Exercises: Planning, analysing and evaluating an economics research study

Before you start your research study, you need to know what is confirmed and what you still have to check. Here is what you have been given:

• The extract of the Economics Curriculum Specification used for this unit shows, in its contents page, a section called Research study and a section called Assessment criteria for the research study. The text of those sections was not in the extract.

• Your course outline lists the research study as the second assessment component, worth 20%.

Sort each statement below into one of three groups: Confirmed (from the information above), Must check (you need your teacher, the specification or the current SEC guidelines), or False.

1. a) The specification has a section headed "Research study".

1. b) The specification has a section called "Assessment criteria for the research study".

1. c) Your course outline lists the research study as the second assessment component, worth 20%.

1. d) The maximum word count of the report.

1. e) The date by which the report must be submitted.

1. f) Whether you work alone or in a group.

1. g) The exact wording of the official assessment criteria.

1. h) The practice rubric in this unit is the official SEC marking scheme.

Then write three questions you will ask your teacher in the first week, and say where you will look for the answers (for example, the specification, the SEC/NCCA guidelines for the current year, or your teacher).

The three research questions below are too weak to investigate. For each one, (i) say in one sentence why it is weak, and (ii) rewrite it as a specific question that includes a place, a time period and something measurable. Then name one Irish source of data you could use.

1. a) "Is Ireland rich?"

1. b) "Are rents bad?"

1. c) "Why is everything so dear?"

Niamh, a Leaving Certificate student in Athlone, wants to find out whether the price of a cinema ticket affects the number of tickets sold. She collects these figures from a local cinema (invented figures for practice):

Ticket price (€)	Average weekly attendance
8	520
9	480
10	430
11	410

1. a) Identify the independent variable and the dependent variable, and give the unit of each.

1. b) Name two other factors that could also change attendance. Say whether Niamh should hold each one constant or just acknowledge it as a limitation.

1. c) Calculate the percentage change in price and the percentage change in attendance when the price rises from €8 to €11. Give your answers to 1 decimal place.

1. d) Write a hypothesis for Niamh with a clear direction. Say which economic idea it is based on.

Choose one of these topic areas:

1. The cost of a weekly grocery basket in your county

2. The minimum wage and teenage jobs in hospitality

3. Fuel prices and the choice between driving and public transport in Kerry

4. Tourism demand and hotel prices in Killarney

1. a) Write a research question for your topic. It must include a place, a time period and a measurable item.

1. b) Write a hypothesis that predicts a direction (increase, decrease, or difference between two groups).

1. c) Name the economic concept from your course that the study relies on (for example, price elasticity, opportunity cost or inflation), and explain in two sentences why it fits.

1. d) State what data you would need and name a realistic source for it.

1. e) Self-check your work. Answer yes or no to each item, and rewrite any part where you answered no:

• Can the question be answered with data you can actually get?

• Is there a place and a time period?

• Is the hypothesis testable, meaning it could turn out to be wrong?

• Is an economic concept clearly linked to the question?

• Is the question narrow enough for one student to investigate?

You are researching the question: "How have rents in Dublin changed since 2019?" You find four sources:

Source	Description
A	A CSO statistical release on rents, published quarterly, with a methodology note explaining how rents are measured
B	An anonymous blog post from 2021 called "Why you'll never afford a home", citing no figures
C	A quarterly report from a property website, based on rents advertised on its own site
D	An Instagram poll of 120 followers of an influencer asking "Is your rent too high?"

1. a) For each source, rate its reliability as High, Medium or Low. Judge it on author or organisation, method, date, coverage and possible bias, and give one reason for each rating.

1. b) Choose the two sources you would use. Explain your choice.

1. c) Source C is based on advertised rents, not on rents actually paid. Explain why this matters for your conclusions.

1. d) Write a source note of about 40 words for one of your chosen sources. It should say who produced it, what it measures, and one limitation.

A fifth-year student in a Sligo school wants to find out how much fifth-year students spend each week on food and drink outside school, and whether students with part-time jobs spend more. The school has 160 fifth-year students. She plans a questionnaire for 50 of them.

1. a) List four ethical or safety precautions she should take before and during the survey (for example, about permission, privacy and sensitive questions).

1. b) Suggest how she could choose 50 students so that the sample is not biased. Explain why asking only her friends would be a problem.

1. c) These three draft questions are flawed. Say what is wrong with each and rewrite it:

• Q1: "Do you agree that students waste far too much money on coffee?"

• Q2: "How much do you earn at your Tesco job, and what is your PPS number?"

• Q3: "How much do you spend?"

1. d) Draft a simple four-week timeline: planning, collecting data, analysing, writing up.

1. e) Self-assess your plan using this practice rubric. It is a practice tool and not the official SEC criteria. Give yourself 1, 2 or 3 for each criterion and justify each score in one sentence.

Criterion	1 (Developing)	2 (Secure)	3 (Strong)
Ethics and safety	One precaution, vague	Two or three clear precautions	Four or more precautions, each with a reason
Sampling	No method stated	A method, but bias not discussed	A method and bias addressed
Question wording	Questions leading or unclear	Mostly clear and neutral	All clear, neutral and measurable
Timeline	No timeline	Steps listed with no dates	Realistic steps with dates and a buffer

A student investigates the hypothesis: "Average monthly rents in Dublin rose faster than in Cork between 2019 and 2023." She collects these figures (invented for practice, in euro per month):

Year	Dublin (€)	Cork (€)
2019	1 950	1 320
2020	1 940	1 300
2021	1 990	1 400
2022	2 160	1 520
2023	2 330	1 650

1. a) Calculate the change in euro and the percentage change from 2019 to 2023 for each city. Give percentages to 1 decimal place.

1. b) Calculate an index number for 2022 and 2023 for each city, with 2019 = 100. Give your answers to 1 decimal place.

1. c) Is the hypothesis supported? Explain the difference between the answer using euro change and the answer using percentage change, and say which is better for comparing growth between two cities with different starting levels.

1. d) Write a findings paragraph of 80–100 words that includes at least two numbers and does not claim to know the cause of the rent increases.

1. e) Give two limitations of using these figures to test the hypothesis.

A student in a Limerick school tests the hypothesis: "Part-time work increases a student's weekly spending." She surveys 60 Transition Year and fifth-year students. Of these, 38 have a part-time job and 22 do not. The average weekly spending is €45 for students with a job and €28 for those without. All answers were self-reported on paper forms, and all 60 students come from one school.

1. a) Calculate the difference in average weekly spending. Then calculate how much higher, as a percentage, spending is for working students compared with non-working students (to 1 decimal place).

1. b) Does this result prove that part-time work causes higher spending? Explain.

1. c) Identify four limitations of the study, referring to the information above (for example, sample, how data was collected, other variables, size).

1. d) Write a "Limitations and evaluation" paragraph of about 120–150 words. This is a practice target, not an official limit. It should:

• state the result with numbers,

• explain at least three limitations,

• suggest one specific improvement for a future study.

Read this draft extract from a student's study on bus use:

Hypothesis: Cheaper fares are good.

Method: I looked at Leap Card journeys in my town for three months after the fare discount and found they went up from 4 200 to 4 900 per week.

Conclusion: This proves the fare discount caused a big increase in passengers, so the Government should cut all fares.

1. a) Calculate the percentage increase in weekly journeys (to 1 decimal place).

1. b) Score the draft using this practice rubric (not the official SEC criteria). Give 1, 2 or 3 for each criterion and justify each score by quoting or referring to the draft.

Criterion	1 (Developing)	2 (Secure)	3 (Strong)
Question and hypothesis	Vague, not testable	Clear but no direction or measure	Specific, measurable and directional
Evidence and numbers	Few or no numbers	Numbers given but not analysed	Numbers analysed (for example, percentages) with a source
Conclusion matches evidence	Claims go far beyond the data	Mostly supported, some overclaiming	Cautious, supported and linked to the hypothesis
Limitations	None mentioned	One mentioned briefly	Several explained with their effect on the conclusion

1. c) Give the draft a total out of 12.

1. d) Rewrite the hypothesis and the conclusion so that each would score 3 on its criterion. Use your answer to (a).

1. e) Set one improvement target for the next draft.