Educational Research

Course Code: 0837

Assignment #2

Submitted to: Muhammad Younas Shakir

Submitted by: Zanjbeela Maryam
Student ID: CE620363
Submission Date: 17 October, 2021

ALLAMA IQBAL OPEN UNIVERSITY ISLAMABAD

Question 1:
Define different forms of hypothesis and also discuss the characteristics of hypothesis.
Solution:
Hypothesis is an assumption that is made on the basis of some evidence. This is the initial point of
any investigation that translates the research questions into a prediction. It includes components
like variables, population and the relation between the variables.
According to Umansky (1982) a research hypothesis is a hypothesis that is used to test the
relationship between two or more variables.
Characteristics of Hypothesis
Engel, Sobol and Worden (2000) explain following characteristics of hypothesis:
 The hypothesis should be clear and precise to consider it to be reliable.
 If the hypothesis is a relational hypothesis, then it should be stating the relationship
between variables.
 The hypothesis must be specific and should have scope for conducting more tests.
 The way of explanation of the hypothesis must be very simple and it should also be
understood that the simplicity of the hypothesis is not related to its significance.
Sources of Hypothesis
Following are the sources of hypothesis:
 The resemblance between the phenomenon.
 Observations from past studies, present-day experiences and from the competitors.
 Scientific theories.
 General patterns that influence the thinking process of people.
Types of Hypothesis
There are six forms of hypothesis and they are:
 Simple hypothesis
 Complex hypothesis
 Directional hypothesis
 Non-directional hypothesis
 Null hypothesis
 Associative and casual hypothesis
Simple Hypothesis
It shows a relationship between one dependent variable and a single independent variable. For
example – If you eat more vegetables, you will lose weight faster. Here, eating more vegetables is
an independent variable, while losing weight is the dependent variable.
Complex Hypothesis
It shows the relationship between two or more dependent variables and two or more independent
variables. Eating more vegetables and fruits leads to weight loss, glowing skin, reduces the risk of
many diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure and some cancers.
Directional Hypothesis
It shows how a researcher is intellectual and committed to a particular outcome. The relationship
between the variables can also predict its nature. For example- children aged four years eating
proper food over a five-year period are having higher IQ levels than children not having a proper
meal. This shows the effect and direction of effect.
Non-directional Hypothesis
It is used when there is no theory involved. It is a statement that a relationship exists between two
variables, without predicting the exact nature (direction) of the relationship.
Null Hypothesis
It provides the statement which is contrary to the hypothesis. It’s a negative statement, and there
is no relationship between independent and dependent variables. The symbol is denoted by “HO”.
Associative and Causal Hypothesis
Associative hypothesis occurs when there is a change in one variable resulting in a change in the
other variable. Whereas, causal hypothesis proposes a cause and effect interaction between two or
more variables.
Examples of Hypothesis
Following are the examples of hypothesis based on their types:
 Consumption of sugary drinks every day leads to obesity is an example of a simple
hypothesis.
 All lilies have the same number of petals is an example of a null hypothesis.
 If a person gets 7 hours of sleep, then he will feel less fatigue than if he sleeps less.
Functions of Hypothesis
Following are the functions performed by the hypothesis:
 Hypothesis helps in making an observation and experiments possible.
 It becomes the start point for the investigation.
 Hypothesis helps in verifying the observations.
 It helps in directing the inquiries in the right directions.

Question 2:
Develop a sample research proposal of your own.
Solution:
The goal of a research proposal is twofold: to present and justify the need to study a research
problem and to present the practical ways in which the proposed study should be conducted. The
design elements and procedures for conducting research are governed by standards of the
predominant discipline in which the problem resides, therefore, the guidelines for research
proposals are more exacting and less formal than a general project proposal. Research proposals
contain extensive literature reviews. They must provide persuasive evidence that a need exists for
the proposed study. In addition to providing a rationale, a proposal describes detailed methodology
for conducting the research consistent with requirements of the professional or academic field and
a statement on anticipated outcomes and/or benefits derived from the study's completion.
 Develop your skills in thinking about and designing a comprehensive research study;
 Learn how to conduct a comprehensive review of the literature to determine that a research
problem has not been adequately addressed or has been answered ineffectively and, in so
doing, become better at locating pertinent scholarship related to your topic;
 Improve your general research and writing skills;
 Practice identifying the logical steps that must be taken to accomplish one's research goals;
 Critically review, examine, and consider the use of different methods for gathering and
analyzing data related to the research problem; and,
 Nurture a sense of inquisitiveness within yourself and to help see yourself as an active
participant in the process of doing scholarly research.
According to Mintzberg. (2017) proposal should contain all the key elements involved in
designing a completed research study, with sufficient information that allows readers to assess the
validity and usefulness of your proposed study. The only elements missing from a research
proposal are the findings of the study and your analysis of those findings. Finally, an effective
proposal is judged on the quality of your writing and, therefore, it is important that your proposal
is coherent, clear, and compelling.
Regardless of the research problem you are investigating and the methodology you choose, all
research proposals must address the following questions:
1. What do you plan to accomplish? Be clear and succinct in defining the research problem
and what it is you are proposing to research.
2. Why do you want to do the research? In addition to detailing your research design, you
also must conduct a thorough review of the literature and provide convincing evidence that
it is a topic worthy of in-depth investigation. Be sure to answer the "So what?" question.
3. How are you going to conduct the research? Be sure that what you propose is doable. If
you're having difficulty formulating a research problem to propose investigating
Proposal Process
As with writing most college-level academic papers, research proposals are generally organized
the same way throughout most social science disciplines. The text of proposals generally vary in
length between ten and thirty-five pages, followed by the list of references. However, before you
begin, read the assignment carefully and, if anything seems unclear, ask your professor whether
there are any specific requirements for organizing and writing the proposal.
A good place to begin is to ask yourself a series of questions:
 What do I want to study?
 Why is the topic important?
 How is it significant within the subject areas covered in my class?
 What problems will it help solve?
 How does it build upon [and hopefully go beyond] research already conducted on the topic?
 What exactly should I plan to do, and can I get it done in the time available?
 In general, a compelling research proposal should document your knowledge of the topic
and demonstrate your enthusiasm for conducting the study. Approach it with the intention
of leaving your readers feeling like, "Wow, that's an exciting idea and I can’t wait to see
how it turns out!"
Information Issues
Your small business can miss opportunities and even find itself in regulatory trouble if you don't
monitor information about your industry. Missing opportunities and running afoul of regulators
can cost you time and money that you cannot afford to lose. Yet, the challenge for a small business
owner is that you don't have the funds to hire a corporate librarian or competitive intelligence
specialist to seek out and maintain this information. It's important to develop cost-effective ways
to keep abreast of legal and industry changes that have a significant impact on your business.
Information Needs
Before searching for information sources, identify the information that you need. During your
workday, keep a record of the types of information you use to perform your job and the topics of
any Internet searches that you perform. Survey your employees about their information needs, and
ask them how they find their information. You will likely identify several areas in which your
business relies on your ability to develop accurate sources of information.
Information Sources
There are numerous online and print information sources that are very accessible to businesses of
any size. Government agencies often sponsor websites that contain a great deal of information for
non-legal professionals. These sites are usually very reliable and up-to-date.
Industry and trade organizations may also sponsor websites and print publications that contain
industry news and comprehensive information about regulatory changes.
Proprietary database companies sell online access to multiple information sources, including
legislative and regulatory information as well as industry guides that contain information about
companies and their leadership. Database companies offer subscription packages that include
access to data sources that are important to your business and industry.
Maintaining Information
A good way to ensure that information remains up-to-date and accessible is to develop a shared
spreadsheet for the different information categories pertinent to your business. Assign
responsibility for maintaining these spreadsheets to one or more employees, or take on the
responsibility yourself. To address the problem of making business decisions and assumptions
based on outdated information, specify the date when information is entered and updated in each
cell or section of the spreadsheet. Other good policies for maintaining information spreadsheets
include identifying information sources in the form of comments on spreadsheet cells and
assigning someone to review all of the spreadsheet's information on an annual basis.
Research Proposal
Title of research:
Young Children’s Drawing Behaviors: Supporting Young Children Drawing
Objectives:
This is a continuation of an existing project. The overall objective is:
To explore the impact upon the young child’s drawing behaviors of the views and beliefs of
significant others across home, pre-school and school settings.
Research Questions
 What is the adult’s role when supporting young children drawing?
 What forms of child/ adult interaction supports rather than constrains young children’s
episodes of drawing?
 How does the adult ‘tune in’ to young children’s needs in relation to drawing?
 How does the adult recognize when it is appropriate to intervene?
 Does the form of interaction appear to change with the age or perceived drawing ability of
the child?
 Is the form of interaction between child and adult influenced by gendered behaviors?
 How does the environment best support child/ adult interaction? (Time, space, organization
of materials.)
 Does adult support for young children drawing differ from support given in relation to
other activities?
 How important is the adult’s awareness/ knowledge of the child’s holistic needs when
supporting young children’s drawing behaviors?
 How important is the adult’s awareness/ knowledge of the child’s particular patterns of
meaning making when supporting young children’s drawing behaviors?
 What is the impact upon young children drawing of an adult’s own experience/ knowledge
and understanding of drawing behavior?
Please give a brief justification of your proposed research project:
This research builds upon previous research completed by the project leader.
Within the field of early years’ education, development and care there is currently a focus upon
the role of the adult when interacting with very young children. The outcomes of three influential
research projects, The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education Project (EPPE, 2003),
Researching Effective Pedagogy in the Early years (REPEY, 2002) and Study of Pedagogical
Effectiveness in Early Learning (SPEEL, 2002) all draw attention to the need for ‘sustained shared
thinking’ between the child and the adult and careful consideration of what this looks like in
practice. In addition, the Primary National Strategy’s current promotion of ‘creativity’ across the
curriculum gives practitioners permission to consider different approaches to children’s learning.
Given a cultural pre-occupation with young children achieving conventional literacy early, in this
country their use of drawing is generally seen by parents and practitioners as merely a stage along
the way to writing, to be discarded once this has been achieved. The documented outcomes of
previous stages of this project forms part of a small amount of material which looks at drawing
and its role for children in re-presenting their ongoing thinking (Ring, 2003, Anning and Ring,
2004). With a focus upon writing and the lack of attention paid to the arts over a long period of
time, including both initial teacher education and continuing professional development, it is
unsurprising that practitioners feel that they lack a clear understanding of how to support a child
who is drawing and either over direct or are afraid to involve themselves in what they consider is
a ‘creative’ activity.
This project gathers data from a group of twenty ‘expert’ practitioners as they:
 support young children drawing within their own settings
 document the process and their ongoing thinking in relation to their role
 come together with peers to share, discuss and analyze the data they have collected and
ways of moving forward
Please outline the proposed sample group, including any specific criteria:
The sample group is a group of up to twenty ‘expert’ early years practitioners, acknowledged for
their expertise by their appointment as Advanced Skills Teachers, Head Teachers, Deputy Head
Teachers etc.
Describe how the proposed sample group will be formulated:
The group will be drawn from a group of such practitioners who are attending a three-day course
given by the project leader. Participation by the practitioners will be through self-selection.
Indicate clearly what the involvement of the sample group will be in the research process:
 Stage 1
The group will be involved in documenting their work with young children – both the process and
the product. A multi-method approach will include the use of questionnaire; observation;
collection of visual data via digital images and video tape; and the ongoing completion of a
learning journal. Focus group discussions will take place with all participants having the
opportunity to contribute.
 Stage 2
Visits will be made by the project leader to a sub-set of the sample in their settings. Once again
participation by the practitioners will be through self-selection. A multi- method approach will
include the use of semi-structured interview; observation; collection of visual data via digital
images and video tape; examination of documentation collected by the participants.
Specify how the consent of subjects will be obtained. Please include within this a description of
any information with which you intend to provide the subjects:
A group meeting of all adult participants will take place prior to commencement of the project. All
participants will be given a copy of the British Educational Research Association (BERA) (2004)
Revised Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research (Appendix 1). These guidelines will be read
at the meeting and fully discussed as to their ramifications for the research project in the particular
early years’ settings. Agreements made by all at the meeting, where all parties have reached ‘an
ethically acceptable position in which their actions would be considered justifiable and sound’,
(BERA, 2004), will form the basis of a research consent form which will be signed by participant
and researcher.
Indicate any potential risks to subjects and how you propose to minimize these:
Particular attention will be paid to the role of the children within the project. It is expected that the
children being taught by the adult participants within the study will be aged between 3 and 5 years.
It is expected that involvement in episodes of drawing activity will be voluntary and that, given
that the research is taking place in their everyday context and that the practitioners are part of that
context, the normality of the children’s experience can be maintained.
It is anticipated that each setting will have an agreed policy (school or LEA) on gaining permission
for the taking of video and digital images within the school setting (Appendix 2) which will be
adhered to. In many settings parents sign a consent form when the children begin attending the
setting agreeing to their child being videoed. In relation to this research project, following editing
of any video material or digital images it will be necessary to gain additional consent from parents
of featured children if the material is to be published. No child will be video-taped or photographed
where permission by parents has been refused.
The reason for the use of the video-camera/ digital camera will be explained simply to the children.
They will be told that a particular activity is being videoed so that they can choose not to take part.
Time must be found for children to see the data collected if the children request this.
Ownership of material completed by the children
The original materials/ drawings will remain in the setting but the researcher will make color
photocopies of all drawings.
Ownership of videotaped material
The original videotapes/ digital images, if taken by the adult participants, will remain with the
setting and the researcher will make a copy. Videotapes/ digital images taken by the researcher
will remain with the researcher but will be made available to the participants. Following
observation of video-tapes/ digital images by practitioners and researcher it is anticipated that only
clips of video and digital images agreed by all parties will eventually be retained. Both the setting
and the researcher will have copies of edited material.
Describe the procedures you intend to follow in order to maintain the anonymity and
confidentiality of the subjects:
All participants will be assured that their names and their setting will not be divulged. In written
documentation the children’s first names will be changed and surnames will not be used.
Practitioners will be asked not to use children’s surnames when videoing.
Question 3:
Discuss the significance of sources of information in research.
Solution:
Using reliable sources in research papers strengthens your own voice and argument. While
researching for sources relevant to your topic, you need to critically read a source to identify
possible political or other forms of bias, to consider the effects of historical context, and to discover
possible bias on the part of the author. The age of a source is another factor to consider, the
importance of which will differ depending on the topic. Consider the possible biases of the author.
Websites, unlike books, do not necessarily have publishers. Therefore, you should be attentive to
who is behind the websites you find.
Using sources in research papers strengthens your own voice and argument, but to do so effectively
you must understand your sources and vet their reliability.
When researching, it is important to determine the position and the reliability of every
source/author. This will ensure that your source is both credible and relevant, and that the source
will enhance your paper rather than undermine it. The following are a few recommendations to
approach sources in whatever form they take.
How Old Is the Source?
The guidelines for assessing the usability of print sources and digital sources (i.e., sources accessed
through the Internet) are similar. One point to keep in mind for both digital and print sources is
age: How old is the source? Examining the source’s age helps you determine whether the
information is relevant to your paper topic. Depending on your topic, different degrees of age will
be appropriate. For example, if you are writing on 17th-century British poetry, it is not enough to
simply find sources from the era, nor is adequate to reference only early 20th-century scholarly
sources. Instead, it will be helpful to combine the older, primary sources with more recent,
secondary scholarship. Doing so will make a convincing case for your particular argument. If you
are researching public-health theories, however, your argument will depend on more modern
scholarly sources. Older articles may include beliefs or facts that are outdated or have been proven
wrong by more contemporary research.
With digital sources, be wary of sites with old, outdated information. The point is to avoid
presenting inaccurate or outdated information that will negatively impact your paper.
Author Biases
Author bias is another consideration in choosing a source. “Author bias” means that the author
feels strongly about the topic one way or another, which prevents the author from taking a neutral
approach to presenting findings. For print sources, you can assess bias by considering the publisher
of the book. Books published by a university press undergo significant editing and review to
increase their validity and accuracy. Be cautious about self-published books or books published
by specific organizations like corporations or nonprofit groups. Unlike university presses, these
sources may have different guidelines and could be putting out information that is intentionally
misleading or uninformed. Similarly, periodicals like scholarly journals or magazines may also
have bias. However, scholarly journals tend to be peer-reviewed and contain citations of sources,
whereas a magazine article may contain information without providing any sources to substantiate
purported claims.
While you want to support your argument with your research, you don’t want to do so at the
expense of accuracy or validity.
Online Resources
Websites, unlike books, do not necessarily have publishers. Instead, you should consider who is
behind the websites you find. To avoid using information that comes from an unreliable source,
stick to scholarly databases. While you can find some articles with general search engines, a search
engine will only find non-scholarly articles. If you use broader Internet searches, look closely at
domain names. Domain names can tell you who sponsors the site and the purpose of that
sponsorship. Some examples include educational (.edu), commercial (.com), nonprofit (.org),
military (.mil), or network (.net).
Depending on your topic, you may want to avoid dot-com websites because their primary purpose
tends to be commerce, which can significantly affect the content that they publish. Additionally,
consider the purpose that the website serves. Is any contact information provided for the website’s
author? Does the website provide references to support the claims that it makes? If the answers to
these types of questions are not readily available, it may be best to look in other places for a reliable
source.
There are increasing numbers of non-scholarly sites that pertain to particular topics, but are not
scholarly sources. Blogs, for example, may cater to a particular topic or niche, but they are typically
created and managed by an individual or party with an interest in promoting the content of the
blog. Some blog writers may have valid credentials, but because their writing is not peer-reviewed
or held to an academic standard, sites such as these are typically unreliable sources.
Remember, when researching, the goal is not only to gather sources, but to gather reliable
resources. To do this, you should be able to not only track the claims contained within a source,
but also consider the stakes that may be involved for the author making those claims. While
personal motivation may not always be accessible in a document, in some cases there can be
contextual clues, like the type of publisher or sponsor. These may lead you to decide that one
source is more reliable than another.
Scholarly Sources
In academic writing, the sources you use must be reliable; therefore, you should rely mainly on
scholarly sources as the foundation for your research.
Not all sources are equal. One way to find reputable scholarly sources is to avoid using general
search engines such as Google or Wikipedia. Use academic search databases like JStor, EBSCO,
or Academic Search Premier. Primary sources give the researcher a glimpse into the time period
under review and provide opportunities for new analysis. In addition, do not hesitate to visit your
library in order to ask your librarian about accessing these databases, and also in order to search
for print materials.
Reliability
Research is the foundation of a strong argument, theory, or analysis. When constructing your
research paper, it is important to include reliable sources in your research. Without reliable sources,
readers may question the validity of your argument and your paper will not achieve its purpose.
Academic research papers are typically based on scholarly sources and primary sources. Scholarly
sources include a range of documents, source types, and formats, but they share an important
quality: credibility. More than any other source you are likely to encounter during your research,
a scholarly source is most likely to be reliable and accurate. Primary sources are documents that
were written or created during the time period under study. They include letters, newspaper
articles, photographs, and other artifacts that come directly from a particular time period.
Scholarly Sources
A scholarly source can be an article or book that was written by an expert in the academic field.
Most are by professors or doctoral students for publication in peer-reviewed academic journals.
Since the level of expertise and scrutiny is so high for these articles, they are considered to be
among the best and most trustworthy sources. Most of these articles will list an author‘s
credentials, such as relevant degrees, other publications, or employment at a university or research
institution. If an article does not, try searching for the author online to see how much expertise he
or she has in the field.
You may decide to use sources that are not scholarly articles, such as interviews or newspaper
articles. These sources should also be written by an expert in the field and published by a reputable
source. An investigative essay in the New Yorker would be fine; an investigative essay in the
National Enquirer would not.
Other types of scholarly sources include non-print media such as videos, documentaries, and radio
broadcasts. Other sources may include tangible items such as artifacts, art, or architecture. It’s
likely that you will find secondary sources that provide analysis of these sources, but you should
also examine them to conduct your own analysis.
Primary and Secondary Sources
A primary source is an original document. Primary sources can come in many different forms. In
an English paper, a primary source might be the poem, play, or novel you are studying. In a history
paper, it may be a historical document such as a letter, a journal, a map, the transcription of a news
broadcast, or the original results of a study conducted during the time period under review. If you
conduct your own field research, such as surveys, interviews, or experiments, your results would
also be considered a primary source. Primary sources are valuable because they provide the
researcher with the information closest to the time period or topic at hand. They also allow the
writer to conduct an original analysis of the source and to draw new conclusions.
Secondary sources, by contrast, are books and articles that analyze primary sources. They are
valuable because they provide other scholars’ perspectives on primary sources. You can also
analyze them to see if you agree with their conclusions or not. Most essays will use a combination
of primary and secondary sources.
Where to Find Scholarly Sources?
The first step in finding good resources is to look in the right place. If you want reliable sources,
avoid general search engines. Sites like Google, Yahoo, and Wikipedia may be good for general
searches, but if you want something you can cite in a scholarly paper, you need to find it from a
scholarly database.
Popular scholarly databases include JStor, Project Muse, the MLA International Bibliography,
Academic Search Premier, and ProQuest. These databases do charge a fee to view articles, but
most universities will pay for students to view the articles free of charge. Ask a librarian at your
college about the databases to which they offer access.
Most journals will allow you to access electronic copies of articles if you find them through a
database. This will not always be the case, however. If an article is listed in a database but can’t
be downloaded to your computer, write down the citation anyway. Many libraries will have hard
copies of journals, so if you know the author, date of publication, and page numbers, you can
probably find a print edition of the source.
At the college or university level, you have another incredible resource at your fingertips: your
college’s librarians! For help locating resources, you will find that librarians are extremely
knowledgeable and may help you uncover sources you would never have found on your own—
may be your school has a microfilm collection, an extensive genealogy database, or access to
another library’s catalog. You will not know unless you utilize the valuable skills available to you,
so be sure to find out how to get in touch with a research librarian for support!
Question 4:
Define checklist and explain its uses. What points one should keep in mind while developing
a checklist?
Solution:
A checklist is a type of job aid used to reduce failure by compensating for potential limits of human
memory and attention. It helps to ensure consistency and completeness in carrying out a task. A
basic example is the "to do list". A more advanced checklist would be a schedule, which lays out
tasks to be done according to time of day or other factors. A primary task in checklist is
documentation of the task and auditing against the documentation.
Applications
 Pre-flight checklists aid in aviation safety to ensure that critical items are not overlooked.
 Used in quality assurance of software engineering, to check process compliance, code
standardization and error prevention, and others.
 Often used in industry in operations procedures
 In civil litigation to deal with the complexity of discovery and motions practice. An
example is the open-source litigation checklist.
 Can aid in mitigating claims of negligence in public liability claims by providing evidence
of a risk management system being in place.
 Used by some investors as a critical part of their investment process.
 An ornithological checklist (Category: Ornithological checklists), a list of birds with
standardized names that helps ornithologists communicate with the public without the use
of scientific names in Latin.
 A popular tool for tracking sports card collections. Randomly inserted in packs, checklist
cards provide information on the contents of sports card set.
 The creation of emergency survival kits.
 In professional diving, checklists are used in the preparation of equipment for a dive, and
to ensure that the diver and life support systems are fully prepared before they enter the
water. To a lesser extent, checklists are used by a minority of recreational divers, and by a
larger proportion of technical divers during pre-dive checks. Studies have shown checklists
to be effective at reducing the number of errors and consequent incidents.
Health care use
Checklists have been used in healthcare practice to ensure that clinical practice guidelines are
followed. An example is the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist developed for the World Health
Organization and found to have a large effect on improving patient safety and subsequently found
to have a nil effect in a cohort of hospitals in the Province of Ontario in Canada.
Salekin, Rogers, and Sewell (1996) describe in their research paper after introduction of the
checklist mortality dropped by 23% and all complications by 40%, higher-quality studies are
required to make the meta-analysis more robust. However, checklist use in healthcare has not
always met with success and the transferability between settings has been questioned. In the UK,
a study on the implementation of a checklist for provision of medical care to elderly patients
admitting to hospital found that the checklist highlighted limitations with frailty assessment in
acute care and motivated teams to review routine practices, but that work is needed to understand
whether and how checklists can be embedded in complex multidisciplinary care.
Format
Checklists are often presented as lists with small checkboxes down the left hand side of the page.
A small tick or checkmark is drawn in the box after the item has been completed.
Other formats are also sometimes used. Aviation checklists generally consist of a system and an
action divided by a dashed line, and lack a checkbox as they are often read aloud and are usually
intended to be reused.
Concern
Excessive dependence of checklists may hinder performance when dealing with a time-critical
situation, for example a medical emergency or an in-flight emergency. Checklists should not be
used as a replacement for common sense. Intensive training including rote-learning of checklists
can help integrate use of checklists with more adaptive and flexible problem solving techniques.
Steps for Creating a Checklist the Right Way:
A checklist can be in 3 forms- a classic list with checkboxes, in a table format, or a color-coded
checklist. A typical checklist should have the following items:
Step 1: Give a name to your checklist
The name of the checklist represents the purpose and use of creating it.
Step 2: Date / Date range
This section can be created in the form of a column to determine the date or date range of each
task completed or to be completed.
Step 3: Add tasks in your checklist
Add a brief description of tasks with the following details:
 Add Subtasks: (Optional)
 Status: Include the status of whether the task was completed, in progress, or not started.
 Date Due: Add the date the task should be completed by.
 Date Completed: Add the date of completion next to each task.
Step 4: Continue repeating for every task
Keep repeating these steps for each task that you have to complete.
Most people create a checklist in physical notebooks or notepads. Using notepads or any paper
document is not very scalable as there are high chances of misplacing the information and is there
no sense of collaboration in case you want to share tasks with your team members.
Using a checklist tool can do wonders for your checklists and the tasks can easily be shared
amongst your team members.
One of the best parts is that all the digital assets you need to get work done can be included
seamlessly (files, images, editable visual web links, rich embeds, etc.)
Bit has an amazing UI that’s easy to understand by a new user, making onboarding easier. The
user experience is phenomenal too as things flow from documents to workspaces swiftly.
No matter if you want to create a checklist for personal use or professional use, Bit’s amazing
organizational capabilities help arrange your information easily
Create Interactive Checklist
You can add content from over 100+ various applications that will live inside of your checklists.
Add Excel spreadsheets, PDFs, Google Forms, Gantt charts, Maps, YouTube videos- basically
anything on the internet with a link and Bit will automatically convert that into live content living
inside your document!
Collaborate in real-time
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Question 5:
Write short notes on:
a) Summary and conclusion
Solution:
A summary is a record in a reader's own words that gives the main points of a piece of writing
such as a newspaper article, the chapter of a book, or even a whole book. It is also possible to
summarize something that you have heard, such as a lecture, or something that you have seen and
heard, such as a movie. A summary omits details, and does not include the reader's interpretation
of the original.
You may be used to reading English in order to answer questions set by someone else. In that case,
you probably read the questions first and then read the passage in order to find the correct answer.
However, when you read in order to write a summary, you must read in order to decide for yourself
what the main points are. This involves reading to understand the message that the writer has for
the reader, rather than reading in order to get the correct answer to someone else's questions. Since
people have different backgrounds and read for different purposes, it is possible that different
readers will interpret a writer's message in different ways. Even if they agree, they will probably
write their summaries in different ways. In other words, there is unlikely to be only one "correct"
summary. On the other hand, to write a summary it is necessary to understand a passage as a whole,
and therefore at a deeper level, than when one's purpose is just to answer questions.
When are summaries used?
1. In general terms, writing summaries is a good way of improving one's ability to read
because it forces the reader to focus on understanding the whole of something rather than
on just following each word or sentence.
2. In academic terms: If you are reading something that is very important for your studies
and/or difficult to understand, writing a summary helps you to make sure that you have
understood it. You can also refer to it later to refresh your memory, for example when you
are revising for an exam, or when you are talking about it in class. (It is also a good idea to
turn lecture notes into summaries.)
a) When writing academic papers people often need to insert summaries of something that
they have read or heard. For example, you might want to summarize the main points of a
book that is relevant to your topic. In such cases, it is extremely important to use your own
words, or quotation marks if you are actually quoting, in order to avoid plagiarism. (We
will talk more about plagiarism later in the course.)
First steps to writing a summary
1. As you read, underline all the important points and all the important evidence. For example,
you could look for all the topic sentences. Words that are repeated several times are likely
to be keywords. Transition words can help understanding of the overall structure of a
passage.
2. List or cluster the main idea of the whole piece, the main supporting ideas, and the main
evidence for each idea. Use of the same keywords or technical expressions is probably
unavoidable. However, be careful to express the ideas in your own way, using your own
vocabulary and expressions as much as possible, rather than copying or just rearranging.
Do not include too much detail.
What is a good summary?
1. A good summary should give an objective outline of the whole piece of writing. It should
answer basic questions about the original text such as "Who did what, where, and when?",
or "What is the main idea of the text?", "What are the main supporting points?", "What are
the major pieces of evidence?” It should not be a paraphrase of the whole text using your
own words. A reference should be made to the original piece either in the title ("A
Summary of..."), in the first sentence, or in a footnote or endnote.
2. You should not give your own ideas or criticisms as part of the summary. However, if you
want to comment on a piece of writing it is usual to begin by summarizing it as objectively
as possible.
3. A good summary should not include selected examples, details, or information which are
not relevant to the piece of writing taken as a whole.
4. A good summary of an essay should probably include the main idea of each paragraph, and
the main evidence supporting that idea, unless it is not relevant to the article or essay as a
whole. A summary does not need a conclusion, but if the original ends with a message to
the reader this should not be left out. (A good summary of a chapter should probably
include the main idea of each group of paragraphs or each section; a good summary of a
book should probably include the main idea of each chapter, or perhaps the main idea of
each section of each chapter.)
5. A good summary may use key words from the original text but should not contain whole
phrases or sentences from the original unless quotation marks are used. Quotations should
only be made if there is a reason for using the original words, for example because the
choice of words is significant, or because the original is so well expressed.
6. Rearranging the words used in the original, or keeping the same structure but just
substituting different words is not enough. You must express the sense of the original using
your own words and structures.
How to write a summary of a short piece of writing:
1. As you read, underline all the important points and all the important evidence. For example,
you could look for all the topic sentences. If there is a word or words that are repeated
throughout the passage, this is likely to be related to the topic. Transition words and phrases
should help you to understand how the piece is joined together. The main idea should be
in the first or second paragraph, probably in a thesis statement at the end of the paragraph,
or in the concluding paragraph. (You could look out for the 5Ws - What? Which?, Who?,
Where?, When?, Why? - and the 1H - How?)
2. List or cluster the main idea of the whole piece, the main supporting ideas, and the main
evidence for each idea. Be careful to use your own words rather than copying or just
rearranging. In other words, try to find your own way of expressing the writer's ideas. Of
course, you can use key words or phrases. (For example, if the piece of writing is about
digital technology, it is fine to use key technical words that are in the original, such as
"digital technology", "binary digit" or "analog".) Do not include too much detail.
3. Change the order if necessary, so that the main idea comes first and is followed by the
supporting ideas and evidence in a logical sequence. Omit any repetitions.
4. If the original uses 'I' replace this with the writer's actual surname, "the writer", or "s/he".
If the original uses 'you', substitute "people" or "they".
5. You should now be ready to write the summary. Start with a sentence that a) identifies the
writer and the piece of writing, for example by giving the writer's name, the title of the
 piece and where/when it appeared, and b) gives the main idea. Use transition words to join
everything together.
Conclusion
Knowing when and how to end your paper can be difficult. Writing a strong conclusion is like
tying a ribbon around a gift package. It's the last thing you do, but it also gives your paper a
finishing touch. If the ending is powerful and effective, your reader will feel satisfied. What to
avoid. Before you can write a strong conclusion, you should know what to avoid. Here are some
common errors.
 Don't introduce a new topic that has not been discussed in your paper. For example, if your
essay has been about the loss of forests and possible solutions for the high consumption of
wood products, don't end with a paragraph about a different environmental issue, such as
the disappearance of the California condor.
 Don't trail off with a weak statement or a statement that leaves your reader up in the air.
The Internet, free of regulation, has opened a world of information and ideas to everyone. Children
enjoy learning on the computer.
 Don't simply repeat your thesis or main idea in the same words.
As stated earlier, clothing imagery shows the changes in King Lear throughout the play.
 Don't apologize for or suggest doubts about your thesis.
For a variety of reasons, middle‐class expectations today differ from those in the 1980s. It is
possible, however, that the difference is not particularly illuminating about life in the United States.
In a short paper (less than five pages, for example), you may use a brief concluding sentence
instead of a formal conclusion. Formal conclusions can sometimes be superfluous, particularly if
the conclusion is a long summary of what he or she just read. Instead, end your paper with a strong
final sentence.
Suggestions for conclusions
Baez, and Boyles (2009) states that a strong conclusion should tie up the loose ends of your essay,
refer to the central theme (thesis), give your readers a sense of completion, and leave them with a
strong impression. You can do this with a single statement or with a paragraph. If you write a
concluding paragraph, consider the following possibilities.
 End with an appropriate quotation. Notice in the following example how the writer also
pulls together loose ends and briefly refers to the thesis.
Throughout the novel the characters suffer both from their isolation and from their attempts to end
it. Kerewin burns her tower, Joe beats his son and goes to prison, and Simon —who barely survives
the beating —must painfully find his way back to those he loves. Recurring images dramatize their
journeys, which end in a reconciliation between being alone and being part of a community.
Kerewin describes the home that will now take the place of her lonely tower: “I decided on a shell‐
shape, a regular spiral of rooms expanding around the decapitated Tower privacy, apartness, but
all connected and all part of the whole.”
Without repeating your thesis word for word, you can unify your essay by relating the final
paragraph to a point in the introduction.
Preserving old‐growth forests and finding substitutes for wood should concern everyone who cares
about the environment. The days when Americans could view this country as an unlimited provider
of resources are as gone as roaming herds of buffalo and pioneers in covered wagons.
 End with a story related to your thesis.
On a recent trip to the airport, I stood at the ticket counter behind an angry woman. It seems she'd
forgotten her photo ID, and the attendant told her she couldn't fly without it. After calling the clerk
a storm trooper and threatening to sue the airline, the woman turned to me and said,
“You tell me. Do I look like the kind of person who would blow up a plane?” I didn't answer, but
I wondered how in the future this woman would react to a fifteen‐minute interview about herself
or to a uniformed attendant patting her down.
 Another way to conclude a paper is to summarize the main points. But because summaries
aren't particularly interesting conclusions, consider using this technique only if your paper
is fairly long and if a summary would be helpful to your reader. Keep the summary brief,
and avoid indecisive or overly general final sentences, such as, for all these reasons, the
Internet should not be regulated.

b) Tables
Solution:
A table is an arrangement of data in rows and columns, or possibly in a more complex structure.
Tables are widely used in communication, research, and data analysis. Tables appear in print
media, handwritten notes, computer software, architectural ornamentation, traffic signs, and many
other places. The precise conventions and terminology for describing tables vary depending on the
context. Further, tables differ significantly in variety, structure, flexibility, notation, representation
and use. In books and technical articles, tables are typically presented apart from the main text in
numbered and captioned floating blocks.
Basic description
A table consists of an ordered arrangement of rows and columns. This is a simplified description
of the most basic kind of table. Certain considerations follow from this simplified description
 the term row has several common synonyms (e.g., record, k-tuple, n-tuple, vector);
 the term column has several common synonyms (e.g., field, parameter, property, attribute,
stanchion);
 a column is usually identified by a name;
 a column name can consist of a word, phrase or a numerical index;
 The intersection of a row and a column is called a cell.
The elements of a table may be grouped, segmented, or arranged in many different ways, and even
nested recursively. Additionally, a table may include metadata, annotations, a header, a footer or
other ancillary features.
Multi-dimensional table
The concept of dimension is also a part of basic terminology. Any "simple" table can be
represented as a "multi-dimensional" table by normalizing the data values into ordered hierarchies.
A common example of such a table is a multiplication table.
MULTI-DIMENSIONAL TABLE
1 A TEXT
2 B TEXT
3 C TEXT
4 D TEXT
In multi-dimensional tables, each cell in the body of the table (and the value of that cell) relates to
the values at the beginnings of the column (i.e. the header), the row, and other structures in more
complex tables. This is an injective relation: each combination of the values of the headers row
(row 0, for lack of a better term) and the headers column (column 0 for lack of a better term) is
related to a unique cell in the table:
 Column 1 and row 1 will only correspond to cell (1,1);
 Column 1 and row 2 will only correspond to cell (2, 1) etc.
The first column often presents information dimension description by which the rest of the table
is navigated. This column is called "stub column". Tables may contain three or multiple
dimensions and can be classified by the number of dimensions. Multi-dimensional tables may have
super-rows - rows that describe additional dimensions for the rows that are presented below that
row and are usually grouped in a tree-like structure. This structure is typically visually presented
with an appropriate number of white spaces in front of each stub's label
In literature tables often present numerical values, cumulative statistics, categorical values, and at
times parallel descriptions in form of text. They can condense large amount of information to a
limited space and therefore they are popular in scientific literature in many fields of study.
Generic representation
As a communication tool, a table allows a form of generalization of information from an unlimited
number of different social or scientific contexts. According to Charles (1998), it provides a familiar
way to convey information that might otherwise not be obvious or readily understood.
For example, in the following diagram, two alternate representations of the same information are
presented side by side. On the left is the NFPA 704 standard "fire diamond" with example values
indicated and on the right is a simple table displaying the same values, along with additional
information. Both representations convey essentially the same information, but the tabular
representation is arguably more comprehensible to someone who is not familiar with the NFPA
704 standard. The tabular representation may not, however, be ideal for every circumstance (for
example because of space limitations, or safety reasons).
Specific uses
There are several specific situations in which tables are routinely used as a matter of custom or
formal convention.
Publishing
 Cross-reference (Table of contents)
Mathematics
Main article: Mathematical table
 Arithmetic (Multiplication table)
 Logic (Truth table)
Natural sciences
 Chemistry (Periodic table)
 Oceanography (tide table)
 Information technology
 Software applications
Modern software applications give users the ability to generate, format, and edit tables and tabular
data for a wide variety of uses, for example:
 word processing applications;
 spreadsheet applications;
 presentation software;
 tables specified in HTML or another markup language
Software development
Tables have uses in software development for both high-level specification and low-level
implementation. Usage in software specification can encompass ad hoc inclusion of simple
decision tables in textual documents through to the use of tabular specification methodologies,
examples of which include SCR and Statestep. Proponents of tabular techniques, among whom
David Parnas is prominent, emphasize their understandability, as well as the quality and cost
advantages of a format allowing systematic inspection, while corresponding shortcomings
experienced with a graphical notation were cited in motivating the development of at least two
tabular approaches.
At a programming level, software may be implemented using constructs generally represented or
understood as tabular, whether to store data (perhaps to memoize earlier results), for example, in
arrays or hash tables, or control tables determining the flow of program execution in response to
various events or inputs.
Databases
Database systems often store data in structures called tables; in which columns are data fields and
rows represent data records.
Historical relationship to furniture
In medieval counting houses, the tables were covered with a piece of checkered cloth, to count
money. Exchequer is an archaic term for the English institution which accounted for money owed
to the monarch. Thus the checkerboard tables of stacks of coins are a concrete realization of this
information.

c) Figures
Solution:
A musical figure or figuration is the shortest phrase in music; a short succession of notes, often
recurring. It may have melodic pitch, harmonic progression, and rhythmic meter. The 1964 Grove's
Dictionary defines the figure as "the exact counterpart of the German 'motiv' and the French
'motif'": it produces a "single complete and distinct impression". To the self-taught Roger Scruton
however, a figure is distinguished from a motif in that a figure is background while a motif is
foreground:
A figure resembles a molding in architecture: it is 'open at both ends', so as to be endlessly
repeatable. In hearing a phrase as a figure, rather than a motif, we are at the same time placing it
in the background, even if it is ... strong and melodious.
Allen Forte describes the term figuration as being applied to two distinct things:
If the term is used alone it usually refers to instrumental figurations such as [Alberti bass and a
measured trill]... The term figuration is also used to describe the general process of melodic
embellishment. Thus, we often read of "figurated" melody or of chorale "figuration.”
Figuration has nothing to do with figured bass, except insofar as numerals often designate
embellishing notes.
A phrase originally presented or heard as a motif may become a figure that accompanies another
melody, such as in the second movement of Claude Debussy's String Quartet. It is perhaps best to
view a figure as a motif when it has special importance in a piece. According to White, motives
are, "significant in the structure of the work," while figures or figurations are not and, "may often
occur in accompaniment passages or in transitional or connective material designed to link two
sections together," with the former being more common.
Minimalist music may be constructed entirely from figures. Scruton describes music by Philip
Glass such as Akhnaten as "nothing but figures...endless daisy-chains".
A basic figure is known as a riff in American popular music.
Importance of Figures
Figures play a most important part in instrumental music, in which it is necessary that a strong and
definite impression should be produced to answer the purpose of words, and convey the sense of
vitality to the otherwise incoherent succession of sounds. In pure vocal music this is not the case,
as on the one hand the words assist the audience to follow and understand what they hear, and on
the other the quality of voices in combination is such as to render strong characteristic features
somewhat inappropriate. But without strongly marked figures the very reason of existence of
instrumental movements can hardly be perceived, and the success of a movement of any
dimensions must ultimately depend, to a very large extent, on the appropriate development of the
figures which are contained in the chief subjects. The common expression that a subject is very
'workable,' merely means that it contains well-marked figures; though it must be observed on the
other hand, that there are not a few instances in which masterly treatment has invested with
powerful interest a figure which at first sight would seem altogether deficient in character.