Research and Investigation

In this lesson, you will understand the Investigation section's requirements (400 words, 10 marks), learn SEC referencing and plagiarism rules (including AI use), find and save five reliable sources on your forest theme, write notes on their influence, start a formatted References list, and draft your section using a template.

Learning Goals Learning Outcomes Teacher Notes

Warning: Your screen size is quite small for viewing this. Rotate your device into landscape mode if you can.

1 Objectives
2 What the Brief Says About Investigation
3 Why Proper Referencing Matters
4 Types of Sources You Should Look For
5 How to Reference Correctly (Harvard Style Example)
6 Practical Research Activity
7 Writing Your 400-Word Investigation Section (Template)
8 Checklist Before Next Lesson

1 - Objectives

By the end of this lesson you will have:

Understood exactly what the Investigation section of the report requires (approximately 400 words, 10 marks)
Learned the SEC rules on referencing and plagiarism (including AI use)
Found and saved at least five reliable sources connected to your chosen forest theme (as suggested in the brief's page 6 links)
Written short notes on how each source helps shape your project decisions
Started a properly formatted References list

2 - What the Brief Says About Investigation

The official brief states:

“In this section of the report you should show evidence of your own research on the brief, including research on existing solutions, systems or ideas that are aligned to the brief. You should consider your research and explain what decisions you make regarding your project.”

You must also fully reference every source (including AI use) following Appendices 1 and 2 of the SEC Coursework Rules and Procedures. Failure to reference correctly is treated as plagiarism.

3 - Why Proper Referencing Matters

The SEC rules are very clear:

Any text, image, idea, or code you did not create yourself must be referenced
Using AI (ChatGPT, Grok, etc.) without declaring it is plagiarism
Plagiarism can result in zero marks for the entire coursework and an official investigation

Good referencing actually strengthens your Investigation section and gains marks.

4 - Types of Sources You Should Look For

Background on forests & Irish context

Coillte, NPWS, Teagasc websites
Ireland’s Forest Strategy 2023–2030
Climate change reports

Existing technical solutions

Raspberry Pi forest monitoring projects
Early wildfire detection sensors
Soil moisture networks (ISMON)
Chainsaw sound detectors

The brief itself contains a full list of suggested links on page 6 – start there!

5 - How to Reference Correctly (Harvard Style Example)

Use a simple format like this in your report:

Source Type	In-text citation	Reference list entry
Website	(Coillte, 2024)	Coillte (2024) Forestry in Ireland. Available at: https://www.coillte.ie/ (Accessed: 15 January 2026).
PDF report	(DAFM, 2023)	Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) (2023) Ireland’s Forest Strategy 2023–2030. Dublin: DAFM.
AI use	(Grok, 2026)	Grok (2026) Assistance provided on [date] for [brief description, e.g., 'research ideas on forest sensors']. xAI. (Declare in Appendix 2 as per SEC rules.)

Unlock the Full Learning Experience

Get ready to embark on an incredible learning journey! Get access to this lesson and hundreds more in our Digital Skills Curriculum.

Get started

Copyright Notice
This lesson is copyright of DigitalSkills.org 2017 - 2025. Unauthorised use, copying or distribution is not allowed.

Your Answer or Description of Your Work

Project URL This can be a link to your project (e.g. a Scratch, Microbit, Arcade or CodePen URL link).

Upload File

You must be logged into Scratch to share your project, otherwise the link will not work.

To get the URL link of your Scratch project:

Make sure you're logged into Scratch.
Click on the Share button in the project editor.
Click on the Copy Link button.
Click on the Copy Link link. This will save the URL of your project page into your clipboard.

To get the URL link of your Microbit project:

Click on the button in the project editor.
Click on the Publish Project button.
Click on the Copy button. This will save the URL of your project page into your clipboard.

To get the URL link of your Arcade project:

Click on the button in the project editor.
Click on the Publish Project button.
Click on the Copy button. This will save the URL of your project page into your clipboard.

To get the URL link of your CodePen project:

Make sure you're logged into CodePen.
Open your project in the editor.
Click on the Save button at the top of the editor.
Copy the link from the address bar in your web browser (e.g. https://codepen.io/Jane-Smith/pen/gOVXxBQ)

Research and Investigation