CONCLUDING YOUR RESEARCH
• IT IS ENTIRELY UP TO YOU HOW YOU WISH YOU PRESENT YOUR
FINDINGS. NATIONAL 5 CANDIDATES SHOULD REMEMBER THEY
WILL ALSO BE REQUIRED TO COMPLETE TIMED WRITE UP,
HOWEVER.
• YOU COULD CHOOSE TO PRESENT IN THE FORM OF A POSTER, A
TALK OR A GROUP PRESENTATION.
• YOUR TEACHER WILL MONITOR & RECORD YOUR
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE RESEARCH PROCESS THROUGHOUT –
TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE MET THE REQUIRED OUTCOME AND
ASSESSMENT STANDARDS
1. JUSTIFYING THE ISSUE CHOSEN
• AT THE BEGINNING OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS, YOU
WERE ASKED TO SELECT AN ISSUE OR A TOPIC OF
INTEREST TO YOU IN MODERN STUDIES
• WHEN REFLECTING ON YOUR RESEARCH YOU SHOULD
EXPLAIN AND JUSTIFY WHY YOU SELECTED THE ISSUE
YOU DID
•
THIS IS A REALLY A JUSTIFICATION OF WHAT ADDED
VALUE HAS ADDED TO YOUR LEARNING
2. GATHERING YOUR EVIDENCE
• YOU HAD TO SELECT:
2 DIFFERENT SOURCES OF INFORMATION (N4)
2 DIFFERENT RESEARCH METHODS (N5)
• THIS INVOLVED YOU CONSIDERING THE DIFFERENT
TYPES OF SOCIAL RESEARCH AT YOUR DISPOSAL AND
SELECTING THE ONE (S) MOST APPROPRIATE TO YOUR
FIELD OF INTEREST.
• TRY TO HIGHLIGHT THE KEY STRENGTHS AND
WEAKNESSES SOURCES / METHODS YOU USED
3. PRESENTING YOUR FINDINGS
• YOU SHOULD HAVE GATHERED A SUBSTANTIAL
AMOUNT OF EVIDENCE THROUGHOUT YOUR ADDED
VALUE TASK
• THIS COULD BE IN THE FORM OF COMPLETED SURVEYS,
QUOTES FROM INTERVIEWS YOU HAVE CONDUCTED OR
EVIDENCE FROM SOME ONLINE RESEARCH
• YOU SHOULD NOW CHOOSE AN APPROPRIATE METHOD
FOR PRESENTING YOUR FINDINGS – SUCH AS A BAR
GRAPH, A TABLE, OR WRITTEN ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE
FOR EXAMPLE
1992
1995
1999
2002
2003-04
2005-06
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
26.6
23.3
20.3
22.6
20.5
21.3
20.4
19.3
17.8
Proportion of
Scottish Crime
Survey respondents
who were a victim
of 1 or more crimes;
Scottish
Government
Statistics
4. KNOWLEDGE
• YOU NOW NEED TO EXPLAIN WHAT THE KEY FEATURES
OF THE ISSUE ARE THAT YOU HAVE SELECTED
• THIS MIGHT INCLUDE FACTUAL KNOWLEDGE YOU HAVE
GAINED ON THE ISSUE, OR IT MAY BE RESEARCH
EVIDENCE YOU HAVE GATHERED FROM YOUR OWN
RESEARCH
• THE KNOWLEDGE USED SHOULD LINK DIRECTLY TO
YOUR FINDINGS
5. SHOWING YOUR SKILLS
NATIONAL 5 LEARNERS
YOU WILL NEED TO BE ABLE TO DRAW AN
INFORMED CONCLUSION
BASED ON THE EVIDENCE YOU HAVE
GATHERED
NATIONAL 4 LEARNERS
YOU WILL NEED TO BE ABLE TO SHOW THE
SKILLS OF EITHER:
• DETECTING BIAS & EXAGGERATION OR
• MAKING DECISIONS OR
• DRAWING CONCLUSIONS
CONCLUSION EXAMPLE:
CONCLUSIONS
• IN ORDER TO DRAW A CONCLUSION, YOU NEED TO
CONSIDER THE EVIDENCE YOU HAVE GATHERED.
• WRITTEN CONCLUSIONS CAN BEGIN WITH ‘ONE
CONCLUSION WHICH CAN BE DRAWN..’ AS THIS
WILL HELP TO FRAME YOUR ANSWER
• YOUR SHOULD TRY TO INTEGRATE PRIMARY
RESEARCH EVIDENCE WITH THAT OF SECONDARY
(ESPECIALLY N5 CANDIDATES). AN EXAMPLE IS
SHOWN HERE:
•
ONE CONCLUSION WHICH CAN BE DRAWN ABOUT
CRIME IN SCOTLAND IS THAT IT IS DECREASING. FOR
EXAMPLE, THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT CRIME AND
JUSTICE SURVEY FROM 2009/10 SHOWED THAT THERE
WERE 10% FEWER CRIMES IN SCOTLAND COMPARED
WITH THE YEARS BEFORE. HOWEVER, FROM MY OWN
RESEARCH I HAVE FOUND THAT THE FEAR OF CRIME IN
MY AREA HAS INCREASED IN RECENT YEARS – 30 OUT
OF THE 45 PEOPLE I SURVEYED IN MY COMMUNITY
RESPONDED TO MY SURVEY THAT THEIR AREA HAD
BECOME MORE DANGEROUS IN THE PAST 3 YEARS.
THEREFORE, WHILST CRIME HAS BEEN NATIONALLY
DECREASING, THE FEAR OF CRIME STILL SEEMS TO
PRESENT A DISPROPORTIONATE PROBLEM IN CERTAIN
AREAS.
DETECTING BIAS & EXAGGERATION
• WHEN DETECTING BIAS AND
EXAGGERATION, IT IS OFTEN HELPFUL TO
CONSIDER THE ORIGIN OF THE SOURCE OR
THE RESEARCH METHOD YOU HAVE USED.
• FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU READ A TABLOID
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE ON CRIME IN
SCOTLAND, YOU MIGHT BE GIVEN A
DIFFERENT PORTRAYAL OF THE STORY IN
COMPARISON TO A QUALITY NEWSPAPER
(SOMETIMES KNOWN AS A BROADSHEET)
• TASK: RESEARCH THE DEFINITIONS OF BIAS AND
EXAGGERATION
• THINK ABOUT WHY PEOPLE USE BIAS AND EXAGGERATION
• CONSIDER IF YOU HAVE BEEN GUILTY OF BIAS RECENTLY –
WHAT WAS YOUR INTENTION?
DETECTING BIAS &
EXAGGERATION
“Don't they look well? 'Peru Two' drug
smugglers return to court as Irish priest who
visited them says they are in 'great form' after
finding them OUTSIDE their cell and drinking
coffee under parasol”
Consider the news articles on the ‘Peru two’, both
published on the 2nd of October 2013. Look at the use of
language in both –
• Is it emotive or persuasive, for example?
• What are you not being told?
• Do either exerts show you any form of bias or
exaggeration?
“Prosecutor: cocaine mules haven't told us
enough for plea bargain
Drug mules Michaella McCollum and
Melissa Reid could face a six-month
investigation if their guilty pleas are not
accepted, the Peruvian prosecutor in
charge of their case has said.”
MAKING DECISIONS
TASK: Consider the two extracts from the BBC website below on mandatory
sentences for carrying a knife.
• Discuss which option would be best with your shoulder partner
• Explain why you believe this to be the case, with evidence from the
sources
Labour justice spokesman Richard Baker told
MSPs knife crime remained "persistently high"
with 3,529 knife carrying convictions last year.
He said campaigners had travelled to Holyrood
on Wednesday after more than 30,000 Scots
signed a petition calling for mandatory jail
sentences for those caught with a knife. "I don't
think they should be ignored," said Mr Baker,
adding: "The families are here today. I want to
pay tribute to them and their campaign. We
should support them today. We should do all we
can to spare further innocent people from the
scourge of knife crime."
Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill
argued mandatory minimum jail sentences
were a one-size-fits-all approach which was
not the solution. He said senior police officers,
including Strathclyde chief constable Stephen
House, opposed the policy, adding: "Yes, we
have a problem that we accept in Scotland with
knife-carrying. "The solution is tough laws,
visible enforcement but it's also about
education and allowing those at the frontline,
the police officers or indeed the judiciary, to
use their discretion. There's a journey to travel
but we are taking action against the booze and
the blade."
*RE-CAPPING THE ADDED VALUE*
PROCESS
1. Identify
your topic
2. Gather
your
evidence
3. Present
your
findings
4. Evidence
your
knowledge
5. Show
your skills