Instructions for New Entry Procedure

Summary of steps

Register your project, using the online registration form.
Obtain a recent copy of Adobe Reader (if you need to)
Get the ISEF forms you need. You can refer to the rules, use the ISEF Rules Wizard, or get an opinion from our SRC by sending them a brief description of your plans. We have also posted all the forms separately on the NJRSF site, along with some additional instructions about the mechanics of the new process. Note that the use of digital signatures, while allowed, is discouraged, as described there. Fill out the forms and store them on your computer harddrive. If you are following the recommended web-signature procedure, then you upload the forms at that point. If you are using digital signatures, you will need to email the forms and get signed copies back prior to doing the upload.
Prepare your Research Plan
Submit your documents
Further Steps

(Note: if you are using firefox, the intrapage links above may not work for you. In that case, just scroll down for the information.)

------------ Detailed Instructions for Each Step ---------------

Registering Your Project

Your first step in entering the fair is to register your project. To register your project, use the NJRSF Registration Form. (Team projects: note that this web form is to be executed once for the entire team, and you must put the information for all team members on the same instance of the form. Do NOT submit this form multiple times!) Once you have finished this registration, all the other links you need on the NJRSF site will be on your Entry Status Screen (accessible on the navbar under Students, after you login).

In particular, you will find a link there for paying your submission fee. (Payments will be processed by PayPal this year, using either a PayPal account or a major credit card.) If your school is not paying your fee, then it is a good idea to take care of this right away. Remember that each team member's fee must be paid to complete entry--either as a group or individually.

Also on this entry status screen you will see the status of your category assignment. In executing the Registration Form, you will choose either physical science or biological science, but that will have to be updated by our judging committee, on the basis of your submitted information, before it is deemed final. Your Entry Status screen will indicate when this review has been completed. In addition, shortly prior to the fair (about two weeks) we will make final assignments to the categories to be used at the fair, which may combine categories listed separately on the initial registration form. This final category selection will also appear on your Entry Status Screen.

Obtaining Adobe Reader

In order to follow the following instructions, you will need to have Adobe Reader version 8 or higher. Almost all PCs, both Intel and Macs, have a version of Adobe Reader installed these days--it is nearly ubiquitous. It is recognized as a safe and secure mechanism for document sharing. Please review the detailed instructions regarding form handling on the link above.

Obtaining the PDF ISEF Forms

A complete set of the forms you need is available on our website. If you prefer, the ISEF forms required for all projects are available on the webpage of the Society for Science and the Public. (Note there are two additional forms for the NJRSF which you will need to obtain from the link in the previous section.)

You will also need to download a copy of the NJRSF Entry Form. It is also a PDF form enabled for filling out and signing.

Filling out the Forms

Simply open each form, individually. (It will come up in Adobe Reader if your system is properly configured--if not you can open Adobe Reader and then open the files from inside that application.) Click on "highlight fields" if you have to, and then fill out the required information. Save the file.

Signing the Forms

Each of the ISEF forms will need to be signed by the appropriate individuals: some by the student, and some by the teacher, parent, or mentor. All signatures are handled the same way--with two options: digital signing, within the document, or web-signing on the NJRSF site. We recommend the latter. For details see the posted instructions.

Preparing a Research Plan

You must fill out both the ISEF Form 1, and the research plan. We ask, for the latter, that you use the form provided on the Forms Download page. We ask that the research plan be limited to 3 pages.

But first, a word about the plan itself. Note the word "plan"! This is NOT a report on your results. It is a statement about what you intend to study and how you intend to do it. It should rarely, if ever, exceed three pages in length, and normally one page should be quite sufficient. The important issues are the procedures and equipment that will be used, the attendant safety precautions, the supervision procedures, and the references. If you need to include Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), then upload those separately, as PDF, using the form provided for attachments to the Research Plan.

Submitting your documents to the NJRSF

You are now ready to submit your documents. Each form should be in a separate file on your computer. If you are using web-signatures then the forms are not yet signed. If you are using digital signatures, then the signatures must already be on the forms. (Note that it is OK to mix signature types on a document.) You will also need the NJRSF Entry Form prepared in a similar manner, to be signed by the student and the teacher. Note that the Entry Form (and the ISEF Form 1B) must be submitted separately by each student on a team project. The link for that per-student step is in a separate line of the Entry Status table (linked as "Approval Forms").

Further Steps

After you complete the online registration process and have your documents for the fair ready for upload, you should go to the Entry Status screen (the link for this is on the navbar under the Student menu). You need to be logged in for this screen to function properly. On that screen you will find links for the two screens that enable you to upload the Form 1B and Entry Form (which will have to be uploaded multiple times, by each individual team member, if yours is a team project), and the link for uploading the ISEF forms (1, 1A, 1C, and 2+), together with your research plan. Note that all projects, regardless of the type of project must provide, at a minimum, forms 1, 1A, the research plan, along with the Entry Form and Form 1B for each team member.

The Entry Status screen will show you a complete view of your entry status, including a list of forms that we think you need, and forms that you have submitted. (Note that the list of required forms may be changed by SRC action.) You will find a link there for uploading your documents. Please be certain that you upload each form in the proper field, since this controls the labeling, and will lead to confusion if you get it wrong. You can also use this link for uploading modified documents (but do not do this unless you really need to, since it will invalidate any previously granted approvals.)

You will also use a link on this screen to submit your NJRSF Entry Form after you fill it out and sign it, along with your sponsor. Note that for a team project the ISEF forms are to be submitted only once (any team member can do it) and each student must submit a separate Entry Form and a separate Form 1B.

When you have uploaded all the required documents, you should use the link on your Entry Status screen to request an SRC review. Once the SRC has reviewed your documents they will provide feedback--either as an approval or as notes about what problems remain. If there are issues, then you should revise the forms accordingly, and upload them again (they will replace any that you previously uploaded); then you can notify the SRC again, and enter the approval cycle once more.

Modifying your documentation

Your ISEF forms are required to describe the project you enter in the fair. Accordingly, some students find it necessary to make modifications after initial approval. Please note that uploading ANY of your forms, and your research plan, after you have received approval, will negate that approval, and your forms will have to be reviewed once again with their new content. Any modified forms must also be re-signed (as described above) in order to have valid signatures on them. You should be aware that this might invalidate the signing date sequence required by ISEF, and might make you ineligible for the ISEF awards. So please do not modify your forms unless it is truly necessary. (A point of clarification: revising your research plan ONLY will trigger a new review by our SRC, but it will not impact your ISEF eligibility, so long as no ISEF forms need to be modified.)