nutritional supplement claims its product "scientifically doubles concentration" but provides no studies or references. Identify two reasons you should investigate the claim carefully.
15. A student is investigating how temperature affects seed germination. Give three topics the student could research before designing the experiment.
16. Explain how background research could help the student identify control variables.
17. Why is a hypothesis based on background research stronger than a random prediction?
18. Explain why researchers should consider evidence that disagrees with their original prediction.
19. A student copies a paragraph from a scientific website and changes six words. Explain why this is not good paraphrasing.
20. Challenge: Your project question is:
How does the concentration of salt in water affect bean seed germination?
Identify four pieces of background information you would research and explain how each could help you design a stronger investigation.