SRC & Forms

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SRC & Required Forms

All projects must be reviewed and approved by the Scientific Review Committee (SRC) to be eligible to participate in the fair. All projects will require submission of at least the 4 forms listed below. Depending on the risk and ethical issues involved, some projects will be required to submit additional forms.

Learn more about the SRC/IRB process and the most common FAQ's the Committee receives.

All required forms can be downloaded from the Regeneron ISEF Forms Page.

CSRSEF allows for abstracts to be written after the project is completed.
CSRSEF follows most of the same rules as the International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF). Check out the ISEF Rules & Guidelines and CSRSEF's Display and Safety Rules to learn more. Many class assignments, senior projects, summer research projects, and displays created for other science competitions can be entered into the Fair with minimal changes.
All forms must be submitted through STEM Wizard.
All Requests for SRC Project Review must be sent through our Contact Form. Choose "I am a student who needs to contact SRC for a project review" from the drop down.

Don't Know What Kind of Approval your Project Needs? Read Our SRC Guide

Required Forms for ALL Projects

Projects with minimal risk, no human subjects, and no ethical issues require submission of only these 4 forms. You do not have to wait for SRC Approval to start your project and perform experimentation/data collection. Submit these files & forms through STEMWizard.

Photo Release: Media Release and Ethics Form – available on STEM Wizard after registration

Form 1. Checklist for Adult Sponsor

Form 1A. Student Checklist and Research Plan

Form 1B. Approval Form

Research Plan (See Form 1A for guidelines):

If you are doing your project as a team, your team leader will submit all of your team's paperwork – only one copy of all forms is needed EXCEPT the Approval Form 1B. Each student needs to fill out and also have their guardians sign an Approval Form 1B.

Do you need help determining how you're allowed to us AI in your project? Read Our AI Usage Guidelines

If you are working with human subjects, vertebrate animals, controlled substances and/or potentially hazardous biological agents, YOUR PROJECT MUST BE APPROVED BEFORE you begin your experimentation/data collection. The purpose of the SRC/IRB is to make sure that you are doing your science fair project safely and ethically, therefore, the committee must approve your project before you start collecting data. If you have already started your experiment and did not receive prior approval, please contact us.

Special Forms

If your project involves hazardous chemicals/processes/equipment, human subjects, or ethical issues (as defined by ISEF), you will be required to submit some or all of the of the forms below. In this case, you must request and receive SRC Prior-Approval BEFORE performing any of your experimentation/data collection. Note: there is an early deadline for projects that require SRC Prior-Approval.

Form 1C. Regulated Research Institutional/Industry Setting Form

Required AFTER experimentation (to be filled out by the supervising adult) at a regulated research institution, industrial setting, or any work site other than home, school, or the field.
This form has an exception — since it is required AFTER experimentation, it must be provided after your project, by Feb 15, 2021.

Form 2. Qualified Scientist

Required for projects that need an adult who has a professional or doctoral degree.

Form 3. Risk-Assessment

Required for activities that are higher risk than household or school use. This includes the use of lab-grade chemicals, extensive use of power tools, or any other activity with an element of risk that is not covered by the other forms.

Form 4. Human-Participants

Required for any study using humans or human data. This includes surveys or asking people questions about themselves or about their thoughts and opinions on a topic. Needs to be submitted in conjunction with a sample consent form (see immediately below).

Informed-Consent

Required for any study using humans or human data. A sample consent form needs to be submitted along with the other ISEF forms for consideration by the Institutional Review Board BEFORE the study begins. In addition, all consents must be discussed with the participants BEFORE any data is collected; In addition, the consents need to be stored in a secure area. De-identification of data needs to be addressed, as well as any risks involved with the study. Note: there are risks for every study–even in a survey there is a risk of slight stress.

Form 5A Vertebrate-Animal or 5B Vertebrate-Animal

Form 5A is required for projects that were conducted in a school/home/field research site. Form 5B is required for all research involving vertebrate animals that is conducted at a Regulated Research Institution that has an IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee) that approved the experiment. Form 5B needs to be completed and signed AFTER the experiments are done.

Form 6A. Potentially-Hazardous-Biological-Agents

Required for projects that use microorganisms, recombinant DNA, fresh/frozen tissue (including cell lines and tissue culture work), blood, blood products, and body fluids.

Form 6B. Human-Vertebrate-Animal-Tissue

Required in conjunction with Form 6A for research involving fresh/frozen tissue (including cell lines and tissue culture work), blood, blood products, and body fluids. If the research involves living organisms, pleas ensure that the proper human or animal forms are completed.

Form 7. Continuation/Research Progress Projects Form

Required for projects that are continuing in the same field of study as the previous project. This form must be accompanied by the previous year’s abstract and research plan.

Sample Abstract & Certification Form

Honesty is expected during every phase of your project. AI is a very powerful TOOL and may be used to smooth and grammar check. But your science project must be your OWN work, presented in your own words. In particular, Artificial Intelligence (AI) may NOT be used to write a literature review without your oversight or refinement, make the final decision on the design of your experiment, write any sections of your project that involve analysis, interpretation, or theoretical contributions, or create core scientific content for your display. Your project must not include fraudulent data, plagiarism, or inappropriate use of AI. We WILL use AI detection to ensure compliance.

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