Rules for All Projects

Index

Regeneron ISEF Ethics Statement
Regeneron ISEF Eligibility/Limitations
Regeneron ISEF Requirements
Continuation/Research Progression of Projects
Team Projects
Documentation and Approval
Digital Paperwork and Signatures

The International Rules and Guidelines for Science Fairs is available at societyforscience.org/ISEF in multiple formats. Familiarity with the rules is critical for students, parents, teachers, mentors, fair directors and local and affiliated fair Scientific Review Committees (SRC) and Institutional Review Boards (IRB).

Ethics Statement

Student researchers, as well as adults who have a role in their projects, are expected to maintain the highest ethical standards. These standards include, but are not limited to:

  • Integrity. Honesty, objectivity, and avoidance of conflicts of interest are expected during every phase of the The project should reflect independent research done by the student(s) and presented in their own words with proper citation. The presentation of fraudulent data, the evidence of plagiarism or the inappropriate use of AI are prohibited and grounds for the project to fail to qualify.
  • Legality. Compliance with all federal, state and local laws and regulations is essential. In addition, projects conducted outside the U.S. must also adhere to the laws of the country and jurisdiction in which the project was performed. All projects must be approved by a Scientific Review Committee (SRC), and when necessary must also be approved by an Institutional Review Board (IRB), Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), and/or Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC). It is recommended that students reference their local, state or national laws and regulations.
  • Respect for Confidentiality and Intellectual Property. Confidential communications, as well as patents, copyrights, and other forms of intellectual property must be honored. Unpublished data, methods, or results may not be used without permission, and credit must be given for all contributions to the research.
  • Stewardship of the Environment. It is the responsibility of the researcher and the adults involved to protect the environment from harm. Introduction or disposal of native, genetically-altered, and/or invasive species, (e.g. insects, plants, invertebrates, vertebrates), pathogens, toxic chemicals or foreign substances into the environment is prohibited. It is recommended that students reference their local, state or national regulations and quarantine lists.
  • Acknowledgment of Risks. All projects involve some amount of risk. Everyone is expected to recognize the hazards, assess the risks, minimize the risks, and prepare for emergencies.
  • Animal Care. Proper care and respect must be given to all The use of non-animal research methods and alternatives to animal research are strongly encouraged and must be explored before conducting a vertebrate animal project. The guiding principles for the use of animals in research includes the following “Four R’s:’ Replace, Reduce, Refine, Respect.
  • Human Participant Protection. The highest priority is the health and well-being of the student researcher(s) and human participants.
  • Potentially Hazardous Biological Agents (PHBAs). It is the responsibility of the student and adults involved in the project to conduct and document a risk assessment, and to safely handle and dispose of organisms and materials.

Scientific fraud and misconduct are not condoned at any level of research or competition. This includes plagiarism, forgery, use or presentation of other researcher’s work as one’s own and fabrication of data. A violation of this ethics statement may result in disqualification from participating in ISEF and ISEF-affiliated fairs, and forfeiture of any awards, prizes, and acknowledgment received.

 

Eligibility/Limitations

  1. Each ISEF-affiliated fair may send to ISEF the number of projects allocated and committed to within their affiliation agreement.
  2. A student must be selected by an ISEF-affiliated fair, and meet both of the following:
    • be in grades 9–12 or equivalent; and
    • not have reached age 20 on or before May 1 preceding ISEF.
  3. English is the official language of Student project boards and abstracts must be in English.
  4. Each student is only allowed to enter one That project may include no more than 12 months of continuous research and may not include research performed before January 2025.
  5. Team projects must have no more than three members. Teams competing at ISEF must be composed of the original members who competed at the ISEF-affiliated fair and must all meet ISEF eligibility.
  6. Students may compete in only one ISEF affiliated fair, except when proceeding to a state/national fair affiliated with ISEF from an affiliated regional fair.
  7. Projects that are demonstrations, literature reviews, ‘library’ research, informational projects, and/or ‘explanation’ models are not recommended or appropriate for ISEF.
  8. Artificial Intelligence may be used as a project resource but must be cited and given proper acknowledgements. All materials presented must be in the researcher’s own words.
  9. All sciences and engineering disciplines are represented at ISEF and projects compete in one of the 22 categories. Review a complete list of categories and sub-categories with definitions.
  10. A research project may be a part of a larger study performed by professional scientists, but the project presented by the student must be only their own portion of the complete study.

Requirements

General

  1. All domestic and international students competing in an ISEF-affiliated fair must adhere to all rules as set forth in this document.
  2. All projects must adhere to all of the tenets of the Ethics Statement.
  3. It is the responsibility of the student and the Adult Sponsor to evaluate the study to determine which forms are required and whether approval by a committee must be obtained prior to experimentation.
  4. Projects competing at ISEF must have an exhibit that adheres to ISEF Display & Safety requirements and is visible during all operable hours of the exhibit hall without reliance on electricity or internet connections.
  5. All projects must adhere to the requirements of the affiliated fair(s) in which it competes to qualify for participation in ISEF. Affiliated fairs may have additional restrictions or Knowledge of these requirements is the responsibility of the student and Adult Sponsor.

Continuation/Research Progression of Projects

  1. As in the professional world, research projects typically build on work performed previously. A valid continuation project is a sound scientific endeavor and demonstrates the student’s commitment to the field.
  2. Any project based on the student’s prior research could be considered a continuation/research progression These projects must document that the additional research is a substantive expansion from prior work (e.g. testing a new variable or new line of investigation). Repetition of previous experimentation with the same methodology and research question, even with an increased sample size, is an example of an unacceptable continuation.
  3. Students will be judged only on laboratory experiment/ data collection performed over 12 continuous months beginning no earlier than January 2025 and ending May 2026.
  4. The display board and abstract must reflect the current year’s work only. The project title displayed in the finalist’s booth may mention years (for example, “Year Two of an Ongoing Study”). Previous year’s databooks, research papers and supporting documents may be at the booth if properly labeled as such.
  5. Longitudinal studies are permitted as acceptable continuations under the following conditions:
    1. The study is a multi-year study testing or documenting the same variables in which time is a critical variable. (Examples: Effect of high rain or drought on soil in a given basin, return of flora and fauna in a burned area over )
    2. Each consecutive year must demonstrate time-based change.
    3. The display board must be based on collective past conclusionary data and its comparison to the current year data set. No raw data from previous years may be displayed.
  6. All projects must be reviewed and approved each year and forms must be completed for the new year.

Team Projects

  1. Team projects compete and are judged in the category of their research at ISEF. All team members must meet the eligibility requirements for ISEF.
  2. Teams must have no more than three members.
  3. A team with members from different geographic regions may compete at an affiliated fair of one of its members, but not at multiple fairs.
    1. Each affiliated fair holds the authority to determine whether teams with members outside of a fair’s geographic territory are eligible to compete.
    2. If the team wins the right to attend ISEF, all team members’ expenses must be supported.
  4. Team membership cannot be changed during a given research year unless there are extenuating circumstances and the local SRC reviews and approves the change, including converting a team project to an individual project or vice versa. Such conversions must address rationale for the change and include a clear delineation between research preceding the change and that which will follow. A memorandum documenting this review and approval should be attached to Form 1A.
    1. Once a project has competed in a science fair at any level, team membership cannot change and the project cannot be converted from an individual project to a team project or vice versa.
    2. In a future research year, any project may be converted from an individual to a team project, from a team to an individual project and/or have a change in team membership.
  5. Each team is encouraged to appoint a team leader to coordinate the work and act as spokesperson. However, each member of the team should be able to serve as spokesperson, be fully involved with the project, and be familiar with all aspects of the project. The final work should reflect the coordinated efforts of all team members and will be evaluated using the same judging criteria as individual projects.
  6. Each team member must submit an Approval Form (1B). Team members must jointly submit the Checklist for Adult Sponsor (1), one abstract, a Student Checklist (1A), a Research Plan/ Project Summary and other required
  7. Full names of all team members must appear on the abstract and forms.

Documentation and Approval

  1. Project documentation should begin with the development of a research plan to detail the rationale, research question(s), materials, methodology and procedures, risk assessment and a bibliography for the proposed research.
  2. This research plan should be completed before experimentation and will inform the forms required for your research.
  3. If a mentor was involved in the project, the research plan should delineate what parts of the project were done by the student and which parts of the project were done by the mentor.
  4. Projects involving human participants, vertebrate animals, potentially hazardous biological agents and/or tissue must be reviewed and approved by a local or regional Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Scientific Review Committee (SRC) prior to the start of experimentation.
  5. Every project must have the following forms:
    1. Checklist for Adult Sponsor (1). In coordination with completion by the Adult Sponsor
    2. Student Checklist (1A)
    3. Research Plan/Project Summary
    4. Approval Form (1B)
  6. A Qualified Scientist is required for all studies involving Biosafety Level 2 (BSL-2) potentially hazardous biological agents and DEA-controlled substances and is also required for many human participant studies and many vertebrate animal studies.
  7. After initial IRB/SRC approval (if required), any proposed changes in the Student Checklist (1A) and Research Plan/ Project Summary must be re-approved before laboratory experimentation/data collection resumes.
  8. After competing in an Affiliated Fair, projects may not be changed or amended. The approved research plan must include any and all phases of the project to be Additional data may be collected using the same methodology that was previously approved for the affiliated fair.
  9. Continuation projects require annual review and approval from the IRB/SRC as applicable. Any continuation project must document that the additional research is new and different by completing Continuation/Research Progression Projects Form (7). At ISEF, this form must be displayed at the project booth.
  10. Any continuing project must document that the additional research is new and different by completing Continuation/ Research Progression Projects Form(7). At ISEF, this form must be displayed at the project booth.
  11. If work was conducted or mentored either virtually or on site at a regulated research institution, industrial setting, or any work site other than home, school or field at any time during the current ISEF project year, the Regulated Research Institutional/Industrial Setting Form (1C) must be completed and displayed at the project booth.
  12. After experimentation, each student or team must submit a (maximum) 250-word, one-page abstract which summarizes the current year’s The abstract must describe research conducted by the student(s), not by the supervising adult(s).
  13. A project data book and research paper are not required, but are strongly recommended for judging Regional or local fairs may require a project data book and/ or a research paper.
  14. All signed forms, certifications, and permits must be available for review by all regional, state, national and international affiliated fair SRCs in which the student(s) This review must occur after experimentation and before competition.

Digital Paperwork and Signatures

  1. Submission of forms generated by a digital system are allowable under the following conditions:
    1. The forms must have the same content and order as ISEF
    2. Digital signatures should have a verification system via login and have a time and date stamp to indicate this authentication or be otherwise verified by the affiliated fair personnel.
    3. Paperwork submitted to Society for Science for ISEF must be scanned and submitted via the online portal.