KSEF (Korea Science & Engineering Fair) is an inquiry competition where the student sets a research question and creates new data or experiments to answer it, then explains it in a report and a presentation. It is organized by Korea Science Service. Good research begins with a good question, and sharpening that question is itself a process. This page shows that research-ideation process, in pictures.
KSEF looks not at a single result but at the quality of the research and how well the student understands it. So as much as what was found, it matters which question was set and how it was answered.
The report and presentation are judged together. The student must do the work themselves and be able to explain every method and conclusion independently.
On international pathways, honestly: nomination to international events such as ISEF is decided by each year's official notice and is not automatic. Awards aren't guaranteed either. Still, the experience of setting your own question and seeing a study through becomes a foundation for what comes next.
A good research question does not arrive all at once. It goes through four set steps. First an interest is explored wide and narrowed to one question; then methods are opened wide and narrowed to one workable design.
Look broadly at phenomena and topics you're curious about; collect questions without judging.
WidenSharpen one question worth pursuing into something measurable and narrow.
NarrowSketch several ways — experiment or data collection — to answer that question.
WidenSettle on one method you can actually carry out over the summer.
NarrowIf the experiment hasn't started in the first weeks, that's normal. This is the stage for finding and narrowing the question. A study begun with a fuzzy question stalls at the report.
Once the question is set, the real research follows. The four steps below are the backbone of KSEF prep. The field is chosen not for "how it looks" but for an interest the student will pursue to the end — research is long, and without interest it stalls at the report.
Categories, eligibility, and document formats change every year. Once the interest is set, check that year's requirements on the competition page and the official notice (ksef.or.kr).
The core of KSEF is that the student creates new evidence. Rather than summarizing existing material, they read prior work to find a distinct angle, make data by measuring or experimenting, and analyze it. Four tasks follow.
Find similar studies, note what's already known, and pin down what makes your question different — a narrow gap no one has answered yet.
Decide what you change (independent), what you measure (dependent), and what you hold equal (controlled). The fairness of the experiment is set here.
Make new data by measuring, experimenting, or surveying. For coding/data topics, the student writes the code and can explain the process.
Interpret results with tables, graphs, and statistics, and see whether they answer the question. Record unexpected results as they are — new findings come from there.
Rule for this stage: don't decide the conclusion in advance. Don't bend the data to the result you want; write what the data says. Doing the work yourself and recording every step reproducibly is the heart of KSEF and ISEF.
Narrowing a vague interest into a measurable, reproducible question is half the research. With the same interest, how well you've honed the question decides whether it becomes research or an unworkable claim.
e.g. If the lighting is lowered, food-waste estimation accuracy will drop — because in darker photos food edges blur and the model distinguishes waste less well.
What you change. e.g. lighting.
What you measure. e.g. estimation accuracy.
What you keep equal for fairness. e.g. camera, distance, food type.
A well-set question is the map for the whole study. The method follows from the question, the analysis from the method, and the conclusion from the data. Read left to right.
Score each candidate question on five axes; if any one is weak, narrow or change the question. A strong study fills all five evenly.
The five axes are question clarity · method validity · data grounding · originality · reproducibility. However interesting the topic, if one axis collapses it's hard to finish over the summer.
Prep centers on the summer break and counts back from that year's official deadline. The red and gold bands below are finding and narrowing the question, the green band is making the evidence, and the last is writing up and presenting.
Fit school exams and assignment deadlines first, then set the research schedule. The first weeks show little, but the question and design honed here carry the whole study. Timing and length vary by topic and by that year's operation.
This process is not a competition-only skill. Setting your own question, making your own evidence, and seeing it through to explain it carry straight over to coursework and later research and presentations.
Learning to narrow a vague interest into a measurable question.
Building the habit of creating data yourself and handling it fairly, not borrowing others'.
Building the stamina to plan a long study and finish it as a report.
Presenting the research clearly and answering questions on it.
There is little you need to do at home. Listen to what your child stays curious about, and help arrange the schedule so they can set aside research time over the summer. One of your child's interests becomes the starting point of a research question.
Awards are not guaranteed. Categories, eligibility, documents, dates, and nomination to
international events such as ISEF differ each year and are not automatic, so always check that
year's official notice (ksef.or.kr).
Whether and how it can be submitted to a university depends on each program's rules and must be
confirmed separately. For details see the
competition page; for questions, contact your teacher or
jc@citcoding.com. Same approach for other competitions: CAC · Technovation · KOAI.