Privileges:
- You may have a maximum of 3 members in a group. Choose your team leader. Or you may do things individually. NOTE: Your team leader will carry the load when only one member will be tasked to present the group’s work. The rest will stay in the classroom.
- I highly encourage everyone to do instrumentation by making use of reusable materials. Create equipment that perform and give similar outputs as what an expensive apparatus would have.
- IMPORTANT: I prefer your group/you to have physics-related topics.
- You are alloted AMPLE time to test out your theories before writing the paper. Deadlines, however, will be implemented to ensure progress will be made.
- Academic incentives are awarded to those who win in the division, regional, and national contests.
Duties: (more of guidelines proper)
- Assign a team leader. If you do not have a group, I will assign you your groups and your leaders. (2-3 in a group)
- Strictly no using of other teachers’ regular class time for IP.
- Do not overuse titles or topics. “Efficacy of ____” or “Comparative study …” should be avoided as they do not go far in terms of research value.
- Follow the scientific method. How do you know you’re following the scientific method: your research can be replicated by other researchers & they are able to produce similar QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE results using your method (can be done by someone from the other side of the world without having to specifically bring YOUR materials, ingredients, apparatus, and/or observer which/who can tell them they’re also correct). No guesswork. No poor testing methods (ex. 1 trial only, 1 comparison product only, too many changed/unchanged variables, unrepeatable or unreproducible by other people).
- Avoid insecticide projects and the like.
- Avoid growing bacteria/fungi/molds/viruses.
- Avoid projects that require you or someone else to intake something.
- Avoid vertebrate animal (including mice) testing unless absolutely necessary.
- Going out of school to follow-up results from a laboratory or any similar situation during school days will not be tolerated. Instead, you will be marked absent. (Exemptions for contests will apply.)
- Meeting up in houses of classmates/friends or in other venues (malls, coffee shops…etc.) for the IP will not be allowed. If any member of the group is caught, the whole group will receive deductions. Repeating the offense will be dealt with disciplinary actions (school policy) and a failing mark in research.
- NO BRINGING OF GADGETS including CAMERAS, LAPTOPS, CELLPHONES…etc. (school policy) during official school days. However, for typing purposes, I will try to make arrangements for computer laboratory use.
- Nothing TOO expensive. I always encourage my students to find cheap (or cheaper) research projects.
- Inconsistent passing of requirements (ie. passing after deadlines, given the time to work but will not work thus passing late) will be awarded demerits or a failing mark in research.
- Accumulated inconsistencies (like passing requirements beyond the deadline) to produce a research work will show laziness and be given 0 points. Passing the requirement for the sake of passing (ie. using a folder instead of a hardbound copy for the final, not revising the work, failure to repeat experiment) will also merit zero(0) points.
- Falsified data (“doctored”) will result in an automatic failing grade in research throughout the grading/school year.
Advice before or while doing the research:
- Read. Read. Read.
- Research is all about discovery. If you feel you don’t know what you’re doing, that’s the whole point.
- Showing a false interest (or a non-existent interest) in research will demoralize your teammates. It will also show that you are not interested to pass the subject (research). Choose a topic that the group (or individual) is truly interested in.
- If reading isn’t your style, you can look at videos on YouTube instead. There are a lot of educational videos which won’t take up much of your time. (Compare 10minutes of watching a video to 1 hour of playing flash games.)
- Write all your sources down. I repeat, write all your sources down. You will constantly be asked where you got this paragraph or this line and I’m sure it didn’t come from your mind (especially if it is “amazingly” well-written). Use index cards to keep track of everything.
- Do not be afraid to ask. Ask your classmates, teachers, and those in college on how research should be done. It broadens your idea of what a research paper should really be.
- Keep an open mind. Do not think your methods are perfect or correct. Your work can always be improved.
- When something happens to your results which you never expected, DO NOT falsify the data. That unexpected result could be the next breakthrough of the century!
- If you are unable to find a topic after thinking for so long, why not go on a walk or do something different for a change? Try solving a puzzle, walking the dog, playing guitar, drawing your favorite character… anything to get your mind off it. By then, the ideas will come like magic.
Topics I prefer you to tackle (random order):
- Electricity (specifically robotics)
- More efficient waste management
- Inventions (simple to complex)
- Recycling
- Reducing greenhouse gases (or “Global Warming”)
- Innovations in Physics (experiments, apparatus)
- Optics
- Sound
- Medicine (may be expensive and will go against some of your “duties/guidelines”)
- Animation (flash, 3d) for a purpose
- Add-ons or Improvements to apparatus, gadgets…etc.
- Renewable energy
- Fire fighting & prevention technology
Specific ideas:
- Shock absorber in cars generate electricity
http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/10/levant-powers-genshock-absorbs-energy-as-well-as-bumps-video/ - The NOT-BIOFUEL algae
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-05/algae-cleans-manure-runoff-transforming-organic-fertilizer - Seakites!
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-05/sea-kites-could-harness-tidal-energy-future-power-plants - Talk about ROBOTICS!
http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/08/motorola-droid-solves-lego-encased-rubiks-cube-in-24-mind-melti/ - Computer software for the Library (OPAC-style)
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FLOW of the whole thing: (some parts may not be necessary depending on your paper’s needs)
- Front Cover Page (book itself / page 2 on the guide document)
- TWO(2) Blank Pages
- Front Cover Page (for IP paper INSIDE the book / page 3 found on the guide document)
- Submission and Approval Sheet (page 4 found on the guide document)
- Acknowledgments
- Abstract
- Table of Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- List of Graphs
- IP paper proper
- Bibliography
- Appendix
IP PAPER PROPER (will update on Saturday)
Download:IP Bookbinding GUIDE including Submission & Approval Sheet (redirects to another page)
- About the font size of the front cover (book itself), it depends on the place where you will bind and what their standard font is. The important thing to have is a decently BIG enough title to be seen from afar. Usually they will tell you “this is the standard size being used in thesis” so you may use that (Not too big,.. similar to the sample IPs title which were given before). For the FONT SIZE of the inside cover page, you may font size 12-14.
- Margins should be LEFT: 1.5″ and for everything else, 1″. This is only for the IP papers, not the book cover.
- Paragraph spacing for the abstract is single while the rest will use double
