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Unit 2: Conducting, Analyzing, and Communicating Research

8 dot points across 8 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do you analyze your data to produce findings, without overstating what the data shows?

Analyzing data and reporting findings: applying an analysis appropriate to the data (statistical for quantitative, thematic or coding-based for qualitative), interpreting results accurately, and reporting findings honestly without overreaching what the evidence supports.
How AP Research students analyze their data with an approach suited to its type (statistical analysis for quantitative data, thematic or coding-based analysis for qualitative), interpret the results accurately, and report findings that the evidence genuinely supports, distinguishing what the data shows from what they wish it showed.
10 min answer →

How do you turn your findings into a defensible new understanding through a clear line of reasoning?

Building an evidence-based argument: constructing a logical line of reasoning from findings to a new understanding, using sufficient and relevant evidence, and engaging counter-evidence so the conclusion is defensible rather than asserted.
How AP Research students turn findings into a defensible new understanding: constructing a logical line of reasoning from evidence to conclusion, using sufficient and relevant evidence, addressing counter-evidence and alternative explanations, and justifying the new understanding rather than merely asserting it.
10 min answer →

How do you carry out your method and collect data rigorously and honestly?

Collecting and managing data: executing the chosen method faithfully, recording data systematically and accurately, handling deviations from the plan transparently, and organizing data so it is ready for honest analysis.
How AP Research students carry out their method faithfully, record data systematically and accurately, document any deviations from the plan transparently, and organize their data so it is ready for honest analysis, the bridge between a designed inquiry and a defensible finding.
9 min answer →

How do you write in your discipline's conventions and attribute every source correctly?

Discipline-specific conventions and citation: writing in the style, structure, and language of the relevant academic discipline, and attributing every source with a consistent citation style to maintain academic integrity.
How AP Research students write in the conventions of their chosen academic discipline (its structure, style, and terminology) and attribute every source with a consistent citation style, maintaining the academic integrity that underpins the whole paper and avoiding the plagiarism that can void the work.
9 min answer →

How do you discuss what your findings mean, acknowledge their limits, and explain why they matter?

Writing the discussion: interpreting findings in light of the literature, acknowledging the study's limitations honestly, and explaining the implications and significance of the new understanding for the field or context.
How AP Research students write the discussion section: interpreting findings against the existing literature, acknowledging the limitations of the inquiry honestly, and explaining the implications and significance of the new understanding, the analytically demanding section where strong papers separate from weak ones.
10 min answer →

Why does reflecting on your research process matter, and how do you do it well?

Reflecting on the research process: examining and articulating how your inquiry and thinking developed, what you learned and would change, and how your own perspective shaped the work, drawing on the process record for the oral defense.
How AP Research students reflect on their research process: articulating how their inquiry and thinking developed, what they learned and would do differently, and how their own perspective shaped the work, a reflective skill that runs through the process record and is directly assessed in the oral defense.
9 min answer →

What is the AP Research Academic Paper, and how is it structured and scored?

The Academic Paper: the structure of the 4,000 to 5,000 word paper (introduction and gap, literature review, method, results, discussion, conclusion), how it is weighted (75 percent), and the criteria the scoring rubric rewards across its sections.
How the AP Research Academic Paper is structured and scored: the 4,000 to 5,000 word paper that presents the whole inquiry through introduction, literature review, method, results, discussion, and conclusion, why it is 75 percent of the grade, and what the rubric rewards across its content areas from establishing the gap to justifying a new understanding.
12 min answer →

How do you present your inquiry to a panel and defend it under questioning?

The Presentation and Oral Defense: communicating the inquiry in a 15 to 20 minute presentation, then fielding panel questions on the research process, depth of understanding, and reflection, worth 25 percent of the score.
How AP Research students deliver the 15 to 20 minute presentation of their inquiry and handle the oral defense that follows, where a panel asks questions about the research process, the depth of understanding behind the choices, and the student's reflection, the component worth 25 percent of the score.
11 min answer →