← Modern Studies syllabus

ScotlandModern Studies

Research Methods

7 dot points across 7 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do social researchers analyse and present data, and how do you read statistics critically?

Analysing and presenting data: quantitative analysis (averages, percentages, correlation) and qualitative analysis (coding, themes), tables, charts and graphs, and reading statistical evidence critically.
How data analysis and presentation work in SQA Advanced Higher Modern Studies. Covers quantitative analysis (averages, percentages, correlation versus causation), qualitative analysis (coding and themes), presenting data in tables, charts and graphs, and reading statistics critically.
12 min answer →

How do you draw sound conclusions from research evidence, and what does the question paper expect?

Drawing conclusions: synthesising evidence to answer the research question, judging the hypothesis, supporting conclusions with data, acknowledging limitations, and the source-based conclusions question in the exam.
How to draw sound conclusions in SQA Advanced Higher Modern Studies. Covers synthesising evidence to answer the research question, judging the hypothesis, supporting each conclusion with data, acknowledging limitations, and the source-based draw-conclusions question in the exam.
12 min answer →

What primary research methods can a Modern Studies researcher use, and how do you choose between them?

Primary research methods: questionnaires and surveys, interviews (structured, semi-structured, unstructured), focus groups, observation and field research, with their strengths, limitations and the quantitative-qualitative distinction.
How primary research methods work in SQA Advanced Higher Modern Studies. Covers questionnaires and surveys, structured to unstructured interviews, focus groups, observation and field research, the quantitative-qualitative distinction, and how to justify a method against a research aim.
13 min answer →

What makes social research trustworthy, and how do reliability, validity, objectivity and ethics protect it?

Evaluating research quality: reliability and replicability, validity, objectivity versus bias, representativeness and generalisability, and research ethics (informed consent, confidentiality, harm).
How research quality is judged in SQA Advanced Higher Modern Studies. Covers reliability and replicability, validity, objectivity versus bias, representativeness and generalisability, and the ethics of social research including informed consent, confidentiality and avoiding harm.
13 min answer →

How do social researchers choose a sample, and what makes a sample representative in Advanced Higher Modern Studies?

Sampling: the population and sampling frame, probability sampling (random, systematic, stratified, cluster) and non-probability sampling (quota, snowball, convenience), sample size, and representativeness.
How sampling works in SQA Advanced Higher Modern Studies. Covers populations and sampling frames, probability methods (random, systematic, stratified, cluster), non-probability methods (quota, snowball, convenience), sample size, representativeness and the trade-offs that decide which method fits a study.
13 min answer →

What secondary sources can a Modern Studies researcher use, and how do you evaluate them critically?

Secondary research methods: official statistics, academic literature, media and online sources, content analysis, and critically evaluating secondary data for bias, accuracy and currency.
How secondary research works in SQA Advanced Higher Modern Studies. Covers official statistics, academic literature, media and online sources, content analysis, and how to evaluate secondary data critically for bias, accuracy, currency and the purpose behind it.
12 min answer →

What are the stages of the social research process, and why does Advanced Higher Modern Studies treat research as a structured cycle?

The social research process: framing a research question and aim, forming a hypothesis, choosing a method, gathering and analysing data, and reporting conclusions as a repeatable cycle.
How the social research process works in SQA Advanced Higher Modern Studies. Covers framing an aim and research question, hypotheses, choosing methods, gathering and analysing data, drawing conclusions, and why research is a structured, repeatable cycle that underpins both the question paper and the dissertation.
13 min answer →