| Requirements (What do you need to do for this assessment) Task Provide a written response to the following task: Climate change has a wide-reaching impact on the livelihood of individuals. The United Nations refers to climate change as a defining issue of our time. The impact of climate change is global and unprecedented. The lack of drastic action today will make it difficult and costly to adapt to the impacts of climate change. Develop a possible research question on the climate change, identify the independent and dependent variable, and a hypothesis. What is the theory? What is the causal mechanism? Can the theory be verified? Outline the path to evaluating the causal relationship highlighted in your theory. Where are scientific theories coming from? Reflect on the notion of how science is built on experience and observation, and that many theories do not come from actual experience but can also be the result of logical reasoning. (Try not to add to question in one). Guidance: This is the third task in the Portfolio of Essays in this module. This task is graded, will count towards your overall Portfolio mark and you will receive written feedback on your performance from your teacher. Please note: This is an individual assessment so you should not work with any other student. Please ensure you keep a formal academic style throughout your response. |
Structure: Response to the task should, at minimum: Demonstrate your understanding of the basic issues raised by the questions. Demonstrate that you can use subject specific vocabulary appropriately. Show analytical skills including ability to synthesize material, present evidence and argue effectively. Refer to the basic literature in the area (assigned texts and other sources) and use and acknowledge sources using citation and referencing conventions following the Harvard referencing style. You must include a reference list |
| Theory and/or task resources required for the assessment: To complete this task please refer to the content covered in the core textbook for the module: Kellstedt, P. M., & Whitten, G. D. (2018). Fundamentals of Political Science Research (3rd Revised edition). Cambridge University Press (Virtual Publishing). |
| Referencing style: You must use at least 3 academic sources in your response, and you must follow the Harvard referencing style for all the citations and the reference list. |
| Expected word count: The word limit for this task is 1500 words (+/-10%) |
| Learning Outcomes Assessed: This essay assignment will assess the following module learning outcomes: Demonstrate understanding of the basic issues in research design and philosophy of science Demonstrate knowledge of the basic issues in the philosophy of science Evidence a basic ability to construct a scientific explanation (research question, theory-building, hypotheses, etc.) Evaluate scientific theories using empirical evidence Provide evidence of knowledge relating to the major schools of thought in the philosophy of science Analyse how scientific theories are constructed |
