4th grade in Mrs. Lamb's Room
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Step 3: Background Research

Background research is necessary so that you know how to design and understand your experiment.
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To make a research plan you need to follow these steps:
1. Identify the keywords in the question for your science fair project. Brainstorm additional keywords and concepts.

2.  Use a table with the "question words" (why, how, who, what, when, where) to generate research questions from your keywords. For example:
  • What is the difference between a series and parallel circuit?
  • When does a plant grow the most, during the day or night? 
  • How does a java applet work? 
  • Does a truss make a bridge stronger? 
  • Why are moths attracted to light? 
  • Which cleaning products kill the most bacteria?
                      Throw out irrelevant questions. 
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project_background_research_worksheet.pdf
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3. Determine the area of science or science concept your experiment falls under. 

Sample Background research plan for the science fair project:

Question: Does drinking milk help decrease spiciness better than water or Pepsi?

1. Keywords --
  • Milk
  • Spiciness
  • Pepsi
  • Water​
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​2. Research questions --
  • Why do spicy foods taste hot?
  • How does the tongue detect spiciness?
  • How does one measure spiciness?
  • What causes spiciness to increase (or decrease)?
  • What are the properties and characteristics of spicy substances?
  • Where in the body does spiciness occur?
  • What is the composition of milk, Pepsi, and water?
  • What are the properties and characteristics of milk, Pepsi, and water?
3. Science concepts and/or areas of science - ​Taste buds

4. Research your topic and research questions--
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Write all your research notes and bibliography information in your science journal pages 19-23

​Helpful research sites:

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