What Does Data Mean in a Science Fair Project?
A science fair project has many different parts. It is important to identify each part, and to make sure that your child has the necessary information for each of them. The "data" section can be confusing, because sometimes science teachers differ on what they would like in the section. Therefore, a careful examination of the assignment is the best way to make sure that you know what "data" refers to.
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Data Obtained During Experiment
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In the vast majority of cases, "data" refers to the actual data that the student has compiled during the experiment. For an experiment such as "which paper towel holds more water," the data set would be the amounts of water that each paper towel had held during each trial of the experiment.
Arrangement of Data
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As the student completes the assignment, he should make lists of the data in order to show what his conclusion should be. However, the data should not be arranged with the conclusion. The data should be arranged separately, in a graph or chart. A student who does an experiment that has many parts or many trials should display the data that he has gotten in several charts or graphs. All data should be both displayed in graph form, and also written down. It should be done neatly, in order to be displayed on the science fair project board.
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Data as in Information
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There are some cases in which "data" will actually refer to another step of the experiment process - the step of gathering information on the topic before the experiment is started. If this is the case, the student should also have another requirement listed, called something along the lines of "results" or some other name that refers to what the student has figured out by doing the experiment. Having the data be the information gathered before the experiment is very rare, and is only done in certain situations.
Significance
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Gathering data is a very important part of the experiment process. Therefore, the teacher will want to see that the student has used the experiment in order to learn several things and has gathered data that has led them to a conclusion. The data gathered is the most crucial part of the entire experimental process.
In the few cases where "data" refers to information gathered before the experiment starts, the data gathered is a crucial step towards becoming prepared for the experiment itself.
When In Doubt
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If you do not understand whether the "data" refers to the data that the student gets while performing the experiment, or if it could refer to the data that the student researches before doing the experiment, contact the child's teacher for an explanation.
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