1. National 5 assignment

2. Your topic can be on just about anything bar the following:
- Death Penalty
Assisted Suicide
Animal Rights
Sectarianism in Sport
MUST BE CURRENT AND RELEVANT. (10 year rule)

3. What is contained in the research project? How do you structure it?
Section 1- Research topic/issue: (0 marks)
Topic-
Hypothesis-
Aims-
Section 2- Research methods section: (10 marks)
Why you chose each method of your research
Strengths and any weaknesses of your specific research method
You may also suggest how you could do things differently.
Can be copied directly from research sheet.

4. What is contained in the research project? How do you structure it?
Section 3- Research findings: (6 marks)
Describe and explain the main findings of your research. You should refer to the research evidence you have mentioned previously in section 2. You MUST at least draw at least one piece of factual evidence from each source you have spoken of in section 2.
This is where your analysis should be found relating to your topic specifically.
Section 4- Research conclusions: (4 marks)
What conclusions have you reached about your topic/issue- again specific to your research.

5. Section 1 – Hypothesis and Aims (0 marks)
Structure:
The topic I have decided to investigate is… (highlight the wider issue)
My hypothesis is…
My aims are:
Aim 1 –
Aim 2 –
Aim 3 –

6. Section 2 – Research methods (10 marks)
In Section 2 of your Assignment you must discuss at least two different methods of enquiry. This section is worth 10/20 marks – the largest section in the assignment.
Methods Include: Internet/ , 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 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.

7. Section 2 – Research methods- 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 roughly 0 marks as it is too generic. You must be SPECIFIC to your own research.

8. GOOD QUESTIONS TO ASK DURING RESEARCH methods REVIEW
How did the sources help you in making your argument?
Were they well written?
Was there any bias?
Was the information used in the source reliable?
If the sources were helpful, how so? How did they help you form different aspects of your argument?
If you had to do the project again what would you change? Would you use different resources? Why?

9. Section 3 – Research Findings (6 marks)
In this section you discuss what you have actually FOUND OUT:
Use your aims as a guide
Name your sources as you go
Give FACTUAL information
Structure:
Aim 1: … (Write out Aim 1)
From the Guardian Article (Source 1) I have found out that…(insert factual information)
I also discovered from the Panorama Documentary (Source 3) that …(insert factual information)
DO NOT PUT IN VERY LONG QUOTES FROM SOURCES – USE YOUR OWN WORDS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE

10. You must use each source at least once!!
Pull at least one fact from the source and make sure it is contained in section C (3). Again, relating to your aim.

11. Section 4 – Research conclusions (4 marks)
In this section, you must come to a series of conclusions on your topic. Remember, a conclusion is a clear decision or judgement that is made based on evidence.
DO NOT JUST REPEAT EVIDENCE FROM SECTION 3!
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 when writing your conclusions:
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?

12. Section 4 – Research conclusions - STRUCTURE
In conclusion, it is clear that my hypothesis is correct/incorrect as…..
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.

13. Bibliography Your bibliography MUST contain:
Full article or website title, the date accessed, full link and date of publication.
This is very important as you MUST be able to pull up your sources as they can be contained in the research sheet you can take into the write up to assist you. Therefore this is necessary and will help you in the long term.
Example-
“Guns in the US: The statistics behind the violence.” BBC news. (January 2016).
Link-
Date accessed

14. N5 Assignment – Overall Structure
SECTION 1 – Hypothesis and Aims (0 MARKS)
SECTION 2 – Research methods review (10 MARKS)
SECTION 3 – Research Findings – (6 MARKS)
SECTION 4 – Conclusions – (4 MARKS)
Resource Sheet - 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. You must bring this with you.

15. WHAT ARE THE SQA LOOKING FOR?
Choosing an appropriate modern studies topic or issue
Evaluating the effectiveness of two research methods used, commenting on their strengths and weaknesses where appropriate (Max of 10 marks)
Drawing on knowledge and understanding to explain and analyse key features of the topic or issue (Max of 6 marks)
Reaching a well-supported conclusion, supported by evidence, about the topic or issue. (Max of 4 marks)

16. Evidence write up
Your evidence write up stage will take place once you have all completed your assignment. This will be after the prelim and is likely to be mid February.
The write up will take one hour.
In the write up you are allowed a 2 sided A4 sheet of paper which can be taken into the assessment (research sheet)- this will be sent away to the SQA and we will look at this in more detail after the prelim.

18. Homework due- 3rd of December
Type or hand write your assignment!!!
Look at the guidance given in this presentation and ensure you are meeting all of the necessary criteria.
This should be laid out like a report.
Use the headings given and ensure you follow the structure given exactly!!!