Evaluation

What is an evaluation?

• making observations about how well your investigation worked in

relation to the title / key ideas

• what were the strengths and weaknesses of your data collection?

• how could this investigation be improved or developed further?

Examiner’s comments

“The most effective investigations made observations about the

limitations of methods and how this must have affected the

conclusions. They also made points about the accuracy of the data

collection and linked this to the results.

In the weaker investigations candidates simply listed the problems

they had or described what they could have done.”

Level 1

• Some appreciation of how the investigation could be improved

• Comments on the reliability of the methods

Level 2

• Clear appreciation of how the investigation could be improved

• Comments on the reliability of the methods

• Comments on the accuracy of the results

Level 3

• Comments on the reliability of the methods

• Comments on the accuracy of the results

• Comments on the validity of the conclusions

Hints

As your comments are linked to the original aims of the study – start by

quoting the original aim(s) or key idea(s).

Ask yourself the following questions:• How effective was the data in addressing the original key ideas?• Should I have collected data at different times of the day or week?• Did the weather affect my results?• Did I collect enough data?• How accurate were my data collection methods?• What other data might have been useful?• What was the most useful data?

Continued on next slide

Hints 2

Ask yourself the following questions:

• What was the least useful data?• Were there any particular problems in collecting the data?• How could the methods have been improved?• Did the lack of data or data collection problems affect the

conclusions?

Evaluation organisation:1. Evaluation of methods2. Accuracy of results3. Validity of conclusions

Examiner Hints

“ The key to a successful evaluation is to link the three evaluative

elements together in the following way:

1. Identify the limitation of the methods

2. Say how this led to inaccurate results

3. Explain how using inaccurate results might lead to

invalid conclusions