Objective:

Students will research and analyze a current science-related problem in order to recommend and justify a solution. 

Research Scenario: 

Many of today's current issues and hot topics are related to science.

What current science issues interest you the most? 

First, you will need to explore current science issues to identify a problem for research. 
   
 

Topic Selection

Explore some possible science research topics on the Resources page to identify a science issue that really interests you.

• Make a list of topics that interest you on the back of your Project Proposal paper.
• Narrow down your choices to circle the 2-3 topics that interest you the most.
• Your Science teacher will approve your final research topic selection. 

Task and Product

Your task is to conduct research in order to gather information about a current science issue or problem and recommend a solution. You will need to justify your recommended solution with evidence from your research. You will use your research findings and recommendation to:

• Write a formal MLA-style research paper
• Write and send an email to a government representative, agency, or other organization

Questions

You will need to gather information that will help you to answer focus questions such as: 

• Background Information:
• What's the problem? 
• What's the history of this issue and the current situation? 
• Importance and Impact:
• Why is this important? 
• How might this impact people, the environment, or the future? 
• Solutions:
• What are some possible solutions to the problem? What action needs to be taken?
• What solution do you think is best, and why?

Gather & Sort 

• Use Cornell Notes to gather information that helps to answer your questions.
• Paraphrase your notes and cite your sources to avoid plagiarism.
• Keep track of your sources for a Works Cited list. 
• Copy pre-formatted citations from Database articles directly onto this Works Cited document.
• Use EasyBib to format citations for Websites or Books. 
• Use reliable sources and academic search tools from the Resources page.
• Avoid user-generated sites like Wikipedia and Answers.com.
  Contributors may not be experts, and the information might not be accurate! 
• Work smart, not hard!  Use search tools designed for students and academic research whenever possible. Use general search engines like Google only if absolutely necessary!  

Proceed to the Resources