Guided research
Twelve weeks from a question to a result that is yours.
You pick a question. A PhD, researcher or engineer helps you learn how to answer it. They never answer it for you.
- Length
- 12 weeks
- Your time
- About 3 to 4 hours a week
- Your mentor
- One, chosen by you
- You need
- A laptop and Algebra II
The path
Every project follows the same four stages, because this is how real research works. Each stage ends with a checkpoint your mentor reviews before you move on.
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Weeks 1 to 3
Learn to trust the model
Run a real simulation in the lab on your first day. Learn what the equation means in plain language. Then reproduce an answer already known, because a simulation you can't check is just a pretty picture.
Checkpoint: you reproduce a known answer and report how close you got.
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Weeks 4 and 5
Ask your own question
Move past what is already known. Narrow your curiosity down to a single sentence that could turn out to be wrong, and write down your prediction before you run anything.
Checkpoint: a one-page plan with your question and prediction.
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Weeks 6 to 9
Run it, then measure the world
Run your simulations and keep a log. Then step away from the screen: record a pipe, load a beam, or pull real climate data. Compare what you predicted with what you found.
Checkpoint: one chart comparing your model with reality.
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Weeks 10 to 12
Explain the gap, and share it
Your model and reality will disagree. That is the good part. Work out why, test at least one explanation, and write it up yourself. Being honest about what you could not explain counts in your favor.
Checkpoint: a final paper, your code and a ten-minute talk.
A normal week
Work on your own
About 3 hours: running simulations, measuring, reading, and getting stuck. Getting stuck is part of it.
Write to your mentor
Each week, send what you tried, what happened, and what confused you. Your mentor replies in TopEdu.
Tick off your plan
You and your mentor share a plan with dates. Most pairs start from the 12-week plan, then change it to fit.
Who does what
This line matters. It is what makes the work honestly yours, and it is what an admissions reader will be asking about.
| You | Your mentor | Your mentor never |
|---|---|---|
| Choose the question | Asks whether it can be answered in 12 weeks | Hands you a question to put your name on |
| Run the simulations and write any code | Explains an idea, or points you to where to look | Writes your code or analysis |
| Decide what the results mean | Asks “how do you know?” | Tells you the conclusion |
| Write the paper in your own words | Comments on your draft | Rewrites it |
| Credit everyone and everything that helped | Is credited honestly for guidance | Trades authorship or promises a recommendation |
An example
What this could look like: the closed pipe
An illustration of the path using project 5, not a real student's story. Your question would be your own.
- Weeks 1 to 3. You simulate a 60 cm pipe closed at one end. The first note comes out at 143 Hz, as the formula says, with no even harmonics. You now trust the model.
- Weeks 4 and 5. You notice that real pipes come in different widths, but width isn't in the model. Your question: how much flatter than predicted does a pipe sound as it gets wider? You write down a guess.
- Weeks 6 to 9. You buy PVC in three widths, cut several lengths, tap each one, and record it on your phone. You plot measured against predicted pitch. The real notes are lower, and the gap grows with width.
- Weeks 10 to 12. You find this has a name, the end correction. You fit your own value, compare it with published ones, and explain why yours differs. You write it up, and you can defend every number.
What you finish with
- A short research paper you wrote yourself
- Your data, code and log, so anyone can check your work
- A ten-minute talk you can give to anyone
- A mentor who has seen how you think
- A place to keep going: at 18 your work can join your own Crafted Life Journey page, and internships and jobs are posted here
What we don't promise
No program can promise you admission, an award or a publication, and we won't. What you will have is real work, and the ability to explain it in an interview without notes. Mentors can't promise a recommendation, either.
Many projects would suit a science fair, and we can help you check its rules, including how to disclose the help you had.
Questions
I haven't taken calculus. Can I do this?
Yes. The projects are designed around Algebra II and trigonometry. The solver handles the calculus. You learn what the equation means, and your mentor helps where you get stuck.
Do I need to know how to code?
Not to begin: the lab runs simulations from sliders, and a spreadsheet can handle your first analysis. You can learn Python along the way if you want to. Project 10 is the exception, because some programming helps there.
What if my results don't match?
Then you probably have the most interesting part of the project. Researchers spend their careers on that gap. A careful account of why a model failed is a genuine result.
Can I use AI tools?
To learn, yes, and you say so in your paper. Handing in AI output as your own work breaks the Code of Conduct, the same as if a mentor wrote it.
Twelve weeks is hard during the school year. Can it move?
Yes. The plan is a starting point with dates you can change. Tell your mentor early when exams are coming.
Can I meet my mentor on video?
TopEdu is message-based for now. For students under 18, any live session needs a parent or guardian to agree and to be able to attend, and all contact stays where a guardian can see it.