A Scientific Review Committee (SRC) is a group of adults knowledgeable about regulations concerning experimentation, especially with vertebrate animals and potentially hazardous biological agents. The SRC must review and approve all projects in these areas before experimentation may begin. Shortly before competition, the local SRC will also review the documentation for all projects to ensure that students have followed all applicable rules, and the project is eligible to compete.

An Institutional Review Board (IRB) is a committee that, according to federal regulations (45-CFR-46), must evaluate the potential physical and/or psychological risk of research involving human participants. All proposed human research must be reviewed and approved by an IRB before experimentation begins. This includes review of any surveys or questionnaires to be used in a project. Federal regulations require local community involvement. Therefore, it is advisable that an IRB be established at the affiliated fair level.

The operational guidelines for SRCs/IRBs should be used in conjunction with the RCSEF rules. The rules are intended to ensure the safety of students, to protect the participants and the environments studied, and to limit the liability of the adults who assist with the projects.

To access the complete Local Operational Guidelines: 2024-2025 Operational Guidelines Handbook

To access the complete Riverside County Science and Engineering Fair (RCSEF) Rules and Regulations: RCSEF Regulations 2024-2025.

ISEF Forms

The RCSEF Rules and Guidelines include the forms necessary to document adherence to the rules. These forms constitute written documentation of what will occur, or in some cases, has already occurred, in a research project. They are designed to provide the information that is needed to review the project to ensure compliance with the ISEF rules and with laws and regulations that apply to the project.

The forms should be filled out and signed before any research takes place (only Forms 1C, 5B, 7, and the abstract are done after the research). The dates of the signatures reflect when the approval or consent is given. Use MM/DD/YY format for all dates.

• To access all of the 2024 forms: ISEF Forms - Society for Science
• To access the Rules Wizard: Rules Wizard (societyforscience.org)

_{**This wizard is intended to be a helping tool, but cannot account for all specifics and situations of your individual project. Please be sure to review the RCSEF Handbook. The RCSEF SRC (Scientific Review Committee) is available via e-mail (sciencefair@rcoe.us) to answer any specific questions you may have.}

Students have freedom to use Google, AI or any other resources, but they should ultimately refer to original scientific articles, and they should be able to defend their project.

Importantly, AI is not reliable for generating valid sources, so students need to be careful and validate the information that the AI is providing.

There is no practical way to "ban" the use of AI tools; in fact, using artificial intelligence and machine learning is an existing tool in student scientific research that is being widely used.

The SRC expectation is that students will not have used an AI-tool to provide information such as providing text for writing that is indicated as their own.

Citing ChatGPT, APA Style:
https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/how-to-cite-chatgpt

OpenAI. (Year). ChatGPT (Month Day version) [Large language model]: 
https://chat.openai.com (hyperlink to chat transcript).

Citing ChatGPT, MLA Style:
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/ai-citations-mla/#:~:text=A%20full%20citation%20for%20ChatGPT,.openai.com%2Fchat.

Resources:

Coordinator Virtual SRC Office Hours 
Educator Guide: How to Do a Science Fair Project | NASA/JPL Edu
Engineering Research Plan Project
Engineering With Human Involvement Research Plan Template
Human Subject Research Plan
ISEF Forms - Society for Science
Junior Innovators Challenge - Society for Science
PHBA Research Plan Project
Potentially Hazardous Biological Agents Biosafety Chart
Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair - Society for Science
Regeneron Science Talent Search - Society for Science
Science and Engineering Fair | Riverside County Office of Education (rcoe.us)
Standard Research Plan Project
Student Research Poster TEMPLATE Layout
Vertebrate Research Plan Project
Virtual Office Hours SRC Fall 2023*
2025 RCSEF Abstract
2024 RCSEF Abstract
2024 RCSEF Judging Rubrics 
2023 Riverside County Science Fair Event Recap - YouTube
2023-2024 Science Fair Paperwork Reference Guide
2024 Scientific Review Committee Role and Responsibilities in Support of the RCSEF

_{*For technical support, contact Nick Perez, Technical Consultant, sciencefair@rcoe.us.}