Where to Get Help
One mark of a truly educated individual is his willingness to discuss his problems with others and profit by their advice and help. One of the most important things that you can learn while doing a project is how and where to obtain information and assistance.
Your science teacher may be an excellent source. If he cannot provide specialized help himself probably he can direct you to those who can.
Your school librarian can point out specialized references such as scientific encyclopedias and “reserved” reference books. Scientific magazines and journals have good “survey articles” on recent developments. Don’t overlook the public, college, and special technical libraries near you. Also, academies of science, technical societies, and science laboratories may have libraries or publications you can use.
It is to be hoped that your topic is one on which some expert local counseling will be available—from your science teacher or one of your parents, your family physician or the local pharmacist, your agricultural extension agent, or scientific and engineering personnel of a nearby manufacturing plant, defense installation, research laboratory, or college.
Select a project adviser and try to enlist his cooperation. Explain your choice of topic to him and how you plan to develop it. (If you have already done background reading you may find him more receptive and more helpful.) You may need to consult him on several different occasions. You will probably want him to check you project plan to make sure that you have not left out an important step, or included some potential pitfall. Also, you may want him to review the final written report in which you summarize your work and findings.
However, your project must rest upon work done by you. It is permissible to obtain assistance from others, but never to the extent that you are standing on the sidelines watching someone else do your work. Keep your interviews brief and approach each conference with a clear idea of what you are seeking and why, and always only after you have already done as much as possible—whether by way of reading or project work—to find the answer on your own. By doing this you will gain valuable habits of self-reliance, and added stature in your adviser’s eyes.
Special equipment and materials may be obtained or borrowed through laboratories. College laboratories assist sometimes. Some industrial organizations may have surplus equipment and materials that they are willing to lend or donate.