Science Fair Logbook

Logbooks are the place for you to brainstorm, plan, and record mistakes.  Think of the logbook like a diary or rough draft of the total experiment from the very beginning idea to the final conclusion and analysis. It does not have to be neat, but the information in them should be understandable and organized.  The logbook represents proof that you did the experiment and all the research and work associated with your project. 

AT THE VERY LEAST, your science fair logbook should have the BIG 3…

1. Field Notes: A record of data that you take while you were doing your experiment. This includes observations, and any problems or errors that you my have made that affected your experiment.

2. Research: All research and notes that you did at any time during your experiment. This may include copies, and printed off pages from the internet, and emails or transcripts from people that you interviewed.

3. Science Fair Worksheets: All worksheets that are in this packet fully completed.

Also…

· Brainstorming: keep track of initial project ideas and how you narrowed down ideas to

o Write notes on the conversations you have with teachers or other professionals. 

o White ideas and questions which occur to you as you go.

o Keep track of early ideas that you have while designing your experiment

· Pictures and photographs

o Sketches or actual photographs are helpful (some you may eventually use on the backboard). 

o Be sure to include some kind of explanation or brief description of the picture.

· Self evaluation

o   Examine all you have done and try to evaluate how you might do it differently to improve your techniques as well as the data results. 

o How could you improve your project?

DATE YOUR ENTRIES!!!  Every entry should be dated.  It might be an hourly, daily, or weekly observation depending on your inves