2025HSCShort answer

Q24

5 marks

Question

A diary entry from a student’s Independent Research Project is shown.
Diary entry 3 A questionnaire was created for the IRP hypothesis ‘Artificial intelligence can better prepare school students for future careers’.

It was organised to hand out a paper questionnaire to our Year 12 cohort during a year meeting.
We ran out of copies.
The verbal instructions were unclear, and students were talking.
The disorganisation meant that some students didn’t finish the questionnaire or were really rushed. Also, the hospitality class was on an excursion.

Justify steps that would address the research issue presented in the diary.

Try the question before revealing the answer.

Solution

Criteria	Marks
Justifies steps to address the research issue presented in the diary	5
Justifies some steps to address the research issue presented in the diary	4
Provides some steps to address the research issue	3
Demonstrates a basic understanding of the issue and/or solutions	2
Provides some relevant information	1

Sample answer:

The whole target sample was not able to answer the questionnaire under the same or similar conditions, therefore the research method was unreliable. To solve this issue:

Set a new time for the whole target group to complete the questionnaire.
Deliver the instructions for the questionnaire, stating confidentiality to reassure participants.

By setting a new time, a clear process can be followed with enough time to read and answer the questions, give consent, and ensure the process can be repeated.

Answer could include:

Sample bias
Integrity

Supplied marking guidance · human reviewed

Compare this with your working, not only your final sentence.

Syllabus alignment

Research Methodology

Research fundamentalsResearch purpose, methods, sampling, data, ethics and the Independent Research Project.

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