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Task overview
Task overview
The Evaluation is worth 30% of the total subject grade. It consists of:
Evaluation of the research processes
Evaluation of decisions made in relation to the research processes
Evaluation of the Research Outcome
Submission:
Up to 1500 words, plus a 150 word summary. Must be written.
Criteria:
Evaluation
E1 Evaluation of the research processes used, specific to the research question
E2 Evaluation of decisions made in response to challenges and/or opportunities specific to the research processes used
E3 Evaluation of the quality of the research outcome
Synthesis
S3 Expression of ideas
Evaluate processes
Evaluate processes
Rather than organising your evaluation chronologically, stand back from the project as a whole. Group and evaluate specific processes eg books, articles, interview, survey, observations, and the extent to which they were useful in answering the research question. Support your evaluation with examples of specific sources. The number of judgments and the level of insight is the key differentiator between the grades.
This could include judgments about:
The effectiveness, usefulness, successes or limitations of the research processes undertaken and their overall value in answering the question.
Whether processes were productive, efficient, ethical and manageable.
The validity, credibility and relevance of the information you found with reference to specific examples or sources, and an explanation of how these contributed to answering the question.
Alternative processes that could have been undertaken can be mentioned. However, do not overly focus on what could have, should have, would have. Most of the focus should be on what you did do.
Do:
Focus on research processes
Use sub-headings to group your discussion around particular processes
Make balanced judgments
Refer to specific examples (sources) within each process
Do NOT:
‘Word-drop’ terms such as credibility and reliability without showing understanding of what these actually mean
Generalise
Discuss processes theoretically eg Websites could be bias because ...
Recount chronologically
Focus on the planning stages such as refining a question
Evaluate decisions
Evaluate decisions
Identify two or three specific challenges and/or opportunities and the decisions made in response.
Evaluate the impact these decisions had on successfully conducting or completing the research and answering the question.
Read the SACE Board 'Understanding E2' infographic.
Do:
Focus on research processes
Use paragraphs
Clearly identify the challenge/opportunity and the response
Clearly identify the decision
Make balanced judgments
Use specific examples to support your judgments
Evaluate the impact/consequence of the decision on answering the question
Use keywords such as ‘decision,’ ‘challenge,’ ‘opportunity,’ ‘response.’
Do NOT:
Generalise
Recount chronologically
Describe or list problems and ignore the decisions made
Overly focus on ‘could have, would have, should have’
Overly focus on the challenge or opportunity - the focus should be on the decision and its impact
Focus on irrelevant aspects such as selecting a topic, refining a question, time management, motivation, losing USBs, waiting for email replies etc
Focus on superficial aspects eg finding a time to meet the person I was interviewing was challenging
Shift the blame by complaining about a lack of response eg waiting for email replies
Evaluate outcome
Evaluate outcome
Make judgments about the extent to which you successfully answered the question. Consider the following key areas of focus:
New ideas and understanding developed (identify key findings)
Extent to which the question was answered
Clarity of the findings
Quality of the answer/findings, including the quality of the sources used and thoroughness of substantiation
Depth and breadth of the research
Conciseness of the argument
Limitations of the outcome/findings
Do:
Focus on the Outcome ie your key findings
Identify the key findings and how well these answered the question
Make balanced and realistic judgments
Provide reasons for your judgments
Use specific examples to support your judgments
Reflect on how the quality of the outcome could be improved
Do NOT:
Say everything about the Outcome was good or everything was bad
Generalise
Discuss the whole project
Make exaggerated claims about the quality of your Outcome eg ‘it will save Mankind.'
Describe the format of the outcome unless relevant to answering the question
Focus on how enjoyable the process was
Express ideas
Express ideas
At the 'A' level, expression of ideas is described as 'clear and coherent.' Consider the following:
Include an appropriate summary (150 words max)
Organise your evaluation under headings
Summary
Evaluation of processes
Evaluation of decisions
Evaluation of outcome
Use paragraphs under each heading
Avoid repetition of examples/evaluation in each section where possible
Keep to the word limit (approx 500 words per section)
Do:
Use formal language
Use evaluative terms
Edit your work carefully
Be succinct
Be specific
Use headings
Use paragraphs within each section with a clear topic sentence at the beginning of each
Include an accurate word count (separate word counts for the summary and the rest of the Evaluation)
Use an easy-to-read font and font size eg Calibri 11 or 12
Use ‘normal’ rather than ‘narrow’ margins
Include balance across E1, E2, E3, which should be of a similar length
Do NOT:
Use informal language, clichés, contractions eg don’t
Submit work with errors
Generalise
Exaggerate ie vital, crucial, told me everything I needed to know, gave me all of the answers, my outcome will solve world hunger etc
Be ‘wordy,’ or repetitive
Use run-on sentences
Write in huge blocks with no headings or paragraphs
Go over the word limit - markers will stop reading
Focus on only one or two criteria ie 1300 words on E1 and only a few sentences each on E2 and E3
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