Initial Ideas - EPQ

Initial Ideas - EPQ

1. Generating initial Ideas

   • Inspiration
     • News
       • By looking at topics in the news I will able to see if there is anything new that I can use a springboard for my ideas
       • I will be able to search for particular items to see if there is any news about them
       • BBC News
     • Interests
       • Biology
       • Chemsitry
       • Ethics
       • Medicine
       • Illegal drugs
       • Legal drugs
       • Real-world mathematics applications
       • Logic problems and paradoxes
     • Talking to people and using them to bounce ideas off
       • Talking with friends who have similar interests as the discussion brought up new ideas
       • Talking to supervisors and subject specialists
         • Subject teachers have extra knowledge that provide very helpful input
         • Second opinion of ideas
         • Can get honest opinions of the potential topic
   • Evaluating initial ideas
     • The supervisor has been very helpful in eliminating some question ideas straight away
     • The question has to be precise so that I wont have to miss information out in order to fit the 5,000 word limit
     • The question has to be open enough so that there is enough to say about the subject
     • The question has to make sense
     • Important to evaluate as it allows for improvements to be made
   • Process
     • Every time I had an idea I would make a note of it on my phone so that I would always have a version of the idea even if I forgot it myself
     • Use of the GoConqr website to compile all the ideas that I had into a very colourful, clear image
     • The standard logical process of creating a question to use in the EPQ project was to initially, think of what topics interest me. For this first stage, I have created many different possible avenues that I could go down so that I have many options to choose from. It was important to do this, so that, as I progress through the project, I would be able to change topics if I was required to. What I have also done with the use of the mindmap is create a visual representation of the links between different topics which just simply makes it easier to find connections later on in the process
     • Another part of the process is to consider the motives behind why we want to do a particular question. For me, I want to do the EPQ because I hope that it will be a very useful learning experience as it is so different to the normal style of learning done at school. However, I also want to do the EPQ because it will give me an opportunity to go into detail about something that I unable to at school, and yet still receive credit for it.

2. Biology

   • Antibiotic Resistance
     • Superbugs that are resistant to antibiotics
       • Development of new drugs
         • NICHE
         • Cost
         • Waste
         • "At what stage does the cost of making a new drugs outweigh the potential benefits?"
       • Costs on health and economy
       • Longevity of drugs being harmed
         • "To what extent are man-made medicines the way forward in a medical environment?"
     • Dangers to people
       • Livestock damaged
       • Lack of effective vaccines and medication
     • Overuse of antibiotics
       • Farms in China being blamed
         • "Is it reasonable for farmers to overuse antibiotics to achieve a relatively good standard of living?"
       • Doctor's prescriptions
         • "To what extent are minor illnesses leading to the demise of effective prescriptions?"
         • "Do Doctor's prescribe too many antibiotics?"
       • "Who is at fault for the overuse of antibiotics?"
       • "What is available as an alternative to antibiotics?"
     • Misuse of antibiotics
     • Spread of disease
       • "What would happen if an epidemic comparable to the Black Death were to occur today?"
       • "How 'dirty' is the average person?"
   • Pigeons
     • City habitat
       • London
         • Bird poo
           • "What measures can be taken to curb the amount of bird poo in London?"
         • Pigeons are well associated with London
           • "Could it be argued, that pigeons are part of the tourist landscape of the city of London?"
       • Humans impacting evolution
         • "What are the short and long term impacts of rapid urbanisation on pigeons?"
         • "If humans were to become exist, what would the effect be on the environment?"
       • Different foods
         • Man made foods
           • "To what extent are humans changing the diet of pigeons?"
         • Health impacts on pigeons
           • "Could humans make pigeons obese"
       • Adapting/learning new behaviours
         • Lack of fear of humans
         • Animal conditioning/psychology
     • Very common animal, but are they underrated?
       • Homing/racing pigeons
       • Pigeons as food

3. Medicine

   • Alternative Medicine
     • "How does alternative medicine utilise the placebo effect in order to make people better?"
     • "To what extent is the existence of a cycle of alternative medicine a reality?"
   • History of Medicine
     • Cultures and Traditions
       • "To what extent were ancient civilisations limited by relative lack of medical knowledge
       • "How much does culture influence medical practise?"
     • Inventions
       • "What was the most important medical advancement to happen in the 20th century and why?"
       • "At what stage will the ability to invent new medical procedures become irrelavent?"

4. Illegal Drugs

   • Cannabis
     • "What would the likely effects of cannabis legalisation be in the UK?"
   • Drug laws
     • Penalties for drug possession
       • "Are the penalties for possession and personal use of illegal drugs too harsh?"
       • "Is taking illegal drugs a criminal issue or a health issue?"
     • Penalties for drug manufacture
       • "If demand for illegal drugs is there, should illegal drug manufactures simply be treated like a normal manufacturing company?"
       • "To what extent is it the fault of the manufactures that there is a drug problem?"
     • "Why are the drug laws different in many parts of the world?"
   • Psychedelics
     • LSD
       • LSD and Hippies
         • "Why was LSD so important in the hippie culture?"
         • "To what extent does LSD aid happiness?"
     • Magic Mushrooms
       • Nature making drugs
         • "Are natural drugs better than man-made drugs?"
         • "To what extent can Nature be used to manufacture drugs?"
         • "If it's natural, is it alright to be used?"