EPQ help

Hi guys I am currently doing my epq on the effects of reality tv and social media and don't really know where to start with my research or how to structure it.

Any help would be very appreciated.

Reply 1

cyberhex

I did my EPQ a few years ago and I'd say a good place to start would definitely be to see if you can find news articles/documentaries on it and sometimes these will reference research papers which will be useful. Alternatively, you can go straight into trying to find research papers or books written on the topic -- sites like JSTOR and Google Scholar are good places to start, and also places like PubMed if you're wanting any scientific sources.

In terms of the structuring, I just started out with a few sources that helped answer my key research question and then expanded from there if I needed to find something on a specific topic. For instance, my topic was an evaluation of the practice of lobotomies and so my initial sources were articles talking about its effects and mainly how it detrimented patients, but then later down the line while writing it I might need to find something more on aphasia (which was one of its side effects) so I'd type into the research database something along the lines of "aphasia and lobotomy" and see what came up.

For structuring your actual EPQ, it's basically an extended argument, so I followed the general essay structure of (1) intro, (2) main argument, (3) counterpoints, (4) conclusion. In your case, your intro might talk about the rise of social media and reality TV in recent years with some statistics on that and then outline what you'll be arguing. Then you could have a few paragraphs on your main argument and some counterarguments, or you could mix the for and against points together. And then your conclusion would summarise your findings and what the outcome is.

Hope this helps! :smile: