In your final year of school you might need to write a dissertation or do a research project.
What is a student research project?
A student research project is some research you do over the year. You will write up your research as an extended research essay. The research project will give you the opportunity to explore a topic in some depth.
You will need to identify the topic and then write a research question. Then you will need to do the research. This will involve reading texts, finding data, maybe doing a survey, analyzing the data, producing graphs and tables, coming to conclusions about the question, and then writing it all up.
What should it be about?
It could be related to something in a novel you are reading, or really about anything you like. As long as it interests you – that is the main thing. What are you interested in? What would you like to spend time on researching?
Do I need to worry about theory?
It depends on your research question and methods. If you are researching aspects of a problem and presenting different ideas to solve the problem, for example, then you will not need to use a theory. If you are analyzing a text or some language using a theoretical framework, for example, then you will need to mention the theory.
Do I need to cite sources?
If you quote someone, or use their ideas then you should cite the source. Your teacher will show you have to do this.
How long should it be?
The final essay should be about 800 words.
How should it be structured?
There are two main types of essay structure, depending on the type of research you do.
Type 1: Extended Discursive Essay
In this type of essay you will discuss a topic or a problem. You might want to present different aspects of a topic and reach a conclusion which weighs up the arguments or evidence which you have presented or discussed.
Introduction: In the introduction you will introduce the topic and question you will discuss and say why it is important. Aim to keep your introduction to one paragraph of 50 to 100 words.
Discussion: In these paragraphs you will explore the issue and the research question, presenting the different sides of an issue or question. You might want to include graphs and tables here if appropriate, and a discussion of them. You will have about 600 words to explore the question; tables and graphs do not count towards the word limit. Aim to have about 5 – 7 paragraphs.
Conclusion: Here you will present you answer to the question you asked on the topic. Aim to keep your conclusion to one paragraph of 50 to 100 words.
Bibliography: You should list all the sources you used and cited in your text. This does not count towards the word limit.
Annexes: If you created a questionnaire for example, then you would need to include it here in the annexes. The annexes do not count towards the word limit.
Type 2: Research Essay
This type of essay is much more rigidly structured. It will have separate sections with headings like this and is more suited to a more ‘scientific’ type of research project:
Introduction: In the introduction you will introduce the topic and question you will discuss and say why it is important. Aim to keep your introduction to one paragraph of 50 to 100 words.
Methods: In this part you will say how you researched the question. What sources did you use? What kind of analysis did you do? Try to keep this section to 200 words.
Results/Findings: In this part you will show the results of your research. You might want to include tables and graphs (which do not count in the word limit) to show your findings. You will need to explain what the tables show. Try to keep this section to 200 words.
Discussion: In this part you will discuss your results or findings. What were your most important or interesting findings? Why are they important? Try to keep this section to 200 words.
Conclusion: In your conclusion you should explain how you answered your research question. Aim to keep your conclusion to one paragraph of 50 to 100 words.
Bibliography: You should list all the sources you used and cited in your text. This does not count towards the word limit.
Annexes: If you created a questionnaire for example, then you would need to include it here in the annexes. The annexes do not count towards the word limit.
What is the timeline for this research?
The timeline depends on the research you are doing.
If you are reading a novel as a class and will need to choose something in the novel which interests you, like a certain topic from the novel, of the hero’s journey in the novel, or the way the novelist uses some language, or whatever, then you will need to finish reading the novel first before you decide on the research question. So, the timeline would look something like this:
If you can choose anything that interests you then you do not need to wait, and the timeline could look something like this:
