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RESEARCH PROJECTS
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Cambridge International Advanced Subsidiary Level
8660 Research Projects November 2009
Principal Examiner Report for Teachers
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Paper 8660/01 & 02
Research Projects
1 and 2
General comments
The Research Projects submitted covered a range of subjects across the Humanities, Literature, Sciences
and Business subjects. The titles were all original and the subject experts who mark the projects
commented on how they enjoyed the variety of topics and approaches. It was pleasing to see first hand data
collection being employed as a basis for projects, though this approach is obviously only possible in some
subjects areas. The fact that the Business projects were largely based on data rather than taking a
theoretical approach based on secondary sources was particularly pleasing
The Research Projects were generally well presented and the standard of referencing continues to improve.
Care must be taken, though, when citing work to ensure the citation is accurate. It is also important that
candidates analyse or use cited quotations or ideas rather than just state them.
All Research Projects are assessed under three main criteria which can be summarised as Knowledge and
Understanding; Research/Skills: Evaluation. To score high marks candidates need to perform well under
each criterion. Most candidates score good to very good marks on the Knowledge and Understanding
criterion, though there are exceptions. Candidates who obtain good marks under the Research/Skills
criterion usually go on to score equally well, or sometimes better on the Evaluation criterion. (The reliance
on Wikipedia, apparent in the June session, was not a factor in the November session.) This is because
they have material that they can analyse and draw conclusions and comment on how secure these
conclusions are. This provides ample opportunity to evaluate the methodology, reliability of data/sources,
etc. The better candidates evaluate their work throughout rather than leaving it to a section at the end.
Every year CIE receives more outline proposals than finished research projects but the total entry continues
to be small. As a result of this small entry CIE will be withdrawing this syllabus with final certification in
November 2010.
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© UCLES 2009