20 Questions You Might Ask as a Judge
- How did you get this idea?
- What was the most interesting background reading you did?
- Which are your control factors/your variables? What is/are the difference(s) between your control & experimental groups(s)?
- Where did you get you animals (bacteria, plants, etc.)?
- What skills did you acquire to do this project?
- What help did you receive from others (students, adults, teachers, family, etc.)?
- How many times did you repeat this experiments and what changes, if any, did you make?
- Why did you choose the statistical test used and what do your results mean?
- Explain this graph to me.
- What is the most important thing you found out in doing this experiment?
- What changes would you make if you continue this project next year?
- What application does this project have to your/my life?
- Is this a continuation of an earlier year’s project and has a full year’s work been added to that done previously?
- How does this experiment conform to the scientific method?
- What experimental errors are in your project and how did you correct for them?
- How did you determine the sample size to be used?
- Explain your procedure to me.
- How does your project differ from others you researched?
- Where was your project done?
- What does this (some project detail) mean?
GUIDELINES SUMMARY (adapted from a variety of sources)
Judges should look for sound evidence of:
- the scientific method (proper variables and controls)
- creativity
- thoroughness (lots of data)
- validity of conclusions
- quality of written presentation
- quality of visual presentation