Verifiedbeginner
Figures that survive a judge at one metre
Practical rules for charts that have to be read across a table, in a noisy hall, in ten seconds.
- figures
- charts
- accessibility
- +1
Data Visualization7 min
Resources
Curated guides, templates, and reading — the things worth knowing before you need them.
24 resources
Verifiedbeginner
How to turn an interest into a project
A four-step method for getting from "I like marine biology" to a question you can test with the equipment you actually have.
- topic-selection
- scoping
- getting-started
Choosing a Topic6 min
Verifiedbeginner
Poster layout that works in a crowded hall
Column structure, the 40% white-space rule, and what to cut when it does not fit.
- poster
- layout
- typography
Poster Design8 min
Verifiedbeginner
PubMed Central and other open archives
Where to find the full text when the journal wants forty dollars for it.
- open-access
- library
Verifiedbeginner
The IMRaD structure
What belongs in Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion — and the sentences that end up in the wrong one.
- imrad
- structure
- paper
Scientific Writing6 min
Verifiedbeginner
The timeline nobody tells you about
Working backwards from fair day, including the approval gates that stop work before it starts.
- timeline
- planning
- deadlines
Science-Fair Rules7 min
Verifiedbeginner
What makes a research question testable
The four properties every fair-ready question has, with before-and-after rewrites.
- question
- scope
- testable
Research Questions6 min
Verifiedbeginner
Zotero
Free, open-source reference manager. Captures papers from the browser, syncs across devices, and generates bibliographies in any style.
- tool
- references
- zotero
Citations5 min
Verifiedbeginner
Abstract self-review checklist
Fifteen checks to run on your abstract before submitting it.
- checklist
- abstract
- editing
Abstract Writing3 min
Verifiedbeginner
Browse the winning-project archive
Worked summaries of strong projects by category, with what made each one work. Study the structure — never copy the project.
- archive
- examples
- inspiration
Example Projects5 min
Verifiedbeginner
Citing sources without losing your mind
Why the style matters less than the consistency, and the four fields you must never omit.
- references
- bibliography
- style
Citations5 min
Verifiedbeginner
Control-group checklist
A one-page printable checklist to run against your procedure before data collection starts.
- checklist
- controls
- protocol
Control Groups3 min
Verifiedbeginner
Engineering design criteria template
A fill-in template for stating design requirements, constraints, and test criteria before you build.
- template
- requirements
- iteration
Engineering Safety4 min
Verifiedbeginner
Google Scholar
The widest net for academic literature. Use the "Cited by" and "Related articles" links — they are usually faster than a new search.
- search
- literature
- database
Verifiedbeginner
Matplotlib example gallery
Every chart type with the code that produced it. Faster to find the plot you want here than to search for it.
- python
- matplotlib
- charts
Data Visualization15 min
Verifiedbeginner
pandas: 10 minutes to pandas
The official quick-start for the library most data analysis in Python runs through. Worth doing properly once.
- python
- pandas
- tutorial
Programming25 min
Verifiedbeginner
Poster planning worksheet
Block out your board before you open the design software — content first, layout second.
- template
- planning
- poster
Poster Design4 min
Verifiedbeginner
Question, hypothesis, prediction — three different things
The distinction judges probe and most students blur.
- hypothesis
- prediction
- mechanism
Research Questions5 min
Verifiedbeginner
Rehearsing the two-minute explanation
A drill for building an explanation that survives interruption, noise, and forty repetitions.
- rehearsal
- speaking
- pitch
Verifiedbeginner
Science Buddies project idea library
A large, searchable catalogue of starter projects by field and difficulty. Useful for seeing the shape of a project, less useful if you copy one wholesale.
- ideas
- browse
- inspiration
Choosing a Topic10 min
Verifiedbeginner
StatQuest
Short, genuinely clear video explanations of statistical concepts, from the basics through to machine-learning methods.
- video
- explainers
- statistics
Statistics12 min
Verifiedbeginner
Variables: independent, dependent, controlled, confounding
How to identify all four in your own design, with a worked example.
- variables
- confounds
- design
Verifiedbeginner
Which forms does my project need?
An orientation to the common form set and the order it is completed in. Informational only — confirm every requirement with your own fair.
- forms
- approvals
- isef
Science-Fair Rules7 min
Verifiedbeginner
Writing a falsifiable hypothesis
A worked template, plus the four failure modes that make a hypothesis untestable.
- hypothesis
- falsifiability
- template