Gathering, Organising and Processing Information
Gathering, Organising and Processing Information
This domain tests your ability to find information, judge whether it is trustworthy, and turn it into clear, ethical notes and prose. CAPE questions ask you to compare research methods, evaluate a source, summarise or paraphrase a passage, interpret a table or graph, and explain how you would avoid plagiarism.
Sources, methods and sampling
Primary sources are generated by the researcher (interviews, questionnaires, observations); secondary sources interpret or report others' work (textbooks, news reports). Quantitative methods produce numbers; qualitative methods produce descriptions and meanings. A questionnaire reaches many people cheaply but can suffer from poorly worded items and low response rates. Interviews give depth but are time-consuming and can be influenced by interviewer bias. Sampling matters: a random sample gives every member of the population a chance of selection; a convenience sample (for example, students in one class) is easy but limits generalisation.
Evaluating sources
Check authority (who wrote it, what expertise), currency (date), accuracy (evidence, references), objectivity (purpose, sponsors, loaded language), and coverage (does it address the question?). Recent or popular does not equal reliable. Cross-check claims with independent sources.
Processing: summary, paraphrase, quotation
A summary states the main idea(s) in fewer words and omits examples. A paraphrase restates a passage in your own words and sentence structure while keeping the meaning. A quotation uses exact words in quotation marks. All three need citation; paraphrasing without citation is still plagiarism. Patchwriting-changing a few words but keeping the original structure-is also plagiarism. Notes should record the source, page, and whether the words are quoted or paraphrased.
Organising and interpreting data
Choose a graph by purpose: line graphs for trends over time, bar charts for comparisons, pie charts for parts of a whole. Check axes, labels, units, and sample size. A truncated y-axis can exaggerate a small change; a 3-D pie can distort proportions.
Worked example
A student finds two sources on adolescent screen time. Source A is an anonymous social-media post claiming '90% of teens are addicted.' Source B is a 2023 news report that names the researcher, links to a survey of 1,200 secondary students, and states the margin of error. Source B is stronger on authority, accuracy, and coverage. The student paraphrases Source B's key finding: In the 2023 survey, 62% of respondents reported more than four hours of daily recreational screen time (Source B). She cites it and notes the sample size. Reasoning: she does not copy the sentence, she keeps the number accurate, and she records the source.
Traps
Do not confuse summary with paraphrase; do not treat correlation as causation; do not ignore sample size or question wording; do not cite only direct quotations; do not assume a graph is neutral; do not use a single source as proof.