A Step-By-Step Guide to High School Research
A high school research project is curated by a student who wants to take an in-depth look at a particular subject or topic. These projects can range from a couple weeks to a couple months. The main goal of these high school research projects is to collect sufficient data on an engaging topic, summarize it thoroughly, and present the knowledge to an audience.
Within this blog post, you will learn how to start a high school research project, the types of activities you can do to improve the research project, and learn the benefits of starting one. This blog will help students see how they can take an extensive look at subjects ranging from math, science, history, to computer science!
What is a high school research project?
A high school research project takes a thorough look at a particular topic and develops a well structured argument, question, or statement and provides qualified research/information from the topic to help support the idea presented. The project itself takes the form of an extended essay which can be used to present ideas in a sequence through each paragraph.
Here are some examples of high school research projects:
Discussion of the binomial theorem
Research on the discrete logarithm
Taking a look at key principles of electrostatics
Explaining difference between static equilibrium and the force of balance
Looking at the process of designing a video game
Benefits of doing a high school research project
High school research projects are a good way of showing a student is dedicated towards a certain subject and can look impressive on college applications. Top colleges like Harvard, Yale, MIT, Brown, etc. love when students embrace particular topics, especially through the means of research.
Writing about a topic of interest shows that a student is passionate about what they are researching and conveys that they are willing to explore and learn things on their own. Colleges love this… Starting a high school research project can boost how good your college application looks and could increase your chance of getting into your dream school!
It is very important to demonstrate that you have a passion for a topic you have selected for your high school research project. Colleges want to see that you have done the research and that you have invested enough time to cultivate a thorough essay on your topic. The college admission’s main goal is to select students that are curious, willing to learn more, and can independently thrive. By making a strong high school research project, you can prove to colleges that you have taken on these qualities and that you are a suitable pick.
Steps to Starting a High School Research Project
WORK WITH A PROJECT MENTOR
One of the best ways to get started with a computer science research project as a high schooler is to receive guidance from an experienced project mentor. At Inspirit AI, our high school students work closely with Ivy League project mentors to help them build their own computer science and AI projects.
Inspirit AI Scholars is a 10 session (25-hour) program that exposes high school students to fundamental AI concepts and guides them to build a socially impactful project. Taught by our team of graduate students from Stanford, MIT, and more, students receive a personalized learning experience in small groups with a student-teacher ratio of 5:1. You can learn more about Inspirit AI Scholars here.
CHOOSING A TOPIC TO RESEARCH
This is one of the most important steps that is required before starting on your high school research project. When deciding what to research, a student must start broad and think of the subject they want to write about. Will it be math, science, history, literature, computer science, foreign language, etc.? Choose a subject that intrigues you the most as the research process won’t be a drag.
Once a subject you like has been selected, it is important that you choose a topic within the selected subject that intrigues you. This step is just as important as picking the subject. Working on a project that genuinely interests you will make writing the research paper feel the most enjoyable.
There are a vast amount of topics that a student can look into. Don’t be overwhelmed by this. Casually search up the subject of your choice and look into it. Find something that catches your eyes. If you already have a topic you want to research in mind, go ahead and start researching that. It is important to understand that you shouldn’t choose a subject or topic that may look impressive to others or colleges, choose something that really interests you.
STARTING THE PROCESS
Once you have chosen the topic of interest and have prepared yourself for the exciting journey ahead, it is time to create a structure for your high school research project. This next step is crucial in the development process of a strong research essay as a student can get lost if they have no proper direction when conducting research and writing the actual paper. When you start your project, you must keep track of the following things:
The main question you are posing throughout the essay
What information/sources you are using from your research
The validity of your claims and the evidence you present
Which paragraphs talk about specific ideas (How is your overall idea going to be split into different claims to support the main idea?)
The refute/counter-argument used to strengthen the overall essay
The conciseness of the evidence and commentary
This list shows a few things that you will eventually encounter when making your high school research project. Though it may seem overwhelming, the process itself can be made very simple by splitting up the project into smaller tasks that each provide towards the main objective.
SPLITTING UP THE PROJECT
Separating your high school research project into smaller chunks will help make the project seem less intimidating and allow for clearer structure to be made within the project. The project can be split into a few components which will help make the ideas in the list above much easier to keep track of and complete.
The components (stages) of the project can be split into the brainstorming stage, research stage, writing stage, and revision stage. Splitting up the research essay into these four stages will allow the project to go by smoothly. Now, let's take a quick look at each of these components!
BRAINSTORMING STAGE
Within this stage, you will create an outline for your essay to enable the following stages to become much easier. This stage is the foundation and will provide you with a solid idea of what direction you are heading with your high school research paper. In this stage, you will want to take your topic and find the main point of it. What is it that you want to talk about? What in particular do you want your reader to be informed about when reading your research paper?
Once you have a clear insight on a particular point within the topic you have chosen, split this main point into subsections that each help support the original point. Each subsection will be used to create the thesis of the essay. The thesis must consist of the main claim of the whole research and should list the subsections that support that claim. Then, using each of the subsections (sub-points) create an introductory sentence for each one which introduces that particular point. Each sentence will be used as the first sentence of each body paragraph.
RESEARCH STAGE
Now that the outline of the essay for the high school research paper is clear, it is time to do some research. Using the search engine you have access to, search up your topic or the idea within the topic you want to talk about. As a tip, using Google Scholar will help with finding appropriate school research information.
Look through articles online and skim to find information that is vital to your essay. If you find some information that you like, take a note of the exact piece of information and copy down the link of the website you found. Continue doing research until all of your points have evidence to support them.
An optional choice for some topics is to find evidence for a possible which will oppose the claim you make throughout your research paper. Finding evidence for a rebuttal shows multiple perspectives and can strengthen the original claim.
Inspirit AI offers a 1:1 AI + X Mentorship Program that guides students through the entire research process — especially the research stage. In collaboration with experienced AI research mentors, students will begin by extracting insights from large datasets, architect key questions, and then engineer machine learning models to answer them. In the process, students will iterate on their project and gain insight into the scientific research process. Upon completion of the course, students will have completed an independent AI project, research proposal, and final research paper/article. Interested students will receive guidance on how they may take their projects further to science fair or journal submission. Learn more here.
WRITING STAGE
The next step in reaching your final goal is to start writing the essay itself. You can split the essay into multiple components as well.
Introduction
Body Paragraphs (Five paragraphs at least)
Counter-argument (Optional)
Conclusion
For the introduction, make sure to start off the essay with something related to the topic of discussion that will intrigue the reader. You can talk about the topic within a wider scope or you can write about something interesting about the topic like fun facts. End this paragraph with the thesis you made in the brainstorming stage.
Each body paragraph will start with the introductory sentence which should have been made in the brainstorming stage. Following this sentence, you will include the appropriate evidence you found that supports the particular point you are making in that paragraph. The most important part of the body paragraphs are the commentary. Make this part compelling. This is where you explain the point at hand in-depth and allow the reader to understand what you are trying to tell them about the research.
A counter-argument can be present within your essay for topics like physics and math where there are many different perspectives to some topics. In this case, you must start the paragraph with a sentence or two that shares the view of the opposing side of your topic. This will then be followed by your own reasoning as to why the point made in your research is better. You can include evidence for both views in this paragraph.
Finally, you create your conclusion paragraph. You will wrap up your high school research project here. You can restate the thesis presented in the introductory paragraph (not word for word). Following the thesis, you can add commentary about your own opinions on the topic, summarize the research, explain the importance of the research, etc. This paragraph is for you as the writer to drive home the point being made throughout the essay.
REVISION STAGE
The bulk of your high school research project has been completed and now it is time to revise it. In this stage, you will read over the essay to see how convincing and informative it sounds. Revise any errors or unclear points and get other views on the essay from people like your parents, guardians, teachers, and friends.
Additional Research Tips
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR INTERESTS
All in all, the high school research project is a fun activity that will allow you as the student to embrace an interest you have. There is a vast amount of benefits to yield from this project and it can help you stand out among other students.
If you ever feel like you are very interested in something, take a note of it. Eventually you can have a list of things you may possibly want to research. Take advantage of your interests and make a project that will help you academically.
WORKING WITH FRIENDS
At school, you may encounter a time when you and your friends share a common interest on a topic. In this case, you could work with your friend to make a high school research paper. This could make the process much more interesting and may allow for a lengthier, more in-depth research paper.
MAKE THE FLAME GLOW BRIGHTER
Spreading the word about your high school research paper through various means such as social media will help your project gain the attention it deserves. Showing your work to others and possibly asking for constructive criticism will allow for you to learn and improve your research and writing skills. The chance that your work gains views could also make the worthwhile project stand out even more on college applications.
About Inspirit AI
AI Scholars Live Online is a 10 session (25-hour) program that exposes high school students to fundamental AI concepts and guides them to build a socially impactful project. Taught by our team of graduate students from Stanford, MIT, and more, students receive a personalized learning experience in small groups with a student-teacher ratio of 5:1.
