Page 1 of 1

Data Acquisition

Posted: Sat May 30, 2020 2:21 pm
by alakais391
Hello,
For ISEF am I allowed to use historical data and analyze it? For example, can I look at databases published online and use them to train a machine learning algorithm, or am I restricted to data I collect myself?

Re: Data Acquisition

Posted: Sat May 30, 2020 9:35 pm
by MadelineB
Hello Alakais,

Here's a link to the rules for ISEF 2021:
https://www.societyforscience.org/isef/ ... nal-rules/

Here's two useful guidelines from the Science Buddies "Advanced Project Guide". Both of these guides emphasize that your ISEF project needs to be creative and original. So even if you find that the ISEF rules would allow you to use online data, you want to choose data so that your project is unique!

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... ompetition

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... mpetitions

You can view over 1000 projects at the Virtual ISEF 2020 science fair through June 5. You can register for free at this link:
https://isef.6connex.com/event/virtual/login

Although ISEF 2020 was canceled for the in-person fair and there was no judging, this website showcases many of the projects. The Computational Biology category includes many projects which used machine learning. Viewing these might help you in selecting the focus of your own project.

Let us know if any of this helps and be sure to post again if you have more questions!