Student Driven Study (SDS)

SDS Overview:

The Student-Driven Study (SDS) is the culminating Quest project using the Design Thinking and the scientific method process alongside AP Research and Data Analysis and Visualisation curriculum. SDS challenges students to demonstrate their academic knowledge in a way that mirrors the real academic world. It allows students to immerse themselves in a topic of their personal interest while developing a range of analytic, research, problem-solving, collaboration, and communication skills.

Quest English Courses & SDS

The Quest English course immerses students in the academic research process. Students will deeply explore an academic topic, problem, or issue of individual interest. Students will develop an understanding of research methodology, employing ethical research practices, and accessing, analyzing, and synthesizing information as they address a research question. Students will apply this understanding to design, plan, and conduct a research-based investigation to address a research question. The course culminates in a rigorous academic paper of approximately 3,000 - 4,000 words (mainstream) or 4,000 - 5,000 words (AT). Students will also give a presentation (mainstream) or oral defense (AT) of their study and findings. Students will work closely with their Quest advisor and peers in their cohort to receive high levels of support and feedback. Students completing the course at the AT level will be eligible to submit their paper to AP in order to receive AP Research credit.

Four Phases of the Year-long Student-Driven Study (SDS)

Phase 1:

Exploring & Questioning.

Students spend the first phase of research exploring and deciding on a topic, conducting preliminary research, annotating scholarly articles on their topic to produce a Literature Review. This process allows students to identify a "gap" within the topic/field; this is an issue, narrow area or perspective that needs to be studied further. This helps establish what students will conduct a study on, why this might be important or beneficial, and who might benefit from the study.

Phase 2:

Developing the Study

Once students identify what they will study, and why this study would be meaningful and/or important, they will need to design the study. This requires researching methodologies and deciding on the method(s) that would work best for the scope and scale of their study. Quest students propose their study to the Quest advisors, seeking approval to conduct their study. To be granted approval, students must ensure the feasibility of the study, and ensure the study is ethically sound.

Phase 3:

Conducting the Study

Students conduct their study in Semester 2. They do so by gathering data based on their chosen methods (quantitative, qualitative or mixed-methods). Students work much more independently this semester. They continue to check-in with both their chosen expert mentor(s) and their Quest SDS advisor. Based on students' methods, the data collection portion of the the study can take a few weeks to a coupe of months. After the data is collected students will analyze the data, and draw conclusions from their study.

Phase 4:

Communicating Findings

After the study is complete and conclusions are drawn, students will communicate the study's finding both through the completion of their academic paper as well as through a Thesis Talk. AT Research students that plan to submit their study to College Board for AP Research credit will also answer questions from panelists as part of the thesis defense. The academic paper and Thesis Talk will take place in April. Students seeking AP Research credit will submit their work to College Board on April 30.

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