Question 1

What is NCEA AS 91434 about?

Accepted Answer

You need to research a historical event or place that matters to New Zealand, using both primary sources (original documents, photos, letters, etc.) and secondary sources (books, websites, articles written about the topic). You'll need to follow a proper research process, document your sources carefully, and write detailed notes explaining what you found and how reliable it is.

Question 2

What do students need to do for AS 91434?

Accepted Answer

1. Choose a specific historical event, place, or person's role in history that is significant to New Zealanders and explain why it matters 2. Develop clear research questions based on preliminary reading and use them to guide your investigation 3. Find and use evidence from both primary sources (like letters, photographs, or original documents) and secondary sources (like books or scholarly websites) 4. Write detailed annotations on your evidence explaining what it means, how reliable it is, whose perspective it shows, and how it answers your research questions 5. Follow a research process, recording all your source details properly and reflecting on how your research went—what worked, what was hard, and what you'd do differently next time

Question 3

What's the difference between Achieved, Merit, and Excellence for AS 91434?

Accepted Answer

Achieved: You research an event or place of significance using both primary and secondary sources, follow a proper research process, and annotate your evidence to show what you found. Merit: You research in depth by making critical annotations that assess how reliable your evidence is, analyse different perspectives in your sources, and reflect on how your research process worked. Excellence: You show initiative by finding difficult or hard-to-access sources, critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your research method, analyse how those weaknesses affect your conclusions, and consider alternative approaches you could have taken.

Question 4

What mistakes do students typically make in AS 91434?

Accepted Answer

1. Choosing a topic that is too broad (like 'World War II') instead of a specific event or place—pick something narrow enough to research thoroughly 2. Using only secondary sources like Wikipedia or general websites, and not finding enough genuine primary sources (original documents, photos, letters, statistics from the time) 3. Writing thin annotations that just summarise what a source says, rather than explaining why it's useful, how reliable it is, or what perspective it represents

Historical research

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