National 4 Added Value Unit (AVU)

Choosing a Research Topic Pick a topic that: You are interested in! That is easy to find information on That will allow you to create a detailed hypothesis That will have strong arguments for and against

Nat 4 Research Instructions You will carry out your research at home and produce a typed (or handwritten) report that outlines your research methods and findings Your report should include evidence of your research and should provide a detailed explanation of the knowledge you gained

Methods You should use at least two different methods of research when carrying out your study, this could include: Public survey Online news resource (BBC News, Reuters…) Letter to MSP/MP (or other professional) TV/Radio documentary Books Any other relevant methods

Report Structure Your report should be structured using the following headings: Research Hypothesis and Aims Research Methods Research Findings Conclusion References

Creating a Hypothesis A research hypothesis is often understood to be an ‘educated guess’ which you will confirm or prove or disprove after carrying out research on the topic It is something you may expect to be correct but you are looking to confirm by carrying out rigorous testing For example…

“All Modern Studies teachers are smart and sophisticated” or “The majority of people in Scotland support the introduction of government funded, universal childcare provision” Can you think of a possible research hypothesis?

Research Methods You must provide a detailed account of two of your research methods You must explain why you chose each method You must also explain the strengths and weaknesses of each method that you used You should also suggest how you could do things differently

Research Methods You must also give evidence for both methods This best examples of this would be a evidence from a news article or internet search result using a PC ‘screenshot’. Other ‘best’ methods could be, a statistical graphic or chart, interview questions (examples are shown from slide 18)

Research Findings In this section you should provide a detailed explanation of your findings. You must refer to the evidence that you accumulated during your research. For example, “I found out that most people in Scotland support the idea of banning smoking in motor vehicles where there is a passenger under 16. This is shown in the results from my survey which showed… This backed up from information from the BBC News article which shows…”

Conclusion In this section you should outline any conclusions that you have reached as a result of your research You should confirm or reject your hypothesis and explain why you have come to your decision You may also use this section to identify further research opportunities for your issue

National 5 Assignment The Write-up

The Report Assignment (Nat 5) The report is worth 20 marks and is worth 25% of your overall grade 6 marks are allocated to Knowledge 14 marks are allocated to Skills The Assignment Report is marked externally by the SQA Your teacher will not be able to provide you with feedback on your final piece of work, so listen to any instructions given carefully.

The Report Assignment (Nat 5) You will have 1 hour to produce a written report of your research findings under exam conditions For this you are asked to provide two sources of evidence that you used during your research stage Your source evidence should be no more than two sides of A4 paper You must refer to these in your report

Report Structure The structure here is the same as for the report you carried out at home for your National 4 Added Value Unit Each section is allowed a set number of marks: Research Hypothesis and Aims (2 marks) Research Methods (8 Marks) Research Findings (6 marks) Conclusion (4 marks)

No copying! You will not be awarded any marks for anything that is copied ‘word for word’ from your evidence sheets. Produce your evidence in a way that will limit the amount of text that shows on it.

Suitable Evidence for the Report: A screen shot of a web page or search that you have carried out Statistical evidence in the form of a graph or chart Image of a book cover You must not bring in two pages of detailed hand written notes! For example…

Crime stats:

Poverty stats:

This will not do!