Section 2 - Methods of Enquiry In Section 2 of your Assignment you must discuss at least two different methods of enquiry. This section is worth 10/20 marks. Methods Include: Internet/email, databases, writing letters, questionnaires/surveys, interviews, television programmes, newspapers, magazines, journals, observations on a visit, using a library. You will be asked to comment on why you chose to use each method of enquiry. You must also describe the advantages and disadvantages of each method of enquiry. You should also discuss what you could do differently when completing further research. The key point of this Section is to be specific to YOUR research.

Section 2 - Methods of Enquiry- STRUCTURE For EACH method: Name the method used Give 2 distinct advantages of the method (2) Give 2 distinct disadvantages of the method (2) Explain how you could improve your research in the future (1) One method of research I chose was a newspaper. There were many advantages when using this method such as it being free to read on the internet and the fact that it is very up-to-date. However, there were some disadvantages of using this method. Most newspapers are biased and articles are often very long and contain information which is not useful. If I were to research this topic again, I would make sure I compared different newspaper articles together. This short paragraph would only gain 2 marks as it is too generic. You must be SPECIFIC to your own research.

One method of research I chose was a newspaper article from the Guardian (Source 1). There were many advantages when using this method. Firstly, because I accessed the article online it was free to read, meaning it was incredibly cheap to access. Also, the article was published in July 2017 – meaning the information contained within it is incredibly up-to-date and therefore still relevant for my research into gun crime. However, there were some disadvantages of using this method. The Guardian is known to be a left leaning newspaper meaning that articles published within it will be biased towards political parties such as Labour and the Liberal Democrats, making the information less useful. Also, this article was very long and contained information on knife crime as well as gun crime. This was not useful for my research and therefore wasted valuable research time. If I was to complete further research on this topic I would ensure I read newspaper articles from sources which are not left-leaning, such as The Telegraph, to gain opinions from all sides of the political spectrum.

Section 4 – Conclusions In this section, you must come to a series of conclusions on your topic. This is section is worth 4/20 marks. Remember, a conclusion is a clear decision or judgement that is made based on evidence. The first conclusion you should make is based on your hypothesis – have you proved or disproved your original statement? Following this you should make 3 more conclusions, based on what you have discovered about your topic. It may be useful to consider the following ideas: How successful or effective a course of action has been? Trends over time such as whether a problem is getting worse or whether improvements have been made? How much different individuals or groups agree or disagree over solutions or issues?

Section 4 – Conclusions - STRUCTURE In conclusion, it is clear that my hypothesis is correct: gun crime is a growing problem in the USA, as the evidence shows that more and more people are dying due to gun-related violence. I have also came to the conclusion that gun crime continues to increase because law enforcement officers continue to use their weapons in inappropriate situations. Also, my research has shown that since the anti-machine gun laws in the USA ran-out, more mass shootings are occurring across the country. However, it is clear from my research that many people in the USA do not see gun crime as an increasing problem and think that restricting access to gun ownership is against their rights. 1. Conclusion based directly on hypothesis. State if your hypothesis is CORRECT or INCORRECT. 2. Conclusion based on the successfulness/effectiveness of actions 3. Conclusion which highlights a trend over time/shows how a problem is progressing. 4. Conclusion which shows why some people/groups may disagree with your own views on the topic.

N5 Assignment – Overall Structure SECTION 1 – Hypothesis and Aims (0 MARKS) SECTION 2 – Evaluation of Research Methods (10 MARKS) SECTION 3 – Research Findings – (6 MARKS) SECTION 4 – Conclusions – (4 MARKS) Bibliography of Sources Each section should be separate from the others as you will have to write this out in the SQA provided template. Your Official Research Sheet will be given out to you before you complete the Assignment under exam conditions.

Ways to present your findings – N4 AVU 1. Front Cover 2. Introduction Name Topic Picture (if possible) Hypothesis My Aims/ Purpose

Ways to present your findings – N4 AVU 3. Research Methods 4. Findings on topic Research Method 1 Research Method 2 Discussion of findings on topic

Ways to present your findings – N4 AVU 5. Conclusions 6. Bibliography Conclusions on topic Complete list of sources used with evidence