International Science

and Engineering Fair

“ “Don't Just
― Roy T. Bennett, 
The Light in the Heart
Don't just learn, experience.
Don't just read, absorb.
Don't just change, transform.

2
ISEF
This document is to serve as a
guide to students writing a ⊹ Put page numbers on
Research Plan/Project your Research Plan.
Summary for ISEF. You will
notice specific additional notes ⊹ https://
for students conducting www.societyforscience.org/isef/
engineering work. For example,
engineers may not necessarily
have a “research question” but
will instead have an
“engineering goal”.

3
Hello
!
⊹ Please use the numbering and lettering system
below for each section and subsection.

⊹ Bold each section or subsection as seen below.

4
Hello
!
⊹ Alignment: Justified
⊹ Paper Size: Short
1 in
(8.5”X11”)
⊹ Spacing: Double
⊹ Margin:
1 in
1. 5 in

1in 5
 Research
Plan/Project
1 Summary
 Research plan
⊹ A. Rationale
⊹ B.1. Research Question or Engineering Goal(s)
⊹ B.2. Hypothesis(es) or Expected Outcomes (for
engineering projects only)
⊹ C. Description
× C.1. Procedures
⬩ C.1.a. Materials
⬩ C.1.b. Methods
⬩ T-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
C.2. Risk and Safety Considerations
× C.3. Data Analysis
⊹ D. Bibliography 7
A. Rationale
Include a brief synopsis of the
background that supports your research
problem and explain why this research
is important and if applicable, explain
any societal impact of your research.
We suggest 1-2 paragraph limit.

8
B.1. Research Question or
Engineering Goal(s)
The objective of your study or a
problem to be solved by your
research/project. This is one of the first
steps when starting research.
Accurately and clearly define the
question/goal in a few sentences or less.

9
B.2. Hypothesis(es) or
Expected Outcomes (for
engineering projects only)

10
C.1.
Procedure
s
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“ “Don't Just
― Roy T. Bennett, 
The Light in the Heart
Don't just relate, advocate.
Don't just promise, prove.
Don't just criticize, encourage.
12
C.1.a. Materials
⊹ Your materials list goes here.
⊹ You should list the materials and stimuli you will
use.
⊹ You should identify the approximate quantity of
all your materials, no matter how trivial some
items may seem. For unusual materials or
equipment, you should also identify the brand
name or source. As you perform the experiment,
pay attention to the possibility that you have
missed materials that belong here and add them
to your list. 13
C.1.b. Methods
We recommend that your Methods be written so that
they could be easily and correctly performed by
others who have not seen your setup. Putting your
steps in list form is one possibility. The Scientific
Method is so successful because it includes an
element of reproducibility. If results of a particular
experiment are controversial, the description
contained in Methods enables anyone interested in
challenging or, alternatively, confirming the results,
to do so with confidence that the original experiment
has been faithfully reproduced.
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Continuation…
Beginning students find this to be a difficult task. A
good exercise for you to follow is to ask one or two
classmates who know nothing of the experiment to
read your Methods and then explain what they
understood the Methods entailed. This technique will
quickly reveal holes in the Methods description. It
will also hone your critical thinking skills and those
of your classmate(s).

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C.2. Risk and Safety
Considerations
Identify any potential risks and safety precautions
needed. If you are using Human Participants,
Vertebrate Animals, PHBA, or any tissues, then you
WILL have something here. Even if you don’t use
any of the above, try to determine BEFORE you start
your research/project if anything is dangerous or
could go wrong.

16
“ “Don't Just
― Roy T. Bennett, 
The Light in the Heart

Don't just think, ponder.

Don't just take, give.
Don't just see, feel.
Don’t just dream, do. 17
C.3. Data Analysis
Particular care should be paid to this subsection. The
data analysis section should discuss what data you will
collect, how you will collect it, how many repeated
samples / measurements you will take, how you will
analyze the data collected, and how you will determine
if the trends observed in the data collected are
significant enough to validate or invalidate your
hypothesis and how you will present these results (e.g.,
as“graphs,” or “number tables,”) so they can be
quickly grasped by the judges or anyone else interested
in your project. 18
continuation
Often the details of the graphs or numbers tables
produced by the experiment can’t be fully anticipated
until the results come in. However, it is valuable to think
in broad terms about how the results could be conveyed
graphically and verbally ahead of the results. Sometimes
such pre-planning can even influence experimental
design. With computers, the options for presentation of
the results are many. Often the difference between a
good project and an outstanding one boils down to how
well the outcome is portrayed in the graphics and
descriptions. It’s especially true that the more quickly
the graphics unambiguously convey the results to the
reviewer (judge), the higher the score the student is
19
likely to receive.
D. Bibliography
List major references (e.g. science journal articles,
books, internet sites) from your literature review. If
you plan to use vertebrate animals, one of these
references must be an animal care reference. As you
continue working on your project, be sure you
standardize the entries using the APA format MLA
formator . When using web-based sources, it is
important to also include the full URL.

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Abstract
Don’t forget to bring your Abstract and make sure it
conforms to the ISEF rules. If you win, you will have
to comply with these rules and go on line to fill in the
abstract form that follows this format. The abstract
you used for the VSTEM Fair will undoubtedly have
parts that you can simply cut and paste into the ISEF
form, but there will be information required by ISEF
that is not required by VSTEM Fair. Below is an
overview of what is required by ISEF:

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⊹ It is recommended that the abstract include the
following:
⊹ a. purpose of the experiment
⊹ b. procedure
⊹ c. data
⊹ d. conclusions
⊹ endorsements
⊹ b. logos or proper names of commercial products
⊹ c. work or procedures done by the mentor

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⊹ It may also include any possible research
applications. Only minimal reference to previous
work may be included.
⊹ An abstract must not include the following:
⊹ a. acknowledgments (including naming the
research institution and/or mentor with which
you were working), or self-promotions and
external

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“ “Don't Just
― Roy T. Bennett, 
The Light in the Heart
Don't just hear, listen.
Don't just talk, act.
Don't just tell, show.
Don't just exist, live.”
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 Big concept

Bring the attention of your audience over a

key concept using icons or illustrations
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Want big
impact?
Use big
image.
26
You can also split your content
White Black
Is the color of milk and Is the color of ebony and
fresh snow, the color of outer space. It has
produced by the been the symbolic color
combination of all the of elegance, solemnity
colors of the visible and authority.
spectrum.

27
In two or three columns
Yellow Blue Red
Is the color of gold, Is the colour of the Is the color of blood,
butter and ripe clear sky and the and because of this it
lemons. In the deep sea. It is has historically been
spectrum of visible located between associated with
light, yellow is found violet and green on sacrifice, danger and
between green and the optical spectrum. courage.
orange.

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A picture is worth
a thousand words
A complex idea can be
conveyed with just a single
still image, namely making it
possible to absorb large
amounts of data quickly.

29
Use diagrams to explain your
ideas
Lorem Ipsum

Lorem Ipsum

Lorem Ipsum

Lorem Ipsum

Lorem Ipsum

Lorem Ipsum

Lorem Ipsum

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And tables to compare data
A B C

Yellow 10 20 7

Blue 30 15 10

Orange 5 24 16

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Maps

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That’s a lot of money

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And a lot of users

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Let’s review some concepts
Yellow
Is the color of gold, butter and
ripe lemons. In the spectrum of
visible light, yellow is found
between green and orange.
Yellow
Is the color of gold, butter and
ripe lemons. In the spectrum of
visible light, yellow is found
between green and orange.
Blue
Is the colour of the clear sky
and the deep sea. It is located
between violet and green on the
optical spectrum.
Blue
Is the colour of the clear sky
and the deep sea. It is located
between violet and green on the
optical spectrum.
Red
Is the color of blood, and
because of this it has
historically been associated
with sacrifice, danger and
courage.
Red
Is the color of blood, and
because of this it has
historically been associated
with sacrifice, danger and
courage.
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4000

3000

2000

1000

You can insert graphs from Excel or Google Sheets 36

Mobile
project
Show and explain your
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projects using these
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project
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Thanks!
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You can find me at:
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Credits
Special thanks to all the people who made
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free:
⊹ Presentation template by SlidesCarnival
⊹ Photographs by Unsplash

41
 Extra Resources
2 For Business Plans, Marketing Plans,
Project Proposals, Lessons, etc
 Timeline
Blue is the colour of Black is the color of Yellow is the color of Blue is the colour of
the clear sky and the Red is the colour of ebony and of outer gold, butter and ripe White is the color of the clear sky and the
deep sea danger and courage space lemons milk and fresh snow deep sea

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Yellow is the color of White is the color of Blue is the colour of Red is the colour of Black is the color of Yellow is the
gold, butter and ripe milk and fresh snow the clear sky and the danger and courage ebony and of outer color of gold,
lemons deep sea space butter and ripe
lemons

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Roadmap
Blue is the colour of the Red is the colour of danger Black is the color of ebony
clear sky and the deep sea and courage and of outer space

1 3 5

2 4 6

Yellow is the color of gold, White is the color of milk Blue is the colour of the
butter and ripe lemons and fresh snow clear sky and the deep sea

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Gantt chart
Week 1 Week 2

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Task 1

Task 2 ◆

Task 3

Task 4 ◆

Task 5 ◆

Task 6

Task 7

Task 8

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SWOT Analysis
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
Blue is the colour of Yellow is the color of
the clear sky and the gold, butter and ripe
deep sea lemons

Black is the color of

ebony and of outer White is the color of
space milk and fresh snow
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

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Business Model Canvas
Key Partners Key Activities Value Propositions Customer Relationships Customer Segments
Insert your content Insert your content Insert your content Insert your content Insert your content

Key Resources Channels

Insert your content Insert your content

Cost Structure Revenue Streams

Insert your content Insert your content

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Funnel

AWARENESS Insert your content

DISCOVERY Insert your content

EVALUATION Insert your content

INTENT Insert your content

PURCHASE Insert your content

LOYALTY Insert your content

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Team Presentation

Imani Jackson Marcos Galán Ixchel Valdía Nils Årud

JOB TITLE JOB TITLE JOB TITLE JOB TITLE
Blue is the colour of the clear Blue is the colour of the clear Blue is the colour of the clear Blue is the colour of the clear
sky and the deep sea sky and the deep sea sky and the deep sea sky and the deep sea

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 Competitor Matrix
HIGH VALUE 2

Competitor
Compet
itor
Our company

Competitor

HIGH VALUE 1
LOW VALUE 1

Competitor

Competitor Competitor

LOW VALUE 2
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Weekly Planner
WEDNESDA
SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY
Y

9:00 - 9:45 Task Task Task Task Task Task Task

10:00 - 10:45 Task Task Task Task Task Task Task

11:00 - 11:45 Task Task Task Task Task Task Task

12:00 - 13:15 ✔ Free time ✔ Free time ✔ Free time ✔ Free time ✔ Free time ✔ Free time ✔ Free time

13:30 - 14:15 Task Task Task Task Task Task Task

14:30 - 15:15 Task Task Task Task Task Task Task

15:30 - 16:15 Task Task Task Task Task Task Task

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