Writing the bibliography
A bibliography gives a reviewer an idea of how much and what quality of background research you did for your project. Be sure to list every book, magazine, website, or other source you used to choose your topic, prepare your research plan and make your hypothesis. Each entry should be in an accepted format.
Do not cite anything in your bibliography that you have not read.
Your teacher, sponsor, and judges should be able to assume that if you list a reference in your bibliography that you know what it says. You should also have a copy of at least the first page of every website you use in your notebook.
When you list your references you must have the following:
- Projects requiring PRIOR approval by a Committee
Require additional references such as those mentioned in the “Sources of Information For All Projects” in the ISEF Rules. For Example:
- Human Subjects Projects
- Department of Health and Human Services.“Code of Federal Regulation (CFR), Title 45 (Public Welfare), Part 46-Protection of Human Subjects (45CFR46).”(2018). https://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/regulations-and-policy/regulations/45-cfr-46/index.html
- Vertebrate Animals
- Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources (ILAR).“Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. 8th Ed. ”(2011). https://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/Guide-for-the-Care-and-Use-of-Laboratory-Animals.pdf
- Potentially Hazardous Biological Agents (bacteria, fungus, virus, human and animal tissue)
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health.“ Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL)6th Ed.”(2020). https://www.cdc.gov/labs/BMBL.html
- At least 5 Project-specific References
- These should be literature (e.g. books, science journals) specific to your project. Dictionaries and Wikipedia should not be used.
- Safety Data Sheet (SDS) References
- References to the source of SDS that you have consulted covering chemicals used in your project. It is not necessary to include the SDS sheets with your project paperwork, but you must show that you consulted them. It is also a very good idea to keep the sheets with your logbooks.
- The SDS provides the information required for the Risk & Safety Section in the Research Plan in addition to the information for Form 3.
- SDS should have the NFPA rating and be published after 2013. An acceptable format is:
- Clorox Company. SDS: Clorox Germicidal Bleach. 2021, Oct 15. https://www.thecloroxcompany.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/USA002018-CloroxPro-Clorox-Germicidal-Bleach-Concentrated_1.pdf
Format for bibliography citations
To help you with the format of your citations, check the basic MLA guidelines as listed on a webpage from
Purdue University Online Writing Lab.
If your particular case is not listed then check with your teacher.