Analysing Data and Researching Contemporary Issues

Two questions, two kinds of evidence

The planning module took you as far as recording your results. This one is about everything after that, and about the second task as well. Here is the difference between them, and it is worth holding on to. Task 1 asks what YOUR data shows, and because you collected it you know exactly how it was produced, so evaluating means evaluating your own method. Task 2 asks what OTHER PEOPLE'S evidence shows, and you did not collect any of it, so evaluating means evaluating the source. Task 2 is worth more of the qualification than Task 1, and it is the harder of the two for exactly that reason.

Words for the second half

Six terms. The last three belong to the research task and are where most marks are available.

Task to what it asks

Work out the mean at one centimetre

In the example germination trial from the planning module, which is an example only and not a CCEA-set title, three trays sown at one centimetre produced 42, 45 and 39 seedlings. Work out the mean number of seedlings at that depth.

Work out the mean at three centimetres

In the same trial, three trays sown at three centimetres produced 24, 20 and 22 seedlings. Work out the mean number of seedlings at that depth.

What the difference shows

The means were 42 seedlings at one centimetre and 22 at three centimetres. Which sentence is analysis rather than description?

• Sowing deeper roughly halved the number of seeds that germinated
• The mean at one centimetre was 42 and the mean at three centimetres was 22
• Seeds should always be sown at one centimetre for the best germination
• The trays were kept in the same place and watered in the same way

Evaluating is not apologising

Almost every student writes an evaluation that reads like an apology: I should have used more trays, I ran out of time, the results might not be accurate. That earns very little, because it lists regrets rather than judging anything. Evaluation asks a sharper question. Could my method have produced a misleading result, and if so, in which direction? Three trays at each depth is a small number, so an unusual tray would move the mean noticeably, and that is worth saying because it tells the reader how much weight the difference can bear. A limitation is only worth writing down if you can say what it does to the conclusion.

Your data, or theirs

The word evaluation means something different in each task, and answers that use the Task 1 approach on Task 2 lose marks for it.

Questions to ask a source

You are evaluating information you found for the research task. Select the TWO questions that tell you most about how much weight it can bear.

• Who produced it, and did they have an interest in the conclusion it reaches
• Does it show the evidence behind its claims, or simply assert them
• Does it agree with the conclusion you were hoping to reach
• Is it long and detailed enough to look thorough

Analysis in a paragraph

Saying what the numbers show rather than repeating them is _____. Judging whether your method could have produced a misleading result is _____. In the research task the same word means something different, because there you are judging the _____ rather than your own method. A conclusion should be stated no more strongly than the _____ allows, and a conclusion that shows what it rests on is called a _____ conclusion.

The order of the report

Put the sections of a practical investigation report into the order they belong in.

• State the question you set out to answer and what you predicted
• Describe what you actually did, in enough detail to be repeated
• Present the results you recorded, in a table or a chart
• Analyse them, saying what pattern the figures show
• Evaluate the method, saying what would change your confidence
• Conclude, answering the question no more strongly than the evidence allows

A conclusion, marked

From the example germination trial, which is an example only. Model conclusion: sowing at one centimetre produced a mean of 42 seedlings from 50 seeds, against 22 at three centimetres, so germination was roughly halved by the greater depth. This supports the prediction that shallower sowing gives better germination for this seed. Two things limit how far the result can be taken. Only three trays were used at each depth, so one unusual tray would move a mean noticeably, and only two depths were compared, so nothing can be said about depths between or beyond them. The trial also ran in one set of conditions, so it says nothing about how the seed would behave in a different compost or at a different temperature. Notice what the conclusion does. It answers the question, states the evidence, and then says exactly where it stops. The last part is what separates a conclusion from a claim.

Beyond what the evidence shows

Three of these conclusions stay within what the trial can support. Select the ONE that goes further than the evidence allows.

• Germination was roughly halved when the sowing depth was increased to three centimetres.
• All grass seed should be sown at one centimetre whatever the soil or the season.
• With only three trays at each depth, one unusual tray would move the mean noticeably.
• The trial compared two depths only, so nothing follows about depths in between.

Which source would you trust

You find two pieces of information making opposite claims about a contemporary issue. One sets out the figures it used and where they came from. The other is a strongly worded article with no figures at all. What should your research task do?

• Use both, but say why the first can be checked and the second cannot
• Use only the first, and leave the second out of the project entirely
• Use only the second, because a clear argument is easier to write about
• Use neither, since two sources disagreeing means neither can be relied on

Researching the issue

You are working on Task 2, the research project. Work through the decisions.

• You have collected six sources and five of them agree with each other. What should you do first?
• One source was produced by a body with a direct interest in the conclusion. What follows?
• Your sources disagree and you cannot settle which is right. What does the project need?
• What makes a conclusion a REASONED conclusion rather than just a conclusion?

Write your conclusion

Write about your own research project, or one you could realistically do. Nobody here can see your title or your sources, so what is being practised is the SHAPE of a reasoned conclusion.

• State the contemporary issue you are researching and the question you are answering
• Name one source you would use and say what it is good evidence for
• Say one thing you would check about that source, and why
• State the conclusion you would reach
• State the evidence that conclusion rests on
• Say where the evidence stops, and what would be needed to go further