Woudville’s Research Report Scaffold.
Research Report
A written or oral multimodal Research report should include the following scaffold as a structure to plan your report.
Students are expected to keep a folder containing the documents that outline the processes of data collection and support materials evidence that can help in the verification of their work.
A written Research report should be between 750 and 1000 words. (Diagrams and graphs, footnotes, end notes, bibliography, introduction and methods are not included in the word count).
An oral multimodal presentation should not extend past 3 minutes (including DVD films, power point presentations, photo story, publisher and speech etc).
The following scaffold is recommended for your Research Report.
Research Report Scaffold
INTRODUCTION
A statement of the hypothesis that you have researched.
Definition of the topic/subject
Guiding/ focus questions (4-5)
Proposed METHODS
A reason for the choice of research, indicating an appreciation for the significance of the research.
BODY /ANALYSIS
1stGuiding / focus questions answered.
2nd Guiding / focus questions answered.
3rd Guiding / focus questions answered.
4th Guiding / focus questions answered.
Background information
Comparison and synthesis of source materials
Analysis ad evaluation of evidence
A summary of research
Connection between hypothesis and research
CONCLUSION
Comment on the significance of your research.
Explain trends: similarities and differences in your research.
Explain the extent to which your research supports or fails your hypothesis.
Recognise the limitations of your research.
Suggestions of possible future trends and actions needed.
Communicate your personal opinion.750 – 1000 words/ 3 minutes oral/multimodal.
BIBLIOGRAPHY/REFERENCE LIST
Harvard Reference System of all Primary and Secondary resources used in your research.
WHS SASLA reference generator on WHS Intranet.
Research Report Scaffold
Students use this scaffold to plan your draft research report
INTRODUCTION
A statement of the hypothesis that you have researched.
Focus Question: How does knowing about the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge Revolution contribute to our understanding of the qualities of a successful government in the modern society?
What was the impact of the Khmer Rouge Revolution and how does it contribute to our society today?
Hypothesis
The Khmer Rouge Revolution negatively impacted on Cambodia’s people at that time and as a result, the event has contributed to our society in a number of ways.
Definition of the topic/subject
Purpose: To research in depth the Khmer Rouge Revolution in order to: analyse the effects of the government on the people of Cambodia; compare it to the government of the modern Australian society; and draw a conclusion about how the difference influences our current understanding of the qualities of a successful government.
To research in depth the Khmer Rouge Revolution in order to understand the impact that this revolution has had on the Cambodian people and to analyse how this has contributed to our society today.
Definition: Ananalysis of the defects in the Khmer Rouge government; comparison between this government and the modern Australian government; and an analysis on what qualities comprise a successful government as opposed to what doesn’t and why. (this conclusion will be drawn after an in depth study of the revolution).
An in depth research on the Khmer Rouge Revolution and analysis on how this event contributes to our society today.
Guiding/ focus questions
1 Who were the Khmer Rouge and who was their dictator? How did they gain political dictatorship over Cambodia?
2 Under what doctrine/ philosophy did the Khmer Rouge rule the nation under?What doctrine/ ideology did the Khmer Rouge use to rule Cambodia?
3 What were the events occurring during Pol Pot’s regime?
4 What were the effects on the Cambodian people?
5 The Australian Government need to research for comparison
What type of government does Australia have?
Under what doctrine/ philosophy does the Australian government use to run the nation?
What do the people living under this government think about it?
How does it contribute to our society today?
Proposed ResearchMETHODS
1-Primary Resources:
-Survey people about their opinions on the current Australian government/ Survey people who were living under Pol Pot’s reign during that time and people in general about their opinions on the Khmer Rouge government
-Interview someone who lived under Pol Pot’s regime- Sara’s Khmer teacher
-Sara’s mum’s journal
-Photographs
-Memoirs
-Pol Pot’s quotes and speeches
-New Paper Articles
-Written/recorded interviews
-Political Biographies
2Secondary resources:
-Internet
-Books: The Pol Pot regime- Ben Kiernan; How Pol Pot Came to Power-Ben Kiernan; The Cambodian Agony-David a. Ablin& Marlowe Hood editors.
-Documentaries
-Ebsco Host
-Case studies
Proposed Method for final product
1Presentation: Video
2Script
3Photos/ mini-clips
A reason for the choice of research, indicating an appreciation for the significance of the research.
Nhi’s reason:
I was first introduced to the topic by my team member Sara Chan when we were choosing individual projects. She was very passionate about this topic since it had affected her family, and during the process in telling me about it, I became fascinated as well. When we combined as a group, all the team members and I were content and happy to learn more about the Khmer Rouge. I admit, before this, I never even heard about the Khmer Rouge Revolution, and I suppose it sparked an interest in learning about a topic from an Asian country since we don't tend to learn much about their history in school. This means that I will be learning something new which had affected millions of lives. I also decided to choose this topic because I want to share it with other people, since I’m sure many of my age do not know about it. I want people to have knowledge about what the Khmer Rouge have done to their citizens and the effect of the genocide to society. So this is why I chose to research about the Khmer Rouge and what it has done to our society.
Sara’s reason:
I have chosen to research the Khmer Rouge revolution as I believe that it’s important for others to be informed about the atrocities, such as the Khmer Rouge Regime, in our modern history. The significance of the research is not necessarily intended to disclose the event to those who have never heard of the regime, but to emphasise how lucky we are to be living in era where everybody has the privilege to voice their opinions, achieve their own success with the support of the Australian government, and be treated equally among everybody else. I also want to highlight the fact that by learning about the atrocities of the past, we can ensure that we don’t repeat the same mistake in the future.
The event has also impacted on me, personally, as my mother was directly affected by the regime. Thus, I have chosen to research the Khmer Rouge Revolution, as not only am I passionate about the how the Cambodian people were affected, but I hope to be more aware of psychological and physical impacts this has had on my mum and everybody else as well.
I wish to share with the audience how lucky we are to be living in Australia and reiterate the fact that we should make the most of our opportunities that we take for granted in such a prosperous nation.
Stephanie’s reason:
I’ve never heard of the Cambodian Revolution before Sara mentioned it as a research topic so Sara briefly explained to me what it was about. I chose to do my research on the Khmer Rouge Revolution with Sara, Hien and Nhi because after hearing a bit about what happened during the Khmer Rouge Revolution I was curious about what really happened to the Cambodian people and why Pol Pot would do such a ridiculous thing as to kill off this own people to achieve whatever he wanted to achieve. I believe the significance of our research is to try and make others more aware of the atrocities that happen in our world and to remind us how lucky we are to have such a good and peaceful life.
Hien’s reason:
The reasons that I chose to do this project with my friends because I haven’t research deeply in an event such as the Khmer Rouge revolution before. After a brief talk about the Khmer Rouge revolution from Sara, I wanted to find out the reason why Pol Pot wants to run the pure Cambodia nation by killing the people and what happen to the Cambodian people during that time.
BODY /ANALYSIS
BODY /ANALYSIS [Stephanie Mac]
1stGuiding / focus questions: Who were the Khmer Rouge and who was their dictator? And how did they gain political dictatorship over Cambodia?
Background information
The Khmer Rouge was the formal Communist Party of Kampuchea. They used extreme brutality and torture to protect themselves from opposition and to achieve their ambitious agricultural goals. The main leaders of the Khmer Rouge were Saloth Sar (Pol Pot) [overall dictator], Nuon Chea [the second in command], Chhit Chhoeun (Ta Mok) [The commander of the Khmer Rouge army], Ieng Sary [Minister of Foreign Affairs], Khieu Samphan [Political leader], and Kang Kek Iew (Comrade Duch) [Director of S21 torture camp].Pol pot was a technical student who won a scholarship to study in France. This is where most of the leaders first met. They gained political dictatorship after the end of foreign interference and civil war in Cambodia.
Comparison and synthesis of source materials
Slightly bias: (Tan, P 2008)
Neutral: (Chandler, D 1991), (Investigative Reports: Return to the Killing Fields, 2000), (Carvin, A 1999), (Northwestern University School of Law Center for International Human Rights and Documentation Center of Cambodia, n.d), (Wikipedia, 13/03/11), (Wikipedia, 27/02/11) and (Wikipedia, 5/03/11) and All of(Cambodian Genocide Program, 2008)
Reliability: Besides the Wikipedia sites that were used for cross-referencing, most of these sites are quite reliable sources. They are either ‘.edu’ or ‘.org’ sites which are reliable because the authors of these websites usually do extensive research and use good sources to get their information.
Primary or Secondary: All the sources are secondary. The documentary and the Yale University site were also a secondary source but it had primary sources within it like interviews, original documents that were recovered from the S/21 torture jail and original footage from the time of the revolution.
Analysis and evaluation of evidence
Method: Harvard system
Best source of evidence:(Investigative Reports: Return to the Killing Fields, 2000)
Audience: Young adults and over and also not for the faint-hearted –may have some quite explicit gruesome scenes-.
Why: It’s informative, reliable, engaging, interviewed citizens, experts and former Khmer Rouge, visual recordings, photographs and original footage of Khmer Rouge events.
Second best source:(Cambodian Genocide Program, 2008)
Audience: Young adults and over
Why: It’s informative, reliable, has both primary and secondary sources, uses cross referencing between a lot of different other sources, committed research since 1994 to present.
Third best source of evidence:(Northwestern University School of Law Center for International Human Rights and Documentation Center of Cambodia, n.d)
Audience: academic, college etc.
Why: The authors (Holocaust Museum and Education Centre & Northwestern University School of Law Center for International Human Rights) are very knowledgeable in this topic and have access to original documents.
A summary of research
The same as above. Refer to ‘background information’ above.
Connection between hypothesis and research
We needed to know who were the Khmer Rouge to get a better understanding of who were responsible for the events that occurred and how they were linked to each other.
BODY /ANALYSIS [Sara Chan]
2nd Guiding / focus questions: Under what doctrine/ philosophy did the Khmer Rouge rule the nation under?What doctrine/ ideology did the Khmer Rouge use to rule Cambodia?
Background information
The Khmer Rouge ideology was that to maintain equality among all Cambodian citizens and the nation’s noble heritage, Cambodia had to return to its ancient glory of Angkor Wat. They believed that foreign influences imposed from the west were depreciating Cambodia’s noble heritage and thus, wished to sanitise Cambodia of what they considered to be impediments in order to create a one-generational, ‘pure’ communist Cambodian society; one that was self-dependent and relied exclusively on agricultural production to prosper. Their ruling principles were a combination of Stalinism, Maoism, and Racism.
Comparison and synthesis of source materials
Name of Source / Comparison and Synthesis of Source MaterialsSimilarities / Differences
Internet / Genocide in Cambodia: The Human Rights Violations of the Khmer Rougeby Spinelli / All agreed that:
-the Khmer Rouge goal was to achieve an ethnically “pure” Cambodian nation.
-Khmer Rouge believed that foreign influences were depreciating Cambodia’s noble heritage; thus, wanted to purify the nation by eradicating what they believed to be corrupt.
-Khmer Rouge doctrine/ideolgy strongly promoted self-sufficiency, mutual production, mutual ownership, and a society reliant on rice cultivation to advance.
-Khmer Rouge believed that Phnom Penh was the centre of corruption, containing those who had been “infected” by foreign cultures and customs; therefore, the Khmer Rouge took instant dislike to them, turning everyone in the city into their enemies that had to be eradicated. / -Sideshow by Carvin provided biased information- portraying the Khmer Rouge as unpleasant beings using emotive language.i.e:
“Khmer Rouge marched the boulevards of Phnom Penh with icy stares carved into their faces.”
-Slideshow by Ear, wrote the Khmer Rouge Proverb as "To keep you is no benefit. To destroy you
is no loss."while the article by Spinelli wrote, ”To spare you is no profit, to destroy you is no loss”[underlined are the differences in words]
-The RDDK by Etcheson mentioned Khmer Rouge embracing Parisian Jacobinism ideologies.
-The book written by Jackson and the article by Spinelli focused more so on Pol Pot’s discrimination against higher classes of the Cambodian society.
Justice, Forgiveness, andthe Khmer Rouge Tribunal by Ear
External and Indigenous Sources of Khmer Rougeby Kiernan
From Sideshow To Genocide: Stories of the Cambodian Holocaust by Carvin
Books / The Rise and Demise of Democatic Kampucheaby Etcheson
Cambodia 1975-1978 Rendezvous with Deathby Jackson
Audiovisual (Documentary) / Investigative Reports, Return to the Killing Fields
Analysis and evaluation of evidence
Survey
Quotes/Speeches
“The essence of our revolution is to crush the oppressor classes. … The party should serve and represent the true interest of the poor classes.” (Pol Pot 1977: H5)[Cambodia1975-1978, p.55, Jackson, 1989]
Analysis: This quote is evidence to support Pol Pot’s discrimination against the higher classes of the Cambodian society, and their objective of maintaining equality by eradicating such people.
Quote by KhieuSamphan [Political Leader], Spinelli, 2010 Refer to Research Information Notes
Analysis: This quote showcases the Khmer Rouge’s belief that higher-class individuals were of no benefit to the nation, and their intention of converting them into what they believed to be more productive figures of the society: peasants in the rice cultivating industry. This supports their ideology of communal production.
Slogan
Khmer Rouge Anthem
Analysis: The Khmer Rouge anthem is a form of propaganda that displays their misunderstanding of a democratic society.
“We are uniting
To construct a Kampuchea with a new and better society,
Democratic, egalitarian [equal] and just.”
They were portraying themselves as a society which they were not. They were not democratic as they stripped away freedom of speech, and obliterated those who opposed their governance. Essentially, it was an example of the party trying to gain the citizen’s compliance with their ruling principles.
Interviews
Photographs
Newspaper photograph
Do we analyse these primary sources and draw a conclusion about what we found?
A summary of research
Refer to background information
Connection between hypothesis and research
The extreme doctrines and philosophies embraced by the Khmer Rouge prove that the revolution negatively impacted upon Cambodia’s people.Since their goal was to eradicate all foreign influences and customs that they considered to be borrowed from other cultures and religions, this meant that almost the whole of Cambodia was affected as the nation was already culturally diverse and had naturally been ‘borrowers’ of other foreign customs.
BODY /ANALYSIS[Nhi Nguyen]
3rdGuiding / focus questions - WHAT WERE THE EVENTS DURING HIS REGIME? (FOCUS ON SOCIETY & CITIZENS)
Background information
The Khmer Rouge Revolution caused millions of deaths because of executions, diseases, exhaustion, illnesses, malnutrition etc. There were evacuations of cities, agricultural labour, security centres, eradication of money; schools; markets etc which destroyed everything that once built the old Cambodia.
Comparison and synthesis of source materials
Common characteristics:
Bias: (CBKRR 2007), (CBKRR 2010), (Terith n.d.)
Neutral: (The CGP n.d.), (Background Note: Cambodia 2011), (Etheson 1984), (Jackson 1989), (HOOTKR n.d.), (RTTKR 2000)
Reliability: Majority reliable because on well-known sites, .gov, .edu, .org, academic researchers as authors, gives facts, contains primary sources within
Primary or secondary: All secondary – some contains primary sources within them (quotes, photographs, interviews etc.)
Information: Cross-referencing information to determine if true or false, showed information was all similar except death estimates because there cannot be an accurate guess.
Usefulness: All sources