science independent research project ideas

Education During Coronavirus

A Smithsonian magazine special report

Science | June 15, 2020

Seventy-Five Scientific Research Projects You Can Contribute to Online

From astrophysicists to entomologists, many researchers need the help of citizen scientists to sift through immense data collections

Rachael Lallensack

Former Assistant Editor, Science and Innovation

If you find yourself tired of streaming services, reading the news or video-chatting with friends, maybe you should consider becoming a citizen scientist. Though it’s true that many field research projects are paused , hundreds of scientists need your help sifting through wildlife camera footage and images of galaxies far, far away, or reading through diaries and field notes from the past.

Plenty of these tools are free and easy enough for children to use. You can look around for projects yourself on Smithsonian Institution’s citizen science volunteer page , National Geographic ’s list of projects and CitizenScience.gov ’s catalog of options. Zooniverse is a platform for online-exclusive projects , and Scistarter allows you to restrict your search with parameters, including projects you can do “on a walk,” “at night” or “on a lunch break.”

To save you some time, Smithsonian magazine has compiled a collection of dozens of projects you can take part in from home.

American Wildlife

If being home has given you more time to look at wildlife in your own backyard, whether you live in the city or the country, consider expanding your view, by helping scientists identify creatures photographed by camera traps. Improved battery life, motion sensors, high-resolution and small lenses have made camera traps indispensable tools for conservation.These cameras capture thousands of images that provide researchers with more data about ecosystems than ever before.

Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s eMammal platform , for example, asks users to identify animals for conservation projects around the country. Currently, eMammal is being used by the Woodland Park Zoo ’s Seattle Urban Carnivore Project, which studies how coyotes, foxes, raccoons, bobcats and other animals coexist with people, and the Washington Wolverine Project, an effort to monitor wolverines in the face of climate change. Identify urban wildlife for the Chicago Wildlife Watch , or contribute to wilderness projects documenting North American biodiversity with The Wilds' Wildlife Watch in Ohio , Cedar Creek: Eyes on the Wild in Minnesota , Michigan ZoomIN , Western Montana Wildlife and Snapshot Wisconsin .

"Spend your time at home virtually exploring the Minnesota backwoods,” writes the lead researcher of the Cedar Creek: Eyes on the Wild project. “Help us understand deer dynamics, possum populations, bear behavior, and keep your eyes peeled for elusive wolves!"

If being cooped up at home has you daydreaming about traveling, Snapshot Safari has six active animal identification projects. Try eyeing lions, leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs, elephants, giraffes, baobab trees and over 400 bird species from camera trap photos taken in South African nature reserves, including De Hoop Nature Reserve and Madikwe Game Reserve .

With South Sudan DiversityCam , researchers are using camera traps to study biodiversity in the dense tropical forests of southwestern South Sudan. Part of the Serenegeti Lion Project, Snapshot Serengeti needs the help of citizen scientists to classify millions of camera trap images of species traveling with the wildebeest migration.

Classify all kinds of monkeys with Chimp&See . Count, identify and track giraffes in northern Kenya . Watering holes host all kinds of wildlife, but that makes the locales hotspots for parasite transmission; Parasite Safari needs volunteers to help figure out which animals come in contact with each other and during what time of year.

Mount Taranaki in New Zealand is a volcanic peak rich in native vegetation, but native wildlife, like the North Island brown kiwi, whio/blue duck and seabirds, are now rare—driven out by introduced predators like wild goats, weasels, stoats, possums and rats. Estimate predator species compared to native wildlife with Taranaki Mounga by spotting species on camera trap images.

The Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) Instant Wild app has a dozen projects showcasing live images and videos of wildlife around the world. Look for bears, wolves and lynx in Croatia ; wildcats in Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula ; otters in Hampshire, England ; and both black and white rhinos in the Lewa-Borana landscape in Kenya.

Under the Sea

Researchers use a variety of technologies to learn about marine life and inform conservation efforts. Take, for example, Beluga Bits , a research project focused on determining the sex, age and pod size of beluga whales visiting the Churchill River in northern Manitoba, Canada. With a bit of training, volunteers can learn how to differentiate between a calf, a subadult (grey) or an adult (white)—and even identify individuals using scars or unique pigmentation—in underwater videos and images. Beluga Bits uses a “ beluga boat ,” which travels around the Churchill River estuary with a camera underneath it, to capture the footage and collect GPS data about the whales’ locations.

Many of these online projects are visual, but Manatee Chat needs citizen scientists who can train their ear to decipher manatee vocalizations. Researchers are hoping to learn what calls the marine mammals make and when—with enough practice you might even be able to recognize the distinct calls of individual animals.

Several groups are using drone footage to monitor seal populations. Seals spend most of their time in the water, but come ashore to breed. One group, Seal Watch , is analyzing time-lapse photography and drone images of seals in the British territory of South Georgia in the South Atlantic. A team in Antarctica captured images of Weddell seals every ten minutes while the seals were on land in spring to have their pups. The Weddell Seal Count project aims to find out what threats—like fishing and climate change—the seals face by monitoring changes in their population size. Likewise, the Año Nuevo Island - Animal Count asks volunteers to count elephant seals, sea lions, cormorants and more species on a remote research island off the coast of California.

With Floating Forests , you’ll sift through 40 years of satellite images of the ocean surface identifying kelp forests, which are foundational for marine ecosystems, providing shelter for shrimp, fish and sea urchins. A project based in southwest England, Seagrass Explorer , is investigating the decline of seagrass beds. Researchers are using baited cameras to spot commercial fish in these habitats as well as looking out for algae to study the health of these threatened ecosystems. Search for large sponges, starfish and cold-water corals on the deep seafloor in Sweden’s first marine park with the Koster seafloor observatory project.

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center needs your help spotting invasive species with Invader ID . Train your eye to spot groups of organisms, known as fouling communities, that live under docks and ship hulls, in an effort to clean up marine ecosystems.

If art history is more your speed, two Dutch art museums need volunteers to start “ fishing in the past ” by analyzing a collection of paintings dating from 1500 to 1700. Each painting features at least one fish, and an interdisciplinary research team of biologists and art historians wants you to identify the species of fish to make a clearer picture of the “role of ichthyology in the past.”

Interesting Insects

Notes from Nature is a digitization effort to make the vast resources in museums’ archives of plants and insects more accessible. Similarly, page through the University of California Berkeley’s butterfly collection on CalBug to help researchers classify these beautiful critters. The University of Michigan Museum of Zoology has already digitized about 300,000 records, but their collection exceeds 4 million bugs. You can hop in now and transcribe their grasshopper archives from the last century . Parasitic arthropods, like mosquitos and ticks, are known disease vectors; to better locate these critters, the Terrestrial Parasite Tracker project is working with 22 collections and institutions to digitize over 1.2 million specimens—and they’re 95 percent done . If you can tolerate mosquito buzzing for a prolonged period of time, the HumBug project needs volunteers to train its algorithm and develop real-time mosquito detection using acoustic monitoring devices. It’s for the greater good!

For the Birders

Birdwatching is one of the most common forms of citizen science . Seeing birds in the wilderness is certainly awe-inspiring, but you can birdwatch from your backyard or while walking down the sidewalk in big cities, too. With Cornell University’s eBird app , you can contribute to bird science at any time, anywhere. (Just be sure to remain a safe distance from wildlife—and other humans, while we social distance ). If you have safe access to outdoor space—a backyard, perhaps—Cornell also has a NestWatch program for people to report observations of bird nests. Smithsonian’s Migratory Bird Center has a similar Neighborhood Nest Watch program as well.

Birdwatching is easy enough to do from any window, if you’re sheltering at home, but in case you lack a clear view, consider these online-only projects. Nest Quest currently has a robin database that needs volunteer transcribers to digitize their nest record cards.

You can also pitch in on a variety of efforts to categorize wildlife camera images of burrowing owls , pelicans , penguins (new data coming soon!), and sea birds . Watch nest cam footage of the northern bald ibis or greylag geese on NestCams to help researchers learn about breeding behavior.

Or record the coloration of gorgeous feathers across bird species for researchers at London’s Natural History Museum with Project Plumage .

Pretty Plants

If you’re out on a walk wondering what kind of plants are around you, consider downloading Leafsnap , an electronic field guide app developed by Columbia University, the University of Maryland and the Smithsonian Institution. The app has several functions. First, it can be used to identify plants with its visual recognition software. Secondly, scientists can learn about the “ the ebb and flow of flora ” from geotagged images taken by app users.

What is older than the dinosaurs, survived three mass extinctions and still has a living relative today? Ginko trees! Researchers at Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History are studying ginko trees and fossils to understand millions of years of plant evolution and climate change with the Fossil Atmospheres project . Using Zooniverse, volunteers will be trained to identify and count stomata, which are holes on a leaf’s surface where carbon dioxide passes through. By counting these holes, or quantifying the stomatal index, scientists can learn how the plants adapted to changing levels of carbon dioxide. These results will inform a field experiment conducted on living trees in which a scientist is adjusting the level of carbon dioxide for different groups.

Help digitize and categorize millions of botanical specimens from natural history museums, research institutions and herbaria across the country with the Notes from Nature Project . Did you know North America is home to a variety of beautiful orchid species? Lend botanists a handby typing handwritten labels on pressed specimens or recording their geographic and historic origins for the New York Botanical Garden’s archives. Likewise, the Southeastern U.S. Biodiversity project needs assistance labeling pressed poppies, sedums, valerians, violets and more. Groups in California , Arkansas , Florida , Texas and Oklahoma all invite citizen scientists to partake in similar tasks.

Historic Women in Astronomy

Become a transcriber for Project PHaEDRA and help researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics preserve the work of Harvard’s women “computers” who revolutionized astronomy in the 20th century. These women contributed more than 130 years of work documenting the night sky, cataloging stars, interpreting stellar spectra, counting galaxies, and measuring distances in space, according to the project description .

More than 2,500 notebooks need transcription on Project PhaEDRA - Star Notes . You could start with Annie Jump Cannon , for example. In 1901, Cannon designed a stellar classification system that astronomers still use today. Cecilia Payne discovered that stars are made primarily of hydrogen and helium and can be categorized by temperature. Two notebooks from Henrietta Swan Leavitt are currently in need of transcription. Leavitt, who was deaf, discovered the link between period and luminosity in Cepheid variables, or pulsating stars, which “led directly to the discovery that the Universe is expanding,” according to her bio on Star Notes .

Volunteers are also needed to transcribe some of these women computers’ notebooks that contain references to photographic glass plates . These plates were used to study space from the 1880s to the 1990s. For example, in 1890, Williamina Flemming discovered the Horsehead Nebula on one of these plates . With Star Notes, you can help bridge the gap between “modern scientific literature and 100 years of astronomical observations,” according to the project description . Star Notes also features the work of Cannon, Leavitt and Dorrit Hoffleit , who authored the fifth edition of the Bright Star Catalog, which features 9,110 of the brightest stars in the sky.

Microscopic Musings

Electron microscopes have super-high resolution and magnification powers—and now, many can process images automatically, allowing teams to collect an immense amount of data. Francis Crick Institute’s Etch A Cell - Powerhouse Hunt project trains volunteers to spot and trace each cell’s mitochondria, a process called manual segmentation. Manual segmentation is a major bottleneck to completing biological research because using computer systems to complete the work is still fraught with errors and, without enough volunteers, doing this work takes a really long time.

For the Monkey Health Explorer project, researchers studying the social behavior of rhesus monkeys on the tiny island Cayo Santiago off the southeastern coast of Puerto Rico need volunteers to analyze the monkeys’ blood samples. Doing so will help the team understand which monkeys are sick and which are healthy, and how the animals’ health influences behavioral changes.

Using the Zooniverse’s app on a phone or tablet, you can become a “ Science Scribbler ” and assist researchers studying how Huntington disease may change a cell’s organelles. The team at the United Kingdom's national synchrotron , which is essentially a giant microscope that harnesses the power of electrons, has taken highly detailed X-ray images of the cells of Huntington’s patients and needs help identifying organelles, in an effort to see how the disease changes their structure.

Oxford University’s Comprehensive Resistance Prediction for Tuberculosis: an International Consortium—or CRyPTIC Project , for short, is seeking the aid of citizen scientists to study over 20,000 TB infection samples from around the world. CRyPTIC’s citizen science platform is called Bash the Bug . On the platform, volunteers will be trained to evaluate the effectiveness of antibiotics on a given sample. Each evaluation will be checked by a scientist for accuracy and then used to train a computer program, which may one day make this process much faster and less labor intensive.

Out of This World

If you’re interested in contributing to astronomy research from the comfort and safety of your sidewalk or backyard, check out Globe at Night . The project monitors light pollution by asking users to try spotting constellations in the night sky at designated times of the year . (For example, Northern Hemisphere dwellers should look for the Bootes and Hercules constellations from June 13 through June 22 and record the visibility in Globe at Night’s app or desktop report page .)

For the amateur astrophysicists out there, the opportunities to contribute to science are vast. NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission is asking for volunteers to search for new objects at the edges of our solar system with the Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 project .

Galaxy Zoo on Zooniverse and its mobile app has operated online citizen science projects for the past decade. According to the project description, there are roughly one hundred billion galaxies in the observable universe. Surprisingly, identifying different types of galaxies by their shape is rather easy. “If you're quick, you may even be the first person to see the galaxies you're asked to classify,” the team writes.

With Radio Galaxy Zoo: LOFAR , volunteers can help identify supermassive blackholes and star-forming galaxies. Galaxy Zoo: Clump Scout asks users to look for young, “clumpy” looking galaxies, which help astronomers understand galaxy evolution.

If current events on Earth have you looking to Mars, perhaps you’d be interested in checking out Planet Four and Planet Four: Terrains —both of which task users with searching and categorizing landscape formations on Mars’ southern hemisphere. You’ll scroll through images of the Martian surface looking for terrain types informally called “spiders,” “baby spiders,” “channel networks” and “swiss cheese.”

Gravitational waves are telltale ripples in spacetime, but they are notoriously difficult to measure. With Gravity Spy , citizen scientists sift through data from Laser Interferometer Gravitational­-Wave Observatory, or LIGO , detectors. When lasers beamed down 2.5-mile-long “arms” at these facilities in Livingston, Louisiana and Hanford, Washington are interrupted, a gravitational wave is detected. But the detectors are sensitive to “glitches” that, in models, look similar to the astrophysical signals scientists are looking for. Gravity Spy teaches citizen scientists how to identify fakes so researchers can get a better view of the real deal. This work will, in turn, train computer algorithms to do the same.

Similarly, the project Supernova Hunters needs volunteers to clear out the “bogus detections of supernovae,” allowing researchers to track the progression of actual supernovae. In Hubble Space Telescope images, you can search for asteroid tails with Hubble Asteroid Hunter . And with Planet Hunters TESS , which teaches users to identify planetary formations, you just “might be the first person to discover a planet around a nearby star in the Milky Way,” according to the project description.

Help astronomers refine prediction models for solar storms, which kick up dust that impacts spacecraft orbiting the sun, with Solar Stormwatch II. Thanks to the first iteration of the project, astronomers were able to publish seven papers with their findings.

With Mapping Historic Skies , identify constellations on gorgeous celestial maps of the sky covering a span of 600 years from the Adler Planetarium collection in Chicago. Similarly, help fill in the gaps of historic astronomy with Astronomy Rewind , a project that aims to “make a holistic map of images of the sky.”

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Rachael Lallensack | READ MORE

Rachael Lallensack is the former assistant web editor for science and innovation at Smithsonian .

The Complete Guide to Independent Research Projects for High School Students

Indigo Research Team

If you want to get into top universities, an independent research project will give your application the competitive edge it needs.

Writing and publishing independent research during high school lets you demonstrate to top colleges and universities that you can deeply inquire into a topic, think critically, and produce original analysis. In fact, MIT features "Research" and "Maker" portfolio sections in its application, highlighting the value it places on self-driven projects.

Moreover, successfully executing high-quality research shows potential employers that you can rise to challenges, manage your time, contribute new ideas, and work independently. 

This comprehensive guide will walk you through everything you need to know to take on independent study ideas and succeed. You’ll learn how to develop a compelling topic, conduct rigorous research, and ultimately publish your findings.

What is an Independent Research Project?

An independent research project is a self-directed investigation into an academic question or topic that interests you. Unlike projects assigned by teachers in class, independent research will allow you to explore your curiosity and passions.

These types of projects can vary widely between academic disciplines and scientific fields, but what connects them is a step-by-step approach to answering a research question. Specifically, you will have to collect and analyze data and draw conclusions from your analysis.

For a high school student, carrying out quality research may still require some mentorship from a teacher or other qualified scholar. But the project research ideas should come from you, the student. The end goal is producing original research and analysis around a topic you care about.

Some key features that define an independent study project include:

● Formulating your own research question

● Designing the methodology

● Conducting a literature review of existing research

● Gathering and analyzing data, and

● Communicating your findings.

The topic and scope may be smaller than a professional college academic project, but the process and skills learned have similar benefits.

Why Should High School Students Do Independent Research?

High school students who engage in independent study projects gain valuable skills and experiences that benefit and serve them well in their college and career pursuits. Here's a breakdown of what you will typically acquire:

Develop Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills

Research and critical thinking are among the top 10 soft skills in demand in 2024 . They help you solve new challenges quickly and come up with alternative solutions

An independent project will give you firsthand experience with essential research skills like forming hypotheses, designing studies, collecting and analyzing data, and interpreting results. These skills will serve you well in college and when employed in any industry.

Stand Out for College Applications

With many applicants having similar GPAs and test scores, an Independent research study offer a chance to stand out from the crowd. Completing a research study in high school signals colleges that you are self-motivated and capable of high-level work. Showcasing your research process, findings, and contributions in your application essays or interviews can boost your application's strengths in top-level colleges and universities.

Earn Scholarship Opportunities

Completing an independent research project makes you a more preferred candidate for merit-based scholarships, especially in STEM fields. Many scholarships reward students who show initiative by pursuing projects outside of class requirements. Your research project ideas will demonstrate your skills and motivation to impress scholarship committees. For example, the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology rewards students with original independent research projects in STEM fields. Others include the Garcia Summer Program and the BioGENEius challenge for life sciences.

Gain Subject Area Knowledge

Independent projects allow you to immerse yourself in a topic you genuinely care about beyond what is covered in the classroom. It's a chance to become an expert in something you're passionate about . You will build deep knowledge in the topic area you choose to research, which can complement what you're learning in related classes. This expertise can even help inform your career interests and goals.

Develop Time Management Skills

Time Management is the skill that lets you effectively plan and prioritize tasks and avoid procrastination. With no teacher guiding you step-by-step, independent study projects require strong time management, self-discipline, and personal responsibility – skills critical in college and adulthood.

Types of Independent Research Projects for High School Students

Understanding the different types and categories can spark inspiration if you need help finding an idea for an independent study. Topics for independent research generally fall into a few main buckets:

Science Experiments

For students interested in STEM fields, designing and carrying out science experiments is a great option. Test a hypothesis, collect data, and draw conclusions. Experiments in physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, and psychology are common choices. Science experiment is best for self-motivated students with access to lab equipment.

Social Science Surveys and Studies  

Use research methods from sociology, political science, anthropology, economics, and psychology to craft a survey study or field observation around a high school research project idea that interests you. Collect data from peers, your community, and online sources, and compile findings. Strong fit for students interested in social studies.

Literary Analysis Paper

This research category involves analyzing existing research papers, books, and articles on a specific topic. Imagine exploring the history of robots, examining the impact of social media on mental health, or comparing different interpretations of a classic novel. If you are an English enthusiast, this is an easy chance to showcase your analytical writing skills.

Programming or Engineering Project

For aspiring programmers or engineers, you can take on practical student projects that develop software programs, apps, websites, robots, electronic gadgets, or other hands-on engineering projects. This type of project will easily highlight your technical skills and interest in computer science or engineering fields in your college applications

Historical Research

History research projects will allow you to travel back and uncover the past to inform the future. This research involves analyzing historical documents, artifacts, and records to shed light on a specific event or period. For example, you can conduct independent research on the impact of a local historical figure or the evolution of fashion throughout the decades. Check to explore even more history project ideas for high school students .

Artistic and Creative Works

If you are artistic and love creating art,  you can explore ideas for independent study to produce an original film, musical composition, sculpture, painting series, fashion line, or other creative work. Alongside the tangible output, document your creative process and inspirations.

Bonus Tip: Feel free to mix different ideas for your project. For example, you could conduct a literature review on a specific historical event and follow it up with field research that interviewed people who experienced the event firsthand.

How To Conduct an Independent Research Project

Now that you have ideas for project topics that match your interests and strengths, here are the critical steps you must follow to move from mere concept to completed study.

1. Get Expert Guidance and Mentorship

As a high school student just starting out in research, it is advised to collaborate with more experienced mentors who will help you learn the ropes of research projects easily. Mentors are usually professors, post-doctoral researchers, or graduate students with significant experience in conducting independent project research and can guide you through the process. 

Specifically, your mentor will advise you on formulating research questions, designing methodologies, analyzing data, and communicating findings effectively. To quickly find mentors in your research project area of interest, enroll in an online academic research mentorship program that targets high school students. You’d be exposed to one-on-one sessions with professors and graduate students that will help you develop your research and publish your findings.

The right mentor can also help transform your independent project ideas into a study suitable for publication in relevant research journals. With their experience, mentors will guide you to follow the proper research methods and best practices. This ensures your work meets the standards required, avoiding rejection from journals. 

2. Develop a Compelling Research Question

Once you are familiar with the type of independent research best suited to your strengths and interests, as explained in the previous section, the next step is to develop a question you want to answer in that field. This is called a research question and will serve as the foundation for your entire project.

The research question will drive your entire project, so it needs to be complex enough to merit investigation but clear enough to study. Here are some ts for crafting your research question:

●  Align your research question(s) with topics you are passionate about and have some background knowledge. You will spend a significant amount of time on this question.

●  Consult with your mentor teacher or professor to get feedback and guidance on developing a feasible, meaningful question

●  Avoid overly broad questions better suited for doctoral dissertations. Narrow your focus to something manageable, but that still intrigues you.

●  Pose your research question as an actual question, like "How does social media usage affect teen mental health?" The question should lay out the key variables you'll be investigating.

●  Ensure your question and desired approach are ethically sound. You may need permission to study human subjects.

●  Conduct preliminary research to ensure your question hasn't already been answered. You want to contribute something new to your field.

With a compelling research question as your compass, you're ready to start your independent study project. Remember to stay flexible; you may need to refine the question further as your research develops.

3. Set a Timeline and Write a Proposal

After defining your research question, the next step is to map out a timeline for completing your research project. This will keep you organized and help you develop strong time management skills.

Start by creating a schedule that outlines all major milestones from start to finish. In your schedule, allow plenty of time for research, experimentation, data analysis, and compiling your report. Always remember to build in some cushion for unexpected delays.

Moreover, you can use tools like Gantt charts to design a timeline for an independent research project . Gantt charts help you visualize your research project timeline at a glance. See the video below for a tutorial on designing a Gantt chart to plan your project schedule:

[YouTube Video on How to Make a Gantt Chart: https://youtu.be/un8j6QqpYa0?si=C2_I0C_ZBXS73kZy ]

Research Proposal

To have a clear direction of the step-by-step process for your independent study, write a 1-2 page research proposal to outline your question, goals, methodology, timeline, resources, and desired outcomes. Get feedback from your mentor to improve the proposal before starting your research. 

Sticking to your timeline requires self-discipline. But strive to meet your goals and deadlines; it will build invaluable real-world skills in time and project management. With a plan in place, it's time to move forward with your research.

4. Do Your Research

This is the active phase where a student is conducting a research project. The specific method you will follow varies enormously based on your project type and field. You should have your methodology outlined in your approved research proposal already. However, most independent research has a similar basic process:

• Review existing studies : Perform a literature review to understand current knowledge on your topic and inform your own hypothesis/framework. Read relevant studies, articles, and papers.
• Create methodology materials : Design your independent research methodology for gathering data. This may involve experiments, surveys, interviews, field observations, or analysis of existing artifacts like texts or datasets.
• Permissions and Equipment :  Secure any necessary equipment and permissions. For example, if doing interviews, you'll need a recording device and consent from participants.
• Collect your data : For science projects, perform experiments and record results. For surveys, recruit respondents and compile responses. Gather enough data to draw valid conclusions.
• Analyze the data using appropriate techniques : Quantitative data may involve statistical analysis, while qualitative data requires coding for themes. Consult your mentor for direction.
• Interpret the findings : Take care not to overstate conclusions. Look for patterns and relationships that shed light on your research question. Always maintain rigorous objectivity.

While a student's project methodology and its execution are unique, ensure you follow the standard practices in your field of interest to ensure high-quality acceptable results. You can always refer to the plan in your research proposal as you diligently carry out the steps required to execute your study. Ensure you have detailed records that document all your processes.  

5. Write Your Final Paper and Presentation

Once you've completed your research, it's time to summarize and share your findings with the world by writing the final paper and designing its presentation. This involves synthesizing your work into clear, compelling reporting.

Drafting the paper will likely involve extensive writing and editing. Be prepared to go through multiple revisions to get the paper polished. Follow the standard format used in academic papers in your field;  your mentor can provide you with examples of independent study related to yours. The final product should include: 

• Abstract : A short summary of your project and conclusions.
• Introduction : Background on your topic, goals, and research questions.
• Literature Review : Summary of relevant existing research in your field.
• Methods : Detailed explanation of the methodology and process of your study.
• Results : Presentation of the data and main findings from your research. Using visual representations like charts was helpful.
• Discussion : Objective interpretation and analysis of the results and their significance.
• Conclusion : Summary of your research contributions, limitations, and suggestions for future work.
• References/Bibliography : Full citations for all sources referenced.

Adhere to clear academic writing principles to keep your writing objective and straightforward. Generally, stick to a 10-15 page length limit appropriate for student work. However, you may need to write more depending on your project type.

6. Research Presentation

After writing your research project report, you should prepare a presentation to share your research orally. Moreover, a research presentation is a tangible opportunity to practice public speaking and visual communication skills. Your presentation will include slides, handouts, demonstrations, or other aids to engage your audience and highlight key points in your independent study project.

Once you have written your final paper, you will likely want to publish it in relevant journals and publications. For detailed tips see our guide on how to publish your student research paper . Some options you have to formally publish your high school-level independent research include:

• Submitting your paper to academic journals and competitions
• Presenting at symposiums and science fairs
• Sharing on online research databases
• Adding your work to college applications

Publishing your independent project allows you to share your findings with broader scholarly and student audiences. It also helps amplify the impact of all your hard work.

Independent Research Project Examples

To spark creative ideas for independent research projects, it can be helpful to read through and examine examples of successful projects completed by other high school students in recent years. Here are some inspiring examples:

●  Using machine learning to diagnose cancer based on blood markers (bioinformatics)

●  Applying feature engineering and natural language processing to analyze Twitter data (data science)

●  Investigating connections between stress levels and HIV/AIDS progression (health science)

●  The Relationship between Color and Human Experience

These published i ndependent research project examples demonstrate the impressive research high schoolers take on using the Indigo research service with mentors from different fields. Let these case studies motivate your creative investigation and analysis of the best ideas for your project.

Need Mentorship for Your Independent Research Project?

As outlined in this guide, conducting a rigorous independent research study can be challenging without proper guidance from experts, especially for high school students. This is why partnering with an experienced research mentor is so crucial if your goal is to produce publishable research work.

With Indigo's structured research programs and ongoing expert feedback, you can elevate your high school independent study to a professional level. To get matched with the perfect research mentor aligned with your academic interests and passions, apply to Indigo Research now.

Indigo Research connects high school students with PhD-level researchers and professors who provide one-on-one mentorship through the entire research process - from refining your initial topic idea all the way through analyzing data, writing up results, and finalizing your findings.

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Your Guide to Conducting Independent Research Projects

For me, asking questions is the best way to stay curious and inspire others.

I am currently earning my undergraduate degree in Dance and minor in Modern Languages – French at Point Park University . I am a part of their honors program in which I have been given various opportunities to do research that has been published and presented at national conferences.

I want to note that you do not have to do research through an organization. The project I’m currently working on is for a conference and will not receive any academic credit for it.

You probably have already done a research project and did not even realize it. I was first introduced to how to do research in high school, so after finding what worked best for me, I wanted to share my process to make the project less daunting and more fun. 

Step 1: Define the project 

What is your subject?

Normally the subject is related to your major, but if you are interested in a subject, your project can be based on something you have no previous knowledge about.

When applying to conferences, my research typically fit under a certain category and theme. When choosing a subject, look at the requirements closely to determine if the subject will work. 

What is its purpose? 

Answer the question: Why do I want to do this research project?  Is it to forward your academic goals, spread awareness, inform or persuade a group of people, or to learn more about a subject you are passionate about?

Having a purpose behind your work can fuel your passion and help with motivation. Whatever your research entails will make an impact, so recognizing this could also help you feel more fulfilled after it is finished. 

If you have to do it as a requirement, try to reframe your mindset to a more positive one where you can find something positive to gain from your research. This could be a new skill acquired or improved upon.

What format will it be in?  

Some examples of different formats could be an essay, poster, speech, or an artistic piece.

Depending on the format, there could be different requirements for the information or an element incorporated that is not included in the other formats. 

If you have a choice of format, be sure to assess your strengths and weaknesses. I pride myself on being a good public speaker and performer, so I prefer giving a speech rather than writing an essay. 

However, if you want to improve a certain skill, you could choose a format that challenges a skill you want to work on.

What question is being answered? 

I have been taught that good research answers a complex but specific question. Therefore, create a question that requires critical thinking and is focused enough to be answered by a comprehensive thesis statement.

Step 2: Gather information

This may be self-explanatory, but it’s time to research! H ave a variety of primary, secondary, and tertiary sources.

• Examples: Journals/Diaries, Speeches, Photographs, Raw Data 
• Examples: Journal Articles, Biographies, Textbooks / Encyclopedias / Dictionaries 
• Examples: Manuals, Textbooks / Encyclopedias / Dictionaries, Bibliographies

Good places to find sources are your local library, school databases, or Google Scholar .  Since not everything on the internet is true, vetting your source is crucial.  Some things to keep in mind before using a source are the author, time period, peer-review status, publisher, and intended audience.  

Step 3: Compile findings and provide a takeaway

Using the data you have collected to support your thesis, answer your initial question. This article explains how different kinds of theses are used in different research contexts. 

The thesis is generally at the end of the first introductory paragraph. Coming up with a thesis is easier said than done, but finally reaching an answer should be gratifying.

Make sure all the points in your paper answer the initial question and support the amazing thesis you just created.  You may need to write a proposal or abstract for your research. 

Try to focus on the main ideas in your work and provide a bit of context that would make the reader or listener more interested to learn additional information.

Be sure to proofread your work, double check it meets all the requirements, and verify your citations are in the correct citation style.

A service I find useful to check my grammar is Grammarly . You can also get your friends to look over it and get their thoughts. 

Step 4: *Optional* Peer / Advisor Review

On my research projects, I have had the privilege of having an advisor to give me advice who is an expert in the field of research I am interested in. This advisor offered great advice when I got stuck or needed a push in the right direction.

Some tips on finding an advisor are to:

• See if their past research aligns with what you are interested in
• Investigate how other’s experiences were if they have been an advisor in the past
• Reach out through email or attend their office hours to see if they would be interested in helping you
• Keep your options open because you never know who you could have the potential to connect to

Starting an independent research project can be scary. Whether your research is formal or informal, I encourage you to keep learning and asking questions.

In the words of author, anthropologist, and filmmaker Zora Neale Hurston, “Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.”

Good luck! You got this. We would love to hear your experiences and how you found where you belong , so direct message us on Instagram for a chance to be featured.

Author: Rosalie Anthony

Rosalie is currently attending Point Park University earning her Dance- B.F.A degree with a minor in French. Previously, she attended and graduated from the Alabama School of Fine Arts in dance. She is passionate about learning, teaching and mentoring. In her spare time, she enjoys working out, chatting with friends, and discovering new places to go in Pittsburgh.

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When it comes to extracurricular activities, there’s no set rule concerning how many you should be involved in or how involved you must be.

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Here you’ll find information about how best to be prepared to meet with your college/career counselor so that they can help you achieve your goals. They were really helpful when I was going through the college application process.

Get Started

Main navigation, find your research focus.

Start with your interests. What would you like to learn more about? Talk to your advisors, professors, and peers. Get suggestions for where to look for existing project opportunities, or brainstorm project ideas.

Learn more about  Getting Started With Undergraduate Research: Options and Opportunities  (recorded video link).

Develop Your Project

The first step in taking on any independent project is to reflect on your intellectual interests, questions, and goals.

Team up with other Stanford scholars to learn how different disciplines approach the research process.

A good relationship with a faculty mentor is the cornerstone of all successful undergrad research and independent projects.

Fill your research toolbox with a unique combination of skills and knowledge.

Consider the time scale and resources you have to build a successful independent project.

Off-campus projects require extra preparation and careful planning.

• Connecting your research with public service
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Office of Undergraduate Research

Tips for starting an independent research project.

By Grace Vaidian, Peer Research Ambassador 

Here at UConn, a prevalent avenue for delving into research is to reach out to professors and join their existing projects. While the structure and guidance that this approach offers can be undeniably valuable (it’s how I obtained the research opportunities I’m currently working on!), there are students who feel like they have a brilliant research idea of their own but lack the know-how to bring these projects to life. I’m here to offer some tips on how to initiate and successfully navigate an independent research project.

Where to Begin: Identifying the Knowledge Gap

The first step in embarking on your independent research journey is to pinpoint a gap in knowledge. This is essentially an underexplored area that could greatly benefit from further research and discoveries. For some, this gap might be immediately apparent, but for others, including myself, it might require a bit more digging. One effective way to identify this gap is through a thorough literature review on a topic of interest. Most academic publications include insights into the unanswered questions and areas that warrant further investigation in the discussion or conclusion sections. This is a great starting point for coming up with your own research question. Additionally, this literature review process can give you ideas for a methodology to follow.

Finding a Mentor: A Valuable Guide on Your Journey

I know, the focus of this blog is how to do independent research, so why am I now suggesting finding a mentor? It’s important to recognize that even if you possess extensive knowledge on a particular topic, you’re still a student with much to learn. Having an expert to provide feedback and guidance on your project idea is invaluable and often mandatory to move a project forward. Once you’ve formulated a research question, you should collaborate with faculty or professionals willing to support your future steps. A case in point is a self-initiated project I worked on involving fentanyl overdose deaths. I realized that having open access to autopsy and toxicology reports would be impossible for a 16-year-old. However, by proposing my project idea to a local forensic pathologist and securing her mentorship, I was welcomed into the Medical Examiner’s Office and was able to review the necessary reports. A mentor can play a pivotal role in helping you secure the essential resources for your project.

Crafting Your Project: Defining Goals and Objectives

With your research question in place, it’s time to define your project’s goals. Do you want to be published? Create a product? Enter a competition? With your goals in mind, you can outline your objectives, methods, and create a timeline. At UConn, there are some great programs that support independent research, such as the Holster Scholar Program and the UConn IDEA Grant . As you explore these possibilities, remember to be realistic about the time and resources your project will require.

Taking the Leap: Go for It!

Independent research projects offer a unique opportunity to delve into your passions, build critical thinking skills, and contribute to new discoveries. The journey may be challenging, but the knowledge and skills you acquire are invaluable. Throughout the process, remember to enjoy the journey. I wish you the best of luck on your independent research adventure!

Grace is a senior double majoring in Molecular & Cell Biology and Drugs, Disease, and Illness (Individualized Major).  Click here  to learn more about Grace. 

Tips for Students: Inspiring Young Scientists through Independent Research

The following article shares highlights and insights from one of our Expert Series events, which are exclusive for Young Scholars  and their parents.

If you’re interested in science/technology, and the ability to explore for yourself, then this webinar by Andy Bramante (the Director of Student Science Innovation at Greenwich Public Schools) should pique your interest. In this webinar, Andy discusses what it takes to be a successful, young researcher, whether at the middle school or high school level. He touches on the many exciting opportunities for young researchers, whether it’s at-home, at school, or at a local university lab. He provides insight on where students can present their innovative work, and he shares some of his current and former students’ award-winning projects. He also describes what it takes to motivate talented and curious students so that they perform at the very highest level.

In the talk, Andy describes how one can originate, design, and execute a successful and meaningful science research project. He discusses the significant benefits for conducting such a project, with regards to personal growth, specifically:

• Learning how to think creatively, in the most non-traditional setting.
• Learning how to allow your own curiosities and imagination to originate a project in a topic that excites you.
• Learning how to conduct a project full of surprises, unexpected results, and perhaps failures, and developing the insight to pivot off of those roadblocks into new avenues of discovery.
• Obtaining the skills to immerse yourself into an advanced scientific discipline, that is personally exciting, and well beyond the scientific boundaries and expectations of your traditional school curriculum.
• Learning the skills of written and oral communication, developed in the 1:1 defense of your own ideas and meaningful research findings.

In the webinar, Andy shares his over 18 years of experience in teaching the Greenwich High School research class, where so many of his students have won notable awards and recognitions, but perhaps more importantly, have gone on to a variety of successful careers, where they have taken so many of the skills that they had learned in the science research class/arena, and used them to become successful doctors, researchers, engineers, lawyers, artists, and politicians!

Tips for Inspiring Young Scientists

• Inspiration for a research project should come from within! Your project should center on your own area(s) of interest, AND NOT what is perceived to be a winning science fair project/topic.
• Your research project idea should be personal; it should be a topic that excites you, or one that you would like to know more about
• Your selected project should be relevant to problems we currently face; this will provide the impact that many seek, should you succeed.
• Born of your own interests, your project should be fun. And remember, as you’re working on your project, don’t be afraid of failure, as this often leads to new directions, new thoughts, and new creativity that will take you in unexpected & exciting directions.
• Approach your research project as a personal opportunity for growth, AND NOT as a preparative exercise for participation in a science fair.
• Pick a topic that is “attainable,” depending on whether you’ll be doing the work on your own, at school, or at a neighboring university.

Things students can do to explore independent science research further

As your search for ideas on your science project, I would suggest that you visit the following resources:

• Science News (online)
• Science Daily (online)
• Popular Science Magazine
• Browse the published abstracts of your previous local and state science fairs, the Broadcom Masters, the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (both National and Regional), and the ISEF fair. These abstracts are often arranged by discipline, so it’s easy to find project ideas in Math, Medicine, Engineering, etc., simply via a search of their website.

Further resources:

• https://www.popsci.com/science/
• https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/collections/kid-scientists
• https://sciencejournalforkids.org/
• https://www.dogonews.com/category/science
• https://www.sciencedaily.com/
• browse the abstracts of previous ISEF and JSHS participants

Authored by : Andy Bramante Bio : A Bronx native, Andy Bramante attended Fordham University on a Full Scholarship and graduated with a B.S. and M.S. in chemistry. After working in industry for 20 years at Foxboro, Hitachi Instruments, and PerkinElmer, Andy made a career change in 2005, so that he could inspire and mentor students in STEM. He accepted a position at Greenwich High School as a chemistry teacher, and 1-year later, would go on to teach and direct the Independent Science Research class at the high school. Since, his class has produced incredible successes, with students whose careers include start-up businesses (driven by their research patents), medicine, engineering, film making, business, law, and politics. This upcoming school year, Andy is launching a research program for the Greenwich middle school students, entitled Junior Innovators! Andy’s incredible work with his students and the world of high school science research was recently profiled in the critically acclaimed book The Class by Emmy award winning producer Heather Won Tesoriero.

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Why you should encourage your students to do research

By Elizabeth Rushton and Nicola Robinson 2019-12-17T09:39:00+00:00

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Independent research projects give students a richer understanding of what it means to be a scientist 

Source: © Otto Dettmer/Ikon Images

Developing research projects with students can help equip them for work

Recent studies suggest that it is good for secondary school students to participate in independent research projects (IRPs) as part of their science education. IRPs are student-led, open-ended practical projects which help students engage with science in a way that gives them a richer understanding of what it means to be a scientist. 

However, coursework projects were removed from the A-level chemistry curriculum in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2015. They still remain part of Scottish chemistry teaching. Instead, students do required practicals which assess practical skills and knowledge in an external examination. If students in England, Wales or Northern Ireland want to do an IRP, they have to seek out the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) or extracurricular programmes such as the British Science Association CREST Awards . But how can schools best support and encourage their students?

Drawing from our perspectives as an education researcher and a secondary school chemistry teacher, here are three ideas we recommend you try out in your own classroom.

1. Build a research community

Research is a team endeavour that brings together different skills and experiences to establish research communities involving a variety of key players: students from across year groups, teachers, technicians and parents. Invite former students, university researchers and industry representatives.

You can foster a sense of community by making research events social – visit a university research lab and allow your students to mingle with the scientists, for example, or host research-related social events like watching a film or visiting an exhibition relevant to the project. This will also help break down barriers between students, teachers and other professionals, and create team spirit.

2. Celebrate student research within and beyond the school

Generally, students have limited opportunities to share and celebrate their work within and beyond their school community. Researchers share their science at conferences by giving talks and presenting posters, but sharing research with the wider public – through public lectures or magazine articles, for example – is an equally important part of science communication.

Through IRPs, you can give your students an opportunity to develop their understanding of both the research itself and why it’s important to the wider community. A simple way to start would be to display student research posters in classrooms and corridors and refer to them in lessons. You could also organise outreach events. Encourage students to share their passion for science by giving an assembly about their research at a local primary school, for example. Your students could even host an open evening where they invite the local community to attend a mini-conference; they could give small talks and display their posters. They will gain valuable experience in presenting to different audiences.

3. Encourage a diverse group of students to participate

Organising these kinds of trips and events requires good planning and organisation, and visits to primary schools especially rely on students who can communicate with younger students in an appropriate and engaging way. So a broad range of student skills are needed to make the events successful. Recognising these varied roles and promoting them to students will encourage a diverse group of students to participate in research, and may encourage more students to experience how they can contribute to the project and science in general. Teachers and technicians play a vital role in recruiting students so everyone can benefit from the IRPs.

Giving students the opportunity to do IRPs could heighten their awareness of many potential STEM career options they may not otherwise have considered. In addition to developing the obvious skills associated with problem-solving, lateral thinking and the scientific method, students also get to build valuable social networks. And students who decide to study science at university will inevitably be better prepared for their studies because of the skills and experience gained through doing IRPs. Finally, the process could also free them of the compartmentalised thinking they might normally encounter at school as well as helping them form better relationships with others.

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• Investigation
• Study skills

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Okay, this is the hardest part of the whole project…picking your topic. But here are some ideas to get you started. Even if you don’t like any, they may inspire you to come up with one of your own. Remember, check all project ideas with your teacher and parents, and don’t do any project that would hurt or scare people or animals. Good luck!

• Does music affect on animal behavior?
• Does the color of food or drinks affect whether or not we like them?
• Where are the most germs in your school? ( CLICK for more info. )
• Does music have an affect on plant growth?
• Which kind of food do dogs (or any animal) prefer best?
• Which paper towel brand is the strongest?
• What is the best way to keep an ice cube from melting?
• What level of salt works best to hatch brine shrimp?
• Can the food we eat affect our heart rate?
• How effective are child-proof containers and locks.
• Can background noise levels affect how well we concentrate?
• Does acid rain affect the growth of aquatic plants?
• What is the best way to keep cut flowers fresh the longest?
• Does the color of light used on plants affect how well they grow?
• What plant fertilizer works best?
• Does the color of a room affect human behavior?
• Do athletic students have better lung capacity?
• What brand of battery lasts the longest?
• Does the type of potting soil used in planting affect how fast the plant grows?
• What type of food allow mold to grow the fastest?
• Does having worms in soil help plants grow faster?
• Can plants grow in pots if they are sideways or upside down?
• Does the color of hair affect how much static electricity it can carry? (test with balloons)
• How much weight can the surface tension of water hold?
• Can some people really read someone else’s thoughts?
• Which soda decays fallen out teeth the most?
• What light brightness makes plants grow the best?
• Does the color of birdseed affect how much birds will eat it?
• Do natural or chemical fertilizers work best?
• Can mice learn? (you can pick any animal)
• Can people tell artificial smells from real ones?
• What brands of bubble gum produce the biggest bubbles?
• Does age affect human reaction times?
• What is the effect of salt on the boiling temperature of water?
• Does shoe design really affect an athlete’s jumping height?
• What type of grass seed grows the fastest?
• Can animals see in the dark better than humans?

Didn’t see one you like? Don’t worry…look over them again and see if they give you an idea for your own project that will work for you. Remember, find something that interests you, and have fun with it.

To download and print this list of ideas CLICK HERE .

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Practical independent research projects in science: a synthesis and evaluation of the evidence of impact on high school students

Judith bennett.

a Department of Education, University of York, York, UK

Lynda Dunlop

Kerry j. knox, michael j. reiss.

b UCL Institute of Education, London, UK

Rebecca Torrance Jenkins

Practical independent research projects (IRPs) are a feature of school science in a number of countries. To assess the impact of IRPs on students, a systematic review of the literature was undertaken. Thirty-nine papers met the review inclusion criteria, reporting on work from twelve countries. The review indicates that IRPs are often associated with wider initiatives such as authentic science, problem-based learning, and project-based learning. There is considerable variability in the nature of IRP work in relation to focus, models of provision, assessment, the involvement of external partners such as universities and employers, and funding, and this diversity affects judgements on the quality of the evidence base on impact. The majority of the research reviewed explored areas such as conceptual understanding, motivation to study science once it is no longer compulsory and attitudes to science, and the development of practical skills. Benefits were identified in relation to the learning of science ideas, affective responses to science, views of pursuing careers involving science, and development of a range of skills. Studies focusing on traditionally under-represented groups indicated that such students felt more positive about science as a result of undertaking IRPs. The review findings indicate that further work is needed to enhance the quality of the available evidence, to consider the ways in which IRPs can be validly assessed, to explore more fully the potential benefits for traditionally under-represented groups, and to explore more fully the potential longer-term benefits of participation in IRPs at high school level.

Introduction and context

This paper presents the findings of a systematic review of the nature and impact of practical independent research projects (IRPs) in high school science, covering their chief characteristics, organisation and assessment, and impact on high school students’ learning of science and affective responses to science.

Practical work in school science can be very diverse: at one end of the spectrum is the ‘recipe’ approach, where a defined list of procedures is followed, while at the other is what can be termed an extended investigation or a practical independent research project (IRP). Such projects can take a wide variety of forms, but share several common characteristics. In essence, they are student-led, open-ended research investigations, often supported by a teacher and/or a university-based or industry-based researcher. Students have considerable control in respect of the question(s) they hope the practical work will answer and the way in which the work is undertaken.

Typically, though not exclusively, IRPs are undertaken by high school students, and, at the upper high school level, the outcome of the investigation is open in that neither the student nor their teacher knows exactly what the investigation will yield. Beyond this, IRPs may involve external sponsorship, and be associated with science competitions, fairs and award schemes. IRPs can also involve a diversity of assessment techniques, including the production of reports and student presentations. Frequently, they take place outside the formal school science curriculum.

For the purposes of this review, IRPs were taken to be student-led, extended open-ended investigations involving practical work, using Millar’s ( 2004 ) definition of practical work, i.e. work that encompasses activities involving students in observing or manipulating the objects and materials they are studying.

There appear to be a number of possible reasons for promoting the use of IRPs in school science lessons. First, the notion of ‘the students as scientist’ is attractive, allowing students to find things out for themselves by pursuing an idea about which they are curious. Second, IRPs are seen as a means of providing students with a realistic taste of scientific research that may motivate them to undertake further study of science. Third, the characteristics of IRPs may be identified in broader, international initiatives of the last twenty years or so, for example ‘inquiry-based science’, ‘problem-based learning’ in science and ‘authentic science’. These approaches have in common the desire to encourage students to engage in activities where at times they behave like scientists, i.e. their work is authentic in that it follows the approaches scientists take when they are trying to solve problems to which there may as yet be no agreed solution. These approaches are primarily aimed at improving cognitive and procedural outcomes for students, though also aspire to have affective benefits.

Roth ( 1995 ) argued that for school science activities to be authentic, students need to experience scientific inquiry that has features in common with scientists’ activities in that students

(1) learn in contexts constituted in part by ill-defined problems; (2) experience uncertainties and ambiguities and the social nature of scientific work and knowledge; (3) learning is predicated on, and driven by, their current knowledge state; (4) experience themselves as parts of communities of inquiry in which knowledge, practices, resources and discourse are shared; (5) in these communities, members can draw on the expertise of more knowledgeable others whether they are peers, advisors or teachers. (p1).

There are similarities between the features of authentic learning described by Roth and the characteristics associated with problem-based learning (PBL). A PBL approach involves students learning through focusing on the investigation, explanation, and resolution of meaningful problems. PBL has its origins in teaching in medical schools, but has now been used in a variety of subjects, including science. Students work collaboratively in small groups, with the teacher acting as a facilitator to guide student learning through the process of solving the problem presented (see, for example, Hmelo-Silver, 2004 ; Krajcik & Blumenfeld, 2006 ).

Inquiry-based learning is another related approach that is widely used in the context of science teaching. In a research synthesis of inquiry-based learning in science, Minner, Levy, and Century ( 2010 ) identified that one of the ways in which the term is used is to describe a pedagogical approach that teachers employ for designing or using curricula that allow for extended investigations. Drawing on the work of the National Research Council in the USA, Minner et al. ( 2010 ) cite the following as the core components of inquiry-based learning for learners: (1) they are engaged by scientifically-oriented questions; (2) they give priority to evidence, which allows them to develop and evaluate explanations that address scientifically-oriented questions; (3) they formulate explanations from evidence to address scientifically-oriented questions; (4) they evaluate their explanations in light of alternative explanations, particularly those reflecting scientific understanding; (5) they communicate and justify their proposed explanations; (6) they design and conduct investigations.

Authentic learning, problem-based learning and inquiry-based learning all emphasise open-ended investigative work, including the sort of work that occurs in IRPs, and hence have been considered in this review.

The aims of the review

The review addressed the following questions:

• What are the chief characteristics of practical independent research projects (IRPs), including organisation and assessment?
• What is the quality of the research evidence base on the impact of IRPs?
• What are the impacts of IRPs on the learning of science and affective responses to science in secondary school students’?

The impetus for the review arose from recent changes in the policy regarding the teaching and assessment of practical work as part of the national examinations for students aged 16 and 18 in England. One outcome of these changes has been a decisive move away from IRPs as part of the core curriculum which, in turn, has led to a concern that there will be a reduction in some of the learning potentially associated with IRPs. While a number of studies have been conducted into the impact of IRPs, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, a review of the associated literature has not been published. Thus the review seeks to bring together recent research into the impact of IRPs, in order to synthesise the existing literature and highlight areas suitable for further investigation.

Review methods

The review took the form of a systematic review. Systematic reviews were introduced as a tool in educational research in the early 2000s to synthesise research findings from a range of related studies (see, for example, Gough & Elbourne, 2002 ; Gough, Oliver, & Thomas, 2012 ).

The review comprised five main stages:

Identification of the literature

• Extraction of the key information from the literature
• Production of an overview of the key features of IRP provision
• Assessment of the quality of the available evidence in the literature on the impacts of IRPs
• Synthesis of the evidence.

The relevant literature was identified through a search was undertaken of the following electronic databases: the British Education Index (BEI), the Education Resources Information Centre (ERIC), PsychINFO and the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI). Additionally, 27 key informants working in the area of IRPs in a range of countries were contacted to identify potentially relevant publications. This was done to add to the robustness of the evidence base, as preliminary electronic searches indicated that there were likely to be a number of publications in the form of grey literature (e.g. reports commissioned by IRP providers) that might not otherwise be identified.

In practice, the identification of the relevant literature posed one of the major challenges for the review as IRP activity can be encompassed by a number of other activities. These include: authentic science, independent and/or extended practical work, inquiry-based science, investigative work, practical work, problem-based science and project work. IRP work is also often associated with science competitions and fairs. This diversity in terms necessitated particularly extensive literature searches in order to include all the above terms. Full details may be found in the technical report (Bennett, Dunlop, Knox, Reiss, & Torrance Jenkins, 2016 ).

The electronic searches identified 1,403 publications, with a further eleven included based on information from the key informants. To identify the literature that focused specifically on the review questions, the following inclusion criteria were developed:

• One or more of the review questions addressed
• Focus on students in 11–19 age range
• Focus on science subjects
• Date of publication after 2000
• Students had major input into the question(s) addressed by the IRP
• Students had major input into the design of the IRP
• Included practical work
• Required more than 10 hours of work
• Entailed production of a report or comparable output
• Data gathered systematically on students’ learning of science and/or affective responses to science
• Some form of assessment or accreditation
• Publication written in English.

Criteria 3 and 5–7 were set as they encompassed the definition of IRPs used in this review. The review was limited to work undertaken with students aged 11–19 as this covers the high school period where the majority of IRP work takes place in schools. The search covered the period from 2000 onwards in order to focus on recent work. The criterion of an extended period of time for the IRP work was set to avoid the inclusion of short, even single-lesson, investigations which have become common in some countries. The requirement to produce an output of some form was set to yield information on how IRPs might be assessed. When the inclusion criteria were applied, a total of 39 publications resulted.

Extracting key information from the literature

In addition to the wide range of search terms required and the extensive resulting literature, several other factors contributed to the complexity of the review. A number of different research approaches and data collection techniques were used across the studies as a whole, and this research varied in rigour and detail reported. The studies included in the review took place in a range of contexts within and beyond school settings, and in a range of science disciplines. Thus, a particular challenge for extracting key information from papers was the development of a bespoke data extraction instrument to record systematically the wide range of features and considerable variation in practice associated with IRP work and research into its impact. A pilot version was developed by two of the researchers and independently tested on a subset of papers. Minor modifications were made as a result of this to ensure the instrument captured all the essential information. The resulting bespoke data extraction instrument focused on the following information:

• Background information (author(s), year of publication, title, source, country of origin, author details)
• The aims and research questions of the study
• The name of the associated IRP scheme (if applicable) and a short account of the IRP, including: its aims; principal characteristics (e.g. optional or compulsory, duration, organisational details, degree of student control over questions, whether undertaken by individuals or in teams, input from teacher or others, e.g. intern, university researcher); assessment/accreditation arrangements; associated funding
• Design of the study and sample details
• Data collection techniques (including checks for the reliability and validity of instruments)
• Methods of data analysis (including assessment of reliability and validity)
• Findings (including any impacts on students’ learning, affective responses/attitudes and subject choices or career intentions).

Findings: characteristics of IRPs and overview of provision

The overview is based on 39 publications that report data on impacts of IRPs in enough detail to understand the nature of the IRP and any effects. The publications covered IRP activity in twelve countries, as shown in Table 1 .

The majority were from the USA (17 studies) and the UK (8 studies), with two studies coming from each of Australia and Turkey, and single studies from Ireland, Israel, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Qatar, Singapore, Spain and Taiwan.

Table 2 summarises five contrasting IRP models to illustrate the diversity in student work undertaken for IRPs and the outcomes reported.

There were three principal contexts in which students engaged in IRPs. In some cases, undertaking IRPs was linked to national policies/agendas. For instance, several USA studies reported on interventions that had secured funding for local initiatives through linking them to policy statements by organisations such as the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) or the NAS (National Academy of Sciences) (Adams et al., 2009 ; Dolan, Lally, Brooks, & Tax, 2008 ; Gibson & Chase, 2002 ; Sahin, 2013 ). Secondly, as noted earlier, IRPs were very often associated with wider initiatives, including: authentic science, for instance in Israel (Zion et al., 2004 ), The Netherlands (Bulte, Westbroek, de Jong, & Pilot, 2006 ) and the USA (Burgin, Sadler, & Koroly, 2012 ; Dolan et al., 2008 ; Rivera Maulucci, Brown, Grey, & Sullivan, 2014 ); problem-based learning, for instance in Qatar (Faris, 2008 ) and Singapore (Chin & Chia, 2004 ); and project-based learning, for instance in the USA (Krajcik & Blumenfeld, 2006 ; Schneider, Blenis, Marx, & Soloway, 2002 ).

Thirdly, a number of IRP activities were linked to non-governmental groups with a specific interest in promoting IRPs as a way of providing young people with authentic experiences of working as a scientist. Such initiatives typically involved school-university partnerships and included the CREST awards which are run in several countries, including the UK and Australia (British Science Association, 2014 ; Grant, 2007 ; Moote, Williams, & Sproule, 2013 ) and, in the UK, the Nuffield Research Placements scheme (Nuffield Foundation, 2013 ), The Royal Society Partnerships Grants scheme (Jenkins & Jeavans, 2015 ) and the Authentic Biology Project funded by the Wellcome Trust (Colthurst et al., 2015 ; Finegold, 2015 ).

Just over half of the IRPs (20) involved people outside schools. The largest group of these groups comprised university science staff or students, acting as advisers/mentors. Examples in the USA include O’Neill and Polman ( 2004 ), Burgin et al. ( 2012 ), Charney et al. ( 2007 ), Campbell and Neilson ( 2009 ) and Schneider et al . (2013). Other examples include Symington and Tytler ( 2011 ) in Australia, Diaz-de-Mera et al. ( 2011 ) in Spain, and one IRP programme taking place across six European countries (Dijkstra & Goedhart, 2011 ). Around a quarter of the IRPs included industrial partners and employers, e.g. Welch ( 2010 ) and Duran, Höft, Lawson, Medjahed, and Orady ( 2014 ). Less frequently, local voluntary groups and parents were involved, e.g. Adams et al. ( 2009 ).

A small number of publications reported on IRPs undertaken by groups of schools or individual teachers in their own school and not involving any partners: Chin and Chia ( 2004 ), Zion et al. ( 2004 ), Chien and Karlich ( 2007 ), Haigh ( 2007 ), Faris ( 2008 ), and Balmer ( 2014 ).

IRPs were most prevalent at upper high school level, i.e. for ages 16–19 (17 studies), as shown in Table 3 .

Of the 16 studies focusing on one of the science disciplines, rather than simply being ‘science’, biology IRPs (7) were more common than chemistry (2) or physics (2). Even within a specific science discipline, there was considerable diversity in the topic focus. Biology-related IRPs, for example, explored diet, food and nutrition (Chin & Chia, 2004 ; Faris, 2008 ), genetics (Charney et al., 2007 ), plant biology (Dolan et al., 2008 ), environmental science (Faris, 2008 ), pharmacology (Sikes & Schwartz-Bloom, 2009 ), the carbon cycle (Dijkstra & Goedhart, 2011 ), and biomedical science (Colthurst et al., 2015 ; Finegold, 2015 ).

Two models predominated for the creation of time for IRPs. Most commonly, they were undertaken during normal school hours, sometimes supplemented with time in after-school clubs (e.g. Brand, Collver, & Kasarda, 2008 ; Hong, Chen, & Hwang, 2013 ; Sahin, 2013 ). Typically, such IRPs were of six weeks to a year’s duration (e.g. Chin & Chia, 2004 ; Dijkstra and Goedhart, 2011 ; Faris, 2008 ; Hong et al ., 2013 ; O’Neill & Polman, 2004 ). Occasionally, time was created within schools through ‘intensive pull-outs’ whereby students were taken off their normal timetable for a period to be dedicated to IRP work (e.g. Rivera Maulucci et al., 2014 ). Five of the IRPs were associated with dedicated out-of-school events such as one- or two-week summer schools and camps (e.g. Akinoglu, 2008 ; Burgin et al., 2012 ; Gibson & Chase, 2002 ; Metin & Leblebicioglu, 2011 ). In two cases (Brand et al., 2008 ; Yasar & Baker, 2003 ), the IRPs were linked to participation in science competitions or fairs.

There was only one country, Ireland, where the IRP work was a compulsory component of a national end-of-course science examination (Kennedy, 2014 ). In England, the IRPs could, for students aged 16 or over, optionally be entered for a national qualification (Daly & Pinot de Moira, 2010 ).

In just under one third of the cases (12), participation in the IRP was compulsory. In around half the IRPs (20), students participated as part of a team, with around a quarter (10) requiring individual participation. In a small number of instances, students could choose between team or individual participation.

The majority of the IRPs required the generation of one or more products, as shown in Table 4 . Written reports (19) and presentations (17) predominated, with many any IRPs requiring both. Occasionally, students were asked to produce a physical artefact or write a reflective diary.

Fifteen of the IRP programmes were supported by external funding. Characteristically, this was associated with work involving partnerships with universities, employers or other groups. Where work was required for external examination or specific to one school, it was unfunded. Typically, funding for IRPs came from grants secured from national funding organisations such as government, research councils and charitable bodies with an interest in science education, or from industrial sponsors. Examples included funding from BHP Billiton, a global mining company based in Australia (Symington & Tytler, 2011 ), the Cosmos Foundation in Texas (Sahin, 2013 ), the US NSF (National Science Foundation) (O’Neill & Polman, 2004 ) and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (Metin & Leblebicioglu, 2011 ).

Most of the funding supported regional or local initiatives, though there were examples of national initiatives including, in Australia, the BHP Billiton funding, and, in the UK, the CREST awards 1 , the Nuffield Partnerships scheme 2 and the Royal Society’s Partnership Grants scheme 3 .

Some studies reported data on traditionally under-represented groups in science, focusing on gender, ethnicity and socio-economic status, for example, in the USA, Yasar and Baker ( 2003 ), Sikes and Schwartz-Bloom ( 2009 ) and Sonnert, Michaels, and Sadler ( 2013 ), and in the UK, the Nuffield Foundation ( 2013 ) and the British Science Association ( 2014 ). In two cases in the USA (Duran et al., 2014 ; Rivera Maulucci et al., 2014 ), the IRP work formed part of a programme intentionally developed for students with backgrounds typically under-represented in science.

Findings: quality of evidence

In evaluating the quality of the evidence, some notes of caution need to be sounded in relation to factors that could result in bias in the evidence base. The review revealed that research into impact of IRPs was most often conducted by those associated with the funding agencies and with the development and/or running of the IRP, risking confirmation bias in the findings. Very few of the studies in this review had commissioned external evaluations, with Grant ( 2007 ) and Jenkins and Jeavans ( 2015 ) being exceptions.

Another source of potential bias concerns the nature of the data collected. Frequent use is made of data provided by the people involved in IRP work. Many of the adults who can provide data (teachers, employers, and university-based scientists) are already likely to be very sympathetic to the aims of IRPs.

A challenge in synthesising the evidence arises from the diversity in provision and execution of IRPs, which is reflected in a corresponding diversity in the aims and range of measures used to assess impact.

The main sources of data were students and their teachers, with the most of the work focusing on the impacts on students. Impacts on understanding of concepts, practical skills, cross-disciplinary skills (e.g. working collaboratively in teams), attitudes towards science and motivation to continue with science after it was no longer compulsory were explored. There was also a cluster of studies focusing on impacts on traditionally under-represented groups in relation to gender, socio-economic status and ethnic background. Studies that focused on teachers and others involved (e.g. IRP providers, university scientists/mentors, employers, state/regional organisers) explored views of the impact of IRPs on students together with views on the potential benefits and drawbacks of their own participation in IRPs.

Table 5 summarises the principal foci of research into the impact of IRPs in cognitive and affective dimensions.

None of the studies employed randomised controlled trials; nine adopted some form of experimental design which involved making comparison between participants and non-participants in IRP activities (Finegold, 2015 ; Gibson & Chase, 2002 ; Jenkins & Jeavans, 2015 ; Krajcik & Blumenfeld, 2006 ; Moote et al., 2013 ; Sahin, 2013 ; Schneider et al., 2002 ; Welch, 2010 ; Yasar & Baker, 2003 ).

The predominant techniques used for gathering data from students were questionnaires, tests of understanding, inventories on affective aspects, and interviews and focus groups to explore students’ views of IRPs. Occasionally, data were drawn from student presentations, student reports on their IRP work, student reflective diaries, observations of students undertaking IRP work, and datasets such as external test and examination results. Where quantitative data were gathered, it was very rare for the reports of studies to report details of any checks on reliability and validity with research instruments or data analysis.

Table 6 summarises the impact outcome measures and the nature of the data gathered in the studies.

* = more than one data source gathered in study.

The wide variety of outcome measures points to one of the most prominent features of research into the impact of IRPs, which is the very disparate approach to judging the impact of IRPs.

Studies gathering data on cognitive impacts include those of Krajcik and Blumenfeld ( 2006 ), Burgin et al. ( 2012 ) and Sahin ( 2013 ) in the USA. Studies gathering data on the impact of IRPs on students’ attitudes to science include Faris ( 2008 ) in Qatar, and Gibson and Chase ( 2002 ), Yasar and Baker ( 2003 ) and Welch ( 2010 ) in the USA. Other studies on affective responses include students’ motivation (Moote et al., 2013 ), and students’ self-efficacy (Sikes & Schwartz-Bloom, 2009 ). Other aspects explored include views of the nature of science (Metin & Leblebicioglu, 2011 ), development of students’ practical and experimental skills (Chien & Karlich, 2007 ; Grant, 2007 ; Yasar & Baker, 2003 ; Zion et al., 2004 ), and development of more general skills in students, most often related to as collaborative working in teams (Charney et al., 2007 ; Faris, 2008 ; Grant, 2007 ).

Studies contained varying amounts of detail on the techniques employed to gather data on the impact of IRPs. As might be anticipated, full reports contained more detail than journal papers, particularly on instrument design. There were no examples of replication studies and virtually all the studies gathered data using specifically-designed instruments, though a few used state or national test instruments of subject knowledge (Daly & Pinot de Moira, 2010 ; Krajcik & Blumenfeld, 2006 ; Schneider et al., 2002 ) or existing, validated instruments to measure student characteristics such as motivation (Moote et al., 2013 ). Most studies drew on at least two sources of data.

In order to evaluate the quality of the evidence base as a whole, the criteria widely employed in making such judgements about systematic reviews were used (see, for example, Gough et al., 2012 ). These take into account the declared aims of the studies, the hypotheses and research questions, strategies employed for identifying the sample, the nature and extent of the data gathered, the appropriateness of how the data were collected and the methods employed to analyse the data (including information on reliability and validity checks) and the extent to which the conclusions appear sound in relation to the data gathered.

With the exception of an over-reliance on self-reported data in some cases, the studies included in the review appeared to have adequate or good designs, with no obvious adverse effects arising from researcher involvement in the design and undertaking of studies. However, the quality of individual studies is offset by the diversity in focus and in the instruments used, with one of the most prominent features of the work as a whole being the comparatively uncoordinated and unsystematic approach to gathering evidence on, and judging the impact of, IRPs. This diversity poses a challenge for the synthesis of data, and the current evidence base would not permit a meta-analysis of data (i.e. an analysis that quantitatively aggregates data across studies, as is common in medical studies, leading to an overall conclusion as to the effects of IRPs with effect sizes or odds ratios).

Findings: the evidence on impact

A wide range of potential impacts of IRPs are reported, particularly on students, with studies reporting on students’ responses to undertaking IRPs, effects on students’ learning and effects on students’ attitudes to science, including attitudes towards pursuing a career in science. Within this, some studies explore elements to do with widening participation issues. Some studies also report on impacts on teachers and, less frequently, impacts on other participating adults such as university scientists and employers.

Gains in students’ learning are reported (e.g. Burgin et al., 2012 ; Daly & Pinot de Moira, 2010 ; Krajcik & Blumenfeld, 2006 ; Rivera Maulucci et al., 2014 ; Sahin, 2013 ). Whilst most studies take their data from instruments devised specifically for the study being reported, three studies report on gains in students’ learning based on data from external state or national instruments (Daly & Pinot de Moira, 2010 ; Krajcik & Blumenfeld, 2006 ; Schneider et al., 2002 ).

Improvements in students’ attitudes to science and motivation in science are also reported (British Science Association, 2014 ; Faris, 2008 ; Gibson & Chase, 2002 ; Hubber, Darby, & Tytler, 2010 ; Jenkins & Jeavans, 2015 ; Krajcik & Blumenfeld, 2006 ; Moote et al., 2013 ; Welch, 2010 ; Yasar & Baker, 2003 ). As with student learning, most studies draw on instruments designed specifically for the study, with the exception of Moote et al. ( 2013 ), where an existing instrument for motivation was used.

All the studies exploring the impact of IRPs on students’ interest in pursuing careers in science/science-related areas report increased numbers of students indicating that their participation in IRPs meant they were more likely to consider careers in science (e.g. Adams et al., 2009 ; Hubber et al., 2010 ; Jenkins & Jeavans, 2015 ). Students indicated that this was primarily due to increased awareness of the range of careers and the varied nature of work in which people with science qualifications engage. Improved practical skills and abilities are also reported (e.g. Adams, 2009 in the USA; British Science Association, 2014 in the UK).

One finding of particular interest to emerge from some studies in the USA and the UK was potential benefits to traditionally under-represented groups in science in relation to ethnicity and socio-economic status. In the USA, four studies report improved engagement for such students (Duran et al., 2014 ; Rivera Maulucci et al., 2014 ; Sonnert et al., 2013 ; Yasar & Baker, 2003 ), with Sikes and Schwartz-Bloom ( 2009 ) noting interest declining slightly. In the UK, the British Science Association ( 2014 ) found that uptake of IRPs was higher than average for students from lower socio-economic groups. The Nuffield Foundation ( 2013 ) reports particular benefits in engagement for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Where negative notes about involvement in IRPs were sounded in the studies, the focus was often on practical matters. These included teachers reporting that IRPs were unduly time-consuming (Faris, 2008 ), had a negative effect on the time available for teaching other aspects of science (Kennedy, 2014 ), or adversely affected the school’s ability to deal with external inspections (British Science Association, 2014 ; Jenkins & Jeavans, 2015 ). Additionally, some teachers reported lacking the confidence to run IRPs (British Science Association, 2014 ; Jenkins & Jeavans, 2015 ) and problems with the identification of external partners (Jenkins & Jeavans, 2015 ). One study (Kennedy, 2014 ) reported that teachers felt IRPs discouraged students from considering further study of science subjects.

Very few details on assessment criteria for IRPs are reported in the studies, making it difficult to judge the evidence on assessment and hence measures of validity. This absence also hinders comparisons between the impact of more traditional approaches to practical work with that of IRPs, with none of the studies reporting on this aspect.

Conclusions

IRPs are often associated with country-wide policy initiatives in science education. Generally, they are perceived as valuable and important by a range of groups with interests or involvement in science education. Such groups include teachers, scientific researchers, industrial employers, charitable foundations, professional societies and learned bodies. The notion of allowing students to find out what it is like to be a scientist is seen as particularly attractive. In addition to the benefits reported for students, benefits are also claimed for other people involved, including the links built between students, teachers, schools and employers. However, the review shows that only a minority of students in any country are normally offered the opportunity to undertake an IRP.

The review reveals a diversity in the conceptualisation and implementation of IRPs, posing challenges for synthesising the evidence and making judgments about the impact and effectiveness. The review points to more work being needed to establish that the potential benefits of IRPs are such that they should definitely be used more widely in the school curriculum. A key element of such additional work would be focusing on improving the quality of the available evidence. This could be achieved by some relatively straightforward steps. First, the rigour of studies could be enhanced by making more use of experimental or quasi-experimental study designs. As IRPs are optional in most cases, this facilitates the gathering of data from control and intervention groups. Where such designs are not feasible, there are examples in this review (e.g. Krajcik & Blumenfeld, 2006 ) where good use has been made of existing data sets on student performance to enable comparisons to be made between students who have undertaken IRPs and wider populations. Secondly, there is an over-reliance in some studies on self-report data. More rigour would be introduced through the gathering of more than one source of data. Thirdly, and whilst recognising that methods of evaluation will need to vary in order to accommodate the particular features of specific IRPs types and programmes, those undertaking research on impact need to make greater use of previous work, particularly in relation to focus and methods employed to gather data. Considerable benefits would be conferred through greater agreement about the areas in which to collect data: increased use of existing, validated instruments, rather than excessive development of new instruments, would facilitate the building up of a more coherent evidence base. Areas of particular importance in which to gather data are students’ learning of science concepts, students’ views of the nature of science, and students’ affective responses to participation in IRPs. In the second and third of these areas, a number of instruments already exist and could be utilised. The learning of science concepts is likely to require more work, given that many IRPs involve an in-depth study of a relatively narrow area.

While this review has focused on the impact of IRPs on students, the studies have pointed to a number of other practical factors that would need to be considered were schools to be given more encouragement to offer IRPs. IRPs place particular demands on students, teachers, universities and employers that are not associated with more standard school provision. The demands relate to resource (time and money), skills required by teachers and other adults involved in IRPs, and supporting infrastructure. External funding to support IRPs currently comes from a range of sources, including government agencies, charitable bodies, industrial sponsors and other groups that fund research. There are some examples of co-ordinating bodies being established that could play a useful role in supporting IRP work (e.g. the Institute for Research In Schools [IRIS] in the UK), through identifying funding opportunities, training opportunities, and interested external partners.

In addition to the need for improvement in the quality of the evidence base, the review findings point to three particular areas that would benefit from further research to inform any decision on making more widespread use of IRPs. The first of these is the assessment of IRPs, where there is a dearth of information in the studies in the review. As noted earlier, one of the motives for undertaking IRPs is to give students the opportunity to ‘be like a scientist’. Given this, it would be useful to involve practising scientists in discussions about what being like a scientist means in operational terms, and a consideration of what this means for assessment of IRPs. One avenue of potential utility is that of threshold concepts (Land, Meyer, & Smith, 2008 ; Meyer & Land, 2003 ), namely concepts that substantially change how students view their discipline and which change the learner’s approach to, and perception of, learning in their subject. In the context of IRPs, threshold concepts are those concepts that are central to being able to think and act like a research scientist, which result in students seeing science in a new light, and may alter their feelings towards science. The second area of work relates to the emerging evidence of the possible benefits of IRPs for increasing engagement with science in students from traditionally under-represented groups. Here, there would be merit in undertaking case studies of particular groups of students in order to characterise the features of IRPs that appear to have a positive impact on views of science and engagement with science. Finally, given the range of short-term potential benefits reported for IRPs, it is important to explore possible longer-term benefits through looking at the impact of IRPs on subsequent subject and career choices.

Funding Statement

This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust.

1. http://www.britishscienceassociation.org/crest-awards .

2. http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/nuffield-research-placements .

3. https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/grants/partnership-grants/ .

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Judith Bennett http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5033-0804

Lynda Dunlop http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0936-8149

Kerry J. Knox http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3530-6117

Michael J. Reiss http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1207-4229

Rebecca Torrance Jenkins http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8359-4574

• * = Study included in the rapid evidence review.
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Research Topics & Ideas: Environment

100+ Environmental Science Research Topics & Ideas

Finding and choosing a strong research topic is the critical first step when it comes to crafting a high-quality dissertation, thesis or research project. Here, we’ll explore a variety research ideas and topic thought-starters related to various environmental science disciplines, including ecology, oceanography, hydrology, geology, soil science, environmental chemistry, environmental economics, and environmental ethics.

NB – This is just the start…

The topic ideation and evaluation process has multiple steps . In this post, we’ll kickstart the process by sharing some research topic ideas within the environmental sciences. This is the starting point though. To develop a well-defined research topic, you’ll need to identify a clear and convincing research gap , along with a well-justified plan of action to fill that gap.

If you’re new to the oftentimes perplexing world of research, or if this is your first time undertaking a formal academic research project, be sure to check out our free dissertation mini-course. Also be sure to also sign up for our free webinar that explores how to develop a high-quality research topic from scratch.

Overview: Environmental Topics

• Ecology /ecological science
• Atmospheric science
• Oceanography
• Soil science
• Environmental chemistry
• Environmental economics
• Environmental ethics
• Examples  of dissertations and theses

Topics & Ideas: Ecological Science

• The impact of land-use change on species diversity and ecosystem functioning in agricultural landscapes
• The role of disturbances such as fire and drought in shaping arid ecosystems
• The impact of climate change on the distribution of migratory marine species
• Investigating the role of mutualistic plant-insect relationships in maintaining ecosystem stability
• The effects of invasive plant species on ecosystem structure and function
• The impact of habitat fragmentation caused by road construction on species diversity and population dynamics in the tropics
• The role of ecosystem services in urban areas and their economic value to a developing nation
• The effectiveness of different grassland restoration techniques in degraded ecosystems
• The impact of land-use change through agriculture and urbanisation on soil microbial communities in a temperate environment
• The role of microbial diversity in ecosystem health and nutrient cycling in an African savannah

Topics & Ideas: Atmospheric Science

• The impact of climate change on atmospheric circulation patterns above tropical rainforests
• The role of atmospheric aerosols in cloud formation and precipitation above cities with high pollution levels
• The impact of agricultural land-use change on global atmospheric composition
• Investigating the role of atmospheric convection in severe weather events in the tropics
• The impact of urbanisation on regional and global atmospheric ozone levels
• The impact of sea surface temperature on atmospheric circulation and tropical cyclones
• The impact of solar flares on the Earth’s atmospheric composition
• The impact of climate change on atmospheric turbulence and air transportation safety
• The impact of stratospheric ozone depletion on atmospheric circulation and climate change
• The role of atmospheric rivers in global water supply and sea-ice formation

Topics & Ideas: Oceanography

• The impact of ocean acidification on kelp forests and biogeochemical cycles
• The role of ocean currents in distributing heat and regulating desert rain
• The impact of carbon monoxide pollution on ocean chemistry and biogeochemical cycles
• Investigating the role of ocean mixing in regulating coastal climates
• The impact of sea level rise on the resource availability of low-income coastal communities
• The impact of ocean warming on the distribution and migration patterns of marine mammals
• The impact of ocean deoxygenation on biogeochemical cycles in the arctic
• The role of ocean-atmosphere interactions in regulating rainfall in arid regions
• The impact of ocean eddies on global ocean circulation and plankton distribution
• The role of ocean-ice interactions in regulating the Earth’s climate and sea level

Tops & Ideas: Hydrology

• The impact of agricultural land-use change on water resources and hydrologic cycles in temperate regions
• The impact of agricultural groundwater availability on irrigation practices in the global south
• The impact of rising sea-surface temperatures on global precipitation patterns and water availability
• Investigating the role of wetlands in regulating water resources for riparian forests
• The impact of tropical ranches on river and stream ecosystems and water quality
• The impact of urbanisation on regional and local hydrologic cycles and water resources for agriculture
• The role of snow cover and mountain hydrology in regulating regional agricultural water resources
• The impact of drought on food security in arid and semi-arid regions
• The role of groundwater recharge in sustaining water resources in arid and semi-arid environments
• The impact of sea level rise on coastal hydrology and the quality of water resources

Topics & Ideas: Geology

• The impact of tectonic activity on the East African rift valley
• The role of mineral deposits in shaping ancient human societies
• The impact of sea-level rise on coastal geomorphology and shoreline evolution
• Investigating the role of erosion in shaping the landscape and impacting desertification
• The impact of mining on soil stability and landslide potential
• The impact of volcanic activity on incoming solar radiation and climate
• The role of geothermal energy in decarbonising the energy mix of megacities
• The impact of Earth’s magnetic field on geological processes and solar wind
• The impact of plate tectonics on the evolution of mammals
• The role of the distribution of mineral resources in shaping human societies and economies, with emphasis on sustainability

Topics & Ideas: Soil Science

• The impact of dam building on soil quality and fertility
• The role of soil organic matter in regulating nutrient cycles in agricultural land
• The impact of climate change on soil erosion and soil organic carbon storage in peatlands
• Investigating the role of above-below-ground interactions in nutrient cycling and soil health
• The impact of deforestation on soil degradation and soil fertility
• The role of soil texture and structure in regulating water and nutrient availability in boreal forests
• The impact of sustainable land management practices on soil health and soil organic matter
• The impact of wetland modification on soil structure and function
• The role of soil-atmosphere exchange and carbon sequestration in regulating regional and global climate
• The impact of salinization on soil health and crop productivity in coastal communities

Topics & Ideas: Environmental Chemistry

• The impact of cobalt mining on water quality and the fate of contaminants in the environment
• The role of atmospheric chemistry in shaping air quality and climate change
• The impact of soil chemistry on nutrient availability and plant growth in wheat monoculture
• Investigating the fate and transport of heavy metal contaminants in the environment
• The impact of climate change on biochemical cycling in tropical rainforests
• The impact of various types of land-use change on biochemical cycling
• The role of soil microbes in mediating contaminant degradation in the environment
• The impact of chemical and oil spills on freshwater and soil chemistry
• The role of atmospheric nitrogen deposition in shaping water and soil chemistry
• The impact of over-irrigation on the cycling and fate of persistent organic pollutants in the environment

Topics & Ideas: Environmental Economics

• The impact of climate change on the economies of developing nations
• The role of market-based mechanisms in promoting sustainable use of forest resources
• The impact of environmental regulations on economic growth and competitiveness
• Investigating the economic benefits and costs of ecosystem services for African countries
• The impact of renewable energy policies on regional and global energy markets
• The role of water markets in promoting sustainable water use in southern Africa
• The impact of land-use change in rural areas on regional and global economies
• The impact of environmental disasters on local and national economies
• The role of green technologies and innovation in shaping the zero-carbon transition and the knock-on effects for local economies
• The impact of environmental and natural resource policies on income distribution and poverty of rural communities

Topics & Ideas: Environmental Ethics

• The ethical foundations of environmentalism and the environmental movement regarding renewable energy
• The role of values and ethics in shaping environmental policy and decision-making in the mining industry
• The impact of cultural and religious beliefs on environmental attitudes and behaviours in first world countries
• Investigating the ethics of biodiversity conservation and the protection of endangered species in palm oil plantations
• The ethical implications of sea-level rise for future generations and vulnerable coastal populations
• The role of ethical considerations in shaping sustainable use of natural forest resources
• The impact of environmental justice on marginalized communities and environmental policies in Asia
• The ethical implications of environmental risks and decision-making under uncertainty
• The role of ethics in shaping the transition to a low-carbon, sustainable future for the construction industry
• The impact of environmental values on consumer behaviour and the marketplace: a case study of the ‘bring your own shopping bag’ policy

Examples: Real Dissertation & Thesis Topics

While the ideas we’ve presented above are a decent starting point for finding a research topic, they are fairly generic and non-specific. So, it helps to look at actual dissertations and theses to see how this all comes together.

Below, we’ve included a selection of research projects from various environmental science-related degree programs to help refine your thinking. These are actual dissertations and theses, written as part of Master’s and PhD-level programs, so they can provide some useful insight as to what a research topic looks like in practice.

• The physiology of microorganisms in enhanced biological phosphorous removal (Saunders, 2014)
• The influence of the coastal front on heavy rainfall events along the east coast (Henson, 2019)
• Forage production and diversification for climate-smart tropical and temperate silvopastures (Dibala, 2019)
• Advancing spectral induced polarization for near surface geophysical characterization (Wang, 2021)
• Assessment of Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter and Thamnocephalus platyurus as Tools to Monitor Cyanobacterial Bloom Development and Toxicity (Hipsher, 2019)
• Evaluating the Removal of Microcystin Variants with Powdered Activated Carbon (Juang, 2020)
• The effect of hydrological restoration on nutrient concentrations, macroinvertebrate communities, and amphibian populations in Lake Erie coastal wetlands (Berg, 2019)
• Utilizing hydrologic soil grouping to estimate corn nitrogen rate recommendations (Bean, 2019)
• Fungal Function in House Dust and Dust from the International Space Station (Bope, 2021)
• Assessing Vulnerability and the Potential for Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) in Sudan’s Blue Nile Basin (Mohamed, 2022)
• A Microbial Water Quality Analysis of the Recreational Zones in the Los Angeles River of Elysian Valley, CA (Nguyen, 2019)
• Dry Season Water Quality Study on Three Recreational Sites in the San Gabriel Mountains (Vallejo, 2019)
• Wastewater Treatment Plan for Unix Packaging Adjustment of the Potential Hydrogen (PH) Evaluation of Enzymatic Activity After the Addition of Cycle Disgestase Enzyme (Miessi, 2020)
• Laying the Genetic Foundation for the Conservation of Longhorn Fairy Shrimp (Kyle, 2021).

Looking at these titles, you can probably pick up that the research topics here are quite specific and narrowly-focused , compared to the generic ones presented earlier. To create a top-notch research topic, you will need to be precise and target a specific context with specific variables of interest . In other words, you’ll need to identify a clear, well-justified research gap.

Need more help?

If you’re still feeling a bit unsure about how to find a research topic for your environmental science dissertation or research project, be sure to check out our private coaching services below, as well as our Research Topic Kickstarter .

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Investigative Research Projects for Students in Science: The State of the Field and a Research Agenda

• Open access
• Published: 16 March 2023
• Volume 23 , pages 80–95, ( 2023 )

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• Michael J. Reiss   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1207-4229 1 ,
• Richard Sheldrake   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2909-6478 1 &
• Wilton Lodge   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9219-8880 1  

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One of the ways in which students can be taught science is by doing science, the intention being to help students understand the nature, processes, and methods of science. Investigative research projects may be used in an attempt to reflect some aspects of science more authentically than other teaching and learning approaches, such as confirmatory practical activities and teacher demonstrations. In this article, we are interested in the affordances of investigative research projects where students, either individually or collaboratively, undertake original research. We provide a critical rather than a systematic review of the field. We begin by examining the literature on the aims of science education, and how science is taught in schools, before specifically turning to investigative research projects. We examine how such projects are typically undertaken before reviewing their aims and, in more detail, the consequences for students of undertaking such projects. We conclude that we need social science research studies that make explicit the possible benefits of investigative research projects in science. Such studies should have adequate control groups that look at the long-term consequences of such projects not only by collecting delayed data from participants, but by following them longitudinally to see whether such projects make any difference to participants’ subsequent education and career destinations. We also conclude that there is too often a tendency for investigative research projects for students in science to ignore the reasons why scientists work in particular areas and to assume that once a written report of the research has been authored, the work is done. We therefore, while being positive about the potential for investigative research projects, make specific recommendations as to how greater authenticity might result from students undertaking such projects.

L’une des façons d’enseigner les sciences aux étudiants est de leur faire faire des activités scientifiques, l’objectif étant de les aider à comprendre la nature, les processus et les méthodes de la science. On peut avoir recours à des projets de recherche et d’enquête afin de refléter plus fidèlement certains éléments relevant de la science qu’en utilisant d’autres approches d’enseignement et d’apprentissage, telles que les activités pratiques de confirmation et les démonstrations faites par l’enseignant. Dans cet article, nous nous intéressons aux possibilités offertes par les projets de recherche dans lesquels les étudiants, individuellement ou en collaboration, entreprennent des recherches novatrices. Nous proposons un examen critique du domaine plutôt que d’y porter un regard systématique. Nous commençons par examiner la documentation portant sur les objectifs de l’enseignement des sciences et la manière dont les sciences sont enseignées dans les écoles, avant de nous intéresser plus particulièrement aux projets de recherche et d’enquête. Nous analysons la manière dont ces projets sont généralement menés avant d’examiner leurs buts et d’évaluer de façon plus approfondie quelles sont les conséquences pour les élèves de réaliser de tels projets. Nous constatons que nous avons besoin d’études de recherche en sciences sociales qui rendent explicites les avantages potentiels des projets de recherche et d’enquête scientifiques. Ces études devraient comporter des groupes de contrôle adéquats qui examinent les conséquences à long terme de ces projets, non seulement en recueillant des données différées auprès des participants, mais aussi en suivant ceux-ci de manière longitudinale de façon à voir si ces projets font une quelconque différence dans l’éducation subséquente et les destinations professionnelles ultérieures des participants. Nous concluons également que les projets de recherche et d’enquête des étudiants en sciences ont trop souvent tendance à ignorer les raisons pour lesquelles les scientifiques travaillent dans des domaines particuliers et à supposer qu’une fois que le rapport de recherche a été rédigé, le travail est terminé. Par conséquent, tout en demeurant optimistes quant au potentiel que représentent les projets de recherche et d’enquête, nous formulons des recommandations particulières en ce qui a trait à la manière dont une plus grande authenticité pourrait résulter de la réalisation de tels projets par les étudiants.

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Investigative School Research Projects in Biology: Effects on Students

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Reintroducing “the” Scientific Method to Introduce Scientific Inquiry in Schools?

Markus Emden

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

Introduction

Many young people are interested in science but do not necessarily see themselves as able to become scientists (Archer & DeWitt, 2017 ; Archer et al., 2015 ). Others may not want to become scientists even though they may see themselves as succeeding in science (Gokpinar & Reiss, 2016 ). At the same time, in many countries, governments and industry want more young people to continue with science, primarily in the hope that they will go into science or science-related careers (including engineering and technology), but also because of the benefits to society that are presumed to flow from having a scientifically literate population. Making science more inclusive and accessible to everyone may need endeavours and support from across education, employers, and society (Royal Society, 2014 ; Institute of Physics, 2020 ).

However, getting more people to continue with science, once it is no longer compulsory, is only one purpose of school science (Mansfield & Reiss, 2020 ). Much of school science is focused on getting students to understand core content of science—things like the particulate theory of matter, and the causes of disease in humans and other organisms. Another strand in school science is on getting students to understand something of the practices of science, particularly through undertaking practical work. A further, recently emerging, position is that science education should help students to use their knowledge and critical understanding of the content and practices of science to strive for social and environmental justice (Sjöström & Eilks, 2018 ).

In this article, we are interested in the affordances of investigative research projects—discussed in more detail below but essentially pieces of work undertaken by students either individually or collaboratively in which they undertake original research. We provide a critical rather than a systematic review of the field and suggest how future research might be undertaken to explore in more detail the possible contribution of such projects. We begin by examining the literature on the aims of science education, and how science is taught in schools, before specifically turning to investigative research projects. We examine how such projects are typically undertaken before reviewing their aims and, in more detail, the consequences for students of undertaking such projects. We make recommendations as to how investigative research projects might more fruitfully be undertaken and conclude by proposing a research agenda.

Aims of Science Education

School science education typically aims to prepare some students to become scientists, while concurrently educating all students in science and about science (Claussen & Osborne, 2013 ; Hofstein & Lunetta, 2004 ; Osborne & Dillon, 2008 ). For example, in England, especially for older students, the current science National Curriculum for 5–16-year-olds is framed as providing a platform for future studies and careers in science for some students, and providing knowledge and skills so that all students can understand and engage with the natural world within their everyday lives (Department for Education, 2014 ). Accordingly, science education within the National Curriculum in England broadly aims to develop students’ scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding; develop students’ understanding of the nature, processes, and methods of science (aspects of ‘working scientifically’, including experimental, analytical, and other related skills); and ensure that students understand the relevance, uses, and implications of science within everyday life (Department for Education, 2014 ). Comparable aims are typically found in other countries (Coll & Taylor, 2012 ; Hollins & Reiss, 2016 ).

Science education often involves practical work, which is generally intended to help students gain conceptual understanding, practical and wider skills, and understanding of how science and scientists work (Abrahams & Reiss, 2017 ; Cukurova et al., 2015 ; Hodson, 1993 ; Millar, 1998 ). Essentially, the thinking behind much practical work is that students would learn about science by doing science. Practical work has often been orientated towards confirming and illustrating scientific knowledge, although it is increasingly orientated around reflecting the processes of investigation and inquiry used within the field of science, and providing understanding of the nature of science (Abrahams & Reiss, 2017 ; Hofstein & Lunetta, 2004 ).

In many countries, especially those with the resources to have school laboratories, practical work in science is undertaken at secondary level relatively frequently, although this is less the case with older students (Hamlyn et al., 2020 , 2017 ). Practical work is more frequent in schools within more advantaged regions (Hamlyn et al., 2020 ) and many students report that they would have preferred to do more practical work (Cerini et al., 2003 ; Hamlyn et al., 2020 ).

The impact of practical work remains less clear (Cukurova et al., 2015 ; Gatsby Charitable Foundation, 2017 ). Society broadly expects that students in any one country will experience practical work to similar extents, so it is unfeasible, for more than a handful of lessons (e.g. Shana & Abulibdeh, 2020 ), to apply experimental designs where some students undertake practical work while others do not. One study, where students were assigned to one of four different groups, concluded that while conventional practical work led to more student learning than did either watching videos or reading textbooks, it was no more effective than when students watched a teacher demonstration (Moore et al., 2020 ).

The study by Moore et al. ( 2020 ) illustrates an important point, namely, that students can acquire conceptual knowledge and theoretical understanding by ways other than engagement in practical work. Indeed, there are some countries where less practical work is undertaken than in others, yet students score well, on average, on international measures of attainment. Some, but relatively few, studies have focused on whether the extent of practical work, and/or whether practical work undertaken in particular ways, associates with any educational or other outcomes. There are some indications that more frequent practical work associates with benefits (Cukurova et al., 2015 ). For example, students in higher-performing secondary schools have reported that they undertake more frequent practical work than pupils in lower-performing schools, although this does not reflect the impact of practical work alone (Hamlyn et al., 2017 ). In a more recent study, Oliver et al. ( 2021a , b ), in their analysis of the science scores in the six Anglophone countries (Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, and the USA) that participated in PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) 2015, found that “Of particular note is that the highest level of student achievement is associated with doing practical work in some lessons (rather than all or most) and this patterning is consistent across all six countries” (p. 35).

Students often appreciate and enjoy practical work in science (Hamlyn et al., 2020 ; National Foundation for Educational Research, 2011 ). Nevertheless, students do not necessarily understand the purposes of practical work, some feel that practical work may not necessarily be the best way to understand some aspects of science, and some highlight that practical work does not necessarily give them what they need for examinations (Abrahams & Reiss, 2012 ; Sharpe & Abrahams, 2020 ). Teachers have also spoken about the challenges of devising and delivering practical work, and often value practical work for being motivational for students rather than for helping them to understand science concepts (Gatsby Charitable Foundation, 2017 ; National Foundation for Educational Research, 2011 ).

Teaching Approaches

Educational research has examined how teaching and learning could best be undertaken. Many teaching and learning approaches have been found to associate with students’ learning outcomes, such as their achievement (Bennett et al., 2007 ; Furtak et al., 2012 ; Hattie et al., 2020 ; Savelsbergh et al., 2016 ; Schroeder et al., 2007 ) and interest (e.g. Chachashvili-Bolotin et al., 2016 ; Swarat et al., 2012 ), both in science and more generally. However, considering different teaching and learning approaches is complicated by terminology (where the definitions of terms can vary and/or terms can be applied in various ways) and wider aspects of generalisation (where it can be difficult to determine trends across studies undertaken in diverse ways across diverse contexts).

Inquiry-based approaches to teaching and learning generally involve students having more initiative to direct and undertake activities to develop their understanding (although not necessarily without guidance and support from teachers), such as working scientifically to devise and undertake investigations. However, it is important to emphasise that inquiry-based approaches do not necessitate practical work. Indeed, there are many subjects where no practical work takes place and yet students can undertake inquiries. In science, examples of non-practical-based inquiries that could fruitfully be undertaken collaboratively or individually and using the internet and/or libraries include the sort of research that students might undertake to investigate a socio-scientific issue. An example of such research includes what the effects of reintroducing an extinct or endangered species might be on an ecosystem, such as the reintroduction of the Eurasian beaver ( Castor fiber ) into the UK, or the barn owl ( Tyto alba ) into Canada. Inquiry-based learning in school science has often been found to associate with greater achievement (Furtak et al., 2012 ; Savelsbergh et al., 2016 ; Schroeder et al., 2007 ), though too much time spent on inquiry can result in reduced achievement (Oliver et al., 2021a ).

Allied to inquiry-based approaches is project-based learning. Here, students take initiative, manifest autonomy, and exercise responsibility for addressing an issue (often attempting to solve a problem) that usually results in an end product (such as a report or model), with teachers as facilitators and guides. The project occurs over a relatively long duration of time (Helle et al., 2006 ), to allow time for planning, revising, undertaking, and writing up the study. Project-based learning tends to associate positively with achievement (Chen & Yang, 2019 ).

Context-based approaches to teaching and learning use specific contexts and applications as starting points for the development of scientific ideas, rather than more traditional approaches that typically cover scientific ideas before moving on to consider their applications and contexts (Bennett et al., 2007 ). Context-based approaches have been found to be broadly equivalent to other teaching and learning approaches in developing students’ understanding, with some evidence for helping foster positive attitudes to science to a greater extent than traditional approaches (Bennett et al., 2007 ). Specifically relating learning to students’ experiences or context (referred to as ‘enhanced context strategies’) often associates positively with achievement (Schroeder et al., 2007 ). The literature on context-based approaches overlaps with that on the use of socio-scientific issues in science education, where students develop their scientific knowledge and understanding by considering complicated issues where science plays a role but on its own is not sufficient to produce solutions (e.g. Dawson, 2015 ; Zeidler & Sadler, 2008 ). To date, the literature on context-based approaches and/or socio-scientific issues has remained distinct from that on investigative research projects but, as we will argue below, there might be benefit in considering their intersection.

Various other teaching and learning approaches have been found to be beneficial in science, including collaborative work, computer-based work, and the provision of extra-curricular activities (Savelsbergh et al., 2016 ). Similarly, but specifically focusing on chemistry, various teaching and learning practices have been found to associate positively with academic outcomes, including (most strongly) collaborative learning and problem-based learning (Rahman & Lewis, 2019 ).

Most attention has focused on achievement-related outcomes. Nevertheless, inquiry-based learning, context-based learning, computer-based learning, collaborative learning, and extra-curricular activities have often also been found to associate positively with students’ interests and aspirations towards science (Savelsbergh et al., 2016 ). While many teaching and learning approaches associate with benefits, it remains difficult definitively to establish whether any particular approach is optimal and/or whether particular approaches are better than others. Teaching and learning time are limited, so applying a particular approach may mean not applying another approach.

Investigative Research Projects

Science education has often (implicitly or explicitly) been orientated around students learning science by doing science, intending to help students understand the nature, processes, and methods of science. An early critique of pedagogical approaches that saw students as scientists was provided by Driver ( 1983 ) who, while not dismissing the value of the approach, cautioned against over-enthusiastic adoption on the grounds that, unsurprisingly, school students, compared to actual scientists, manifest a range of misconceptions about how scientific research is undertaken. Contemporary recommendations for practical work include schools delivering frequent and varied practical activities (in at least half of all science lessons), and students also having the opportunity to undertake open-ended and extended investigative projects (Gatsby Charitable Foundation, 2017 ).

Investigative research projects may be intended to reflect some aspects of science more accurately or authentically than other teaching and learning approaches, such as confirmatory practical activities and teacher demonstrations. Nevertheless, authenticity in science and science education can be approached and/or defined in various ways (Braund & Reiss, 2006 ), and the issue raises wider questions such as whether only (adult) scientists can authentically experience science, and who determines what science is and what authentic experiences of science are (Kapon et al., 2018 ; Martin et al., 1990 ).

Although too tight a definition can be unhelpful, investigative research projects in science typically involve students determining a research question (where the outcome is unknown) and approaches to answer it, undertaking the investigation, analysing the data, and reporting the findings. The project may be undertaken alone or in groups, with support from teachers and/or others such as scientists and researchers (Bennett et al., 2018 ; Gatsby Charitable Foundation, 2017 ). Students may have varying degrees of autonomy—but then that is true of scientists too.

Independent research projects in science for students have often been framed around providing students with authentic experiences of scientific research and with the potential for wider benefits around scientific knowledge and skills, attitudes, and motivations around science, and ultimately helping science to become more inclusive and accessible to everyone (Bennett et al., 2018 ; Milner-Bolotin, 2012 ). Considered in review across numerous studies, independent research projects for secondary school students (aged 11–19) have often (but not necessarily always) resulted in benefits, including the following:

Acquisition of science-related knowledge (Burgin et al., 2012 ; Charney et al., 2007 ; Dijkstra & Goedhart, 2011 ; Houseal et al., 2014 ; Sousa-Silva et al., 2018 ; Ward et al., 2016 );

Enhancement of knowledge and/or skills around aspects of research and working scientifically (Bulte et al., 2006 ; Charney et al., 2007 ; Ebenezer et al., 2011 ; Etkina et al., 2003 ; Hsu & Espinoza, 2018 ; Ward et al., 2016 );

Greater confidence in undertaking various aspects of science, including applying knowledge and skills (Abraham, 2002 ; Carsten Conner et al., 2021 ; Hsu & Espinoza, 2018 ; Stake & Mares, 2001 , 2005 );

Aspirations towards science-related studies and/or careers (Abraham, 2002 ; Stake & Mares, 2001 ), although students in other studies have reported unchanged and already high aspirations towards science-related studies and/or careers (Burgin et al., 2015 , 2012 );

Subsequently entering science-related careers (Roberts & Wassersug, 2009 );

Development of science and/or research identities and/or identification as a scientist or researcher (Carsten Conner et al., 2021 ; Deemer et al., 2021 );

Feelings and experiences of real science and doing science (Barab & Hay, 2001 ; Burgin et al., 2015 ; Chapman & Feldman, 2017 );

Wider awareness and/or understanding of science, scientists, and/or positive attitudes towards science (Abraham, 2002 ; Houseal et al., 2014 ; Stake & Mares, 2005 );

Benefits akin to induction into scientific or research communities of practice (Carsten Conner et al., 2018 );

Development of wider personal, studying, and/or social skills, including working with others and independent work (Abraham, 2002 ; Moote, 2019 ; Moote et al., 2013 ; Sousa-Silva et al., 2018 ).

Positive experiences of projects and programmes are often conveyed by students (Dijkstra & Goedhart, 2011 ; Rushton et al., 2019 ; Williams et al., 2018 ). For example, students have reported appreciating the greater freedom and independence to discover things, and that they felt they were undertaking real experiments with a purpose, and a greater sense of meaning (Bulte et al., 2006 ).

Nevertheless, it remains difficult to determine the extent of generalisation from diverse research studies undertaken in various ways and across various contexts: benefits have been observed across studies involving different foci (determining what was measured and/or reported), projects for students, and contexts and countries. Essentially, each individual research study did not cover and/or evidence the whole range of benefits. Many benefits have been self-reported, and only some studies have considered changes over time (Moote, 2019 ; Moote et al., 2013 ).

Investigative science research projects for students are delivered in various ways. For example, some projects are undertaken through formal programmes that provide introductions and induction, learning modules, equipment, and the opportunity to present findings (Ward et al., 2016 ). Some programmes put a particular emphasis on the presentation and dissemination of findings (Bell et al., 2003 ; Ebenezer et al., 2011 ; Stake & Mares, 2005 ). Some projects are undertaken through schools (Ebenezer et al., 2011 ; Ward et al., 2016 ); others entail students working at universities, sometimes undertaking and/or assisting with existing projects (Bell et al., 2003 ; Burgin et al., 2015 , 2012 ; Charney et al., 2007 ; Stake & Mares, 2001 , 2005 ) or in competitions (e.g. Liao et al., 2017 ). While many projects are undertaken in laboratory settings, some are undertaken outdoors, in the field (Carsten Conner et al., 2018 ; Houseal et al., 2014 ; Young et al., 2020 ).

Primary School

While much of the school literature on investigative research projects in science concentrates on secondary or university students, some such projects are undertaken with students in primary school. These projects are often perceived as enjoyable and considered to benefit scientific skills and knowledge and/or confidence in doing science (Forbes & Skamp, 2019 ; Liljeström et al., 2013 ; Maiorca et al., 2021 ; Tyler-Wood et al., 2012 ). Such projects often help students feel that they are scientists and doing science (Forbes & Skamp, 2019 ; Reveles et al., 2004 ).

For example, one programme for primary school students in Australia intended students to develop and apply skills in thinking and working scientifically with support by scientist mentors over 10 weeks. It involved the students identifying areas of interest and testable questions within a wider scientific theme, collaboratively investigating their area of interest through collecting and analysing data, and then presenting their findings. Data on the programme’s outcomes were obtained through interviews with students and by studying the reports that they wrote (Forbes & Skamp, 2016 , 2019 ). Participating students said that they appreciated the autonomy and practical aspects, and enjoyed the experiences. The students showed developments in thinking scientifically and around the nature of science, where science often became seen as something that could be interesting, enjoyable, student-led, collaborative, creative, challenging, and a way to understand how things work within the world (Forbes & Skamp, 2019 ). The experiences of thinking and working scientifically, and aspects such as collaborative working and learning from each other, were broadly considered to help develop students’ scientific identities and include them within a scientific community of practice. Some students felt that they were doing authentic (‘real’) science, in contrast to some of their earlier or other experiences of science at school, which had not involved an emphasis on working scientifically and/or specific activities within working scientifically, such as collecting and analysing data (Forbes & Skamp, 2019 ).

CREST Awards

CREST Awards are intended to give young people (aged 5–19) in the UK the opportunity to explore real STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) projects, providing the experience of ‘being a scientist’ (British Science Association, 2018 ). The scheme has been running since the 1980s and some 30,000 Awards are given each year. They exist at three levels (Bronze, Silver, and Gold), reflecting the necessary time commitment and level of independence and originality expected. The Awards are presented as offering the potential for participants to experience the process of engaging in a project, and developing investigation, problem-solving, and communication skills. They are also presented as something that can contribute to further awards (such as Duke of Edinburgh Awards) and/or competition entries (such as The Big Bang Competition). CREST Gold Awards can be used to enhance applications to university and employment. At Gold level, arranging for a STEM professional in a field related to the student’s work to act as a mentor is recommended, though not formally required. CREST Awards are assessed by teachers and/or assessors from industry or academia, depending on the Award level.

Classes of secondary school students in Scotland undertaking CREST Awards projects appeared to show some benefits around motivational and studying strategies, but less clearly than would be ideal (Moote, 2019 ; Moote et al, 2013 ). Students undertaking CREST Silver Awards between 2010 and 2013 gained better qualifications at age 16 and were more likely to study science subjects for 16–19-year-olds than other comparable students (matched on prior attainment and certain personal characteristics), although the students may have differed on unmeasured aspects, such as attitudes and motivations towards science and studying (Stock Jones et al., 2016 ). A subsequent randomised controlled trial found that year 9 students (aged 13–14) undertaking CREST Silver Awards and other comparable students ultimately showed similar science test scores, attitudes towards school work, confidence in undertaking various aspects of life (not covering school work), attitudes towards science careers (inaccurately referred to as self-efficacy), and aspirations towards science careers (Husain et al., 2019 ). Nevertheless, teachers and students perceived benefits, including students acquiring transferable skills such as time management, problem-solving, and team working, and that science topics were made more interesting and relevant for students (Husain et al., 2019 ). Overall, it remains difficult to form any definitive conclusions about impacts, given the diverse scope of CREST Awards but limited research. For example, whether and/or how CREST Awards projects are independent of or integrated with curricula areas may determine the extent of (curricula-based) knowledge gains.

Nuffield Research Placements

Nuffield Research Placements involve students in the UK undertaking STEM research placements during the summer between years 12 and 13, and presenting their findings at a celebration event (Nuffield Foundation, 2020 ). The scheme has been running since 1996 and a little over 1000 students participate each year. The programme is variously framed as an opportunity for students to undertake real research and develop scientific and other skills, and an initiative to enhance access/inclusion and assist the progression of students into STEM studies at university (Cilauro & Paull, 2019 ; Nuffield Foundation, 2020 ).

The application process is competitive, and requires a personal statement where students explain their interest in completing the placement. Students need to be studying at least one STEM subject in year 12, be in full-time education at a state school (i.e. not a private school that requires fees), and have reached a certain academic level at year 11. The scheme historically aimed to support and prioritise students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and is now only available for students from disadvantaged backgrounds based on family income, living or having lived in care, and/or being the first person in their immediate family who will study in higher education (Nuffield Foundation, 2020 ).

There have been indications that students who undertake Nuffield Research Placements are, on average, more likely to enrol on STEM subjects at top (Russell Group) UK universities and complete a higher number of STEM qualifications for 16–19-year-olds than other students (Cilauro & Paull, 2019 ). Nevertheless, it remains difficult to isolate independent impacts of the placements, given that (for example) students commence their 16–19 education prior to the placements.

Following their Nuffield Research Placements, students have reported increased understanding of what STEM researchers do in their daily work and unchanging (already high) enjoyment of STEM and interest in STEM job opportunities (Bowes et al., 2017 ; Cilauro & Paull, 2019 ). Wider benefits have been attributed to the placement, including skills in writing reports, working independently, confidence in their own abilities in general, and team working (Bowes et al., 2017 ). Students also often report that they feel they have contributed to an authentic research study in an area of STEM in which they are interested (Bowes et al., 2021 ).

Institute for Research in Schools Projects

The Institute for Research in Schools (IRIS) started in 2016 and has about 1000 or more participating students in the UK annually. It facilitates students to undertake a range of investigative research projects from a varied portfolio of options. For example, these projects have included CERN@School (Whyntie, 2016 ; Whyntie et al., 2015 , 2016 ), where students have been found to have positive experiences, developing research and data analysis skills, and developing wider skills such as collaboration and communication (Hatfield et al., 2019 ; Parker et al., 2019 ). Teachers who have facilitated projects for their students (Rushton & Reiss, 2019 ) report that the experiences produced personal and wider benefits around:

Appreciating the freedom to teach and engage in the research projects;

Connecting or reconnecting with science and research, including interest and enthusiasm (in science as well as teaching it) and with a role as a scientist, including being able to share past experiences or work as a scientist with students;

Collaborating with students and scientists, researchers, and others in different and/or new ways via doing research (including facilitating students and providing support);

Professional and skills development (refreshing/revitalising teaching and interest), including recognition by colleagues/others (strengthening recognition as a teacher/scientist, as having skills, as someone who provides opportunities/support for students).

The teachers felt that their students developed a range of specific and transferable benefits, including around research, communication, teamwork, planning, leadership, interest and enthusiasm, confidence, and awareness of the realities of science and science careers. Some benefits could follow and/or be enhanced by the topics that the students were studying, such as interest and enthusiasm linking with personal and wider/real-life relevance, for example, for topics like biodiversity (Rushton & Reiss, 2019 ).

Students in England who completed IRIS projects and presented their findings at conferences reported that the experiences were beneficial through developing skills (including communication, confidence, and managing anxiety); gaining awareness, knowledge, and understanding of the processes of research and careers in research; collaboration and sharing with students and teachers; developing networks and contacts; and doing something that may benefit their university applications (Rushton et al., 2019 ). Presenting and disseminating findings at conferences were considered to be inspirational and validating (including experiencing the impressive scientific and historical context of the conference venue), although also challenging, given limited time, competing demands, anxiety and nervousness, and uncertainty about how to engage with others and undertake networking (Rushton et al., 2019 ).

Although our principal interest is in investigative research projects in science at school, it is worth briefly surveying the literature on such projects at university level. This is because while such projects are rare at school level, normally resulting from special initiatives, there is a long tradition in a number of countries of investigative research projects in science being undertaken at university level, alongside other types of practical work.

Unsurprisingly, university science students typically report having little to no prior experience with authentic research, although they may have had laboratory or fieldwork experience on their pre-university courses (Cartrette & Melroe-Lehrman, 2012 ; John & Creighton, 2011 ). University students still perceive non-investigative-based laboratory work as meaningful experiences of scientific laboratory work, even if these might be less authentic experiences of (some aspects of) scientific research (Goodwin et al., 2021 ; Rowland et al., 2016 ).

Research experiences for university science students are often framed around providing students with authentic experiences of scientific research, with more explicit foci towards developing research skills and practices, developing conceptual understanding, conveying the nature of science, and fostering science identities (Linn et al., 2015 ). Considered in review across numerous studies, research experiences for university science students have often (but not necessarily always) resulted in benefits, including to research skills and practices and confidence in applying them, enhanced understanding of the reality of scientific research and careers, and higher likelihood of persisting or progressing within science education and/or careers (Linn et al., 2015 ).

For example, in one study, university students of science in England reported having no experience of ‘real’ research before undertaking a summer research placement programme (John & Creighton, 2011 ). After the programme, the majority of students agreed that they had discovered that they liked research and that they had gained an understanding of the everyday realities of research. Most of the students reported that their placement confirmed or increased their intentions towards postgraduate study and research careers (John & Creighton, 2011 ).

Implications and Future Directions

Investigative research projects in science have the potential for various benefits, given the findings from wider research into inquiry-based learning (Furtak et al., 2012 ; Savelsbergh et al., 2016 ; Schroeder et al., 2007 ), context-based learning (Bennett et al., 2007 ; Schroeder et al., 2007 ), and project-based learning (Chen & Yang, 2019 ). However, the potential for benefits involves broad generalisations, where inquiry-based learning (for example) covers a diverse range of approaches that may or may not be similar to those encountered within investigative research projects. Furthermore, we do not see investigative research projects as a universal panacea. It is, for example, unrealistic to expect that students can simultaneously learn scientific knowledge, learn about scientific practice, and engage skillfully and appropriately in aspects of scientific practice. Indeed, careful scaffolding from teachers is likely to be required for any, let alone all, of these benefits to result.

We are conscious that enabling students to undertake investigative research projects in science places particular burdens on teachers. Anecdotal evidence suggests that if teachers themselves have had a university education in which they undertook one or more such projects themselves (e.g. because they undertook a research masters or doctorate in science), they are more likely both to be enthused about the benefits of this way of working and to be able to help their students undertake research. It would be good to have this hypothesis investigated rigorously and, more importantly, to have data on effective professional development for teachers to help their students undertake investigative research projects in science. It is known that school teachers of science can benefit from undertaking small-scale research projects as professional development (e.g. Bevins et al., 2011 ; Koomen et al., 2014 ), but such studies do not seem rigorously to have followed individual teachers through into their subsequent day-to-day work with their students to determine the long-term consequences for the students.

Benefits accruing from investigative research projects are likely to be enhanced if there is an alignment between the form of the assessment and the intended outcomes of the investigative research project (cf. Molefe, 2011 ). The first author recalls how advanced level biology projects (for 16–18-year-olds) were assessed in England by one of the Examination Boards back in the 1980s. At the end of the course, each student who had submitted such a project had a 15-min viva with an external examiner. The mark scheme rewarded not only the sorts of things that any advanced level biology mark scheme would credit (use of literature, appropriate research design, care in data collection, thorough analysis, etc.) but originality too. There was therefore an emphasis on novel research. Indeed, occasionally students published sole- or co-authored accounts of their work in biology or biology education journals.

We mentioned above Driver’s ( 1983 ) caution about the extent to which it is realistic to envisage high school students undertaking investigative research projects that have more than superficial resemblance to those undertaken by actual scientists. Nevertheless, as the above review indicates, there is a strong strand within school science education of advocating the benefits of students designing and undertaking open-ended research projects (cf. Albone et al., 1995 ). Roth ( 1995 ) argued that for school science to be authentic, students need to:

(1) learn in contexts constituted in part by ill-defined problems; (2) experience uncertainties and ambiguities and the social nature of scientific work and knowledge; (3) learning is predicated on, and driven by, their current knowledge state; (4) experience themselves as parts of communities of inquiry in which knowledge, practices, resources and discourse are shared; (5) in these communities, members can draw on the expertise of more knowledgeable others whether they are peers, advisors or teachers. (p. 1)

Investigative research projects in science allow learners to learn about science by doing science, and therefore might help foster science identities. Science identities can involve someone recognising themselves and also being recognised by others as being a science person, and also with having various experiences, knowledge, and skills that are valued and recognised within the wider fields of science.

However, the evidence base, as indicated above and in the systematic review of practical independent research projects in high school science undertaken by Bennett et al. ( 2018 ), is still not robust. We need research studies that make explicit the putative benefits of investigative research projects in science, that have adequate control groups, and that look at the long-term consequences of such projects not only by collecting delayed data from participants (whether by surveys or interviews) but by following them longitudinally to see whether such projects make any difference to their subsequent education and career destinations. We also know very little about the significance of students’ home circumstances for their enthusiasm and capacity to undertake investigative research projects in science, though it seems likely that students with high science capital (DeWitt et al., 2016 ) are more likely to receive familial support in undertaking such projects (cf. Lissitsa & Chachashvili‐Bolotin, 2019 ).

We also need studies that consider more carefully what it is to engage in scientific practices. It is notable that the existing literature on investigative research projects for students in science makes no use of the literature on ethnographic studies of scientists at work—neither the foundational texts (e.g. Latour & Woolgar, 1979 ; Knorr-Cetina, 1983 ) nor more recent studies (e.g. Silvast et al., 2020 ). Too often there is a tendency for investigative research projects for students in science to ignore the reasons why scientists work in particular areas and to assume that once a written report of the research has been authored, the work is done. There can also be a somewhat simplistic belief that the sine qua non of an investigative research project is experimental science. Keen as we are on experimental science, there is more to being a scientist than undertaking experiments. For example, computer simulations (Winsberg, 2019 ) and other approaches that take advantage of advances in digital technologies are of increasing importance to the work of many scientists. It would be good to see such approaches reflected in more school student investigative projects (cf. Staacks et al., 2018 ).

More generally, greater authenticity would be likely to result if the following three issues were explicitly considered with students:

How should the particular focus of the research be identified? Students should be helped to realise that virtually all scientific research requires substantial funding. It may not be enough, therefore, for students to identify the focus for their work on the grounds of personal interest alone if they wish to understand how science is undertaken in reality. Here, such activities as participating in well-designed citizen science projects that still enable student autonomy (e.g. Curtis, 2018 ) can help.

Students should be encouraged, once their written report has been completed, to present it at a conference (as happens, for instance, with many IRIS projects) and to write it up for publication. Writing for publication is more feasible now that publication can be via blogs or on the internet, compared to the days when the only possible outlets were hard-copy journals or monographs.

What change in the world does the research wish to effect? Much student research in science seems implicitly to presume that science is neutral. The reality—back to funding again—is that most scientific research is undertaken with specific ends in mind (for instance, the development of medical treatments, the location of valuable mineral ores, the manufacture of new products for which desire can also be manufactured). It is not, of course, that we are calling for students unquestioningly to adopt the same values as those of professional scientists. Rather, we would encourage students to be enabled to reflect on such ends and values.

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Reiss, M.J., Sheldrake, R. & Lodge, W. Investigative Research Projects for Students in Science: The State of the Field and a Research Agenda. Can. J. Sci. Math. Techn. Educ. 23 , 80–95 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42330-023-00263-4

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Data Science: Guide for Independent Projects

• Books & Journals
• Working with Python
• Working with R
• Version control & GitHub

Introduction

Getting started, guided projects, starting projects from scratch, project examples for beginners, more advanced projects, portfolio examples.

• Finding Data This link opens in a new window
• Data Visualization This link opens in a new window
• Other Library Resources This link opens in a new window

Many data science students eventually want to undertake an independent or personal side project. This guide is intended to provide resources for these types of project. This is  not  necessarily intended to provide guidance for course projects, internship deliverables, or other formalized projects. Rather, this is to help you, as a data science student, get a little extra experience working with data. 

The benefits of these types of projects are three-fold: (1) apply what you've learned in your coursework to a new topic, testing your knowledge (2) learn new skills, including new Python or R packages and other platforms/tools, and (3) produce an output you can put on your resume. If you get really into your project, you can also consider turning it into a guest blog post on a data science site, or otherwise sharing your work with a broader audience.

Still not sure? Use the choice wheels below to help brainstorm a project topic.

• Pick a topic area For example, maybe you want to do a project related to sports, or social media, or biology. If you're not sure, or don't have a preference, use this spinning wheel to help you pick a topic area.
• Pick a data science task Data science projects often focus on a specific task, for instance classification, regression, clustering, or others.
• Pick a data type One way to pick a project is to think about what kind of data you want practice working with. For instance, do you want to practice working with numeric data, or text data? Or maybe you want to practice your data science skills with image data?
• Pick an additional tool or approach This wheel includes a selection of tools, methods, or approaches often used in data science project, such as: API queries, recommender systems, sentiment analysis, and more.
• Pick a random keyword Spin to get a random keyword to help further brainstorm your topic. For instance, if you want to practice classification (task) using tabular data (type) for transportation (area), and incorporate sentiment analysis (additional tool) could you tie this to your chosen keyword? Consider: is there a way to incorporate, say, political preferences based on vote data, with voter sentiment towards expanded highway infrastructure? Or maybe classifying preferences for electric vehicles by median income by Census block, rates of homeowners insurance, or other of these keywords?

Maybe you're not ready to start a project entirely from scratch. That's fine! These links have examples of more guided projects: they provide a dataset, a general question, and either tutorials or hints about what packages and analyses you'll need to use. Think of these are "training wheels projects": they are a way to build your confidence and help you get comfortable with outside class projects.

• 24 data science projects to boost knowledge and skills These projects are split into beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels, with links to tutorials and where to download the data in question.
• 12 Data Science Projects for Beginners and Experts This site presents data science projects in R and Python with source code and data. Areas of project include text analysis, recommender systems, deep learning, supervised and unsupervised machine learning.
• 8 fun machine learning projects for beginners Machine learning is a popular topic with data science students, and these projects provide a semi-guided way to practice your skills.

Make use of the other resources in this guide!  Check out the " Working with Python " and " Working with R " tabs for information about data analysis and visualization packages. Read through the " Version Control & GitHub " tab for additional information about working with Git and how to properly structure a GitHub repository. The " Finding Data & Statistics " tab redirects to a full guide to help with finding data sources and the " Data Visualization " tab will send you to additional resources about data visualization, including best practices.

• Project inspiration It can be hard to know how to get started with an independent data science project. Fortunately, there are quite a few websites to pursue for examples and inspiration.
• Getting started for beginners Starting with visualization is great advice.
• Options for projects This guide to building a data science portfolio also offers a good overview of different kinds of projects possible: data cleaning, data storytelling, an "end to end" project, and an explanatory project. Picking what kind of project you'd like to undertake is a good start.
• Guide to starting a data science project You won't need to write a formal proposal (since this is your personal project, you can work on whatever you want), but the other steps in this guide are applicable.
• Scoping a project This guide to scoping a data science project is more detailed than necessary for a personal side project, but the takeaways are good (define the goal, determine data needs, determine analysis needed).
• Project style guide Remember: how you put together your project is as important as your project topic! This guide is definitely worth reading.
• Data science project template From Cookiecutter Data Science: "A logical, reasonably standardized, but flexible project structure for doing and sharing data science work."

Sometimes, you want to look at fully formed examples to get an idea of what you can do for your own project. Here are some examples of data science (or at least, data science-ish) projects suitable for lower division data science students: the projects use available data, (mostly) make the underlying code public, produce effective/interesting visuals, and are easy to read through. These examples also span a range of project options, such as making a tutorial for popular/frequently used datasets, learning new techniques, scraping your own data, or digging into a big dataset.

• Kaggle Titanic tutorial One way to approach a data science side project is to write up your workflow/results as a tutorial for other people to use. This has multiple benefits: it helps you organize your thoughts, forces you to be explicit about your data wrangling and modeling, and adds your own personal touch when working with popular, frequently used datasets.
• Visualize Spotify This project visualizes attributes of songs (beats per minute, loudness, length, etc.) from one of this person's Spotify playlists. There is a link in the post to a GitHub repository which includes the data, scripts, notebooks, and figures.
• Text mining The Office This project uses text mining techniques on a dataset of every line from the TV series The Office. Note the cleaning steps to get the data ready for analysis!
• Tracking emerging slang This project uses Google Trends data to track where new slang comes from (spatially and temporally). Could you recreate a similar analysis using Python? What other questions could you ask with Google Trends data?
• Recipe recommendations API This project consists of three parts: scraping recipe data, building recommender models and building an API to be hosted on a web server. How might results change with different recipe data?
• Video game sales This project using video game data relies heavily on data visualization. This example uses R, but consider: could you make similar plots in Python? What about PowerBI or Tableau?
• Movie genre prediction This project uses elements of movie posters to predict movie genres using convolutional neural networks (CNN). The code is already available, making this a good project to practice looking through and understanding code written by someone else. What parts of the code are understandable based on prior coursework? Are there Python libraries used that are new to you?
• Football (soccer) match outcome prediction Projects with this data predict the probability of match outcomes for each target class (home team wins, away (opponent) team wins and draw). This project includes dealing with missing and imbalanced data. A more detailed evaluation of various models can be found in this notebook . Try adapting this workflow to data from other sports of your choice!

Also consider reaching out to your fellow data science students about forming a group to work on an independent project. Group projects are a great way to develop important skills such as code collaboration (particularly using GitHub) and project workflow management. Working with a group also provides a built-in network for brainstorming ideas, troubleshooting code errors, and formalizing your project. Plus, it can be more motivating to work in a group, since you're relying on each other to make progress.

Alternatively, if you prefer to work on your own project, it would still be valuable to reach out to other people for code review . Reviewing someone else's code is a useful learning exercise, and having your own code reviewed by your peers is a good way to make sure you don't have any mistakes in your code. 

• Using Common Crawl data The Common Crawl corpus contains petabytes of data and is available on Amazon S3. It contains raw web page data, extracted metadata and text extractions collected since 2008. The Common Crawl site includes tutorials and example projects using this data. This is a good dataset to use for a project if you want experience working with truly big data, navigating the Amazon web ecosystem, and using data mining techniques at scale.
• Wayback Machine (archived web pages) Historical web page captures of sites are available via the Wayback Machine and can be extracted and analyzed with Python in a multistep process. more... less... The UC San Diego Library maintains a campus web archiving program to capture web sites relevant to the UCSD community. This presentation from UC Love Data Week 2023 demonstrates an example workflow for accessing and analyzing data in one of these web archive collections.
• Papers with Code Papers with Code is free and open resource with Machine Learning papers, code, datasets, methods and evaluation tables. Browse by data type and task/method; most of the datasets and code examples are linked to associated peer reviewed publications. Publications here are beyond the scope of most personal projects, but this site is a good central hub for learning more about cutting edge (and classic) data science methods and models. A potential project would be to try implementing one of the methods/models, which requires learning new packages/functions (reading documentation), benchmarking and assessment, and interpreting technical results.
• Previous DSC capstone projects This page includes links to past DSC capstone (180AB) projects. These represent multi-quarter projects, not personal projects, but they provide a good overview of the types of topics and methods found in many advanced personal projects.

When working on a personal project, you are building your data science portfolio , a public collection of your work you can share with future employers.

Having a well-organized GitHub with each project in its own repository is a great start to building your data science portfolio. You may eventually decide to create your own website. The format of your portfolio may vary; the important thing to keep in mind is that this is a way to showcase your work.

For an in-depth guide to developing your data science portfolio, check out this site from UC Davis DataLab .  

• "Data Projects" section from  Scott Cole's personal website
• Cultureplot , by Oliver Gladfelter 
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5 NSF projects transforming how researchers understand plastic waste

The U.S. National Science Foundation champions research on how plastic impacts the planet. These five projects are changing how researchers think about plastic and what happens after it is tossed away.

Plastic is everywhere. Humans produce so much plastic that we end up throwing away about 400 million tons of plastic-related trash every year. And researchers are learning that this trash doesn't stay where it is deposited. From land to sea, plastic is found virtually everywhere on the planet.

Earth Day 2024 is highlighting the plastics problem with the theme: "Planet vs. Plastic." "Our reliance on harmful plastics is not sustainable," said Alexandra Isern, NSF assistant director for Geosciences. "We are committed to funding research that will address the plastics challenge to create a safer future for generations to come."

Here are five NSF-driven projects that look at the versatile material in both expected and unusual places and examine its impacts on the planet and the creatures who call it home. 

1. In soils

About half of the 400 million tons of plastic that people worldwide discard annually migrates beyond landfills.

Brian Giebel, an assistant research professor at the City University of New York, and Benjamin Bostick, a professor at Columbia University, are studying how these discarded plastics can affect soil health and function . The team is especially interested in plastic's potential to change how soils emit climate-warming gases like carbon dioxide and methane.

How does a piece of plastic eventually end up as a gas? First, it breaks down through chemical and physical processes in soils. When it degrades to less than 5 micrometers in size, slightly bigger than a speck of dust, it can become a tasty lunch for microorganisms, which then release carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere.

The team will use a variety of laboratory techniques, like stable isotope measurements and X-ray microscopy, to track plastic's degradation, microbial uptake and eventual transformation to gas. 

2. In urban streams

From plastic wrappers to plastic bottles, plastics dominate daily life. Once used, however, plastic can often end up as litter within waterways.

Anne Jefferson, a professor at the University of Vermont, and her team are using time-lapse photography and repeat field surveys to understand how discarded plastic  moves through and sometimes stays in streams . "I kept seeing trash everywhere in the urban streams where I was doing research for other projects," Jefferson said. "Since stopping litter from entering streams seemed like a losing battle, I wanted to know more about what happens to the litter once it got into a stream and how it interacted with other elements of the stream channel."

Jefferson's findings will improve litter tracking models that follow plastic from streams to oceans. She wants to learn how much plastic is stored in flood plains or within stream and river channels rather than entering the ocean. Her findings will also help guide litter management, environmental cleanup and ecosystem restoration efforts.

3. On the ocean's surface

Just like humans, plastic is carbon-based. Aron Stubbins, a professor at Northeastern University, is using this fact to better understand whether plastic pollution has fundamentally changed the ocean's surface.

Plastic has been accumulating at the ocean's surface ever since mass production started about 70 years ago. Stubbins and his team are collecting plastic samples from the open ocean and measuring natural organic carbon and plastic-carbon concentrations to determine if the plastic carbon now makes up a significant fraction of the total surface ocean carbon. If that is the case, as the team suspects, then it's very likely that the plastic carbon levels on the ocean surface today are unprecedented.

The team collected samples from the Atlantic Ocean on a research cruise last summer. The anticipated findings will reveal whether ocean scientists need to consider the role of plastic carbon as an active component of the surface ocean carbon cycle. 

4. In the Arctic 

Bits of plastic smaller than 5 millimeters can come from larger plastic pieces that have broken apart, byproducts of plastic manufacturing or microbeads used in health and beauty products.

These microplastics litter the seas, even reaching the remote Arctic Ocean. Alexandra Jahn, an associate professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, is studying how sea ice moves microplastics in polar regions.

Jahn and her collaborators at the NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research, the University of Washington and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute are investigating why observed concentrations of microplastics in sea ice are many times higher than in the underlying ocean and how this affects where microplastics end up. The team is also investigating whether sea ice is more likely to melt when it contains dark microplastics, which increase sunlight absorption.

To help answer these questions, the team is growing sea ice embedded with microplastics in a laboratory and adding microplastics to numerical models of various complexity. 

5. In the atmosphere 

Manufacturers add certain chemicals to plastic to make it stronger, more flexible and more durable. However, when plastic waste ends up in the ocean, these often toxic additives can leach into the water and accumulate in the sea surface microlayer, where the top of the ocean meets the atmosphere. 

Nate Slade, an assistant professor at the University of California San Diego is studying how these chemicals can stick to droplets as they evaporate into the air , travel long distances across the ocean, pollute air quality, and eventually end up in a person's airways. 

Slade and his team want to know how long plastic additives can last when stuck to those droplets, known as aerosols, and how other chemicals can affect their transport. 

These and related NSF-supported projects will help scientists better understand how plastic impacts the planet and how to use that knowledge to build a resilient planet. 

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Changing Partisan Coalitions in a Politically Divided Nation

1. the partisanship and ideology of american voters, table of contents.

• What this report tells us – and what it doesn’t
• Partisans and partisan leaners in the U.S. electorate
• Party identification and ideology
• Education and partisanship
• Education, race and partisanship
• Partisanship by race and gender
• Partisanship across educational and gender groups by race and ethnicity
• Gender and partisanship
• Parents are more Republican than voters without children
• Partisanship among men and women within age groups
• Race, age and partisanship
• The partisanship of generational cohorts
• Religion, race and ethnicity, and partisanship
• Party identification among atheists, agnostics and ‘nothing in particular’
• Partisanship and religious service attendance
• Partisanship by income groups
• The relationship between income and partisanship differs by education
• Union members remain more Democratic than Republican
• Homeowners are more Republican than renters
• Partisanship of military veterans
• Demographic differences in partisanship by community type
• Race and ethnicity
• Age and the U.S. electorate
• Education by race and ethnicity
• Religious affiliation
• Ideological composition of voters
• Acknowledgments
• Overview of survey methodologies
• The 2023 American Trends Panel profile survey methodology
• Measuring party identification across survey modes
• Adjusting telephone survey trends
• Appendix B: Religious category definitions
• Appendix C: Age cohort definitions

The partisan identification of registered voters is now evenly split between the two major parties: 49% of registered voters are Democrats or lean to the Democratic Party, and a nearly identical share – 48% – are Republicans or lean to the Republican Party.

The partisan balance has tightened in recent years following a clear edge in Democratic Party affiliation during the last administration.

• Four years ago, in the run-up to the 2020 election, Democrats had a 5 percentage point advantage over the GOP (51% vs. 46%).

The share of voters who are in the Democratic coalition reached 55% in 2008. For much of the last three decades of Pew Research Center surveys, the partisan composition of registered voters has been more closely divided.

About two-thirds of registered voters identify as a partisan, and they are roughly evenly split between those who say they are Republicans (32% of voters) and those who say they are Democrats (33%). Roughly a third instead say they are independents or something else (35%), with most of these voters leaning toward one of the parties. Partisan leaners often share the same political views and behaviors as those who directly identify with the party they favor.

The share of voters who identify as independent or something else is somewhat higher than in the late 1990s and early 2000s. As a result, there are more “leaners” today than in the past. Currently, 15% of voters lean toward the Republican Party and 16% lean toward the Democratic Party. By comparison, in 1994, 27% of voters leaned toward either the GOP (15%) or the Democratic Party (12%).

While the electorate overall is nearly equally divided between those who align with the Republican and Democratic parties, a greater share of registered voters say they are both ideologically conservative and associate with the Republican Party (33%) than say they are liberal and align with the Democratic Party (23%).

A quarter of voters associate with the Democratic Party and describe their views as either conservative or moderate, and 14% identify as moderates or liberals and are Republicans or Republican leaners.

The partisan and ideological composition of voters is relatively unchanged over the last five years.

(As a result of significant mode differences in measures of ideology between telephone and online surveys, there is not directly comparable data on ideology prior to 2019.)

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