The Research Project Synopsis will be the basis for determining who will be the participants in the Metro Richmond Science Fair. In this section, both general and specific information about preparing a synopsis for science, computer science, and engineering and/or mathematics projects are provided.  Since a good Research Project Synopsis is extremely important to a student’s acceptance into the MRSF, all students and teachers should review the information found in the links below. The Synopsis should include all of the sections listed in Parts of the Synopsis. The rules concerning the length of the paper, the font, the number of copies to submit, etc. can be found in the Synopsis Guidelines & Procedures.  The Synopsis is not necessarily intended to be the complete research paper, especially in the case of advanced research. It is designed to give the screeners a relatively complete summary of the student’s work in order for them to score the project. Screening is meant only to select the projects that will be displayed at the Fair, not to select the winners. Due to the large number of projects that must be read on each of the Screening Days, the Fair has established limits on the length of the Synopsis. These page limits may be found in the Synopsis Guidelines & Procedures. Students with more complete versions of their paper should bring them to the Fair to display for the judges.

 Synopsis Guidelines & Procedures

    1. The Research Project Synopsis should be typed on a computer with a 1 inch margin on all sides. A standard 12 point font should be used. Larger font generally gives readers the impression that the student is trying to make the paper appear longer than it is, and actually points out the lack of length. Smaller font is more difficult for screeners and judges to read, which could prejudice them against the paper.  Your goal should be to make the paper as readable as possible.

    2. The body of the paper must be double spaced and can not exceed five (5) pages in length for Junior Division entries, or seven (7) pages for Senior Division papers. This length requirement does not include the bibliography, the student information or certification forms, or the appendix, containing any pertinent tables or graphic materials.

    3. One copy of the Synopsis should have all of the appropriate forms and certifications attached. (Remember to keep the originals). This copy becomes the file copy that is kept at the Mathematics & Science Center. The other copies should be coded for identification purposes and used for screening and judging. All screening is done blindly, meaning that the readers do not know the name or school of the researcher. Therefore, the names of the student, the teacher, the mentor or the school should not appear anywhere on the Synopsis, acknowledgments included, with the exception of the Information and certification forms.

    4. The Student Information Form is automatically generated when the student registers online prior to submission. This form, which includes the Project Number, should be printed out and copied. A copy of the Student Information Form will be the cover page for the file copy of the paper. The student should keep the original.

    5. The Project Number should be written in the upper left hand corner of each of the remaining copies of the Synopsis in case the copies become separated during transport. This is a change from previous years.  Do NOT put a copy of the Student Information Form on every copy of the paper.

    6. Do not include a title page with your submitted Synopsis. The title must appear at the top of the first page of the paper itself, as this is all that will be given to the readers. A title page may be included with the complete research paper that is displayed in a project book at the Fair.

    7. Please arrange the forms that accompany the file copy of the Synopsis in numerical order. For example, the Student Information Form should be on top, with the Checklist for the Adult Sponsor, the Student Checklist and the Approval Form, in that order, below. Any additional forms necessary for the project should follow according to the form number.

                  Parts of the Synopsis

 The Synopsis for MRSF science projects consists of seven major parts.

    1. Title

 The MRSF has no rules concerning titles, but a good title should simply and accurately present your research, and might mention the variables being studied. Some students prefer a "catchy" title, which acts as an attention-grabber for the display. A shorter title is also easier to use when registering online, filling out forms, and talking to judges about the project.  Whether short or long, the title should be easy to understand.  Long, complicated titles do not impress the judges any more than short, to the point titles.  Some teachers, however, require that students use a more scientific version of the title, naming the independent and dependent variables. It is possible that students could have a shorter title to use for registration and use “The Effect of….” as a sub-title. Please make sure that at least part of the title on the paper matches the title used for registration.  Screeners and judges notice when the student uses two completely different titles during registration and on the paper itself.

 .     2. Introduction

 The introduction sets the stage for the science project. It introduces the topic to the readers and helps them understand the rationale behind the project. It also demonstrates to the readers that the researcher has a clear understanding of the applicable principles and processes - the science behind the experiment. The introduction should include the reviews of any literature read prior to designing the experiment.  All sources should be cited in the body of the introduction using an accepted style.

Additional major points to be included in the introduction are as follows:

          O The rationale:  gives the scientific and/or practical reasons for conducting the experiment.  WHY was this topic chosen?  To help the reader understand the rationale it may be necessary to provide some background information on the variables being investigated or to describe other studies conducted by scientists.

          O The purpose:  indicates what the researcher hoped to achieve or learn.

          O The hypothesis:  states what the researcher predicted the results would be; the scientific guess.

    3. Experimental Design

 The design can be communicated through a chart, list or paragraph that includes the vital parts of the experiment.    These parts include:

           O the independent variable

          O the levels of the independent variable

          O the dependent variable

          O the control

          O the repeated trials

          O the constants.

       For a more comprehensive discussion of the parts of the Experimental Design, see the Handbook Overview.

 .     4. Procedure

 The procedure is a brief, but complete description of the steps that are followed when conducting the experiment. The report should be detailed enough so that someone would be able to repeat the experiment from the information in the paper and includes all the equipment and materials used. Detailed explanations, photographs or drawings of self-designed equipment should be included in the appendix.

 .     5. Observations, Analysis of Data & Discussion of Results

 In this section, the researcher discusses the results of the experiment and how he/she summarized the data from the different trials and displayed the findings. How did the data vary between the repeated trials? How were the results affected by uncontrolled events? Any unusual observations should also be included in this discussion.  .  Proper presentation of the data allows the readers to see more easily the  elative effects of one or more variables. Because statistical literacy is important for all students,  creeners and judges will be looking for accurate and appropriate statistics and graphs, charts, etc. Analyses which are appropriate to the grade level and to the project are much more important than computer-generated charts and graphs which the students may not understand.

 Statistics such as mean or mode are more appropriate for middle school students. For older or more danced students, a statistical test should be used to determine if the results are statistically significant. The simplest types of statistical tests are the t-Test, for significance of difference between means, and the Chi-Square, for the significance of difference between frequency distributions. For information on statistics, see a middle school mathematics textbook, a senior high or college statistics textbook, or Students & Research.  For information on graphing, see Learning Science Process Skills, Students & Research, or Introductory Science Skills.

    6. Conclusion

 The conclusion summarizes the major findings, explains the results, compares the findings with other scientific information, suggests improvements, and offers recommendations for other experiments. The following questions have proven helpful in determining the information to be included in the conclusion.

           O What was the purpose of the experiment?

          O What were your major discoveries or findings?

          O How did your findings support your hypothesis?

          O How did your findings compare with other scientific research or information in science books and magazines?

          O How can you explain the results of your experiment?

          O How could you improve the experiment or conduct more research in certain areas?

      7. Bibliography

   This list includes the sources used to design, conduct, and analyze the results of the experiment. It should consist of at least 5 major sources, such as books, science periodicals, etc., and should be written using an acceptable style manual such as The Chicago Manual of Style, or those of the Modern Language Association or the American Psychological Association. These manuals now include rules for citing Internet sources, or the information may be obtained directly from The Internet Public Library at p2m Infotech or from The Learning Center of the Library of Congress web site at .

 Students should not use Internet sites or encyclopedias as their only resources.  .  If the student's project is a Restricted Project, certain types of references should be used. For example, if the student is conducting an experiment on vertebrate animals, a reference on animal care should be included.