THE NATIONAL STUDENT RESEARCH CENTER
(NOTE: This file contains some of the more salient
materials used in the classroom to help manage the student
research and publication process.)
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Teaching Materials
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TABLE OF CONTENT
I. Management of the Research and Publication Process
II. The Scientific Methods
III. Scientific Research Contract
IV. Scientific Method Time-Line Contracts
V. Experimental Research Timeline Contract
VI. Survey Research Timeline Contract
VII. The Research and Publication Process
VIII. Writing, Editing, and Abstracting
IX. Abstract Requirements for Publication
X. Journal Publication and Distribution
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I. Management of the Research and Publication Process:
The following is a compilation of some of the more salient
materials used in the student research and publication process.
The enclosed teaching materials described below can be most
helpful in improving the quality and facilitating the
completion of a student's scientific research efforts. All
materials are copyrighted. Permission is granted for teachers
and schools to freely use these materials in developing,
implementing, and managing their Student Research Centers.
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II. The Scientific Methods:
Basically, the scientific method is defined by the National
Student Research Center as consisting of six distinct steps: 1)
careful pre-planning, 2) development of a hypothesis, 3)
designing a methodology to test the hypothesis, 4) data
gathering, 5) data analysis and interpretation, and 6)
application of research findings to the world outside of the
classroom or research center.
Pre-planning is one of the most important steps in the research
process. Pre-planning includes choosing a topic of interest to
study, clearly defining it, and limiting the topic into a
manageable research project. The KISS or "Keep It Short and
Sweet" rule is paramount at this point in helping a student
focus the thrust of his/her research project. Here students
also write a Statement of Purpose. In order to provide
direction, it is highly advisable that student researchers
begin their statement of purpose with an "I/We want to find out
more about..........." sentence. The Scientific Research
Contract and the Scientific Method Time-Line Contract can
facilitate this stage of the research process.
A comprehensive Review of the Literature is very helpful in
defining the topic and allowing for indepth study of the topic.
Students conduct library research related to their topic. They
should search printed (ie: encyclopedias, trade books,
textbooks, newpaper articles, databases, journals, dictionary,
magazines, atlas, almanac, etc.) and electronic materials (ie:
electronic databases on the Internet, reference works in CD-Rom
and laser disc formats, etc.). The review of the literature
should be written as a report with American Psychological
Association style suitable for publication. The report should
contain a comprehensive bibliography (APA, 1989).
Formulating a Hypothesis is a process of making an educated
guess about the topic of study. The hypothesis is a reasoned
prediction about the results of the study or what will happen
when the experimentation or research is completed. The
hypothesis should naturally flow from the knowledge gained
during the review of literature. It is the hypothesis which
will be accepted or rejected once all the data has been
collected and analyzed. It is highly advisable that student
researchers use a "My/Our hypothesis states that.........."
sentence when fromulating a hypothesis.
The Methodology is a step-by-step listing of the procedures to
be used to test the hypothesis. Each step of the methodology
should be exact and clearly explicated what the student
researcher is to do. This will ensure accurate critical
evaluation and replication of the research project in the
future by other student researchers. The Student Research
Center approach to instruction emphasizes two methodologies or
research designs: a) experimental and b) descriptive survey.
Other methodologies or research designs such as historical,
developmental, case study, correlational, quasi-experimental,
and causal-comparative can be used as well (Siegle, 1993).
Experimental research attempts to describe cause and effect
relationships. Here, the methodology should identify all
variables or factors which will have an impact upon the outcome
of the research. It should identify the manipulated or
independent variable which will be changed in some way in order
to observe its effect on the responding or dependent variable.
The controlled variables or variables held constant are all the
factors which must not change during the experiment to ensure
that the data obtained are valid. Experimental research
utilizes an experimental and control group. A control group is
a group of subjects that is as similar as possible to the
experimental group of subjects except that the experimental
group is receiving some form of special treatment which is
identified as the independent variable (Starko, 1992).
Descriptive research describes things in a systematic,
quantitative, and accurate manner. For survey research, the
methodology should address factors related to the assessment of
attitudes and opinions through the use of surveys,
questionnaire development (including the use of open-ended,
fixed response, multiple choice questions, and rating or
ranking scales), and sampling terms and techniques such as
population, sample, random sample, stratified sample, and
systematic sample.
There are three kinds of variables that need to be identified.
The manipulated or experimental variable is the factor
that is deliberately changes to see what effect it has on the
experimental outcomes. The responding variable is the factor
which changes in response to the manipulated variable. The
controlled variable(s) are the factors which are held constant
or kept the same throughout the experiment so that they do not
have an effect on the exerimental outcomes.
Once the methodology is completed and all variables have been
identified, the student researcher must list and acquire all
of the materials and equipment that will be needed to conduct
the experimentation or survey. A data collection sheet
should also be prepared before the research begins upon which
objective observations can be systematically recorded for
analysis.
The National Student Research Center emphasizes quantitative
Analysis of Data. Descriptive statistical analysis such as
frequency counts, percents, range, measures of central tendency
(mean, median, and mode), tabulations, charts, graphs, and
scatterplots are used primarily to organize and summarize data.
Inferential statistics such as chi square, correlational, T-
test, and analysis of covariance may be of value when working
with older students.
The Summary and Conclusion will contain a brief summary of the
analysis of data which should clearly support the acceptance or
rejection of the hypothesis. Limitations of the data and
problems with the methodology and analysis of data should also
be included here.
Finally, in the Application of the research findings, students
must use what they have learned in their research to help
people solve problems or make their world a better place to
live. Generalizations of findings to larger populations
representative of the research population can be placed here as
well. Student researchers can also use their findings to
further explicate their topic of study and propose future
investigations.
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III. Scientific Research Contract:
In order to help the student choose, define, clarify, and limit
his/her research project, the Scientific Research Contract
should first be completed. Brainstorming sessions and in-depth
discussions between students, teacher, and parents are most
helpful at this time. Students may search and retrieve
research topics contained in the National Student Research
Center's databases and electronic journals housed in the
Electronic Library. Databases and journals are also available
in the printed format upon request from the NSRC.
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THE NATIONAL STUDENT RESEARCH CENTER
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH CONTRACT
DATE:_________________________________________________________
STUDENT'S SIGNATURE:__________________________________________
PARENT'S SIGNATURE:___________________________________________
TEACHER'S SIGNATURE:__________________________________________
1. I WOULD LIKE TO DO A SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PROJECT ON:______
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
2. I AM INTERESTED IN THIS TOPIC BECAUSE:____________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
3. I WILL REVIEW THE LITERATURE ABOUT THE FOLLOWING TERMS,
CONCEPTS, AND TOPICS:_________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
4. SOME OF THE QUESTIONS I WANT TO ANSWER ARE:_______________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
5. I WILL COLLECT INFORMATION FROM THESE SOURCES:
______ENCYCLOPEDIAS ______DICTIONARY
______TRADE BOOKS ______MAGAZINES
______TEXTBOOKS ______ATLAS
______NEWSPAPER ARTICLES ______ALMANAC
______DATABASES ______INTERVIEWS
______JOURNALS ______INTERNET
OTHER___________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
6. I WILL COMPLETE MY RESEARCH PROJECT BY:___________________
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IV. Scientific Method Time-Line Contracts:
Once the scientific research contract has been completed, the
student and teacher then complete a Scientific Method Time-Line
Contract.The Scientific Method Time-Line Contracts provide a
structure for research project completion by clearly
explicating the steps of the scientific methods and indicating
the date by which each step is to be completed. It is
important to note that each step of the scientific method as
defined by the contracts must be completed and expressed in
written form before a student can proceed to the next step.
Monitoring of the time-line contracts by teacher and parents
ensures that procrastination during the long-term research
project does not occurr and that timely completion of the
project does.
Teachers must provide the student researcher with due dates for
completion of the rough and final drafts of all written work
describing the research project. All rough drafts of work in
progress should be kept in a work portfolio. Final drafts of
work which is letter perfect, grammatically correct, and
scientifically sound may be placed in an exhibit portfolio
until published.
The enclosed Scientific Method Time-Line Contracts represent
only two of several different scientific methodologies: the
classical or experimental design and the survey research
design. The field research, comparative, historical, case
study, evaluative, correlational, epidemiological, prospective,
longitudinal, and developmental research designs (Starko, 1992)
may also be incorporated into a time-line contract format and
utilized by the student researcher.
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V. Experimental Research Timeline Contract:
THE NATIONAL STUDENT RESEARCH CENTER
TIMELINE CONTRACT FOR COMPLETION OF
EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH PROJECTS
TITLE:_________________________________________________________
STUDENT SIGNATURE:_____________________________________________
PARENT SIGNATURE:______________________________________________
TEACHER SIGNATURE:_____________________________________________
DATE:__________________________________________________________
SCIENTIFIC METHOD ROUGH FINAL
STEPS DRAFT DRAFT
DUE DATE DUE DATE
1. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
OR RESEARCH IDEA
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2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
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3. DEVELOP HYPOTHESIS
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4. METHODOLOGY
(@ CONTROL/EXPERIMENTAL)
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5. IDENTIFY VARIABLES
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6. LIST OF MATERIALS
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7. OBSERVATION @ DATA
COLLECTION FORM
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8. BEGIN EXPERIMENTATION
DATA COLLECTION
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9. ANALYSIS OF DATA
SIMPLE STATISTICS/
CHARTS/GRAPHS)
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10. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
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11. APPLICATION
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12. COMPLETE REPORT DUE
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13. ABSTRACT DUE
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14. SEND ABSTRACT TO LOCAL
/NATIONAL JOURNAL
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VI. Survey Research Timeline Contract:
THE NATIONAL STUDENT RESEARCH CENTER
TIME-LINE CONTRACT FOR COMPLETION OF
SURVEY RESEARCH PROJECTS
TITLE:_________________________________________________________
STUDENT SIGNATURE:_____________________________________________
PARENT SIGNATURE:______________________________________________
TEACHER SIGNATURE:_____________________________________________
DATE:__________________________________________________________
SCIENTIFIC METHOD ROUGH FINAL
STEPS DRAFT DRAFT
DUE DATE DUE DATE
1. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
OR RESEARCH IDEA
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2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
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3. DEVELOP HYPOTHESIS
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4. METHODOLOGY
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5. DEVELOP QUESTIONNAIRE
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6. DRAW RANDOM SAMPLE
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7. ADMINISTER QUESTIONNAIRES
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8. SCORE QUESTIONNAIRES
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9. ANALYSIS OF DATA
(SIMPLE STATISTICS/
CHARTS/GRAPHS)
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10. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
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11. APPLICATION
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12. COMPLETE REPORT DUE
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13. ABSTRACT DUE
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14. SEND TO LOCAL
/NATIONAL JOURNAL
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VII. The Research and Publication Process:
The basic learning process emphasized by the Student Research
Center approach to instruction includes the following steps for
experimental research projects. First, students form
cooperative research teams at the local, national, or
international level utilizing the NSRC's electronic school
district. Cooperative research teams usually have no more than
four members. Next, students choose a topic of study in which
they have a personal interest and complete a Scientific
Research Contract. The topic is most often, but not always,
related to the curriculum content or thematic unit being
studied. Then the students complete a Scientific Method Time-
Line Contract for completion of the experimental research
project. They then write a statement of purpose or research
idea. Next, students complete a review of the literature
related to the research topic. Afterward, students develop a
hypothesis to be tested. Then students develop a methodology
utilizing a control and experimental group in which they
clearly identify the dependent and independent variables. A
list of materials needed to conduct the research and a data
collection form are also developed.
Students usually spend two to three weeks actually conducting
the experiment, making observations, and recording data in a
systematic way. Afterward, students compile and complete an
analysis of all data using simple statistics and present the
data in chart and graph form. Then students accept or reject
their hypothesis and write a summary and conclusion. Next,
students form a student action committee to apply the
information they have generated towards the amelioration or
further explication of the concept, topic, issue, theme, or
problem they studied.
Students then make a formal presentation of the research
project to an audience at their schools which is videotaped for
review at a later date by teacher and students. Next, students
compose an abstract of the entire written research project for
publication in their local scientific journal and/or the
nationally circulated journals published by the NSRC. Students
then complete desktop publication of their school-based
journals and circulate them throughout the school and local
community. Journals are catalogued into the reference sections
of all school libraries. The journals of student research are
published on a regular basis during the school year.
The learning process is basically the same for survey research
projects, with the exception that students develop a
methodology utilizing a "students questioning students" format.
In this research, the measurement of attitudes and opinions,
sound questionnaire development practices, and random sampling
techniques are emphasized.
First, students form cooperative research teams at the local or
national level utilizing the NSRC's electronic school district.
Cooperative research teams usually have no more than four
members. Next, students choose a topic of study in which they
have a personal interest and complete a Scientific Research
Contract. The topic is most often, but not always, related to
a current local or global issue of significant magnitude. Then
the students complete a Scientific Method Time-Line Contract
for completion of the survey research project. They then write
a statement of purpose or research idea. Next, students
complete a review of the literature related to the research
topic. Afterward, students develop a hypothesis to be tested.
Next, the students construct a questionnaire about their
research topic. Then they draw a random sample of the school's
student population to which they administer the questionnaires.
Questionnaires can also be distributed to other students across
the nation and around the world using the NSRC's Electronic
School District.
Once the questionnaires are completed and returned, the
students score them. Afterward, students compile and complete
an analysis of all data using simple statistics and present the
data in chart and graph form. Then students accept or reject
their hypothesis and write a summary and conclusion. Next,
students form a student action committee to apply the
information they have generated towards the amelioration or
further explication of the concept, topic, issue, theme, or
problem they studied.
Students then make a formal presentation of the research
project to an audience at their respective schools which is
video taped for review at a later date by teacher and students.
Next, students compose an abstract of the entire written
research project for publication in their local scientific
journal and/or the nationally circulated journals published by
the NSRC. Students then complete desktop publication of their
school-based journals and circulate them throughout the school
and local community. Journals are catalogued into the
reference sections of all school libraries. The journals of
student research are published on a regular basis during the
school year.
It should be noted that all learning activities listed above
are just as applicable to students who choose to work
individually.
Remember that all parties involved with the scientific research
project (student, teacher, and parents) must sign the research
contract and time-line. A copy of each should be given to
students and parents, for posting at home. Copies should also
be placed in the students' work portfolio for frequent
reference. These teaching materials can greatly clarify
students' thinking about their re-search projects and
facilitate their timely completion.
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VIII. Student Writing, Editing, and Abstracting:
Student work in each step of the scientific method must be
expressed in written form. It is very important that peer and
teacher editing of each research step be completed before
moving on to the next step of the process. All written work
must be grammatically correct, letter perfect, and
scientifically sound before placement in student's portfolio
and later publication.
Editing of all work is first done by students in cooperative
learning groups. One-on-one teacher/student editing is done
afterwards. Students should be taught and practice editing
skills which will allow them to easily correct errors in
spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, vocabulary,
sentence structure, order of presentation, organization of
paper, and clarity of ideas (Malkofsky, 1982). This is an
effective and enjoyable way to teach language arts skills and
concepts which are most often taught from a textbook.
After the entire research project has been completed and the
research paper written, students must summarize their work into
an abstract for publication in the local and/or national
scientific journals of student research. Abstracts must adhere
to the NSRC's standardized format. Examples of science, math,
social studies, and language arts research abstracts are
attached.
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IX. Abstract Requirements For Publication:
The abstract writer must include all main ideas and supporting
details, and reword and reorganize information in order to
ensure that the abstract accurately reflects the text of the
research paper. Only research utilizing the scientific methods
will be published. Abstracts must be typed, single spaced, and
not exceed one or two sides of a standard sheet of paper. Side
margins should be no less than 3/4 of an inch and top/bottom
margins should be at least one inch. TEACHERS MUST EDIT THE
ABSTRACTS to ensure that they are scientifically sound,
grammatically correct, and letter perfect. Abstracts must
adhere to the NSRC's standardized format below:
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TITLE:
STUDENT RESEARCHER(S):
SCHOOL ADDRESS:
GRADE:
TEACHER:
I. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND HYPOTHESIS:
(Briefly describe or define your topic. What do you want to
find out? Use an "I/We want to find out more about..........."
sentence. State what you think will happen in a hypothesis.
Use a "My/Our hypothesis states that.........." sentence.)
II. METHODOLOGY:
(How will you test your hypothesis? List all the materials you
will need. Identify all variables. Explain how your research
is to be conducted in a "step by step" fashion with enough
detail so that another student researcher could replicate it.)
III. ANALYSIS OF DATA:
(What did the data you collected indicate about what happened
in your research project? Include all data here in a simple
text chart. What did your charts, graphs, and statistical
analysis show? This is especially important in regard to your
hypothesis!)
IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION:
(What did you find out? What does your analysis of data say in
brief? State whether you accepted or rejected your hypothesis?
Why? Describe any limitations or shortcomings in your study.)
V. APPLICATION:
(Utilize what you learned from your research in the world
outside of the classroom or student research center. How will
your research findings help people solve problems or make your
world a better place to live?)
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THE NATIONAL STUDENT RESEARCH CENTER
ABSTRACT FORMAT
TITLE:
STUDENT RESEARCHER(S):
SCHOOL ADDRESS:
GRADE(S):
TEACHER(S):
I. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND HYPOTHESIS:
II. METHODOLOGY:
III. ANALYSIS OF DATA:
IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION:
V. APPLICATION:
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X. Journal Publication and Distribution:
It is extremely important that student researchers be provided
as large an audience as possible to appreciate their research
efforts. This can take the form of the traditional science
fair at the school building, district, state and regional
levels. However, the size of the audience can be greatly
increased with the publication and distribution of journals of
student research.
The National Student Research Center (NSRC) has found that
students and the parents of students are highly motivated to
complete and repeat the research learning experience when they
know that their research will be read by a national and
international audience of students, teachers, and professionals
in many fields. The NSRC has trained students who have
published as many as twelve scientific research projects in one
school year.
Publication and distribution of a scientific journal of student
research relevant to community interests, needs, and problems
provides the student researcher with many relevant and
authentic community service learning opportunities. It also
provides the school with excellent opportunities for
facilitating parental support and positive community relations.
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John I. Swang, Ph.D.
Teacher/Director
National Student Research Center
Mandeville Middle School
2525 Soult St.
Mandeville, Louisiana 70448
U.S.A.
Tele: 1-504-626-5980
Tele: 1-504-626-8778
FAX: 1-504-626-1640
America OnLine: NSRC MMS
Internet: nsrcmms@aol.com
This e-publication is made possible through grants provided by
the United States Department of Education, South Central Bell
Telephone, American Petroleum Institute, Intertel Foundation,
Springhouse Publishing Corporation, Graham Resources, Inc.,
Central Louisiana Electric Company, Louisiana State Department
of Education, National Science Foundation, Mandeville Middle
School Parent Teacher Association, Northern Life Insurance
Company, Gustav Ohaus Company, and Chevron Oil Company.
The National Student Research Center thanks these organizations
for their generous support of education.
© 1998 John I. Swang, Ph.D.