Science Research Investigation Reserach Essay

Science Research Investigation Research Essay Sections

State claim being investigated.

Explain important aspects in the claim that show how the research question was developed and is linked to the claim.

Include reference to sources of information for explanations.

Statement of the final research question.

Background

Explanation of scientific concepts within the research question (supported by scientific references).

Evidence or Analysis and Interpretation

Evidence, data or information from the sources that respond to the research question.

Can include tables of data, lists, relevant facts.

Must cite the source of the information.

Identify patterns, trends or relationships in the evidence that support a valid conclusion (answer) to the research question.

Evaluation

Analyse the quality of the evidence.

• What are the limitations of the evidence within the sources you used? Consider bias (are the studies all conducted by companies or organisations that have a vested interest in the research?), sample size and type of sample (is it sufficient to represent an entire population), the number of sources of information that were available that provided similar evidence
• What are the impacts of the limitations? For example, if the only evidence is from companies who have a commercial interest in a product, then they may not have rigorously investigated negative aspects of a product and an independent secondary source is required to confirm there is no bias in the information.

Improvements or extensions to the investigation

• What other types of studies or evidence (if any) would provide further information to respond to the question and strengthen the conclusion? Consider the limitations you identified.
• What parts of the claim were not investigated within the specific research question that could be further investigated to address the claim more fully?
• How would this further research help address the claim or research question?

Conclusion

Can the original claim be supported (fully or partly) or refuted or is there not enough evidence to evaluate the claim? What was found?