The Research Report enables the judges to evaluate the scientific work completed as part of the Competition. Semifinalists and regional finalists are selected on the basis of their Research Report.
To ensure that the judges focus on the quality of the work completed, rather than on the manner of presentation, strict requirements for the Research Report must be followed.
Research Reports that do not adhere to these guidelines may be disqualified from the Competition.
Overall Report Requirements
To ensure fairness, Research Reports are initially evaluated without reference to any personal information about the students.
Absolutely no student names or reference to gender ("he" or "she"), high schools, school officials, advisors, mentors, affiliated research organizations, or acknowledgements of the entrants are to appear anywhere in the Research Report. These references may only appear on the Supplemental Form and Confirmation Page.
Three original copies of the Research Report must be submitted, so that all graphics and colors are clear on all copies. The abstract, Research Report, and references must also be saved to a CD-ROM and mailed along with your paper copies.
Format Requirements
The Research Report must:
- Be written in English.
- Adhere to an 18-page limit. This limit includes the introduction, text, tables, data, illustrations, and appendices. References are not included in the 18-page limit.
- Be submitted on 8-1/2 X 11 inch single-sided sheets of paper, double-spaced, with page numbers at the bottom.
- Have page margins of at least 1 inch.
- Use 12 point or larger Arial or Times New Roman font for the body of the report. Captions accompanying pictures and graphs, as well as citations for references, may be single-spaced and in a smaller point size.
- Contain reference pages in the same size font as the body of the research paper (12 point or larger). Each individual reference should be single-spaced with a double space between references.
- Ensure that citations and references are complete and in correct standard format for the discipline. Examples from the Mayfield Handbook of Technical & Scientific Writing are available on the Siemens Foundation website.
Content Requirements
The scientific format of a paper differs by discipline; therefore, there is not one required format for writing the research paper. It should be written in the scientific format appropriate to the discipline and contain the following information:
- Purpose of the research: Describe the problem to be solved, the research question to be answered, the hypotheses to be tested, or the product to be developed.
- Rationale for the research: Why is the work important?
- Pertinent scientific literature: Provide a brief review of the most relevant literature. Previous relevant publications and patents must be cited in the text of the Research Report.
- Prior work and contributions of others on this project: Provide information on concurrent similar or related work, projects, or both in the facility or laboratory in which you worked.
- Methodology: Describe the methods used to allow someone trained in the field to understand the work or sufficient steps to follow a proof. Explain what was done and how it was accomplished. Document any outside assistance or special circumstances that had implications for the project.
- Results: Describe the results of the research or mathematical study.
- Discussion: Describe how the results address the problem to be solved or research question to be addressed. Discuss any interpretations that can be drawn from the results.
- Conclusions: What questions still need to be answered? Does the Research Report have a basis for future work?
- References: Assemble a complete list of the works cited in the paper, formatted correctly for the discipline.
