Florida Junior Academy of Science
and
Florida Science Talent Search
A Division of the Florida Academy of Sciences
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Volume 20, No. 2 Winter 2001-2
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Call for Research Papers

All FJAS members are invited to submit their scientific or literary research papers to the preliminary FJAS competition. All research MUST have been completed since January 1, 2001 and followed the rules for both the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair and the State Science & Engineering Fair of Florida. To submit your paper for review:

• Complete a copy of the FJAS Competition Entry Form. Please print neatly.

• Write a lay-language title not to exceed 75 characters and a lay-language abstract not to exceed 75 words. This is the first page of the paper.

• The paper should follow the scientific method and may follow any accepted format including, but not limited to, APA style. A maximum of 20 pages double-spaced.

• Attach copies of all ISEF forms if the project dealt with any of the 7 categories below:

Vertebrates

Microorganisms

Controlled substance

rDNA

Human/animal tissue

Hazardous procedures

• Staple once in the upper left corner through the entry form and research paper.

• If additional papers are required, either the ISEF forms or Talent Search application, please paperclip these to the stapled paper.

• Give your paper to your sponsor in plenty of time for them to mail it the Coordinator and be received by February 1st. LATE papers will not be considered. The suggested day to mail by is Tuesday, January 29, 2002.

Having had the responsibility of organizing the preliminary reviewing of the papers I have seen many repeated errors that reduce the scores and chances of being selected to present. Ten percent of the preliminary score is "following the rules" and often just a few points can make the difference of a student being selected or not. Below are the most common mistakes.

PLEASE DON’T REPEAT THESE:

• Title and abstract not lay-language
• Title over 75 characters including spaces
• Abstract over 75 words

• SSEF abstract submitted instead of FJAS format
• Title page has more than title and abstract
• Student name, school name, or acknowledgments are present in the paper
• More than 20 pages are submitted, excess pages are removed before the judges see them and are not considered
• ISEF forms required but missing, it is important that FJAS not condone research that did not follow these nationally accepted guidelines
• Entry form not completed legibly, most
• commonly missing is the phone
• number with area code, in case there is a question, or e-mail address
• papers are submitted in notebooks instead of a single staple
• Parts of the paper had been submitted in previous years without the areas being circled in red
• Literary research contains student’s data
• Spelling errors
• Mailing it so the package requires a signature, this may make the papers late.

Florida Science Talent Search is held each year in conjunction with the FJAS competition. The Talent Search competition offers additional awards including scholarships, trips, and subscriptions. In addition to the FJAS competition students will be interviewed by the Talent Search Coordinator and must submit an additional entry form, resume, and transcript with standardized test scores and class ranking. If selected to present and compete in Talent Search the registration fee is also higher, $5 instead of $1. Many students competing in Talent Search wait to see if their paper, that they submitted to Intel Science Talent Search, is sent to the Florida Coordinator from Science Service. This may reduce your chances of being selected.

All students are encouraged to submit ALL required papers directly to FJAS by the February 1st deadline if interested in competing in the Florida Science Talent Search.

The judging criteria are:

20% GPA and class rank

30% Standardized test scores

35% FJAS competition ranking

10% Scientific potential (resume)

5% Interview

The 2002 competition will be held at Barry University on March 9, 2002. Barry is located in north Dade County near the Fort Lauderdale Airport. The tentative schedule has the competition beginning at 10 AM after a brief welcome. The presentations will probably be finished by 12:30 or 1PM. The Business Meeting and Awards will take place from 2:30 to 4 PM.

Sponsors and individual members will be notified of those selected to present by February 15th so you will have time to practice. Middle School students have 10 minutes to present while high school students have 12 minutes. All students may be asked questions by the judges for 3 minutes. Only an overhead projector and screen will be provided in each classroom. Any other audiovisual equipment is the responsibility of the student and or their sponsor to bring.

Preliminary Competition Procedures

Have you ever wondered how the preliminary judging is accomplished? As the papers are received, the Coordinator places the research papers in separate piles for each of the general categories for each division: Junior, Senior, and Talent Search. When all papers are received Feb 1st, the piles are counted to form sections with 20 to 25 in papers in each. This means that some papers have to be moved at the discretion of the Coordinator. The Coordinator then removes the entry form from each research paper, records a unique code on each of these, and determines points earned for following the rules. Then on Feb 2nd the papers will be sent or hand delivered to the judges to review. The judges use the criteria listed below to select the best 12 papers. The judges then return the results to the Coordinator by February 13th so the students and sponsors can be notified.

Preliminary Judging Criteria

Experimental Papers

10% Title and Abstract
15% Introduction
15% Method
30% Results
10% Discussion
10% References
10% Follow Rules

Literary Papers

10% Title and Abstract
10% Introduction
40% Body of information
20% Discussion
10% References
10% Follow Rules

All papers must be received on or before February 1st for the preliminary judging.

Mail all papers to:
Pat Zalo
2812 26th Avenue Dr W
Bradenton FL 34205-3707

so the packages will be received by 1 February 2002.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity!