Scottish Independence Referendum (2014) teaching materials
Understanding research on social attitudes regarding the Scottish independence referendum 2014
These materials have been developed by researchers conducting research on public attitudes on the Scottish independence referendum, held in 2014. These focus on questions about young people’s political engagement and views in a way that is relevant beyond the referendum. Find out more about this research.
The materials are intended for the use by school teachers and are available free of charge. The activities presented in this pack present a great range of possibilities: They include short, specific exercises that could be incorporated in existing lesson plans, but also suggest more comprehensive activities that would allow students to explore some of the issues of interest in greater depth.
The topics covered include:
The analysis of survey results from 14-17 year olds on questions relating to the referendum
The analysis of results from surveys and polls of adults
A general introduction into the design of samples for social surveys
Reflections on using online sources for obtaining information about the referendum
Most of the exercises are laid out in a worksheet style (with separate notes to instructors) that could be handed to students or projected on a screen to allow for exercises to be used in a self-standing way. However, many exercises could of course also be used meaningfully together. The materials are therefore produced in Microsoft Word to enable teachers to easily combine materials in ways they prefer and to allow for example easy transfers to presentation tools such as power point, if other modes of delivery than through worksheets are preferred. Even when not specifically mentioned, many exercises could be used as starting points for more extensive class debates for example.
These materials may be used in a variety of classes and settings outside schools. As we expect that particular interest may arise in Modern Studies it may be helpful to highlight which sections could relate well to which areas of the Modern Studies syllabus:
National 4/5 – Democracy in Scotland and the UK
Section 1: Working with results from the survey of 14-17 year olds in Scotland on the 2014 independence referendum
Section 4: Analysing survey and polling data from adult surveys
Higher – Political issues in the UK
Section 1: Working with results from the survey of 14-17 year olds in Scotland on the 2014 independence referendum (particularly the Worksheets using the core results of the survey results contained in the Appendix)
Section 4: Analysing survey and polling data from adult surveys
Section 5: Dealing with information from social media
Advanced Higher – Research Methods
Section 2: A basic introduction to random sampling for social surveys
Section 3: Designing social surveys
Section 4: Analysing survey and polling data from adult surveys
Appendix 2 presents a set of exercises based closely on existing Modern Studies exam question types, but which may also be relevant to other instructors.
To access the free teaching materials, please contact info@aqmen.ac.uk with the following information:
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