Corinne Spiller's EPQ: June 2014

Week beginning	What I am going to do	How this will help	Resources	Potential problems	Solutions
16/06/14	1. Initial ideas for detailed plan outlining the basic structure of my essay 2. Investigate some other websites and gather some more research for my topic	1. To gather some ideas together as to what my main points of my essay will be 2. So that I have sufficient information to go about answering my essay title	- internet - articles - books - journals - Microsoft Word – to record useful websites and other info.	- Spending too long researching and not enough time actually planning my essay; or gathering too much research that is not completely focussed on my question.	- Make sure that the information I am collecting will answer my essay question – it is better to have some research I can analyse in detail than loads that I have to read through in order to find something relevant.
23/06/14	1. Continue with my essay plan 2. I will begin making a list of references as I go along to keep track of the websites, journals etc. that I have used whilst researching.	1. I can see how my essay will be laid out and thus being able to write it will be much easier if I have a structure to follow 2. This will make writing the list of references at the end of my essay much easier if I have them written down already.	- Microsoft Word – begin writing an essay plan and references - internet – to copy URL from websites etc.	- Being unable to find a particular website which I wanted to use for research.	- I will keep a document saved of all my potential research along with the website address.
30/06/14	1. Use my essay plan to identify any areas of research which are missing	1. This enables me to ensure I have sufficient evidence and knowledge to cover each of the main points of my essay	- Microsoft Word - internet, books and other research sources - my plan	- Finding considerable areas of my essay which I cannot back up with evidence, or do not have enough to write about	- I have done this early on to ensure that I will have enough time to do further research if necessary - I can also use my knowledge of diving to fill in any gaps – for example, the damage of shot lines on coral
07/07/14	1. Begin to find key data and quotes in my research to pick out for my essay 2. Work out which pieces of research will accompany each point in my essay	1. To save time later and to ensure that my sources are valid/have good information for my essay 2. Start to fit together my essay structure with my knowledge on the subject	- Microsoft Word - internet, books and other research sources - my plan
14/07/14	1. Finalise my essay plan and areas of research		- Microsoft Word	- I am on my DofE practice expedition throughout most of this week, so limited work will be done	- I have made sure that the next couple of weeks will be spent catching up on any work which I could have done
21/07/14	1. Compile a list of potential experts I may wish to interview by looking at influential conservationists, editors/writers of magazines, or those involved with particular organisations such as MCSUK or BSAC.	1. This will provide me with primary data without having to spend money on attending an expedition myself – which is unachievable in the time that I have to produce the essay, and due to the costs	- internet to find experts
28/07/14	1. Further research into potential contacts and finalise a couple which I could potentially get in touch with
04/08/14	2. Think of particular questions I will ask in an interview and create a list. 3. Decide on a means of contacting them (e.g. phone, e-mail etc.)	2. By coming up with a list beforehand I am prepared to ask the experts Qs related to the topic, which is much more logical than coming up with Qs during the interview	- Microsoft Word	- It will be difficult to write down all of their answers to my Qs if I conduct an interview over the phone – I therefore may miss out some detail	- Possibly interview at least one person by e-mail so I have a record of their exact answers which I can copy and incorporate straight into my essay
11/08/14				- I am on my DofE Expedition this week and on holiday, so I will be unable to contribute to my EPQ	- I have made sure that the next couple of weeks will be spent catching up on any work which I could have done
18/08/14	1. Begin planning in detail the first couple of paragraphs to my essay	1. To provide a detailed framework for the first part of my essay	- Microsoft Word
25/09/14	1. Start writing the essay	1. If I start writing my essay early then I will have longer to edit it and produce multiple drafts to get it perfect	- Microsoft Word
01/09/14	1. Contact my experts and arrange a time to interview them 2. Decide on best means for conducting the interview	1. I am able to arrange a time that suits both of us and make sure they are free 2. I will find out whether a face-to-face or phone/e-mail interview would be best/feasible	- phone/e-mail to contact experts	- I may not be able to get hold of them to arrange anything - I may be unable to contact one of the experts I wish to interview	- Contact them on a later date and leave a message - Make sure I have at least one reliable contact, if not ask any other suitable people to interview. - Ask my reliable contact to recommend other people who would be willing to answer my Qs

Yesterday (17th June) I attended an EPQ workshop to improve our research skills for the project. I was interested to find out how to refine my search on the internet to find the exact things I am looking for, and I was also made aware of various different ways to access research for my essay.

As a result of this I will be making much more use of other sources available such as magazines, articles and books as well as just the internet; this is because, although potentially valid, I do not necessarily know how reliable the source is, however the other 3 methods of information/data collection are much more reliable as they have been published (therefore approved) and are often written by experts. Similarly, articles in magazines or online are usually much more current as I am able to find more recent examples to incorporate in my essay.

Recently, having explored a couple of sites online where I can access many articles on a vast selection of subjects, I have managed to find some interesting research related to my essay title which I can incorporate into my EPQ.

Corinne Spiller's EPQ

Monday, 30 June 2014

Saturday, 28 June 2014

Planning Review

Wednesday, 18 June 2014

EPQ workshop comments and findings

Saturday, 7 June 2014

Essay Structure