“The only difference between messing around and science is writing it down.”

Adam Savage, Mythbusters

When starting your project, it’s important to have a logbook. Your logbook is like a journal, where you can write down everything about your project. Whether you use a notebook, or a digital format, track everything you do for your project from beginning to end (e.g., ideas, research, notes, observations or mistakes) and be sure to date every entry.

The point of a logbook is that anyone should be able to go through it, follow the steps you took to do your project, and get a similar result. It doesn’t have to be pretty – it can have scribbles and spills on it – but it should be complete and contain every bit of information about your project. So, start your logbook as soon as you start your project!

Some sections you may want to include in your logbook:

• Brainstorming – write down all the ideas or questions you have, draw diagrams, dream about issues you want to solve and how you might find a solution
• Research – record the sources of information you use for your project so it’s easy to include all these references in your bibliography (learn more about setting up your bibliography here). Stick in or include links to articles related to your idea or other things you found interesting or important.
• Materials – keep a running list of the different materials you’ve used (specific amounts, size, cost, etc.)
• Procedure/Design – the detailed steps you took to test your idea or design your prototype. Once you run through it once or twice, you may discover that you need to adjust your procedure to get more accurate results/improve your design. Note any changes you make.
• Results – record all the measurements, observations, and other raw data you get from doing your experiment or testing your innovation. This is the information you’ll use to understand the results of your project. It can be helpful to track your results in a chart or spreadsheet (e.g., Excel, Google Sheets) and then add them to your logbook when you’re done.
• Challenges or Issues – don’t just write down the things that went well! Record any challenges, errors or issues you experience. This shows the full picture of your project, that you recognized there was an issue (which is important – STEM is full of trial-and-error) and what you did to find a solution.
• Questions – What are things you still want to know? What do you want to ask your mentor/an expert? How might you overcome a challenge or error?