<p>i agree, there are a ton of resources via the library or the internet that you could use to get ideas or whatnot. but in reality, i think most people who submit to science competitions do internships at university lab, whether by nifty personal connections or through research programs (many universities offer these for high schoolers, though theyre usually pretty competitive for obvious reasons). you're usually mentored by a postdoc or grad student who gives you a part of their own project to do, so the majority of the experiment design has been done beforehand. in essence, you become cheap labor for the lab but get wonderful recs and hopefully data out of the deal :)</p>
<p>Most students indeed get involved in lab oriented research conducted either via their own HS or through a neighboring University. But this is not the only option. If you like Public Health area and Statistics, you can come up with an idea of your own and have a non-lab oriented poster/publication as well.</p>