QUEENS COLLEGE Caribbean studies Internal assessment

Summarily, the internal assessment is a research paper, that is, a systematic process of collecting and analyzing primary data in order to answer a question about the social world. It is much more than library and internet research (secondary sources)!

The Research Process

Social research is a type of structured and systematic research carried out by social scientists about the social world (Neuman, 2000). he research process is an interacti!e one which according to ".#. Neuman (2000) in!ol!es se!en main steps. $ach step has to be ta%en with the other si& steps in mind in order to ensure that the decisions made are compatible with each other.

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The research process and our Internal !ssessment

Step one " Choose a Topic

(ere you identify a theme for your research paper. ! theme is a broad area o# stud such as crime, technology or health. )ages twenty three to twenty fi!e of the syllabus outlines the themes from which your topic must be chosen.

Criteria for topics selected *t must be pertain to +aribbean society, *t must be reflected in the syllabus, -ust be practical, current, rele!ant.necessary / 0ustifiable, -ust be of some interest to you as a student and an indi!idual, Should not be a social studies or sociology study title. At this level, a fifth form study is unacceptable.

Step t$o % Narro$&#ocus the research he result of this process is the formulation of a problem statement and a statement of the problem. his will be recorded in 1introduction and purpose o# the research' worth #i#teen mar%s (see research paper outline)(

)o$ to #ocus the research Read

2fter identifying the topic of interest, familiarize yourself with the e&isting literature. his includes theories about the topic, studies done on the topic, facts reported in the news and other acceptable media. Sources of information include te&t boo%s, 0ournals, pre!ious studies, archi!es and internet sources. 2ll sources must be e!aluated for rele!ance, authority, authenticity, credibility, currency.datedness,

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Reading allo s you to determine, o o o "hat is already %nown and what we don3t yet %now, +urrent, rele!ant problematic dimensions of the topic worthy of study, sources, and methods for primary data collection,

!ssential "as#s o 4ormulate a problem statement / should identify the issue.!ariables of the study, the uni!erse to be co!ered, the nature of the relationship to be e&amined and the li%ely method to be used. his can be written as a statement or a question. 5utline the issues of the study / write the statement of the problem 6ac%ground (7escribe the problem.issue with statistics and other e!idence highlighting why it is worthy of attention) -a0or ob0ecti!es of the study 8esearch questions (ma0or questions which must be answered in order to fulfil the purpose of the study), (ypotheses 9 tentati!e statements about the relationships or associations between two or more !ariables. hese should be informed by your literature re!iew and your prior %nowledge of the population under study. :eneral hypothesis / 1a statement which suggests the possible answer to your problem statement;. Specific hypotheses / tentati!e answers to the research questions.

$ducational !alue of the study (!alue to you and other students and the rele!ant academic community) 5perationalization of %ey concepts (define %ey terms according to how they will be used in the study) 7elimitations of the study (brief note on the scope of the study)

$rite literature revie % a succinct and logically de!eloped summary and critical e&amination of the ma0or readings that influenced your thin%ing in planning your study. his is the third section of the study and is worth #i#teen mar%s. <

his is enhanced if reading is done with a specific purpose in mind. 8ead abstracts, table of contents and scan through te&ts in order to determine the rele!ance, reliability, of the te&t or article. his is critical re!iew of the e&isting literature on the topic (greater focus on the literature pertaining to the research problem) *nclude both empirical and theoretical literature Summarize and e!aluate literature. 2ttend to what is said about the topic, the sources of information presented as well as the methods used to collect data.information presented in the article.te&t. *e critical( 5rganize literature re!iewed in terms of your research questions or research ob0ecti!es. !+oid doin, a boo- b boo- re+ie$( Note references carefully,

he essence of the literature re!iew is familiarize yourself with the related issues and attain information needed to design a meaningful study (formulate hypotheses, choose appropriate data collection techniques and sources as well as analytical tools). I# ou can ade.uatel ans$er the research problem #rom the e/istin, literature0 then the stud is unnecessar ( Step Three % 1esi,n the Stud

2t this step you ma%e critical decisions about to reduce biases and produce and ob0ecti!e, reliable and !alid study. !( Primar Sources =our primary sources are those which pro!ide first hand e!idence and or testimony about the topic being studied. hese include autobiographies, memoirs, diaries, emails, oral histories, letters, correspondences, e e$itnesses, legal cases, treaties, statistics, sur!eys, opinion polls, scientific data, transcripts, records of organizations and go!ernment agencies, original wor%s of literature, art or music, cartoons, postcards, posters, photographs, films, ob0ects and artefacts that reflect the time period in which they were created. Note that #or our stud 0 our -e primar source is li-el to be persons $ho ha+e direct e/perience $ith the issue2s3 bein, in+esti,ated 2,i+en the use o# .uestionnaires0 obser+ation and inter+ie$s3( *earin, this in mind decisions ha+e to be made about the #ollo$in,4 Sources of data for the study & Sampling o Sampling is the process by which the researcher identifies participants (specific sources of primary data) for the study. She draws a subset of cases (the sample) from the larger pool of all eligible.rele!ant cases (the population) of the study. he researcher may use a probability technique, a non9probability technique, or a combination of both techniques to select her sample. 2t this stage in your study you should report on>

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he population from which the sample was selected (characteristics, location, rele!ance to the study), he sampling technique and how it was used, 8ationale for using the sampling technique chosen, he actual size and composition of the sample selected,

'ethods and instruments of data collection o 2 method of set of principles and procedures which informs the data collection process. he researcher may use a combination of .uantitati+e or .ualitati+e methods. -ethods include sur+e 0 inter+ie$s0 case studies0 obser+ation and archi+al research. $ach method is accompanied by a specific instrument(s). *nstruments are the actual.tangible tools used to collect the data. and chec%lists. hese include questionnaires

(orm of Results o his spea%s to the type of answers the research will produce, whether numbers, words, photographs, maps or drawings.

2ll decisions made must be informed by the nature of the topic and the rele!ant population. Secondarily, decisions should also be informed by whether or not the study is qualitati!e or quantitati!e, and applied or basic. )ote the table belo 5ethod Sur!eys Anstructure d *nter!iews Instrument @uestionnaire
-ay be administered by se!eral means.

Sample techni.ue ypically probability (enhance ability to generalize) ypically qualitati!e (enhance !alidity by choosing the most informed e&perienced.informe d persons) ypically qualitati!e $ither qualitati!e or quantitati!e

Sample si6e ?0 / '00

7orm o# results Numbers "ords, te&ts, charts, tables

Schedule

7ependent on the topic and population "ords, te&ts, charts, tables, pictures Numbers, e&ts to be e&amined

5bser!ation 2rchi!al

+hec%list )ersonal inquiry

+ase Study

2nalysis +hec%list

@ualitati!e

+ase to be e&amined

"ords, te&ts, charts, tables, B

pictures Numbers may be used 8epresenting decreasing amounts

*( Secondar Sources

Secondary Sources are materials that digest, analyze, e!aluate and interpret information contained within primary sources or other secondary sources;. hese will feature prominently in your literature re!iew and include boo%s, such as biographies (not an autobiography), te&tboo%s, encyclopaedias, dictionaries, handboo%s, articles such as literature re!iews, commentaries, and research articles in all sub0ect disciplines, criticism of wor%s of literature, art and music.

2t the end of this step you would ha!e completed section three of your internal assessment, 11ata Collection Sources'. he section is !alued ten mar-s. (ere you gi!e a 1description of the different sources from which information was collected and was obtained and how these sources contributed to an understanding of the research problem;. 7escription / *n this conte&t means that you spea% to author(s), organization and nature of each source, as well as spea% the !alue (quality) of the each source. =ou also describe the primary sources attending to the sample and its selection and the method of data collection.

Step 7our % Collect data 7o not begin data collection until your research design has been appro!ed, 2t all times be guided by ethical principles :aining access o o o 5btain consent Set dates and %eep them $&ercise care, sensiti!ity, courtesy

*nteracting with the participants o o o +onsideration for the nature of the sample should be reflected in your speech, dress and general demeanour, 6e obser!ant (engage your eyes and ears Cacti!e listeningD) 2llow for the participant3s need for comfort and pri!acy.

Step 7i+e " !nal 6e the 1ata *n this section the researcher ma%es sense of the data by dissecting it to see what patterns (trends, correlations, causal relationships, etc) emerge. 4or your internal assessment it spea%s to how you organize the raw data and subsequently, how you present the patterns you unco!er from the data. E

Tips 2ttend to !ariables of importance when organizing information. *f socio9economic status is an important !ariable for e&ample, ensure that the data are dissected in terms of socio9economic status. hin% of possible ways of presenting the trends.patterns.themes you unco!er while you are analyzing the data. +onsider the ob0ecti!es and research questions when analysing the data. 2t the end of this section you should be able to pro!ide answers to each research question or hypothesis. +onsider the method of data collection, it defines the %ind of data collected and consequently suitable methods of analysis and presentation. )roperly label and reference the diagrams. Sequence diagrams in relation to the research questions that they answer.

2fter completing this tas% you must find creati!e ways of presenting the patterns and consequent answers to your research questions. his will constitute the fourth section of your internal assessments, the Presentation o# 7indin,s which has a !alue of ei,hteen mar%s.

1ia,rammatic presentation o# #indin,s Note that there will be some differences in how qualitati!e and quantitati!e data are presented. 6ecause the former emphasizes the thematic information, the presentation must highlight rich te&t, !erbatim reports and foster detailed descriptions of the phenomenon being studied. hus pictures, maps, simple and comple& tables, cartoons and comic strips and flow charts are among the more suitable ways of presenting qualitati!e data. *n presenting quantitati!e data, you are required to use numbers to describe the phenomenon studied (show trends, relationships etc.). he following tools may be more suitable for presenting such data. 6ar graph / horizontal and !ertical (istogram )ie charts #ine graphs Simple tables -atri& (comple& tables)

!t this le+el ou are e/pected to do more than report on the ans$er to indi+idual .uestions o# a .uestionnaire8 ou are re.uired to anal se all our data0 note relationships 2causal relationships0 correlations3 and present the data in $a s that hi,hli,ht these(

Interpretation o# #indin,s *n this section you e&plain the answers to the research questions that you deduced from the analysis of the data. hat is, for each research question you> F

5utline the general finding, (ighlight the data that support each answer.conclusion (referring to the presentation of findings), )ro!ide possible e&planations for the answer from within the study, +ompare answer to the related hypothesis.

1iscussion o# #indin,s (ere we loo% at the answers deduced in comparison to the literature re!iewed, re!isit your hypotheses, and e&amine the implications of your findings for all sta%eholders.

Conclusions0 recommendations and Limitations +onclusion 9 Summarize your purpose and findings as well as the implications of those findings. 8ecommendations 9 :i!en the answers emerging from the study, what do you suggest be done to secure the best outcomes in the area of studyG 8ecommendations may include suggestions for further study, ways of dealing with identified challenges or ways of impro!ing on or maintaining positi!e outcomes. hese must be practical, flow from the findings of your study and suggesti!e of how the recommendations can be implemented. #imitations 9 his section highlights those factors that limit the scope and application of your study. hey also highlight those factors which may ha!e an impact on the reliability of the data. These do not include time ,i+en complete the paper or $ord limit o# the stud ( Thin- seriousl about the intended used o# the stud 0 the area o# the topic co+ered0 the sample used and the data collection techni.ue used in terms o# ho$ the a##ect the ,enerali6abilit and accurac o# the #indin,s( )elp#ul Te/ts '. -ustapha, N. (200F). Sociology for +aribbean Students> society and culture. Holume one. Iamaica, *an 8andle publishers. 2. Neuman, ". #. (2000). Social 8esearch -ethods> @ualitati!e and @uantitati!e 2pproaches (?th $dition). 2llyn and 6acon. <. 2ll prescribed te&ts (8efer to notes from first class)