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CARIBBEAN STUDIES INTERNAL ASSESSMENT GUIDELINES

Ensure the sections of the I.A. are presented in the same order (as the bold-print words) below.
USE THE SYLLABUS TO GUIDE YOU AS WELL.

1. Title Page:

Theme is clearly typed on the first page (top).


Topic is clearly typed on the first page (after the Theme).
Research Question / Statement is clearly typed on the first page (after the Topic)

2. Introduction (5 marks)

Statement of problem This must be in a paragraph (sub-section). The problem of the study
MUST be clearly stated. Identify the issues surrounding the problem & a general idea of the
people and community the problem affect, how it affects them and for how long it has.

Purpose of research Place in a new paragraph or sub-section. What you hope to accomplish
through this research and how you plan on achieving it, ie. your aims and objectives.

Value of the research Place in a new paragraph or sub-section. Nonetheless, you MUST ensure
that the paragraphs are coherent. How you feel that your research can contribute to the academic
community, further study, its potential for better understanding the Caribbean and peoples
understanding & its usefulness to any other person who would come in contact with the research.

Definition of technical terms used in the study all term technical terms that will be used in the
study must be clearly defined. Place in alphabetical order. Note if you already defined some of
the terms in previous paragraphs there is no need to be repetitive.

3. Literature Review (8 marks)

See page 427 of the Jennifer Mohammed.

Literature must relate to the area (theme, topic, problem) being researched.

Four (4) to six (6) different sources Example: newspaper (1), textbook (1), journal (1),
professional paper (1), oral history (1), etc. Ensure the sources used are relevant / related to the
topic being researched. Do not solely depend on foreign literature; incorporate local literature
(contemporary and old) from authentic persons. Paragraph structure; no sub-section(s).

A literature review is a critical summary and assessment of the range of existing materials
dealing with knowledge and understanding in a given field and indicates your response to the
work and conclusions of what others have written. The literature review provides the context for
your study while at the same time demonstrating your awareness and understanding of the
current state of knowledge on the subject. This is to be an analytical discourse of various
authors views, theories and perspectives on the issue(s) rather than a narrative of details.

Use the research questions/ objectives to aid with this section, they should be able to aid in
source selection and what should be included in your review.

Ensure you use appropriate in text citation (APA Style) to give your sources credit and avoid the
chance of being guilty of plagiarism. Ensure you write in your own words.

4. Data Collection Sources (4 marks)

Paragraph structure; no sub-section(s)

Where was data/information collected from Study area.

How was data collected Quantitative & qualitative method; primary and secondary sources.
Explain how you utilized both primary and secondary sources to collect information.

Describe how you collected data using primary sources - In a new paragraph.
o You MUST state that primary data was collected from X number of persons. Note: If
the population is small use the entire population; if the population is large use a sample.
o State how and why the participants were selected.
o State how and why that research instrument (e.g. Questionnaire) was administered.
o Describe the timetable used to administer the instrument did you take one week to
administer the instrument? Did you have a pre-selection process then administered the
instrument on another day? You MUST describe how you collected the data.
o Describe the instrument how many open and close-ended questions did you have on the
research instrument? (It should ask the respondents for recommendations to the problem)

Describe how you collected information using secondary sources in a new paragraph.
o Since you already wrote the Literature Review you MUST have used secondary sources.
Therefore, describe how you used them. Do not write the name(s) of the secondary
sources used. You may state that you utilized X number of books, newspaper articles
(local; foreign), and Internet sources to collect relevant information in order to write the
Lit. Review. Or, that you consulted secondary sources to aid in your overall presentation
of the research.

Describe how the use of the sources were relevant and contributed to understanding the area
being researched (topic, problem).

Provide a succinct commentary on how you ensured that the data collected satisfied the
trustworthiness criteria (validity/reliability). The ethical guidelines which were observed should
be discussed, that is the issue of informed consent, anonymity, confidentiality etc

5. Presentation of Data (8 marks)

Place two (2) diagrams on one page.

All diagrams MUST be well labelled and an annotation should follow each diagram.
Annotations must be concise (do not exceed two sentences).

Present all relevant data All data that is relevant in answering your research questions and
relevant to the problem MUST be presented. If there were other data that you received that is
associated with the topic but not the research question may also be included. Note that the
questions presented in the Appendices (Interview/Questionnaire) must be used to present data.

DO NOT PRESENT DATA THAT WAS NOT COLLECTED.

Use a variety of appropriate charts and diagrams. This variety should comprise of at least six
(6) different diagrams. These may include: line graph, histogram, scatter gram, pie chart, bar
graph, photograph and text. It is imperative to note that the use of line graphs, histograms and
scatter grams may not be appropriate for presenting data. For instance, line graph is used to
show continuous data. If the data can be used for interpolation then it is appropriate to use a line
graph. This means that data should be able to be read between two points. A line graph is
appropriate to show statistics such as the number of death for a given year because the data is
continuous. Additionally, a histogram may not be appropriate for the research conducted by you

because this too shows continuation. For instance, data which shows month or years may be
presented using a histogram. Therefore, since your research is normally on one (1) area and
period and may not show continuation over time, the use of line graphs and histograms are not
appropriate. It is recommended that you do not use three-dimensional graphs. This is due to the
challenges which markers face in relation to reading the diagrams.

Pie chart and bar graphs are the most common charts used. Nevertheless, there is a format
which many individuals ignore while presenting using these charts. When presenting a pie chart
the slices must presented in descending order (largest to smallest) in a clockwise direction.
However, there are exceptions. For example, if one is following the same sequence the rule does
not necessarily apply.

Photographs are sometimes used in presenting findings. However, if the photograph is not
related to the study; it serves no purpose. Therefore, if you use a photograph that shows the
theme/topic the picture must be vivid the reader should not be focused on something not
related to the study.

6. Analysis of Data (10 marks)


(In this section students MUST ensure they explain the results garnered from the research, why the
results were yielded and identify trends, patterns and anomalies).

Interpret ALL data presented Ensure you explain what the statistics/data presented in the
previous section mean to you (in relation to the topic, problem and research questions).

You should NOT simply restate what is shown in the previous sections, instead you should
account for the results by explaining what has been derived from the data, ie. what the analyzed
data revealed. Interpretation is the process by which you put your own meaning on the data you
have collected and analyzed, and compares the data to determine the results patterns, trends &
anomalies, and the reasons

7. Discussion of Findings (12 marks)

The Lit. Review MUST be used to present this section This is where you compare and contrast
YOUR findings with those that were presented in the Literature Review and the implications of
the findings. If there were similarities and differences you must explicitly state that and show
the similarity and/or difference with YOUR findings and previous research (the information
presented in the Literature Review). No new literature is to be introduced in this section.

Ability to analyze, synthesize and communicate ideas fluently and clearly is critical to this
section of the report. Research questions & objectives should be addressed in this section to
guide discussion. DO NOT confuse this section of the IA with the previous section.

8. Conclusions, Limitations and Recommendations (8 marks)

Conclusion (2 marks) - This section is where the research objectives and research questions are
assessed. Answer the research questions based on your findings and the findings of previous
researchers. Also present areas of contention in relation to research objectives. Present new and
interesting findings (if any).
Limitations (2 marks) - Write the limitations and recommendations in a paragraph
structure; no bullets. Explain about two issues that impeded the research process and two
shortcomings of the study. Time is not considered a constraint because you must learn to
manage your time and set a time table to collect data and weather conditions are not permanent
and data can be collected on another day.

Recommendations (4 marks) Make about four (4) practical recommendations in relation to the
research problem. These recommendations must be possible and not already implemented. Also
explain the reasons for making the recommendation and how they are to be implemented.

9. Referencing & Bibliography:

For in-text citations: it is the author-date style cited parenthetically at the end of the sentence
referenced by the authors last name and the publication date of the work with the page # e.g.
(Brown, 1999 p. 13).

The sources in the bibliography should be organized in alphabetical order to the authors last name.

Do not: categorize or bullet or number the sources.

The majority of the sources should be books and scholarly articles. Acceptable internet sources are:
scholarly databases (eg. JSTOR & EBSCO), Web of Knowledge & Google Scholar or .org , .edu.

10. Appendices

Present the research instrument Questionnaire and Interview questions. Write a short paragraph
explain the purpose of the Questionnaire and the ethical considerations that will be put in place.
Ensure the instructions are clearly written and the top of the Questionnaire. Clearly state that the
name of the participant SHOULD NOT be written anywhere on the paper. If you used Interview as
the only research instrument ensure that you have a paragraph which explains the purpose of the
interview and the ethical considerations before the questions are presented.

Approximately fourteen (15) questions. This is inclusive of open and close-ended questions. 3-4
must be recommendation based and no more than 3-4 must be yes or no questions.

11. Overall Presentation and Writing Skills (5 marks)

You will be graded based on the use of grammar and writing skill (UK English), the report must
demonstrate acceptable level of academic writing paying careful attention to spelling and
punctuation, paragraphing etc. It must NOT be conversational. The structure and organisation of the
report is presented is graded; in terms of the sections and the order in which they are presented.

AVOID: repetition, abbreviations, personal pronouns, bulleting / numbering lists.


IMPORTANT!

o DO NOT PLAGIARIZE!
o The IA is marked out of 60. This contributes to 40 % of your CAPE grade.
o Font: Times New Roman; size 12. You may bold or underline heading (not both); but do not increase
the font size or style for headings.
o Double line spacing.
o Number all pages except the cover page.
o Each section is to be presented on a new page.
o Do not exceed the word limit. Marks will be deducted if the word limit is exceeded.
o The Table of Contents and the Acknowledgements are necessary for your paper.
Suggested number of page(s) per section:
Introduction 1
Literature Review 2 - 2
Data Collection Sources 1
Presentation of Data this may vary. Remember to present two (2) diagrams on one page.
Analysis of Data 1 to 2
Discussion of Findings 2 to 2
Conclusions, Limitations and Recommendations 1 to 1

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