1. Research SAE Book
The Research SAE Book is designed to be used by anyone investigating an agricultural principle using the scientific method and hands-on research.

2. Blank pages and/or parts of pages will be shown during in this presentation. General directions will be given followed by entries for a Research SAE Project on fertigation placement effects on the (Plant Growth). New entries for the example will be shown in Blue Print.

3. Special Note:
Unlike Employment and Entrepreneur SAE Projects that are completed on a calendar year for tax purposes, it may be more practical to conduct a Research SAE during a time frame that follows a school year or semester. SAE books may then be entered in the State SAE contest the first year following the project completion

4. Additional Special Note:
Due to the different requirements for various Research SAE projects, pages may need to be added to explain your project. The most common are listed below.
Data Collection (Pages 21 – 22)
Analysis of Data (Page 23)
Graphs and Charts (Page 24)

5. Agreement or Contract Page
This page is a legal agreement between all individuals involved in the project.
It must be typed or written in ink.
It must be signed in blue or black.
It should be completed before the SAE project begins.

6. The Enterprise Name and Number should be entered the same on the top of each page within the enterprise. This information must also agree with the Common Pages.
Page 1
You are now ready to start the actual contract or agreement. This information must be agreed to by all parties. The information must be typed or entered in pen. The student name should appear the same throughout the SAE book.

7. Read the highlighted found on Page 1
Read the highlighted found on Page 1. All individuals involved with the research must agree to All of the information. For some projects the agriculture instructor may also be the mentor.
Page 1

8. The following graph will help you determine who is responsible for various items such as labor, management, etc.. The percent Student, Science Teacher/Mentor, Parent, and Agriculture Instructor must total If the Ag teacher or Parent is the Mentor do not enter the percents twice.
Page 1
Additional categories may be entered if the SAE Project requires.

9. Page 1
A few special questions are asked to determine how the research SAE may be used as part of the student’s high school educational program. Note: Projects following the International Science Fair Guidelines are similar to the FFA Ag-science Fair Guidelines.
The signatures must be in ink to make the agreement binding to all parties.

10. Page 2
Enterprise Name, Number and Student Name should be entered on each page within the enterprise. It must agree with the Contract (page 1) and Common Pages.
Guidelines to follow to complete the project.

11. Page 2
Continued

12. Page 3
By following the step by step directions on pages 2 to 4, you should be able to develop a research enterprise. For additional help consult your agriculture or science teacher.

13. Page 3
By following the step by step directions on pages 2 to 4, you should be able to develop a research enterprise. For additional help consult your agriculture or science teacher.

14. Page 3
Continued

15. Page 4
It is now time to give the project a name. This can be a more complete and descriptive name than the Enterprise Name which is restricted due to space limitations.

16. Page 4
Continued
The library and Internet can provide valuable background , but be cautious of the source.
Do not forget to question and/or contact educational, research, and agricultural industry sources and personnel.
Once all items are completed on pages 3 and 4, the supervising mentor should approve and sign this page before the research continues.

17. Pages 5 to 7
Many different types of literature should be reviewed. (The SAE Book recommends six.) You may want to start with textbooks to obtain general information. To find more detailed information, check research books, bulletins, and documents found at colleges and large libraries. Do not use only industry results that may be encouraging a biassed point of view.

18. Page 8
There are additional ways that background information for research design can be obtained. Contacting individuals who work in the field is an excellent means to locate important data. While a face to face interview may be most desirable, contacts over the telephone, s and letters can provide needed information. These contacts may be able to provide insights to the problem that cannot be obtained by reading books or research papers.

19. Page 9

20. Page 9
For any additional information or questions the student should feel free to contact the agriculture or science teacher helping with the Research SAE.

21. Page 10
The format for the methodology will vary. If the project will be used for the Ag-Science Fair or an Academy of Science presentation, make certain that you follow those guidelines for the methodology. Consider the methodology as a step by step recipe for successfully conducting the research SAE. Like other parts of the SAE Book, if more space is needed add additional pages.
All individuals should approve and sign the methodology before the project continues.

22. Page 11
Research SAE projects are not intended to be income generating projects; however, occasionally minimum funds may be earned. Expenses are usually incurred during the project. These expenses may will need to be paid by the student or in some cases a school or industry that is helping to sponsor the educational research.
Note: Budget Categories or Descriptions are carried forward in the same order to pages 13 and 16. Estimated student income & expenses are carried forward to pg.16.

23. Top
Pg 12
If additional examples for income and expenses are needed, See the Entrepreneur Presentation.
Dollar amounts entered on page 12 and in the correct column on page 13 based on the category number.
Top
Pg 13
Income Category Names and Numbers from Budget on Page 11.

24. Bottom
Pg 12
Income Categories and Dollar amounts are handled in the expense section just like the income sections from the previous slide.
Expenses can be handled two ways. In most cases, only student costs will be entered in the SAE book. If a more complete accounting of the research cost is desired, costs paid by other individuals should be included. Regardless of the method, only student costs should be transferred to page 16. In this example only the first two items (Backlit in yellow) are paid by the student. The other costs were also estimated in the budget.
Bottom
Pg 13

25. Page 14
Student Inventory is listed on Page 14. Entry values should also agree with Page S-2 in the Common Page Section of the SAE Book. Entries on this page are only made at the beginning and end of the project. Items owned by the school, or other individuals are listed on Page 15.
Line C (Inventory Change) is carried forward to Page 16 Line D.

26. Page 15
Non-Student inventory is handled the same as student inventory on Page 14, except the inventory change is not carried forward to Page 16. Usually school supplied items will only be entered on this page rather than Pages as in this example. The student and Agriculture Teacher should make this decision before the SAE Project begins.

27. Page 16
The left side of page 16 can be completed when the budget on page 11 is completed. Note: Only Student Budgeted income and costs are transferred to this page.
Actual student dollars are transferred at the conclusion of the SAE project.

28. Page 16
Continued
Student Inventory Change transferred from Page 14, Line C.
Hours of Labor transferred from Page 20. Remember to convert to hours if labor records were kept in minutes.
Labor Income, Total Hours of Labor, and Income per Hour of Labor are transferred to Page S-1.
To obtain a more realistic cost of the research, one should include all expenses and add a true cost of labor. This is not done in the SAE book so student investment can be used in advanced FFA applications.

29. Pages 17 to 20
Labor Records must be kept as minutes or hours, not a combination of the two. Decide which you will use and circle the unit before beginning your records.
Labor Records should indicate the skills and/or tasks the researcher is using. Too much detail is better than not enough detail.
Labor subtotals are carried from one page to the next. The final total is carried to Page 16, P-3, and S-1.

30. Pages 21 to 22
Read the note at the bottom of the page. This is only one sample of a data collection sheet. Your research will determine the best format for you. Most likely you will need to add additional data collection sheets.

31. Page 23
Once the data is collected it must be analyzed. What did you learn? Did it or did it not prove your hypothesis? Just because the data may not have supported your hypothesis, does not mean that your research was a failure.

32. Page 24
With computer spreadsheets that do graphs and charts today, most individuals will substitute another type of graph.
While the bar graph is more practical for this experiment example; pie, random plots and others may better suit your SAE Research project. Select the style that best explains your results.

33. Page 25
The abstract should follow the guidelines as outlined for the National FFA Agriscience Fair. Please read these guidelines. When some additional information such as Division, Name, Chapter, etc. is added to this abstract, it can be printed out and used as part of the Agriscience Fair display.

34. Page 26
Evaluation is an important part of your research. Questions such as what and why did something occur are important. Read the directions and answer the questions so you or others can design better projects in the future

35. To complete your research project, you should determine what could have been done differently to improve the research and make the results more reliable. Additional special records and photos can be added after this page to explain your research to an individual that was not involved in this project.
Page 27

36. Special Records after page 27 can include almost anything
Special Records after page 27 can include almost anything. Some possible examples are listed.
Photo records of the research project.
Overheads or copies of PowerPoint Slides used
for a PA Jr. Academy of Science Presentation.
Research Analysis Sheet once it is developed.
Newspaper articles, ribbons, or photos of Ag
Science Fair Display.
If you have questions after starting your SAE project, review this presentation again.