Topic outline
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Transcript
The aim of this video is to provide information and guidance for the Research Proposal Form for examination from 2023.
The Research Proposal Form should be completed by learners with support from their teacher as part of the initial programme of learning for the Research Report. It should be completed before learners start to work on their independent research and writing.
The Research Proposal Form is reviewed internally by the teacher only, and not by Cambridge International.
You can download the Research Proposal Form from the samples database at www.cambridgeinternational.org/samples.
It should be distributed to learners and completed electronically.
The Research Proposal Form to be used for examination from 2023, has some small differences to the 2022 version.
These differences reflect the changes to the requirements for the Cambridge Research Report.
This video will explain how the Research Proposal Form should be completed by the teacher and learners.
Each candidate needs to provide their centre number, centre name, candidate number, their name and the exam series (the month, either June or November) and the year for which they are entering.
The next section asks learners to state their research question.
They should keep this short and focused — the size of the box reflects this.
Although the boxes on the electronic document can be expanded, it is not advisable to do this here as the question should be as clear and direct as possible.
All questions for the Research Report should refer to a debate so that learners can evaluate contrasting perspectives and come to a conclusion that judges these perspectives.
This box prompts learners to explain this debate by identifying each of these perspectives and relating them to the question they have stated in the first box.
The next box asks learners to 'outline and explain the key concepts which are relevant to the question'.
This section is new from 2023, and reflects the assessment now being made of how learners use these, in their research report.
The key concepts are best defined as the main terms or ideas which are used in the report.
Learners need to summarise what these are and explain their significance for their project.
In this section learners need to list the main sources they have identified so far, and to explain how they will be using them.
These should be sources that support each of the perspectives they have identified in their debate.
Learners would normally be expected to list the sources as a short bibliography, although this does not need to match a specific system of referencing at this stage.
In this section learners also need to explain how they will be using these sources.
We recommend one or more paragraphs to explain how the sources relate to the debate and how they will be used.
The box will expand as your learners type into the box and you should encourage them to take as much space as they need.
The remainder of the form is for teacher feedback. After the form has been first submitted, you should review it and complete the ‘Stage 1 comment’ box.
These evaluative comments should identify strengths and weaknesses in the way the question has been formulated, the appropriateness of the debate and the clarity with which it has been explained. The range, quality and relevance of the sources which are being proposed should also be commented on.
After making these comments, you should then record your judgement on the learner’s proposal.
You will need to tick one of these boxes:
Approved:
this means you are confident that the proposal serves as a suitable basis for a report. It meets the requirements of the syllabus by having a question which focuses on the debate between different perspectives and is supported by sources.
Approved (with proviso): this means that, in principle, the proposal can produce a report which meets the requirements of the syllabus, but in order to do this some specific actions or changes are required.
You should set these out in the feedback and follow up on them in subsequent supervision meetings.
Not approved (resubmission required): this means that one or more elements of the proposal do not meet the requirements of the syllabus.
It could be that the question is unsuitable, there is not a clear debate between perspectives or sources are not listed or unsuitable.
This means that the learner will have to produce an updated version of the form for you to consider again.
More information needed: this means that the proposal does not contain enough information to make a judgement on whether it will meet the requirements of the syllabus.
The feedback should state this and set out what further information is required, in order to make a judgement.
The learner will have to produce an updated version of the form for you to consider again.
If the proposal is not approved or more information is required, the learner will need to consider your advice and produce an updated version of the form.
You should then give further feedback in the ‘Stage 2 comment’ box.
Copy your stage 1 comments into the stage 1 comment box in order to track each part of the process.
The only options at this stage are ‘approved’ or ‘approved (with proviso)’.
You may still have to set out further changes which are required for the proposal to be suitable, but at this stage the learner should work with you to implement these over the course of their research
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