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=**Week 1**=


 * __Tuesday:__**

For our first lesson of research project, we started brainstorming possible topics of interest that we would like to research on. So far, I have no specific issues that I am interested in but some topics that have crossed my mind include:
 * 1) Super Street Fighter IV- Gaming: is game addiction ruining our lives?
 * 2) The Tylenol case- What exactly was the Tylenol incident that shocked the world?
 * 3) Medical radiation- What is medical radiation? What are the job prospects?

Mrs McInnes also introduced the class to 'google wonder-wheel.' This was nothing new to me because I had Mrs McInnes for research project last year and this concept was already learnt. Below is a print screen of my 'google wonder-wheel,' on medical radiation.



So far, I am still unsure of what topic I will be researching on but I'm sure by next week, I will be certain of what topic I will be choosing.


 * __Thursday:__**

For the Thursday lesson this week, I was away due to family reasons but the class just basically went to the library to read books and get ideas on certain topics of interest. My main topic of interest is the Tylenol case because it seems like a mysterious and educational topic. So far, I have tried finding information on the Tylenol case but I have found it to be a struggle because there are no credible sources and web pages. This has made me re-think about the issues choice I have made and whether or not I should consider opting for another choice, taking into consideration whether or not I will be able to find sufficient yet credible information.

=**Week 2**=


 * __Monday:__**

During today's lesson, I have decided that my research will be based on school-yard bullying because a newspaper article sparked my interest in this particular topic. I believe plenty of credible/ sourced information can be found on school-yard bullying, and these may include: I am also thinking about conducting a survey on people's thoughts, beliefs and experiences with school-yard bullying. Of course I have taken into consideration that these surveys will be anonymous, for people's privacy. Another thing I have also thought about is conducting an interview. Possible interviewees include:
 * Newspaper/ magazine articles
 * News/ television headlines, breaking news
 * Online forums/ internet sites
 * The school counsellor or any other professionally trained school counsellor
 * A professional from youth opportunities- An organisation specialising in student leadership, self-confidence, and anti-school yard bullying programs. (Possibly Lynda Yeend, a fully qualified high school teacher working as a trainer and coordinator at youth opportunities.)

This week, I have tried several times to access the ebsco host website, but the page for some reason, would not load. I have decided to leave my 5 annotated bibliographies till next week, but in the meantime, I will be looking for further useful information in regards to school-yard bullying.


 * __Thursday:__**

During today's lesson, I have been searching for some newspaper articles and clippings but unfortunately, I haven't found any useful ones. Some sites I have been visiting to learn more on school-yard bullying can be accessed through the links added below:
 * []


 * []
 * []

**Week 3**

__**Monday:**__

This week, Mrs McInnes talked to the class and went through a research tool on Moodle called the CRAP test. This taught us how to evaluate and see whether a website is credible or not. When using the CRAP test, we go through certain questions and these questions then help us decide and evaluate whether the information we are reading is valid or not. The abbreviation of CRAP stands for: **C**urrency, **R**eliability, **A**uthority, **P**urpose.


 * Currency:**
 * When was the last time the page was updated?
 * Is the information you are reading current and relevant to the topic of interest?
 * Reliability:**
 * Does the author provide sufficient sources or references for the information found on the web page?
 * Is there any sign of the author being biased?
 * Authority:**
 * Who is the author?
 * Are there any credentials? Are they reputable?
 * Purpose:**
 * Is the information the opinion of the author or are they facts? If facts, are there any sources evident?
 * Who is the creator of the website? Are they a profit-making organization, trying to sell you something?

This week, we also talked about the 5 W's. I believe this will be also be important in helping me produce my guiding/focus questions. The 5 W's are: **W**ho, **W**hat**, W**hy, **W**hen, **W**here. An example of the 5 W's are: **Who** are the main victims of bullying? **What** is being done to help prevent or reduce the amount of schoolyard bullying that is occurring? **Why** do bullies bully others? what are they hoping to achieve from this? **When** does bullying occur? What is the common age group? **Where** do you go for help when being bullied? Where to go and who to talk to.


 * __Thursday:__**

Today I finished writing up my research project proposal which can be viewed below:


 * Research project proposal **

**Topic-** Schoolyard bullying

For research project, I have chosen ‘schoolyard bullying,’ as my focus topic. Bullying, especially in schools, is a major concern and should not be taken as lightly. Bullying can happen to anyone, anywhere and at times, those being bullied don’t speak up when help is needed. The main component of my research project is to make others aware of what bullying is, why it is a major problem, what are the consequences and effect bulling has on victims (physically and mentally,) inform anyone being bullied that there is help out there, where to go, and who to talk to. Some ways of tackling this research topic, or means of research, include: · Finding valid information on whether school yard bullying has increased or decreased over the past few years (maybe ten.) · Conducting a survey, to find out how many randomly selected people have experienced bullying. · Finding valid information on where to go for help, e.g. counselors, helplines... · Interview the school counselor, or a professional from a major organization. I consider my topic to be personal development as my capability because after completing this topic, I know I will develop goals and skills much needed in the future. I also consider my capability to be personal development because it builds self-confidence and self-awareness. I think ‘schoolyard bullying,’ is a good choice of topic because it is a major concern in today’s society and plenty of credible information can be found.

Handed up to Mrs McInnes during discussion. Link will be added soon..
 * __NEW AND IMPROVED PROPOSAL.__**

**Week 4**


 * __Tuesday:__**

Today the class was introduced to the concept of the 5 Whys which is simply a broad question, followed by an answer. From using and applying to the 5 Whys, we gain a deeper and broader understanding of the topic we are researching. My 5 Whys are:

Schoolyard bulling is a major concern because students have th right to feel safe in their own school environment.
 * Why is schoolyard bulling such an important concern?

There are many possible reasons as to why students may be bullied and one of the most common reasons is because of the group of friends they associate with. Some groups may be deemed as 'uncool' so they would then be the victims of schoolyard bullying. To feel superior.
 * Why do students bully one another in the schoolyard?

Actions are taken seriously in some school. Anti-bullying programs are being held for students to be aware of the issue
 * Why is nothing being done about it?

Students tend to not speak up about the issue because they are afraid of being ridiculed or they are afraid that the offender would harm them once again.
 * Why do students tend to not speak up when they are bullied? Whether it be in the schoolyard or not?

If you do witness a case of schoolyard bulling, the best thing to do is to tell an adult straight away. Do not try and intervene. There are also hlplines available for those who are afraid to speak up.
 * Why am I witnessing this? What can I do?

A representative from the Education Department paid our class a visit today, asking us about what our views were on the research project. Many classmates had mixed emotions, some were outraged but most were mainly confused. In my opinion, I believe doing research project in year eleven was quite an advantage and a great experience for me. Since doing research project the previous year, I have gained much useful knowledge, which I can now apply for this year (a very important year for me... year 12.)


 * __Friday:__**

I have also thought about some guiding questions to further improve my understanding of school-yard bullying. These questions are:


 * What is school-yard bulling
 * Why does school-yard bulling happen?
 * What are the effects, both physically and mentally, school-yard bulling has on people?
 * What is being done to stop or reduce bullying in schools?
 * Is there help available? programs that help tackle the problem?

**Week 5**


 * __Monday & Tuesday:__**

Today Mrs. Woud showed us a new and improved wikispace home page. She ran through ideas and concepts that had to be covered and understood by this week. She also talked to us and showed us how to create a survey of our own on Zoomerang. I found this to be very useful and I will be trying it out once I complete my survey questions.

Today I have decided that I will not be doing an online survey. Instead, I will be handing out survey papers to randomly selected people. My survey will be confidential so the person/s filling it in will stay anonymous. I have started brainstorming through some questions I could include in my survey but I am still not sure if they are appropriate enough for this situation.


 * __Thursday:__**

I spoke to Mrs McInnes in todays lesson. I checked my overall mark and I am quite disappointed. These marks are of course my fault and I have no one else to blame but myself because I have been slacking off and falling way behind. After talking to Mrs McInnes, we have come to a conclusion that she will happy to reassess my work as long as I hand everything up before assessment ends. After today's lesson, I have come to realise that this year has gone by so fast and there is not much time left. If I want to pass Research Project this semester then I will have to pick up the pace, and fast. Today has been a wake up call for me and I will try my best to stay on trck and on top of the situation.

=**Week 6**=


 * __Monday:__**

Today in class, each student was told to make a negotiated time for our discussion which will be held next week. I am rather nervous about the discussion because I am not quite sure of what to say and what pieces of evidence I will be required to bring that day.We were all given handouts of possible questions that may arise throughout the discussion and we were all advised of what pieces of evidence is required. Now that I know what to bring and possible questions that might be asked, I am feeling less stressed about the situation.


 * __Tuesday:__**

I spent today's lesson catching up on some journal work that I was behind on. I am still finding it hard to produce a concept map and I will definitely seek help because I have left this for too long. Also in today's lesson, I spent some time reading through and practiced answering some questions that were on the handout for the discussion. When answering those questions, I stuttered quite often and at times, didn't know what to say. From today's practice run I now know that i need to practice alot more. I still haven't negotiated a time with Mrs McInnes but she said that I can arrange that with her Monday next week.


 * __Friday:__**

Today I have decided to hold my discussion day next Friday, lesson 1. This then gives me a full week to further practice answering questions and gathering my proof and information. Also, I have talked to Onn, who is doing cyber bullying and we have thought about visiting a primary school and talking to the students, making them aware of bullying, whether it be cyber or schoolyard. Plans with Onn are still sketchy and we are not definite abut anything.

=Week 7=

I have mainly spent this week gathering information and practicing answering questions ready for the discussion. As the day nears, i am getting more and more nervous and hopefully I wont blank out during the discussion. Certain things that I am planning to bring along to the discussion include a copy of my Research Proposal, a copy of my week by week journals, references of people and places I plan on contacting to find information on schoolyard bullying, certain website links where I plan on finding my statistics from and a copy of the survey questions. Some issues I will bring up in my discussion is my methodology and how I plan to tackle things. I'm not sure on whether or not I should bring my survey questions because they have not been checked through or approved by any teachers and I''m afraid they are incorrect. Mrs McInnes told the class that there is nothing to be nervous about because this is apparently a practice run only. Students will be given the chance to re-try their discussion if they were unhappy with the first results. Only a few more days until my discussion... EXTREMELY NERVOUS...


 * __Friday: (Discussion Day.)__**

I was meant to have my discussion in lesson 1 today but due to certain family reasons, I arrived to school late and had missed my scheduled time. I am feeling quite disappointed because I had practiced so much for it. Mrs McInnes had said that there was no possible way that she could fit me into another time slot and that I would just have to wait until my second discussion wick is in another week or so. I have realised that this week, I have not been doing much because of other concerns in regards to other subjects. This would mean that I have to pick up the slack and try not to fall behind once again.

=Week 8=

This week, I have been told that my research topic is now pending because the topic of schoolyard bullying is 'unethical.' This may then mean that I have to choose a whole new topic and start from scratch. I am very frustrated and confused at the moment. Frustrated because I have worked so hard to catch up from falling behind and now when I have finally caught up with most of the things, I am told that all my hard work would have been for nothing. I am confused because I am aware that some students from my school are doing research on topics such as euthanasia which in my point of view, seem more unethical than schoolyard bullying. I have now ceased doing any further work on my wikipage because there is no point in doing something that may be scrapped. I am now waiting for confirmation from my teacher.

=Week 9=


 * __Monday:__**

There is still no confirmation on whether or not a change in topic is relevant.I have decided to go and ask Mrs Hewittson why my particular topic was pending. Mrs Hewittson explained that it wasn't exactly the topic that was the problem. It was the methodology that caused certain issues and concerns. Mrs Hewittson explained that the way I handle things will decide on whether my topic is appropriate or not. I told her my methodology and how I will use broad questions in my survey, so I don't offend or bring back unwanted memories from possible victims. I also stated that the surveys will be anonymous to protect peoples' privacy and rights. After listening to what I had to say, Mrs Hewittson said that my topic was then appropriate and that I could continue with it as my research topic. I was very glad because I wasn't too thrilled about the idea of having to start all over again.


 * __Tuesday:__**

I am still not quite happy because after hearing that my topic would be pending, I stopped working on my page. Now that my topic is appropriate, I now have to catch up work that I had left from the earlier week.

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

Week 13

Week 14

Week 15