Team Research Papers are allowed again this year, with up to three members on the team. A research paper consists of student or team (grades 7–12) which is either (A) the written presentation of your investigation and experimentation–Investigative Research, or (B) a Library Research. The Library Research should not be "A Book Report", but should be an investigation and comparison of divergent theories collected. Separate judging criteria are established for both categories of papers. Scientific thought and procedures will receive major credit in the judging. Judging criteria for library research papers will heavily stress the analysis and application of the research data and the depth of the research effort (quality and quantity of the references).
All submitted SC/SW MN Regional Science & Engineering Fair research papers are read prior to the regional fair by MSU Faculty. The top papers will then compete at the Regional Science Fair with an oral presentation. Each student/school will need to provide their own laptop and cords if selected to present at the regional fair.
Length of paper. The body of the paper (introduction, materials, methods and procedures, results and discussion and conclusions) must be a minimum of eight (8) pages and a maximum of twenty (20) pages, double spaced, in type no smaller than 10 or 12 in a font like Times or Times New Roman. These 8-20 pages exclude the abstract, bibliography, graphs, and appendices.
Binding: The Research Paper must be stapled with no other binding – no plastic cover, folder or three ring binders allowed.
Cover Page: The cover page states the student's name, school name and address, title of the research, grade in school, name of the advisor and category of the research. Make your title concise but also descriptive. Your title should indicate the nature of your research, not the entire content. The best titles are usually ten (10) words or less.
Abstract: An abstract of no more than 250 words must be included before the title page.
Judging: Papers will be judged solely on this year's work. Be sure that it is clear to the judges what this year's work is.
