Documentation

Walter Vecchio

Much of the hard work and effort that go into a project are hidden below the surface; therefore, careful records are essential. The student (above) carefully records his astronomical observations.

Although not directly concerned with planning, documentation is so important that it is a good idea to start on it while you are planning your project.
Documentation means keeping detailed and accurate reports about all phases of your project. Most science fairers have found it convenient to set up a project notebook for recording all pertinent information. It should contain original ideas, details of experiments, progress reports, observations, photographs and diagrams, conclusions, construction details, parts and shopping lists, tallies of expense and effort, research notes, calculations, and complete plans for the project.

Why is a project notebook necessary? Simply to provide you with a complete and accurate record of your project from start to finish. Remember that a finished project is the result of a lot of hidden effort. Just as 90 per cent of an iceberg is below the water line, much of your work will be hidden beneath the surface of your project.

A properly maintained notebook will show the judges the approach you followed, the successes and failures you had, the difficulties you encountered, and how you overcame them. It will enable any interested person to follow your line of thought and your actions as you developed the project.
 
Bronx High School of Science Walter Vecchio
Actually, keeping detailed records of your experimental results, observations and conclusions is likely to improve your project.

Unless carefully recorded, the results of an experiment are lost forever. Even the small details may become very significant in the light of later work.

Often the significance of a result or observation is not realized until well after an experiment is completed. Later results may allow you to view earlier observations in a new light. Or you might want to check back and redo a part of your project, this time looking for different results. Unless carefully recorded, original results and observations are lost forever.

Paying careful attention to all details will develop keen powers of observation in you. You probably won't see an important point unless you are looking for it; maintaining complete notes gets you into the worthwhile habit of continually looking at everything connected with your project. In addition, writing something down helps to clarify it in your mind. Revising and organizing notes helps you to see the more important details and to reach more significant conclusions. Describing a point in writing is an excellent way of explaining it to yourself.

Your Contribution to Science

While documentation is essential to a successful science fair project, it is important for another reason. It is your contribution to science. Another researcher should be able to start where you finished and not have to duplicate your work. Undocumented research is valueless, for unless you can remember all the little details and pass them on, the scientific community cannot possibly benefit from your efforts.

As an example, consider the science fairer who decided to investigate the effects of a certain chemical on the growth of plants. One group of plants was fed the chemical and a control group was raised without. After a few months the effects of the chemical on the first group were observed and, by comparison with the control group, conclusions reached. Presentation at the science fair took the form of a display that described the experiment and listed results. No project notebook was kept and no detailed records were maintained.

A good project? Perhaps, but think how much better it might have been. Did the researcher keep track of how many sunny and cloudy days there were while the plants were growing? Did he have any idea of how much rain fell on his samples, or at what point in the plant development stage the chemical had its most noticeable effects? The answers to these questions were negative.
Suppose that the chemical affects the plant differently under different light and moisture conditions (as is often the case). Another experiment might produce completely different results.

In many ways, then, the experiment described above was a waste of time. The researcher has no record of the conditions under which it was performed. It will be impossible to build upon the results obtained. How can the light and moisture conditions be changed for a third group of plants if no record exists concerning the first two groups?

The moral to the story is to keep a complete and up-to-date project notebook. Record ALL pertinent data. The kind of book you keep and the format you follow is not very important. Just obey the basic principles of documentation: Maintain accuracy and completeness and allow for ease of reference. ·

Photos courtesy Science Service
 
The display is the easy part: This is Gregory Fiore's entry; Fourth Award winner at the NSF-I.
 
Hard work below the surface: Astrid Hausch's entry in the 12th NSF-I, a Third Award winner.
 
Careful documentation should include drawings and photographs where applicable. This student finds drawing skills invaluable in recording her observations for a project in the biological sciences.

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