Clarification details
Updated December 2017. This document has been updated in its entirety to address issues that have arisen from moderation.
Independent enquiry
The research needs to be student-driven with limited teacher guidance.
Enquiry process
Evidence for the entire process is required. This includes:
- a research question and research methodology in the planning
- collection of quantitative data
- analysis of the data to provide findings and a justified conclusion. The conclusion needs to use sociological concepts
- evaluating the strengths and limitations of the research process.
Ethical issues
Evidence that the student understands and considers relevant ethical issues needs to be noted.
The sociological enquiry process is further discussed in the Sociology Teaching and Learning Guide.