The Story
Read the briefing: A student argues that listening to upbeat music helps them study better, while another insists total silence is superior. Your mission starts here.
SPARK 2026 · Session 1
The Music Case.
Does listening to music while studying help or hurt? Your team investigates like real researchers across 6 interactive steps.
The Investigation
Six steps from question to discovery.
Question Lab
Formulate your team’s empirical question and break it down across 4 criteria: Who? · What are you testing? · Compared to what? · Measured how?
Keyword Builder
Translate your question into Boolean search terms (AND/OR operators), refine queries, and locate relevant academic literature.
Paper Cards
Review 8 peer-reviewed research papers. Critically triage each study into Keep, Maybe, or Not for us with scientific rationale.
Follow the Trail
Analyze backward citation trees and bibliographic references to hunt down the hidden landmark paper.
Case File
Synthesize your evidence, document surprising insights, and lock your team’s permanent Case File for Session 2.