SLSEF is a stepping-stone to the Intel ISEF and IEYI. The judges therefore, select projects that are of a certain standard, and have global benchmarks. Your project should reflect that quality and be innovative, original and follow scientific methodology. Take the help of a guide, she/he could be a research scientist or a teacher. If you have decided to participate in SLSEF, choose your topic and start early. This will enable you to organize your project in the correct format, with sufficient data and results of the experiment. Read the following activities mentioned below to carry out your research based project.

1. Select your topic
 
The first step, selecting a project idea, is the most important. This is the first question or dilemma a student faces when starting a science fair project, because it can make the difference between a good and an excellent project. Keep two important things in mind while selecting your topic:

• First, choose a topic that interests you - you’ll have lot more fun (and probably learn more)
• Second, while you’re choosing a topic, check all the resources around you. This will help you in doing your project with ease.

For eg. - If you are doing a project on Neem leaves, ensure that you have the Neem tree in the surrounding region where you live.

2. Sourcing information on your project

After selecting your project topic, learn everything about it. Books on your topic are likely to be found in your local library or bookstore. You can use the many search engines available to find information or the links to various science related sites on the Internet. The more exhaustive your background literature search, the better you will be able to proceed with your project.

3. Make a plan

Make a plan as to how you will conduct your experiment. Your plan should include the following:

• The purpose of your experiment
• The variable or the things that you are going to change during the experiment
• Also note the parameters which remain constant during the experiment
• Your hypothesis or what you think the outcome of the project will be
• A detailed procedure outlining how you will conduct the experiment. Include the type of experiment to be conducted. Make a timetable and allot sufficient time to all stages of your work. Stick to the timetable as far as possible so that you finish your project on time.

4. Make a hypothesis

When you think you know what variables may be involved, think about ways to change one at a time. If you change more than one at a time, you will not know what variable is causing your observation. Sometimes variables are linked and work together to cause something.  At first, try to choose variables that you think act independently of each other. At this point, you are ready to translate your questions into hypothesis. A hypothesis is a question, which has been reworded into a form that can be tested by an experiment. There is usually one hypothesis for each question you have. You must do at least one experiment to test each hypothesis. This is a very important step. If possible, ask a scientist to go over your hypothesis with you.

5. Design experiments to test your hypothesis

Design an experiment to test each hypothesis. Make a step-by-step list of what you will do to answer each question. This list is called an experimental procedure. For an experiment to give answers you can believe, it must have a “control”. A control is a neutral “reference point” for comparison that allows you to see what changing a variable does by comparing it to not changing anything. It is difficult to develop effective controls. Without a control you cannot be sure that changing the variable causes your observations. A series of experiments that include a control is called a “controlled experiment”. Experiments are usually repeated to guarantee that what you observe is reproducible. It is also repeated to obtain an average result. Reproducibility is a crucial requirement. Without it you cannot trust your results. Think of possible errors and record them or correct them if possible. Your results should be predictable, i.e. the same results should be obtained when the experiment is repeated. It is useful to choose a statistical test that will validate your results. This will also ensure that your results are not due to mere chance but are scientific in nature.

6. Do the experiments and record data

During each experimental ‘run’, you measure how much the variable affects the system under study. Each change of variable produces a different response in the system. You measure this response or record data in a table for this purpose. This is considered  “raw data”  since  it  has  not  been  processed  or interpreted yet. When raw data gets processed mathematically, for example, it becomes results.

7. Record your observations

Observations can be written descriptions of what you noticed during an experiment or problems encountered. Keep careful notes of everything you do and everything that happens. Observations are valuable when drawing conclusions and useful for locating experimental errors. But maintain a record of experimental details and data-log book. Do not rely on your memory.

8. Consult your guide

Discussions with your guide should be an ongoing activity. Your guide is very important in guiding you through your project till the end. He/ she will be able to give you all the required inputs to develop a research-based project. The guidance will ensure that you are working in the right direction and the methodology being used by you is correct.

9. Do your calculations

Use your raw data to calculate and arrive at conclusions. For example, you weigh a container. This weight is recorded in your raw data table as ‘wt. of container’. You then add some soil to the container and weigh it again. This would be entered as ‘wt. of container + soil’. In the calculation section, do the calculations to find out how much soil was used in this experimental run: (wt. of container + soil) - (wt. of container) = wt. of soil used. Each calculated answer is entered into a table in a ‘Results’ section using proper units.

10. Summarize results

Summarize what happened. This can be in the form of a table of processed numerical data or graphs. It could also be a written statement of what occurred during experiments. Studying tables and graphs, we can see trends that tell us how different variables cause our observations. Based on these trends, we can draw conclusions about the system under study. These conclusions help us confirm or deny our original hypothesis. Often, mathematical equations can be made from graphs. These equations allow us to predict how a change will affect the system without the need to do additional experiments. Apply appropriate statistics to analyze your data so that valid conclusions can be drawn.

11. Make your conclusions

Using the trends in your experimental data and your experimental observations, try to answer your original questions. Is your hypothesis correct? Now is the time to put together what happened and assess the experiments you did. It is possible that your observations lead you to conclude something different from your starting hypothesis. Do not alter results to fit a theory. If your results do not support your hypothesis, it doesn’t matter. You still have done successful scientific research. The spirit of scientific inquiry requires an open mind.

12. Cost feasibility

If your project involves making a ‘device’ then put down the estimated cost of all the components required for that device. You must do a cost comparison with the existing products, if applicable. You should also state the source from which these components can be obtained.