Please complete the following tasks over the summer to prepare for your AP Research academic paper and alleviate your workload during the school year:
1. Look over some AP Research sample papers, especially papers on topics that interest you. This will give you a sense of the final product. However, do not feel overwhelmed by the difficulty of some of the papers. You will not need to do cutting-edge research in order to score a 5 in AP Research. Please note that the sample papers were graded on an old rubric. When the new school year starts, we will go over the new paper rubric to discuss the basic requirements to receive a 3, 4, or 5 on the AP Research academic paper.
2. Consider research topic(s) that you would like to explore. In AP Seminar, the type of research you focused on was primarily search and report. In AP Research, your research will need to include a replicable method to address a focused research question that will contribute to a new understanding in your chosen field.
- You may want to refer to pages 18–26 of the 2017 AP Research Student Workbook as a guide for turning a problem statement into a research question. To access the Workbook, please go the Portfolio tab, click on “Cloud” on the blue bar and select “AP Research Docs.” I will send you a password to access the URL from which you will go to
AP_Research_Docs→Textbooks→2017 AP Research Student Workbook.pdf.
3. E-mail me with the following items:
- research topic(s)
- focused research question(s)
- brief outline of how you will address your question
- What methods do you plan to use?
- What will you do this summer to learn the basics of your proposed methods?
4. In our e-mail correspondence, I will give you general feedback on refining your research question. After I approve your topic/question, you can continue your research and fill out the inquiry proposal form. This form can also be found on page 55 of the AP Research Course Description.
5. After completing the inquiry proposal form, please e-mail it to me for approval. While I set the deadline for October 30, please consider completing this form as soon as possible, because you cannot proceed with your research (including data collection) until I approve your inquiry proposal form.
Additional Notes
Your research question should have the following three elements:
- focused: topic of inquiry is narrow in scope
- valuable: your research question should lead to a new understanding in the field
- feasible: you should be able to apply your proposed methods to test your research question and finish your paper by April 25, 2020.
To answer your research question, you have two approaches:
- primary research: collecting your own data (e.g., surveys, interviews)
- If you decide to collect your own data on human subjects, you will most likely have to go through an Institutional Review Board (IRB) process to ensure compliance with research ethics. If you decide to go this route, I will work with you to navigate the process.
- secondary research: using existing data sources
- Using existing data sources is a valid option, but make sure that you are using existing data to do original analysis that will fill a gap in the existing literature.
- Using existing data sources is a valid option, but make sure that you are using existing data to do original analysis that will fill a gap in the existing literature.
This entire process may sound daunting, but developing a new understanding simply means you have to demonstrate the following:
- Do an extensive literature review to explain and synthesize the research that has already been done related to your topic. This represents the current understanding in the field.
- Next, you want to identify what has not been done. This is called a gap in the literature.
- Your research will fill this gap with a new understanding, which does not have to be groundbreaking. Tiny increments that add to the existing research would be more than sufficient. Some examples:
- Current research in Topic X has focused primarily on adult populations in first- and second-tier cities in China. I will examine data collected at a suburban high school in a third-tier city in China to explore how current research in the field could be generalized to different age groups and regions in China.
- Current models about Topic Y have focused on Variables A, B, and C with very little discussion about Variables D and E. I will extend current models to test if Variables D and E will uncover a new understanding about my research question pertaining to Topic Y.
