Zimsec CALA guideline for a research project
Zimsec CALA guideline for a research project
You may have noticed that most CALA topics being given by teachers involve some element of carrying out research. In this article, I will guide you through the steps that you need to go through in coming up with your research project. A CALA on a research project will be testing your ability to research, problem-solve, and analyse data etc. However, be guided by your teacher as the CALA requirement may vary.
A research project is meant to find a solution to an existing problem, therefore it is a practical exercise that seeks to identify problems facing the community and hence providing a relevant solution to those challenges. The purpose of a good research project is to find at least one solution to a real problem.
The research process involves several stages, albeit it varies from one researcher to another and from one project to another. This is just a general guideline.
1. Problem identification/ Topic to research on
What is the problem that you seek to solve? The good thing about CALA's is you will be given a topic to look at e.g. problems faced by businesses in your community and possible solutions. It is important to identify the general portion of the syllabus that is being examined for example is it business and its environment, if yes, which area exactly e.g. problem faced by SME's - in that case read around that topic it will help you familiarise yourself with challenges and issues being addressed by that part of the syllabus (a mini literature review). If you are not given a particular problem, look at your community and look at problems that it might be facing, your problems must be in line with the subject you are being examined e.g. if its a science subject you might not look at problems faced by an accounting firm unless of course, they are science-related.
2. Formulate plan and methodology
At this stage ask yourself these questions :
- How do you intend to carry out your research?
- What is it that your research seeks to solve or achieve?
- What method are you going to use to collect data?
- Which sampling technique are you going to use?-How are you going to get the required sample size ( the people who will be part of your research)
- Is it going to be a sample survey or a census?
Answers to these questions will give direction to your research. Having identified your research problem the next thing is to ask yourself, what is that you seek to do or achieve? Formulating research objectives can help.
--examples of the research objective
- to identify SME's in my community.
- to determine the challenges faced by SME's in my community.
- to determine possible solutions to the problem being faced by SME's.
So from your research objectives, you can come up with research questions, the question that must be addressed to achieve your objectives for example
-Who are the SME's operating in my community (what type of businesses are they sole traders, partnerships, companies etc?)
-What are some of the challenges they are facing (eg poor demand, competition from imports etc)?
-What are the possible solutions to these problems (e.g. government support- interest-free loans, protectionism etc.)?
The purpose of the research is to help you answer these questions
3. Data collection
-Are going to use a questionnaire- if yes make sure they contain both open-ended and close-ended questions?
-Are you going to carry out interviews?
-Are going to use observation?
Or a combination of these methods
Whichever method you use, you need to justify why you used that method instead of the another.
The questions that you are going to include in your interview guide or questionnaire must be relevant and they must help you to achieve your research objectives and help you achieve the CALA objectives.
In data collection are you going to use a tape recorder to record interview responses, your phone can come in handy as well, take notes as you carry out the interviews.
If you are using a questionnaire make sure it contains both open-ended questions and close-ended questions.
4. Data analysis and interpretation
Is the process of assigning meaning to the collected information and determining the conclusions, significance, and implications of the findings. The steps involved in data analysis are a function of the type of information collected, however, returning to the purpose of the assessment and the research questions will provide a structure for the organization of the data and a focus for the analysis. Data interpretation helps in assigning meaning to the processed and analysed data. It enables you to make informed and meaningful conclusions, implications, infer the significance between the relationships of variables and explain the patterns in the data. Here your analytical and interpretation skills will be tested. Statistical variables such as the mode, the mean and median where necessary can be used to give meaning to the data you have gathered. In simple terms in this section you are answering these questions;
-What does the data collected mean?
-Any relationships, patterns or trends that can be established from the data collected?
5. Presentation
-After data has been collected you now need to present your findings,
-Are you going to have a write-up?
-Are you presenting in class?
-What data presentation method are you going to use - pie charts, graphs, tables etc, this might depend on the type of data that you would have collected- qualitative or quantitative data.
-If you are presenting in class make sure you observe all the presentation skills e.g fluency, tone of voice, voice projection etc
-If you are making a write up make sure your points are clearly spelt out, major heading and subheadings clearly shown, in short, make your work clear and logical to follow.
6. Conclusions and recommendations
This step might not be required but after presenting your findings, what are your conclusions and recommendation stemming from the research that you would have undertaken?
Recommendations to :
-your school
-community
-businesses
-government etc
Cala tips
Where possible use ICT tools to help you with your research
Take pictures, videos etc
Closing remarks
In carrying out your CALA's be guided by your teacher, this article is a general guide.
Thank you very much sir, your guide is clear
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