26 th NATIONAL CHILDREN’S SCIENCE CONGRESS 2018

1. 26th NATIONAL CHILDREN’S SCIENCE CONGRESS 2018

2. A PROGRAM OF NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY COMMUNICATION (NCSTC), DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, GOVT OF INDIA • CONDUCTED ANNUALLY AT NATIONAL LEVEL BETWEEN 27 AND 31 DECEMBER • PARTICIPATION AT NATIONAL LEVEL IS THROUGH SELECTION FROM STATE(KVS) AND FROM DISTRICT(REGIONAL) CHILDREN’S SCIENCE CONGRESS

3. The primary objectives of the Children's Science Congress is to make a forum available to children of the age-group of 10-17 years, both from formal school system as well as from out of school, to exhibit their creativity and innovativeness and more particularly their ability to solve a societal problem experienced locally using the method of-science. OBJECTIVES OF NCSC

4. Relating learning science with the environment around • Encouraging the children to understand the environment, its problems and prospects and to help them to find feasible solutions; • Stimulating scientific temper through the use and internalization of the method of science, i.e. observation, collection of data, experiments, analysis and then arriving at conclusions. • ENCOURAGE CHILDREN TO EXPLORE, THINK, SERVE & WONDER

8. Who is eligible This is a forum open to young scientists in the age group of 10-17 years as on December 31 of the calendar year. This event of NCSC is not restricted to the school-going children only but is also open for the non-school children from the marginalized sections of the society who can be involved as team members.

9. A program of NCSTC, DST, Govt. of India Team of 2 children From age group of 10 to 17 years Guided by teachers, any expert Undertake project work using methods of science On a local problem under a focal and sub-theme Project evaluated for innovativeness, simplicity and practicality What is CSC?

10. What is a Scientific Project A scientific project is a study of a problem carried out with a objective of finding out a solution of the problem. It involves defining the problem, making the hypothesis, observation, collection of data through survey or experimentation, its analysis and then arriving at conclusion to find out the solution. A scientific study paves the way for a practical solution of a vexed problem. The approach needs to be well planned and systematic otherwise errors may creep in, leading to aggravation of problem than to its solution. Jumping to quick and erroneous conclusions are considered to be unethical in scientific studies.

11. From the group of like minded children of 2 select a group leader. • Decide the guide teacher • Decide the geographical area of study 4. At first identify the problem related to Focus theme (SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION • for aCLEAN, GREEN AND HEALTHY NATION ) WHAT TO DO,WHY TO DO,HOW TO DO Your experience, your interest study related topics and books, journals and internet will help to identify the problem. 5. Make a list of problems 6. Select best problem on the basis of man power, money, time, equipment, innovative . WHAT SHOULD BE THE APPROACH

12. 7. Collect the articles, books etc related to the project and discuss. 8. Decide to conduct a Survey or Experiment. • SURVEY: • Data collection: carried out with the help of questionnaire associated with project topic. • Data collection carried out directly from the environment.

13. Identification of respondent Location of mapping Unit of observation Sampling technique Sample coverage/size Design of interview schedule/questionnaire Analysis and interpretation of gathered information Drawing inference/conclusion SURVEY :MANDATORY STEPS

14. EXPERIMENT: Mandatory Steps In laboratory or in field conditions. • Choosing objective of study • Design of the experiment • Defining different parameters • Identification of proper instrument • Framing procedures/steps and control • Repetitive observation of the experiments • Data recording ,classification ,tabulation and processing • Analysis and interpretation • Drawing inference /concussion

15. Children's Science Congress is a forum to encourage inquiry-based learning for all the children in the age group of 10 to 17 years It has a Special emphasis on Accessibility for Persons with Disability (PWD) or Divyangjan as well It focuses on issues related to accessibility for persons with disability and approaches in either of two ways; projects undertaken (a) by the children with disability, and (b) for the children / persons with disability Guidelines for inclusiveness

16. Children with disability (CWD)

17. One of the main problems faced by CWDs are their limitations in relation to senses (vision, hearing), physical movement (locomotive) and sometimes mental (MR) impediments, so inclusive approach is to have mixed groups of children CWDs can form one team (Visually impaired, Speech Impaired, Hearing Impaired, Orthopedically Impaired, Autistic etc.), so that both the team members can complement each other with their abilities and the total disability of the team can be nullified

18. Children with one or more disabilities can make a team with another normal child (this will enable mutual understanding between normal children and CWD, and also would be the best mainstreaming strategy), enabling development of their personality, knowledge and other skills with mixing up with normal children and vice-versa It is very much essential to involve Special Educators for guiding projects of these categories of children

19. It is open for children, other than CWD, in the age group of 10 years to 14 years (lower age group) and from 14+ years to 17 years (upper age group) as on December 31 of the year they participate However, children under CWD group will have no restrictions of age group (usually sixth to ninth standard children will come under junior group and tenth to twelfth standard children under senior group, irrespective of their ages) Eligibility Criteria for Participation

20. From the year 2018, a team of only two children will form a group A child scientist can participate at the national CSC only once as group leader in the same age group Note: Parents, whose child would participate in the Children's Science Congress in the ensuing year, should not hold any portfolio in the organizing / academic committee or act as an evaluator of the CSC conducted at any level. Else, the project may be disqualified for presentation in CSC Mode of participation

21. Innovative, simple and practical Representing teamwork Based on exploration of everyday life-situations Involving field based data collection Having definite outputs, arrived to draw an inference using simple methods of science and research methodology Related directly to community from which / where the problem has been addressed Having follow-up plans and action Nature of CSC projects

22. Originality and innovativeness of the topic Understanding the problem and to find the possible solution using methods of science and its application through experimentation Quality and quantity of work, including team work, learning process, methods of science applied, experimentation and validation Relevance of the proposal to the community /school and impact of the study on the schoolmates and/or community Criteria of good project

23. S: Specific: The subject/issues of study must be specific M:Measurable: The issues of study must be measurable in quantitative /qualitative forms so that the component of comparability is maintained A: Appropriateness: Methodology must be appropriate to nature of the issues considered for the study R: Realistic: The issues of the study must be realistic along with the methodology adopted for the purpose T: Time bound: Study must be carried out in a limited time frame. The project activities should not destabilize normal activity /schedule of the child Smart approach

24. Language is not a barrier for participation in National Children's Science Congress Children can carry out their project in any schedule language or any language which is recognized as medium of education by the respective state government or central government in India Language

25. The project work of CSC must be carried out in a systematic way so that it can rightly reflect the method of science in the works The issue(s) must be studied with designed experiment using simple methods of science In case of experimental works, design and principle of the experiments are very important factors which may help to get a better result in a rational way Repetition (replication) of the study is important to draw the meaningful inference/conclusion. In such case parameters of observation and verification through the experiment and its logical selection must be reflected vividly along with sets of control and approach of data validation Points to remember

26. Surveys should be scientifically designed and data collection with sufficient sample size and data verification/triangulation processes are to be followed The scope of the study, criteria of selection, sample coverage, design of questionnaire or interview schedule are very important along with approach of data compilation, validation, analysis and interpretation Prototype, functional models or development of instrument or devices are only encouraged to be used in project presentation if issues and methods of study demands for such and only in cases where adequate data has been generated by using the prototypes/models

27. Under no circumstances NCSC projects should make use of live animal samples and should not have ethical problems With respect to conducting experiments or surveys, standard procedures are to be followed The Guide should take extra care not to commit any mistakes and should take expert advice from senior researchers in his/her area in case of any doubts No child scientist should be put to any dangerous situations or exposed to hazardous substances and always it is better to have a supervisory role of a responsible elderly person while experiments are conducted Any ethical issues if detected would amount to the rejection of the project

28. A diary of proper day-to-day record of field work has to be maintained while carrying out the project work, which needs to be authenticated by the guide The logbook must be submitted with the project report at the time of oral presentation All the details, such as project title, name of the group leader, state etc. should be written clearly on the cover of the logbook either in English or Hindi language Log book

29. Report to be handwritten in any scheduled language on A-4 size (21 cm x 31 cm or 8.3” x 11.8”) plain paper Word limit is 2500 (lower group) and 3500 (upper group) Written Report :

30. i)Cover page - Must be written in English or Hindi Title of the project Name and address of group leader and co-worker Name and address of guide Name of the School/ Organization with full address The top right hand side of the project should have the Project Code (State Code followed by Number) The Language of the Project also should be prominently written below the Project Code Structure of the project report

31. 26nd Children’s Science Congress (CSC-2018) Focal Theme: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION for aCLEAN, GREEN AND HEALTHY NATION Title of the Project (Should be informative, specific, concise and self-explanatory) Names and addresses of Team Leader Other Members Guide Teacher District State (To be written in English or Hindi ONLY) COVER PAGE

32. ii) Form-A(Registration form) iii) ABSTRACT One of the most important elements of a scientific report Word limit is 250 words (one A-4 size page) Summary of the report / work done including • question investigated • the methods used • the principal results and • conclusions Wording should be clear and precise (Abstract in English is mandatory) Structure of the project report

34. Contents page to have separate sections for subject matter (all the components of the report) figures (include titles given to chart (pie-chart), or graph, or photograph, or illustration or map) and tables(include titles or headings of your observation, result or data analysis tables ) iv) content

35. S. No. Topic Page No. 01 Introduction 01 02 Aims and objectives 02 list of figures – S. No. Title Page No. 01 Graph showing variation in temperatures 09 02 Pie-chart showing distribution of land forms 11 03 Photograph showing collection of fossils 13 list of tables – S. No. Title Page No. 01 Temperatures recorded during one month period 12 02 Varieties of butterfly species observed 14 03 Electric power consumption in homes 16 content

36. At the top Title of the Project should be mentioned Title should be informative, specific, concise, understandable and self-explanatory The introduction should have : Relevant background information Need statement focusing on the overall issue, problem, or core / research question One or two but not more than three paragraphs V)INTRODUCTION

37. Is an assumption of some cause and its impact based on observation trends, information collected from different literature and emerged fro discussion with experts. In one or two sentences, hypothesis should give an idea, based on known facts that has not yet been proven, about the problem selected VI) HYPOTHESIS

38. Should define very specifically Why this project has been selected? How this problem / issue would be addressed? Keeping in mind that there is Limited time period and Limited localized geographical area Avoid repeating introduction Vii)AIMS & OBJECTIVES

39. VIII) Methodology: a) Survey: Clearly describe methodology followed,sampling procedure and sample size based on population, provide sample questionnaire used, document every step of the work by taking photograph etc Involves using questionnaire for data collection Questions should be specific and in logical order On an average 20 relevant questions should be asked Sample size of 50 – 100 people should be included in the study Include a copy of questionnaire Structure of the project report

40. b) Experimentation: Provide list of materials used, explain the treatments and control, provide neatly labeled sketch and/ or diagram wherever necessary, document every step of the study by taking photograph, etc Done with own hands, either in the laboratory or at home or in the field Design of the experiment with proper controls, number of readings, set of conditions, parameters, mathematical formula to be included Detail experimental procedure, analytical techniques also to be included

41. c) Case study: This is a specific study carried out focusing on a particular area/ community to understand certain issues or its impact (In such cases, principles of survey will remain same, with explanation in context of the area/community covered, along with significant learning outcomes apart from the other processes of data analysis and interpretation)

42. Meaning of a case Identification of a case Procedure of conducting a case study Report writing case study CASE STUDY

43. A case is one which • Has special characteristics • Is different from normal • It is small in number, may be individual person or institute. MEANING OF CASE STUDY

44. Questionnaire Observation schedule Interview schedule DATA ANALYSIS Content analysis DATA COLLECTION

45. Observations and data collection: This refers to what has been observed during the experimentation Observation can be both qualitative as well as quantitative The qualitative data (information) need to be transformed into quantitative form either using ranking approach or weighted index for numerical analysis Structure of the project report

46. Data analysis and interpretation: The data that have been generated out of experiments/observations/survey need to be tabulated in a structured manner Different tools and methods can be used to analyze the data, to understand the patterns that emerge from it to get results and finally draw conclusions (Remember, the raw data that is generated is not the final result. Raw data is to be analysed using simple statistical methods/tools and then the interpretation of the result to be made) Structure of the project report

47. Results: Results are the output of the study derived from data analysis and interpretation leading to meaningful outcomes with the help of a logical framework Sometimes, it may be needed to redo the experiments to get consistent results, however, final result is the analyzed data presented in structured table as well as graphical form Results are the presentation of data collected during survey, observation and / or experimentation Presentation could either be in the form of charts, graphs, maps, figures or tables etc Should be simple to understand Results only describeandnot interpret findings Structure of the project report

48. Conclusion/Inference: This is the logical end of the projectwhere the experimenter tries to arrive at specific conclusions from the final result(s) (In a way, the whole objective of the project was to arrive at some conclusion, either positive or negative which would lead to a better understanding of the problem) Solution to the problem: Once the problem is understood using the above steps, it may lead to one or more possible solutions Structure of the project report

49. Future scope of the work (Follow-up): Every research is open-ended (In other words, in a defined time-period and with given resources, a research work cannot end-up to draw solution to that particular problem, which may need further refinement for suitable and wide application and hence, every research work must have some scope to do the same or similar study by the same researcher or other as and when necessity arises) Structure of the project report

50. Acknowledgement: It is duty of a researcher to acknowledgeall the persons who extended help in various forms for accomplishing the work, with a generous statement of gratitude References/Bibliography: This part includes the list of books, journals, magazine, articles consulted in relation to the project (If these are referred in the write-up of the project, then it is termed as reference; else it is bibliography/ literature cited) Structure of the project report