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Rules and Regulations

Scientific fraud and misconduct are not condoned at any level of research or competition. Such practices include plagiarism, forgery, use or presentation of other researcher’s work as one’s own and fabrication of data. 

General Rules

  1. All projects must adhere to the Ethics Statement above.
  2. Knowledge of these requirements is the responsibility of the student and Adult Sponsor.
  3. Projects must adhere to local, state and U.S. Federal laws, regulations and permitting conditions. In addition, projects conducted outside the U.S. must also adhere to the laws of the country and jurisdiction in which the project was performed.
  4. The use of non-animal research methods and the use of alternatives to animal research are strongly encouraged and must be explored before conducting a vertebrate animal project.
  5. Introduction or disposal of non-native species, pathogens, toxic chemicals or foreign substances into the environment is prohibited.
  6. Maximum Size of Project: Depth (front to back): 30 inches or 76 centimeters; Width (side to side): 48 inches or 122 centimeters; Height (floor to top): 108 inches or 274 centimeters. Our tables are approximately 36 inches tall so please plan on a display board height of not more than 72 inches or 183 centimeters.

Safety Protocols

The following items are not allowed at the fair. You are encouraged to take pictures and include the photos in your presentation.

  • Living organisms, including plants
  • Glass
  • Soil, sand, rock, cement and/or waste samples, even if permanently encased in a slab of acrylic
  • Taxidermy specimens or parts
  • Preserved vertebrate or invertebrate animals
  • Human or animal food
  • Human/animal parts or body fluids (for example, blood, urine)
  • Plant materials (living, dead, or preserved) that are in their raw, unprocessed, or non-manufactured state
  • All chemicals including water. Absolutely no liquids can be utilized in the Project Display
  • All hazardous substances or devices (Example: poisons, drugs, firearms, weapons, ammunition, reloading devices, grease/oil and sublimating solids such as dry ice)
  • Items that may have contained or been in contact with hazardous chemicals (Exception: Item may be permitted if professionally cleaned and documentation for such cleaning is available). Filters (including microbial) may not be displayed unless the Display & Safety Committee can reasonably determine that the device was cleaned or was never used (please include receipts in your notebooks and/or logbooks)
  • Sharp items (for example, syringes, needles, pipettes, knives)
  • Flames and highly flammable materials
  • Batteries with open-top cells or wet cells
  • Drones or any flight-capable apparatus unless the propulsion power source removed.
  • 3D Printers unless the power source is removed.
  • Inadequately insulated apparatus capable of producing dangerous temperatures are not permitted
  • Any apparatus with belts, pulleys, chains, or moving parts with tension or pinch points that are not appropriately shielded
  • Any display items that are deemed distracting (i.e. sounds, lights, odors, etc.)
  • Personal items or packaging materials stored underneath the booth
  • Any apparatus or project material deemed unsafe by the Scientific
  • Review Committee, the Display & Safety Committee, or the Society

Approval and Documentation

  1. Before experimentation begins, a local or regional Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Scientific Review Committee (SRC) must review and approve most projects involving human participants, vertebrate animals, and potentially hazardous biological agents.
  2. A Qualified Scientist is required for all studies involving BSL-2 potentially hazardous biological agents and DEA-controlled substances and is also required for many human participant studies and many vertebrate animal studies.
  3. After initial IRB/SRC approval (if required), any proposed changes in the Research Plan must be re-approved before laboratory experimentation/data collection resumes.
  4. Projects that are a continuation of a previous year’s work and which require IRB/SRC approval must undergo the review process with the current year's proposal before experimentation/data collection for the current year.
  5. Any continuing project must document that the additional research is new and different.
  6. After experimentation, each student or team must submit a (maximum) 250-word, one-page abstract that summarizes the current year’s work. The abstract must describe research conducted by the student, not by the supervising adult(s).
  7. A project data book and research paper are not required but are recommended. Regional or local fairs may require a project data book and/or a research paper.
  8. All signed forms, certifications, and permits must be available for review by all regional, state, national and international affiliated fair SRCs in which the student(s) participate. This review must occur after experimentation and before competition.

Continuation of Projects

  1. As in the professional world, research projects may build on work performed previously. A valid continuation project is a sound scientific endeavor. Students will be judged only on laboratory experiments/data collection performed over 12 continuous months beginning no earlier than January of the year preceding the competition and ending no later than May of the year of the competition.
  2. Any project based on the student’s prior research could be considered a continuation project. If the current year’s project could not have been performed without the outcome of a past year’s research project, then it is considered a continuation of competition. These projects must document that the additional research is a substantive expansion from prior work (e.g. testing a new variable or new line of investigation.) Repetition of previous experimentation with the same methodology and research question, even with an increased sample size, is an example of an unacceptable continuation.
  3. Display board and abstract must reflect the current year’s work only. The project title displayed in the Finalist’s booth may mention years (for example, “Year Two of an Ongoing Study”). Supporting data books (not research papers) from previous related research may be exhibited if properly labeled as such.
  4. Longitudinal studies are permitted as an acceptable continuation under the following conditions:
    • The study is a multi-year study testing or documenting the same variables in which time is a critical variable. (Examples: Effect of high rain or drought on soil in a given basin, return of flora and fauna in a burned area over time.)
    • Each consecutive year must demonstrate time-based change.
    • The display board must be based on collective past conclusory data and its comparison to the current year data set. No raw data from previous years may be displayed.
  5. All continuation projects must be reviewed and approved each year and forms must be completed for the new year.

Team Projects

  1. Team projects compete and are judged in the scientific category of their research.
  2. Teams may have two or three members. Teams may not have had more than three members at any level of affiliated fair. Teams may not substitute members in a given research year.
  3. Team membership cannot be changed during a given research year, including converting from an individual project to a team project, or vice versa. In future years, the project may be converted from an individual to a team project, from a team to an individual project and/or change team members.
  4. Each team is encouraged to appoint a team leader to coordinate the work and act as spokesperson. However, each member of the team should be able to serve as a spokesperson, be fully involved with the project, and be familiar with all aspects of the project. The final work should reflect the coordinated efforts of all team members and will be evaluated using similar rules and judging criteria as individual projects.
  5. Full names of all team members must appear on the abstract and forms.

 

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