Student Directed Inquiry (TASC Level 3)

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Student Directed Inquiry (TASC Level 3) - An Introduction

Student Directed Inquiry provides opportunities for learners to undertake research, solve problems, communicate ideas, and manage their workload and learning in a personalized, authentic, meaningful context

Through undertaking a transdisciplinary student directed inquiry, learners develop an understanding of: what constitutes quality research; the purpose of an effective inquiry question; and what constitutes an ethical, robust, disciplined and rational approach to gathering, interpreting and evaluating evidence. Living and learning in the 21st century demands a new set of skills. Information is being accessed, used and created in new ways. This is creating a heightened need for well-developed 21st century skills for learning, work and life. Student Directed Inquiry prepares learners for participation in an advanced knowledge economy in which globalisation, collaboration and automation are the norm. The skills learners develop in Student Directed Inquiry will be transferable to further education, employment and in living a fulfilling life. The inquiry product may also provide evidence as part of portfolio entry to university.

TASC. Student Directed Inquiry. Level 3, SDI315117, 2021.

Course information for TASC Student Directed Inquiry can be found here.

The suggested text for Student Directed Inquiry is Introduction to Research Methods (5th Edition) by Dr Catherine Dawson. It is available from your teacher and from the Library.

Inquiry Process
Transdisciplinary
Planning
Search Methodologies
Original Research
Critical Thinking
Communicating

Inquiry Process

For your Student Directed Inquiry it is important that you have a strong idea of a topic to work with, one that can be looked at in various ways and that is robust enough to withstand months of development, research and analysis.

Library resources

Use the Library catalogue to search for topics that you are considering for your Student Directed Inquiry. This will help you check if there is a a good amount of information available on the topic, and the quality of that information.

AV Resources

Web resources

Transdisciplinary

Wider reading

In Student Directed Inquiry, students are required to view their chosen topic through multiple disciplines. Wider reading is therefore essential in broadening your view of the topic, and your own worldview and understanding, to fully demonstrate the complexity of the study you are undertaking.

Library resources

Examples of different disciplines could be:

  • Sociology - the study of the behaviour of societal, ethnic and cultural groups of people.
  • Psychology - the study of individual behaviour and the human mind.
  • Science - the study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world.
  • Medicine - the study of health, treatment and the prevention of disease.
  • Economics and Accounting - the study of production, consumption and wealth.
  • Creative and Literary Arts - the study and creation of artistic and literary works.
  • Education - facilitating learning, development and improvement.
  • ...and more.

Have a look at the other Library subject guides here to help give you an idea of other disciplines that may be useful in your inquiry.

Web resources

Planning

It is important to plan out how you intend to explore, research and present your topic for Student Directed Inquiry. Having a strong plan early in the Student Directed Inquiry process will make it easier for you to better explore your topic and write what you actually want to present to your audience. It is also important to be flexible and adaptable in the inquiry process however, as you might need change some aspects of your project depending on the circumstances and information available to you.

Library resources

On the shelves

Web resources

Search Methodologies

Having a search strategy, or methodology, is an important part of conducting a well structured, systematic, logical, accurate and complete search for information.

Keywords

Within the context of your topic, look for keywords and important concepts. Start building a list of these keywords and then try and think of alternative terms or other keywords for each concept you have identified, and add those to your list as well. This will provide you with a vocabulary list for your topic that you can easily use to search for information.

Language

Language is an important aspect of a search methodology. The language used will be different for each topic and change between disciplines. It could be academic or scientific, it could be historical, or it could be casual and colloquial, depending on the topic. In addition to this, the language that you use to search for information will impact the type of information you find. Searching with academic language will bring you academic sources. Searching with casual language will bring you informal sources.

Tools and databases

St Patrick's College has access to a number of databases. Click here to access the databases.

Sometimes your topic might require searching a more specific set of information or data. In this situation try to look for an organisation that provides data, information and research help on your topic. Often they have their own database available to students and researchers. Some examples of this are:

Click on Information Literacy on the right side of this page for more information on search methodologies.

Library resources

On the shelves

Web resources

Original Research

Ethics

Research ethics, or adhering to a common ideological structured way of conducting research, surveys and experiments, are paramount when conducting any independent research, especially when working directly with other people. Often researchers and research participants are required to sign off on agreed ethical terms before starting any research. Violating or abusing these ethical terms could have dire consequences, including but not limited to the invalidation of all research findings.

Quantitative

There are two main types of research. Quantitative research looks at numbers in terms of "how many", "how much", "when" and "how". This is the quickest and easiest form of research to analyse. While being extremely valuable in some cases, it can lack meaning and context. An example of quantitative research would be a large survey with yes/no responses or number scale responses.

Qualitative

Qualitative research is the other type of research. It looks at the quality of the information gathered, the context of the participants involved and other social or "soft" aspects, more in terms of "why" and "what happened". Qualitative research usually takes much more time to fully analyse. An example of qualitative research would be a small set of interviews with people involved in your topic and the use of a leading, in-depth line of questioning.

Empirical and evidence based research

All research that you conduct should be empirical research; research, analysis and conclusions that are based in evidence.

Library resources

On the shelves

Web resources

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking, analysis, evaluation and reflection are key components in Student Directed Inquiry. You have to show you not only understand your topic, but that you can also judge and assess your topic and your findings, and review your findings and the process you went through to reach that point.

Sources

It is important to think about your sources of information. Where is the information coming from? Is it a Primary or Secondary source? Is the source reliable and unbiased? Does the source of the information have anything to gain financially, politically, culturally or in another way by saying what they are saying and how they are saying it? Is the information correct? Does it have errors? It is up to you to assess your sources and judge if they are a valuable and reliable piece of information.

Click here to read about Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Sources.

Click on Information Literacy on the right side of this page for more information on sources.

Library resources

On the shelves

Web resources

Communicating

The final step for your Student Directed Inquiry is to communicate your findings. This involves the writing and presentation aspects of the course. For the written aspects you are expected to produce:

  • an Inquiry Proposal of 1,000 words;
  • an Inquiry Product of 2,500 words;
  • a Reflective Journal of 1,500 words and;
  • an Executive Summary of 300-500 words.

The presentation aspect of the course requires you to present your inquiry before a panel for a maximum of 30 minutes, including 10 minutes for questions.

Library resources

Web resources

Referencing advice: TASC and your teachers at St Patrick's College expect you to present your work with in-text citations and a reference list in a standardised style. The Harvard (Author, Date) style is the default style used by St Patrick's College. Go to the Library's Referencing Guidelines for extended help in this area. The Library staff are always happy to help you with any queries you may have in regard to referencing requirements for any research you are undertaking.

Faculty resources: All material purchased by the HASS Faculty are also available for student use if it is not required by teachers. Many of these resources are shelved separately in the Library and may be found by using the Library catalogue. You may need to ask Library staff to bring you some titles.

Article Index