1. Writing the E2

2. E2: Evaluation of decisions made in response to challenges and/or opportunities, specific to the research processes used
Focus on decisions your made when trying to resolve problems you had with your Research Processes and the consequences of the decision
Only focus on decisions that had a significant impact - skip others!
Decisions must be related to the challenges connected to information finding activities (ie. Your Research Processes).
Both positive and negative ramifications;
Positive: ie. provided new opportunitiesnew avenues for research / new perspectives.
Negative: ie. Limited views, provided information that lacked credibility/ reliability etc.
How the decisions made impacted the validity / reliability / authenticity of the research conducted.
How the decisions helped to answer your RP Question

3. USE THE S.A.J.O FORMULA Scenario Action Judgment Outcome
What was the challenge/
opportunity?
What decision did
I make? (and
why?)
Was this a good decision? (justify reasons, with examples)
What were the consequences of this decision?

5. Decisions, decisions...
Deciding to place all elderly family members into one room to discuss and confirm the correct version of events -ends up with reliable information
Utilise pre-existing contacts-ends up confirming information from secondary sources to strengthen key findings.
Cross checking information to establish trends -ends up determining key patterns and outliers in data
Only Searching for information pertaining to one side of an issue to counteract an abundance of one-sided information-ends up creating a balanced outcome with limited bias
Investigate synonyms to improve accuracy of database searching-
ends up returning credible and relevant results 21

6. An opportunity I encountered while carrying out my research was discovering David Miklowitz’s literature. I had seen a multitude of his work referenced in studies published on PubMed and decided to explore whether his research had any correlation to my Outcome. Fortunately, the material related directly to the effect of bipolar disorder on adolescents and beneficial treatment options. The decision to investigate his work further was vital to my Research Outcome and contributed reliable and credible information. Miklowtiz (2003) stated in his research, ‘1–2 years following a manic, mixed, or depressive episode, those who received FFT and pharmacotherapy had 30–35% lower relapse rates and less severe ongoing symptoms.’ This was a turning point in my Outcome, as I had not previously considered any treatment options other than pharmacotherapy. Miklowitz’s literature allowed me to gain new information regarding family focussed therapy and provided an alternative option in the treatment of bipolar disorder. By discovering such a reputable author that had produced an abundance of evidence, it reduced the time needed to find new sources and re-check for credibility, reliability and bias. Furthermore, this opportunity deepened my knowledge of bipolar disorder, as well as how adolescents respond to a combination of medication and psychological treatment.