Research is the process by which people create new knowledge about themselves or the world in which they live in order to answer a question or solve a problem. When choosing your topic, give careful thought to how your research might enhance the world and its inhabitants. Questioning is probably the most important part of scientific creativity and is often followed by an “if...then” statement. Questioning usually leads to experiments or observations. Good scientists, both young and old, use a process to study what they see in the world. The following six stages listed below will help you produce a good scientific experiment:  

• Be curious, choose a limited subject, ask a question; identify or originate/define a problem.*
• Review published materials related to your problem or question.
• Evaluate possible solutions and guess why you think it will happen (hypothesis).
• Challenge and test your hypothesis through experimentation (data collection) and analysis.
• Evaluate the results of your experiment and reach conclusions based on your data.
• Prepare your report and exhibit.  

Students should learn to be skeptical of all research results, especially their own. A good experiment may or may not answer the questions asked, but usually leads to fresh questions requiring new experiments or observations. The experimental hypothesis is often developed after one has run a number of preliminary experiments, analyzed a body of results, and reached a tentative conclusion for your experiment. 

• All projects need sponsor approval; some projects need SRC/IRB approval prior to experimentation. Please refer to the CONSEF Rules. If not attached, the CONSEF Rules and regulations along with the needed forms are available at our website www.consef.org. 
• All projects require at a minimum the completion of the Application Form, Consent Release Form, Checklist for Adult Sponsor Form, Abstract (1A), and Approval Form (1B).