Senior Research Home

Continually check in for news related to Senior Reseach 2007-2008. Updated March 31, 2008

Additional information on the APA format: Senior Research Model Paper

The Senior Research Intranet is now available. The Senoir Research Intranet is only available in school and students must use their CHARTERSCHOOL network account to login to school computers. Every student has a network account.

To the Student:

The Senior Research Project is the capstone on your high school years. This Project builds on the scientific methods for experimental design that you used in your sophomore science fair project and science classes, the literature researching and writing that you demonstrated in your junior research paper and junior history project and your acquired math skills for analysis of data. Upon graduation, you will have experience in writing papers in 2 formats, APA (10th grade Science Fair and this project) and MLA (English courses), which should prepare you for college writing.

The objectives of the Senior Research Project are that you will...
1.   communicate technical information.
2.   collect and analyze data.
3.   communicate through a well-written, multi-paragraph essay.
4.   conduct meaningful research.
5.   demonstrate proficiency in skills and knowledge acquired over four years at a math and science school.
6.   demonstrate critical thinking skills that encourage life-long learning.
7.   collaborate with others to devise a quality project.

Your responsibilities while you are preparing your research and paper include....
1.   meeting with your homeroom teacher several times during the year and before checkpoints so that you can work together toward a successful paper.
2.   meeting all checkpoints with quality work and effort.
3.   researching using reference texts and scientific web sites.
4.   working with personal integrity and ethics.

It is your responsibility to get assistance during the project development. Exhaust every possible resource including books, technical journals, teachers, experts in your chosen field, and adult advisors. Always reference your sources in your project.

Consider your equipment needs to complete your project. Though The Charter School of Wilmington tries to identify industry mentors to assist you, we need time to find someone. If we can not identify a mentor or the equipment that you may need to perform your experiment, you may need to change your topic.

Remember, a project starts with a hypothesis from your observations which your data may or may not support. Your project is still acceptable since data that negates your hypothesis may lead to a more interesting project and unexpected conclusion.

Failure to successfully complete your responsibilities at any time will include communication with your teachers, parents and coaches. The Senior Research Project is a graduation requirement that will be successfully completed.

The Charter School of Wilmington website includes the instructions and checkpoints that you will need for a successful research project and paper. It is expected that you will regularly review the website for project details and due dates and that you will work with your advisors to clarify any expectations.