ATAR Notes: Forum

VCE Stuff => VCE Subjects + Help => VCE Extended Investigation => Topic started by: Monkeymafia on November 10, 2016, 04:28:24 pm

Title: Extended Investigation Discussion Thread 2017
Post by: Monkeymafia on November 10, 2016, 04:28:24 pm
Hey guys,

Discuss anything u need to!
Title: Re: Extended Investigation Discussion Thread 2017
Post by: Maddie Trinh on December 13, 2016, 02:11:06 pm

Don't slack off

Random advice about questions and research topic
--> Don't stress too much about finalizing your research question word for word at the end of term 1. Yes it needs to be locked in and you definitely don't want to be changing your topic all together but many students often tweak their questions to encompass new results which they found or make their questions more specific by the end of the year. For example, in my research it was clear that the location Australia was a very important part of my research so I incorporated that in my question in the final report.
--> Also make sure your research topic doesn't overlap with another unit in a different subject because VCAA will make you change it.
--> Furthermore, try and do a research where finding participants/or equipment for experiments isn't impossible. Many students often start off with topics which are very hard to study, for example I wanted to study non-violent revolutions which was a PhD subject and almost impossible at a high-school level to study. Two specific areas of the criteria used to measure research questions even looks at this; "Can the student gain access to appropriate and relevant primary and secondary sources?" and "Can the question be addressed by systematic and sound research methods?"


Well I think that's all the advice I have for now. For my final remarks I just wanted to say that E.I is a really unique subject and definitely one of my favourites. I really liked the freedom you had in E.I which was so different from other subjects. If anyone has random questions, go straight ahead and just pm me :)
Title: Re: Extended Investigation Discussion Thread 2017
Post by: Monkeymafia on December 13, 2016, 02:21:11 pm
Thanks Maddie!
Title: Re: Extended Investigation Discussion Thread 2017
Post by: clarke54321 on December 13, 2016, 02:28:47 pm
Thanks very much Maddie. This is a fantastic summary, which has some very useful advice!  :)
Title: Re: Extended Investigation Discussion Thread 2017
Post by: clarke54321 on December 28, 2016, 10:48:41 am
Hi Everyone,

For extended investigation, is it acceptable to research a topic/area, where extensive research has been carried out?

I don't want to be replicating someone else's research, however I feel that I need others research to fuel my own.

Thanks!
Title: Re: Extended Investigation Discussion Thread 2017
Post by: Maddie Trinh on December 28, 2016, 04:11:51 pm
Hi Everyone,

For extended investigation, is it acceptable to research a topic/area, where extensive research has been carried out?

I don't want to be replicating someone else's research, however I feel that I need others research to fuel my own.

Thanks!

Hi Clarke,

Just wanted to say that it's perfectly acceptable as long as the focus of your research doesn't mirror that of another researcher. As you read through past literature, you'll find that reports themselves are often replete with references to other research which take an in-depth look at the same field of research. Rather the main difficulty in E.I (and really any other type of academia research when it comes to finding a topic) is finding a specific 'niche' or 'gap' in your area of research which others have not endeavored to answer. Something which you can research while potentially providing new information of importance to your area of research.

Maddie
Title: Re: Extended Investigation Discussion Thread 2017
Post by: clarke54321 on December 28, 2016, 07:04:34 pm
Hi Clarke,

Just wanted to say that it's perfectly acceptable as long as the focus of your research doesn't mirror that of another researcher. As you read through past literature, you'll find that reports themselves are often replete with references to other research which take an in-depth look at the same field of research. Rather the main difficulty in E.I (and really any other type of academia research when it comes to finding a topic) is finding a specific 'niche' or 'gap' in your area of research which others have not endeavored to answer. Something which you can research while potentially providing new information of importance to your area of research.

Maddie

Thanks Maddie!

I agree that finding a gap in research will be/ is the hardest part of Extended Investigation. How did you eventually find yours? Did you just keep on reading through literature and so forth?

Also, how did you know that no other academic/researcher had replicated your own topic?

Sorry for all the questions!  :)
Title: Re: Extended Investigation Discussion Thread 2017
Post by: Maddie Trinh on December 29, 2016, 10:28:36 pm
Thanks Maddie!

I agree that finding a gap in research will be/ is the hardest part of Extended Investigation. How did you eventually find yours? Did you just keep on reading through literature and so forth?

Also, how did you know that no other academic/researcher had replicated your own topic?

Sorry for all the questions!  :)

Hey Clarke,

It's awesome that you're asking a lot questions so there's no need to apologise. :)

Personally, finding my topic was a really long road. I definitely read a lot of past literature and it was often references which I found in other reports which were most influential in helping to determine my topic. However, I did have one thing that I was adamant on and that was my research was going to be centered around people. From there I searched through numerous newspapers, online journals, blogs and other such mediums to figure out what was currently important and interested me the most. From how technology influenced the Arab Spring to the way western culture influenced  eastern societies' perceptions of food, I was practically all over the place. I won't go into massive details to avoid boring you but speaking to others especially my teacher was also a massive help. This might sound really cliche but focusing on a topic personal or fascinating to you is a really good way to go as well. My final topic was about refugees and it had a personal touch for me as many people close to me had been refugees at one or more points in their lives.

Determining whether your research is unique is a little bit more difficult. At first when you have a general topic you'll find that many of the questions you have are very common, but tweaking it a little to encompass a geographical location, time, people etc. should lead to a pretty unique question in it's own right most of the time. As you look for past research to read you'll also obtain an idea of how similar or different your research is from others in the field. For example for me, practically no research had done the same thing as I did and as such I had both more freedom and difficulty because I needed to use the existing past research I had in more flexible ways.


Maddie

 
Title: Re: Extended Investigation Discussion Thread 2017
Post by: clarke54321 on December 29, 2016, 10:35:29 pm
Thanks once more Maddie. Your advice is really guiding me with this subject!  :)

Did you begin your EI journal once you had a good idea of your topic? Or, did you document all of your thoughts/discussions throughout the researching phase? I have been documenting all of my findings thus far, however it looks as though I keep jumping from topic to topic. Is this a problem?
Title: Re: Extended Investigation Discussion Thread 2017
Post by: Maddie Trinh on January 02, 2017, 01:22:44 pm
Hahaha no worries

About the E.I journal, I actually started mine about now. At the time, I still had no idea what I was researching but I found that having one place to document all my thoughts was extremely helpful. From the earliest stages of E.I right up to the period where I was gathering data, I was still writing in my journal and didn't really stop until the report writing period.

To avoid your journal from becoming too messy, I recommend getting in the habit of dating all of your entries regardless of how trivial they may seem. Furthermore if you have any pre-existing files, to at least put a link somewhere in your journal for easy access. I like to think of the E.I journal as a paper trail of your research and ideas, as such it's best to use it as so. If you have any ideas or research which you find interesting, put it in because ultimately it's there to help you.

I have been documenting all of my findings thus far, however it looks as though I keep jumping from topic to topic. Is this a problem?

I would be genuinely surprise if any E.I student had a complete idea of what they were doing at this stage.  To reinforce this point, even VCAA gives you to the end of term 1 to find your topic! For now, just have fun researching and developing potential ideas.