Science Buddies: Experimental Procedure

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content provider: the Science Buddies
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The Science Buddies website aims to promote deep understanding of scientific research through student science fair projects. This segment of the website provides explicit help in preparing an experimental design. It includes key information about:

1) Setting up experimental and control groups,
2) Sample materials lists,
3) How to write a detailed procedure,
4) The meaning of reliability and how it is impacted by sample size.

Editor's Note: Reliability in research is defined as the extent to which results are consistent over time, how accurately the results represent the total population under study, and whether the results can be reproduced under similar methodologies. It's important for students in the middle grades to become acquainted with reliability as a concept, and for high school students to gain practice in setting up experiments that meet criteria of reliability. See Related Materials for background information on understanding reliability and validity in scientific research.

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_experi...

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Education Foundations - Research Design & Methodology Education Practices - Informal Education General Physics - General Other Sciences - Engineering	- Middle School - High School	- Instructional Material = Student Guide = Tutorial

Appropriate Courses	Categories	Ratings
- Physical Science - Physics First - Conceptual Physics - Algebra-based Physics - AP Physics	- Activity - New teachers	Currently 0.0/5 Want to rate this material? Login here!

Intended Users:: Learner
Administrator
Educator
Format:: text/html
Access Rights:: Free access
Restriction:: © 2002 Science Buddies
Duplication of images or graphics from Science Buddies website is forbidden.
Keywords:: Science Practices, Science fair, control group, engineering design, engineering practices, experimental design, fair test, research reliability, science fair project, science project, scientific method, variables
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created September 18, 2013 by Caroline Hall
Record Updated:: September 18, 2013 by Caroline Hall
Last Update when Cataloged:: September 2, 2011

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Next Generation Science Standards

Disciplinary Core Ideas (K-12)

Defining and Delimiting an Engineering Problem (ETS1.A)

The more precisely a design task's criteria and constraints can be defined, the more likely it is that the designed solution will be successful. Specification of constraints includes consideration of scientific principles and other relevant knowledge that is likely to limit possible solutions. (6-8)

Crosscutting Concepts (K-12)

Science Addresses Questions About the Natural and Material World (2-12)

Science findings are limited to questions that can be answered with empirical evidence. (5)

NGSS Science and Engineering Practices (K-12)

Planning and Carrying Out Investigations (K-12)

Planning and carrying out investigations to answer questions or test solutions to problems in 6–8 builds on K–5 experiences and progresses to include investigations that use multiple variables and provide evidence to support explanations or design solutions. (6-8)
- Plan an investigation individually and collaboratively, and in the design: identify independent and dependent variables and controls, what tools are needed to do the gathering, how measurements will be recorded, and how many data are needed to support a claim. (6-8)
- Conduct an investigation and evaluate the experimental design to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence that can meet the goals of the investigation. (6-8)
Planning and carrying out investigations in 9-12 builds on K-8 experiences and progresses to include investigations that provide evidence for and test conceptual, mathematical, physical, and empirical models. (9-12)
- Plan and conduct an investigation individually and collaboratively to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence, and in the design: decide on types, how much, and accuracy of data needed to produce reliable measurements and consider limitations on the precision of the data (e.g., number of trials, cost, risk, time), and refine the design accordingly. (9-12)

NGSS Nature of Science Standards (K-12)

Planning and Carrying Out Investigations (K-12)

Planning and carrying out investigations to answer questions or test solutions to problems in 6–8 builds on K–5 experiences and progresses to include investigations that use multiple variables and provide evidence to support explanations or design solutions. (6-8)
Planning and carrying out investigations in 9-12 builds on K-8 experiences and progresses to include investigations that provide evidence for and test conceptual, mathematical, physical, and empirical models. (9-12)

AAAS Benchmark Alignments (2008 Version)

1. The Nature of Science

1B. Scientific Inquiry

3-5: 1B/E1. Scientific investigations may take many different forms, including observing what things are like or what is happening somewhere, collecting specimens for analysis, and doing experiments.
6-8: 1B/M1b. Scientific investigations usually involve the collection of relevant data, the use of logical reasoning, and the application of imagination in devising hypotheses and explanations to make sense of the collected data.

1C. The Scientific Enterprise

6-8: 1C/M7. Accurate record-keeping, openness, and replication are essential for maintaining an investigator's credibility with other scientists and society.

ComPADRE is beta testing Citation Styles!

Record Link

<a href="https://www.compadre.org/precollege/items/detail.cfm?ID=13017">Science Buddies. Science Buddies: Experimental Procedure. Carmel: Science Buddies, September 2, 2011.</a>

AIP Format

(Science Buddies, Carmel, 2002), WWW Document, (http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_experimental_procedure.shtml#keyinfo).

AJP/PRST-PER

Science Buddies: Experimental Procedure, (Science Buddies, Carmel, 2002), <http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_experimental_procedure.shtml#keyinfo>.

APA Format

Science Buddies: Experimental Procedure. (2011, September 2). Retrieved September 26, 2017, from Science Buddies: http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_experimental_procedure.shtml#keyinfo

Chicago Format

Science Buddies. Science Buddies: Experimental Procedure. Carmel: Science Buddies, September 2, 2011. http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_experimental_procedure.shtml#keyinfo (accessed 26 September 2017).

MLA Format

Science Buddies: Experimental Procedure. Carmel: Science Buddies, 2002. 2 Sep. 2011. Science Buddies. 26 Sep. 2017 <http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_experimental_procedure.shtml#keyinfo>.

BibTeX Export Format

@misc{ Title = {Science Buddies: Experimental Procedure}, Publisher = {Science Buddies}, Volume = {2017}, Number = {26 September 2017}, Month = {September 2, 2011}, Year = {2002} }

Refer Export Format

%T Science Buddies: Experimental Procedure
%D September 2, 2011
%I Science Buddies
%C Carmel
%U http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_experimental_procedure.shtml#keyinfo
%O text/html

EndNote Export Format

%0 Electronic Source
%D September 2, 2011
%T Science Buddies: Experimental Procedure
%I Science Buddies
%V 2017
%N 26 September 2017
%8 September 2, 2011
%9 text/html
%U http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_experimental_procedure.shtml#keyinfo

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Citation Source Information

The AIP Style presented is based on information from the AIP Style Manual.

The APA Style presented is based on information from APA Style.org: Electronic References.

The Chicago Style presented is based on information from Examples of Chicago-Style Documentation.

The MLA Style presented is based on information from the MLA FAQ.

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