A four-week summer project for 100 rural tenth graders in the University of Alabama's Biomedical Sciences Preparation Program (BioPrep) enabled students to acquire and apply social sciences research skills. The students investigated drinking water quality in three rural Alabama counties by interviewing local officials, health workers, and citizens. They attended classes on water issues and research skills and used campus research resources. Students presented their research results and ideas about problems and solutions in a public forum at the close of the project. Students learned and applied basic social research skills, learned about their communities, thought critically about issues, gained self-confidence, and learned to work with others. The project demonstrated the feasibility and benefits of community-based social research projects conducted by students. Project designers recommended that such projects be offered during the school year to allow more time for students to learn more about topics, research skills, and data anaylsis. They recommended that everyone who would be working with students be involved in the planning process, that community and parental support be encouraged, and that limitations of data gathering in rural areas by recognized. Extensive appendices include citizen and organization interview questionnaires and daily schedules of student activities and classes. (LFL)