The Internal Assessment
HELLO, EVERYONE! I am thinking that by now you should have selected a topic from the Caribbean Studies syllabus that you are interested in exploring for your internal assessment (IA). Your IA is very integral in passing the overall exam, thus it is rather imperative that you put your best foot forward in completing this task. When selecting an area of investigation, please ensure that your topic is easily researchable. This will make your work much easier to complete.
OBJECTIVES
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1. Demonstrate research and analytical skills.
2. Explain the nature and purpose of research.
3. Identify a research problem.
“A research is a process and set of actions undertaken with the goal of identifying and understanding something new or fresh
about a given area, subject, field or discipline” (Stokes & Wall, 2014, p.1). There are several methodological approaches that may be used in conducting a research. For most people, a qualitative or quantitative approach is a preferred choice. Based on the given definition, it may be asserted that two reasons people conduct a research are:
1. To acquire new information
2. To obtain substantial evidence about a particular matter
Research is often placed in categories. These include: Qualitative research and quantitative research. Pure research and applied research.
Pure research (also known as basic or fundamental research) is exploratory in nature and is conducted to advance one’s knowledge or understanding. Its main focus is to generate new ideas. Applied research, on the other hand, is done to solve problems.
Traditional knowledge is obtained via narration or traditions that are usually transferred from one generation to the next. As implied, experiential knowledge is based on experiences in life. Scientific knowledge, however, is based on empirical research through the analysis of data, observations and research questions.
It should be noted that John Creswell (2014) enunciated that research seeks to obtain relevant, true statements to explain the situation of concern. Additionally, being objective is an essential aspect of competent inquiry. Being objective in a research simply means that you are unbiased and not guided by your personal feelings or opinions. In addition to being objective, students, remember that in doing your research, you should always avoid plagiarism, which is the act of taking someone else’s work as your own. Always credit the source whenever you are doing a research!
SYSTEMATIC ENQUIRY
Thompson, Lawson-Downer, St John and Thomas-Hunte (2017) posit that through systematic enquiry you gather and analyse information in order to garner new information and to solve a problem. Furthermore, the inductive-deductive approach is used, whereby reasoning is used to arrive at a final conclusion about the area of investigation.
GENERATION OF NEW KNOWLEDGE AND VALIDITY OF RESEARCH
Oftentimes whenever you are conducting a research, new knowledge is generated. Thompson et al (2017) go on further to posit that new knowledge comes about frequently due to the need to find solutions to new and ongoing problems. In my own estimation, if a research is not valid or reliable, it is like an American three-dollar paper bill. Simply put, it is useless and of no current or future value. Fundamentally, reliability assesses consistency. Reliability is evident when your research is unbiased and the same results are yielded if it should be retested. Validity, on the same hand, places the soundness of your research under the microscope. So what constitutes validity? It assesses the credibility of your work to see if it is free of manipulation or personal biases. Additionally, it scrutinises the data collection methodologies to test their accuracy.
Two important elements in your IA are the problem statement and the research objectives. The problem statement should explicitly state your area of investigation and it should act as a compass for your entire research. Importantly, your problem statement should encapsulate both your independent and dependent variables. A variable is a measurable characteristic of a research. Thompson (2017, p.30) deduced that an independent variable is constant and unaffected by other variables while the dependent variable is dependent on other variables. A suitable example of a problem statement with both independent and dependent variables are:
et al
An investigation of how torrential rainfall affects subsistence farming in the rural community of Weasel Town, St Mary. The independent variable is torrential rainfall while subsistence farming is the dependent variable. This is so because subsistence farming cannot affect torrential rainfall; however, it is quite possible that torrential rainfall can affect subsistence farming.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In most cases, teachers prefer you to write research questions instead of research objectives. Therefore, if you decide to document your research questions, you could eliminate your research objectives all together. Similar to the problem statement, your research questions are like a road map for your entire investigation. In essence, your research questions should be answered throughout the body of the research. My greatest pet peeve is when students write research questions that have no relation to their topic or problem statement. It is important to ensure that everything is correlated; your research questions are dichotomous to your problem statement and your topic. Never forget that! By focusing on the key issues, here are three examples of relevant research questions that stem from the problem statement mentioned above:
What are the effects of torrential rainfall on the growth of crops?
Are there any adaptation strategies put in place by stakeholders to deal with the issues of excessive rainfall as it relates to farming?
How important is rainfall in agriculture?
These questions are all simple and very much related to the topic of interest. Remember to work hard on your IA and all the best to you all. Blessings!
SOURCES USED
Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches. Creswell, J. (2014). SAGE Publications: London Research Methods. Macmillan Education: Stoke, P. & Wall, T. (2014). UK
CAPE Revision Guide Caribbean Studies. Thompson, Lawson- Downer, St. John & Thomas- Hunte (2017).