Typical phrasing
- [Claim quoted from the sources] — How could you test this claim? You may consider the types of information, sources of evidence or methods you might use.
Example
Study Source 3.
(b) ‘Over half of bicycle users do not wear helmets.’
How would you test this claim? You should consider the types of information, sources of
evidence or methods you might use.
[8 marks]
The government’s office of national statistics should publish data on traffic accidents which might be available on its website. Presumably collected from police reports, accident data would probably include whether the cyclists involved were wearing helmets. It would give a rough indication, but might slightly underreport helmet wearing because cyclists protected by their helmets would be less likely to report an accident, so an alternative would be to do observation research. You could stand beside a busy road and count all passing cyclists with and without helmets. To make the results more reliable, the observations can be done for more time and in a variety of locations. Of course, such observation research may well already have been done, so before spending time on primary research I would search an academic database for research papers published on this subject. Cycling safety campaign websites would probably lead us to sources of available data, which might save time.
155 words
– our subjective impressions aren’t reliable enough.
Skills & approaches
This question asks you to think like a researcher and search for the truth about the claim. Don’t limit yourself to methods that would be practical for a school student – you can imagine yourself to be a well-funded investigator, journalist, or even scientist.
For sources of information, consider who you could ask or where you would look: national/local government departments, international organisations, e.g. UN; UNESCO, experts, research reports, pressure groups, charities and NGOs, media and the worldwide web. Obvious people to ask are the person who made the claim (ask them how they know!) and people responsible (e.g. a mayor is responsible for the functioning of their city).
Types of information are things like statistics (e.g. data from a census), testimony (people talking about their direct experience), research reports (e.g. from peer reviewed academic research or from government enquiries), or observations. One useful type of data is a “response to the claim” from someone who is responsible or most likely to know – do they agree or disagree?
For methods you need to use action verbs – what will you do to obtain the information and how will you use it to test the claim? Consider actions like: interview/ask/consult (a person), survey, corroborate, count, check, compare, and infer. If you find the claim in a secondary source such as a newspaper article, you could evaluate how well it is supported with evidence.
internet search, questionnaires, surveys.
As you talk about these things, be specific and link to the claim. For example, if you mention “experts” you should say what kind of expert. If you suggest an Internet search, you should say what keywords you would put into the search engine, and what types of website you would hope to find.
Marking policy
Top band: three or more developed points covering a range of ways of testing the claim, and may contain some undeveloped points.
Tip: Although the question says types of information, methods or sources of evidence you may use, good answers typically link these things together to develop a point. This preparation table helps you to collect ideas for your answer in a way that naturally prompts you to link sources with the information you hope to get from them, and what you would do with that information to test the claim. Make your own copy which you will be able to edit.
Now you try
Study Source 3.
(b) ‘The costs of technology are increasing every year.’
How would you test this claim? You should consider the types of information, sources of
evidence or methods you might use.
You can post your answer in the comments section. Make sure you don’t go over 160 words.
Then on to the next section!
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