How To Write The Procedures And Results Sections For A Science Fair Project Report
One of the most challenges aspects of completing a science fair project is to write out the report at the end. This report is important because it is what the student is usually graded on. Two sections that can give students troubles are the procedures section and the results section.
Tips for Writing the Procedures Section of a Science Fair Project Report
The procedures section of a science fair project report is what is called the methodology section in high level science research papers. It is basically the instructions for setting up your experiment, collecting data and analyzing the data that you collect for your project.
The first part of the procedures section is going to describe your experiment. This part will need to include a list of materials that you used. This list will need to include measurements for quantities of solutions, the size of instruments used and the specific name of any solution or organic material used. You will next need to describe how your experiment was set up. You need to provide step by step instructions.
The next portion of the procedures section will deal with the collection of data. This section will need to describe how your data was collected. Again you need to give step-by-step instructions. For example, if your project collected data related to heart rates you will need to describe how that data was collected, such as heart rates were taken using a GE heart rate monitor II after 30 minutes of intense exercise. Heart rates were again taken after 30 minutes of rest.
The final portion of the procedures section will focus on how you analyzed your data. This section will need to detail how data was organized after being collected and how it was analyzed. The analysis description needs to include the name of the statistical tool, formula or process that was used.
Tips for Writing the Results Section of a Science Fair Project Report
After the procedures section in your report there will be a results section. This section will present your data and the analysis of your data.
To start with you will need to present all of the data that you collected. This can be done in table format or in chart format. You will then need to describe each set of data. For example, the description of a set of heart rates can include the mean, mode and median of that set.
After the general presentation of your data you can present your analysis of the data. This section will focus on trends and correlations that you discovered with your science fair project. You do not want to offer an explanation of why these trends exist or what the findings mean. You simply need to present the facts that you have uncovered. Explanations are not written up until the discussions section of your report.
Conclusion
Students usually will write out the procedures section of their science fair project report during the planning phase of their project. It can be later revised as the experiment is completed, but only if the experiment is modified. The results section will not be created until after the data has been collected and analyzed. It is one of the final steps in writing a report. Each section will take about 15 to 30 minutes to complete.