EPQ Toolkit for AQA - A Guide for Students (Updated Edition)

Chapter 4 Deve lop and real i se A n abstract is a succinct summary of a piece of research used at the beginning of articles in academic journals to give a quick summary of the report. It should provide the reader with a clear understanding of the aim, background research, conclusions and the implications of the findings. Method and findings should be included where primary data has been collected, and the method will be relevant in projects involving an artefact. There should be no subheadings in an abstract and it is usually one or two paragraphs long. The succinct nature of the abstract is quite a challenge so we will look at how other EPQ students have managed it in the examples on the facing page. Guidelines for the abstract You can use this grid to write your own abstract – but remember not to include the subheadings in your final draft. Aim and/or hypothesis The abstract should begin with what you intend to research. This can be stated as an aim, for example ‘In this project I aim to…investigate the impact of cannabis usage on young people’. Or youmay state a hypothesis, for example ‘There is correlation between age and cannabis use’. Relevant background literature Present a very brief overview of how your topic relates to previous research in the field. For example ‘Research suggests that cannabis use in teenagers can have long-term effects on the mind and body’ (Zhang et al . 1999). Might be good to give an example as well in a project that is just secondary sources (i.e. no research study). Method Describe the method you will use to investigate your topic. If you are using secondary data youmight say ‘My research used a variety of materials such as books and journal articles and official statistics’. If you are using primary data youmight say ‘I also collected primary data from an opportunity sample of sixth formers to investigate whether teenagers understood the risks associated with cannabis use’. Findings Provide the results of your investigation, if appropriate. If descriptive statistics are used youmight say ‘The graphs indicate that more young adults aged 24–29 are using cannabis on a regular basis than any other age group’. If inferential statistics have been used state whether results were significant (see page 84). For example, ‘A test of correlation showed that there was a significant negative correlation between age and cannabis use (p=0.449)’. Conclusion (relate to background research) It is important that you relate your conclusions to the background research you have discussed in your introduction. Does it support or challenge it? For example, ‘From a literature review it is rational to conclude that cannabis has a large impact on the health and well being of young people if taken in excess’. Implications (relate to findings) Finally you need to provide a brief statement of what your results mean beyond this study. Do the findings have any real world implications? For example, ‘This study shows that existing drug awareness campaigns are not getting the message across to all teenagers about the risks of cannabis and different strategies need to be employed. This suggests that current campaigns are not working’. A planner for your abstract Word count The intention is to give a very brief overview – so keep this brief. Probably about 150–250 words. There is a good example in the Appendix, Exemplar III page 117. HARRY'S EPQ ON CANNABIS USE First or last? The abstract appears at the beginning of the REPORT but it is often wise to leave its preparation to last so you knowwhat has gone into each of these elements. Alternatively, it can be useful to write the abstract earlier on, as an aid to identifying the crucial main thread of your research, its purpose, and its findings, which could then guide the structure of the EPQ. 78 Optional content for projects involving just the collection of secondary data or an artefact. Required content for projects involving primary data.