Research Paper Competition

Team Research Papers are allowed again this year, with up to three members on the team. A research paper consists of student or team Investigative Research, which is the written presentation of your investigation and experimentation. Research papers are only allowed for students in 6th-12th grade competing in the middle school/senior high fair. Scientific thought and procedures will receive major credit in the judging. All submitted Southern MN Regional Science & Engineering Fair research papers are read prior to the regional fair by Minnesota State University, Mankato Faculty. The top papers will then compete at the Regional Science Fair with an oral presentation.

Southern MN Regional Science and Engineering Fair follows the same rules and guidelines as The National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium.

Junior Science and Humanities Symposium Core Rules of Competition

Length of Paper

The paper should be a minimum of 5-6 pages and a maximum of 20 pages, including appendices and references. The cover page does NOT count towards the 20 page maximum. Please use: Times or Times New Roman for your font, single spaced and keyed in 10 or 12 point font, with 1-inch margins.

Cover Page

The cover page states the student's name, school name and address, title of the research, grade in school, name of the advisor and category of the research. Make your title concise but also descriptive. Your title should indicate the nature of your research, not the entire content. The best titles are usually ten (10) words or less. The cover page is not part of the 20 page maximum.

Abstract

An abstract of no more than 250 words must be included before the title page.

Judging

Papers will be judged solely on this year's work. Be sure that it is clear to the judges what this year's work is.