Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 5

Education - Essay Example The American government has put in place a body that sees to it that before a school is mandated to operate; whether as a private or public school, the school undergoes certain assessment process to ensure that it meets laid down criteria and standard. This assessment process is known as accreditation. Accreditation is important in ensuring that the freedom given to people to start schools is not abused and that parents and guardians get value for the money they spend in educating their wards. One area that the issuance of accreditation has become most popular and gained a lot of public attention is at the higher education level in the US. Higher Education System in US There are several types of higher education institutions in the United States. Some of these include: Research Universities, Doctorate-Granting Universities, Master's (Comprehensive) Universities and Colleges, Baccalaureate (Liberal Arts) Colleges, Associate of Arts Colleges, Professional Schools, Specialized Instituti ons, Postsecondary Vocational and Technical Schools. According to the U.S. Network for Education Information (USNEI), Washington (2001), â€Å"current data indicate that there are some 2,819 institutions offering a Bachelor's or higher degree; 2,657 institutions offering at least an associate's degree but less than a bachelor's degree; and 4,927 institutions offering shorter non-degree programmes of less than two years duration.† These schools offer educational credentials such as High School Diploma, Associate Degree, Certificate, Bachelor's Degree, Diploma, Education Specialist, First Professional Degree, Post-Bachelor's Diploma, Master's Degree, Certificate of Advanced Study and Doctorate. Thelin, J.R., Edwards, J.R & Moyen, E (2011) see the higher education system to be just more than a set of institutions that impart knowledge. To them, higher education in the United States is an established ‘knowledge industry’ that represents about 3 percent of the gross n ational product. To this effect, they claim that â€Å"virtually every governor and legislature across the nation evokes colleges and universities as critical to a state's economic and cultural development.† It is for the sake of this important role that higher education plays to the United States that it is important to ensure that products that are produced by higher education institutions are products worth the ‘market force’. Accreditation Agencies for Higher Education Accreditation of schools in the United States dates back to the 1800s. According to the Accrediting Council for Independent Schools and Colleges, ACICS (2011), â€Å"The first regional accrediting agencies formed in the 1880s with particular focus on educational standards and admissions procedures.† The agencies kept changing till in 1996, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation took over accreditation in the United States to oversee the works of accreditation agencies like ACICS and other public and private accreditation agencies. The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) is generally responsible for accreditation of higher education

Peer Editing Assignment Essay Example for Free

Peer Editing Assignment Essay The world we live in today is troubled one. The contradiction people face is that while some people sit in the lap of luxury and drive hundred thousand dollar cars there are others who are forced to take the bus to work. There are individuals who cannot afford healthcare who are generally those getting sick on a continual basis. There are definitely some aspects of our daily living that simply can’t be changed, but there is always room for change and it is apparent that this change is in demand. There are large populations of people in the world who die every year from health related problems, than those involved in violent deaths. Diseases like cancer and heart attacks are the number one global killers. A cure for genetic diseases through genetic research are quite possibly the answers to a world of questions. It is important to realize that genetics is one of the broadest subjects as it covers a plethora of areas such as disease, disability, geographical relations, ethic ramifications and ancestry to name a few. The answers to the variety of genetic malfunctions and other questions lie in the group of scientists and genetic engineers who explore the symptoms, as well as the cures, for so many ailments in the final goal of living in a disease free world where fear of death by an invisible killer is vastly unknown as â€Å"bioengineering is a field with such staggering potential for good† (Parker 68). The purpose of this essay is to shed light on some of the more unknown aspects of this area of research through the exploration of the history of genetics, what our current needs are and work that is currently being done, along with where genetics focuses toward the future of genetic technology in an attempt to prove that genetic research is essential to our society. Genetics is not a new area of research but has been around long before research into DNA ever began. When the creation of the first cells through the adaptation of cell mutation, genetic mixing can be traced back to the time of the dinosaur. One of the most obvious animals to win the fight in genetics is the giraffe. When you look at a giraffe and its long neck, it is important to realize that at one time, the giraffe was thought to have looked more like a horse. Both animals have similar bone structure even down to the hooves. But, as time went on and trees first sprouted along the landscape it was easy for the giraffe to get fed as the food source, at the time, was at eye level and close to the ground; then, as trees got taller over the centuries the giraffe needed to adapt in order to survive. Giraffes would therefore spend much of their energy stretching their necks toward the sky in order to reach the branches of the trees thus forcing a genetic mutation. As their bones and muscles stretched so did the size of their offspring thus leading to the birth of giraffes that were born with longer necks. Over the centuries these animals have grown to have the longest neck relative to their size. The brontosaurus may have evolved in a similar fashion but all life was brought to a screeching halt when the dinosaurs were extinct. As we have become a more civilized society and exploring science we have discovered the existence of genetics. Modern genetics has always known for a long time that was some blueprint that all animals of similar species have in common. The first documentation of genetics was centuries ago when a scientist experimenting with plants desired certain effects which were documented through the affects of different plants with others by mixing the seeds. This is also the first known documentation of gene splicing. Scientists interested in genetics as well as an amateur botanist, had developed ways of predicting the offspring given the dominant and recessive traits of the donor parents in a system called a Punnett Square. Since that time we have come a great distance, but the science was still primitive until some scientists discovered and laid the foundation of entire science. With discovery of the Double Helix, the structure of DNA by Watson and Crick the world was changed forever. James D. Watson was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois and was accepted to the University of Chicago at the age of 15 where he completed his Bachelor’s in Zoology, then continued on to the University of Indiana and received his PhD in 1950 in Zoology. Shortly after starting at Cambridge, Watson met Crick who shared his passion for the DNA structure mystery. In March, 1953 with a higher appreciation of the nucleic acid literature, his work resulted in the proposal and discovery of the double-helical configuration and publishing several papers on the topic. Watson and Crick worked on discovering the construction of DNA after several failed trial and error attempts, they succeeded and on February 28, 1953. Looking ahead, in 1992, Watson left to work for the Cold Springs Harbor Research Facility where he is currently sitting as President. The momentous discovery of DNA has created entire industries which has impacted mankind tremendously. Rewarded for their hard work in 1962 Watson, Crick, and Wilkins shared the Noble Prize in Medicine. The human body is an amazing structure with many cells all containing DNA strands with literally millions of strands of DNA making up the human body. More than fifty years after its initial discovery, the entire code has still not been deciphered; if you were to print the code in books and try to read it you would not be able to finish it in your lifetime. In the last several years research and development of genetic engineering has evolved ten times over. It is only recently that we have been able to prove some of Einstein’s theories this long after his death and I fear it will be many more before genetics and its possibilities is truly understood. Genetics in the last several years has gone into dangerous territories with studies in gene splicing and stem cell testing. Stem Cells are the most basic form of human life. Cells taken from ertilized embryos are cells that have not been assigned a specific task yet and whether they are to be heart cells, skin cells, or even hair cells. It is the hope of scientists that with stem cells can improve the quality of life through curing cancer and many other life ending and life changing diseases. Through the engineering of stem cells it is hoped that they can replace dead and damaged cells, for example, in someone’s legs thus helping them to walk again. Last year the boldest operation to date took place which saw stem cells help create and repair the diseased heart of a man. The stem cells replaced cells ravaged by disease removed by the doctors. This procedure, however, did come at a cost. The current government feels that using stem cells is unethical as they are life and harvesting the cells from embryos thus in turn killing them is not right. This all really needs to be taken into context and look at the balance scale; in one hand a father, husband, friend, coworker who never asked for a thing in his life except for the love of his family, and in the other, a cell that nobody knows and may not even make it to birth. The logical choice would be to look at the man as the gauging factor in saving his life. With the current policy and laws in place by our current conservative government would see the man who would choose to have a hospital in France perform a heart transplant harvested through stem cell growth instead of on his native soil and now that he has an illegally grown heart he can never set foot in America again or face the possibility of prosecution. When most people are faced with this type of choice, most wouldn’t want to live in a country that denies this possibility. Besides, our constitution states that â€Å"all men [women and child] are guaranteed life liberty and the pursuit of happiness†; (United States Constitution) but perhaps only when it is convenient. With regulation governing research it has been difficult to do studies in America thus forcing companies and scientists to seek refuge in other nations. This causes a major problem as US based companies are worried it is too high a risk to invest in and fund research of this kind. These scientists live on systematic research grants to continue their work. After these new laws were put in place only several years ago many companies went out of business because they lost funding (Technology Review 47). It is troubling that a nation founded on new ideas would ban such research but it all has to do with where the votes in congress are. Stem cell research is not all encompassing of what genetics is as the work in genetics is helping people born with disabilities. Through better understanding our bodies can better cures be found. People born with certain disabilities can usually trace these back to other members of their family. In a recent study more than 30% of mentally Ill patients in psychiatric care have heredity connections and other member of their family suffer from similar symptoms. Genetics, at its roots, is the study of possibilities: who we are and how we got here. Scientists don’t believe we just appeared like this centuries ago; we evolved, adapted and grew from a lesser species. Take a look at yourself in the mirror and you will see some of your family features; not just your parents, but your grandparents as well. For instance, I have my father’s hair and my mother’s eyes, but my grandfather’s nose as ‘we are our father’s sons’, as they say, and look as well as act like them. The use of genetics is not limited to the medical field as in recent years genetics and DNA have played a major part in law enforcement and has led to the apprehension of many criminals. While fingerprints can be smudged and unclear DNA is definitive, no two people in the world have the same DNA not even twins. Using DNA is essential to putting suspects behind bars: a hair, skin epithelials and bodily fluids all contain DNA and all can be used as evidence. Even old cases gone unsolved have been reopened using new technology to get a conviction. Some research organizations are government funded through doing research for defense and government funded programs paid for by our tax dollars. Then there is the private sector, which is the most driven. It would be of great importance to have systematic research grants and giving more of them to our scientists who are working on genetics and stem cell research. In a world where more money is spent researching breast augmentation surgery then life saving genetics, once again, he who has the gold makes the rules. More importantly, if there was as much money in curing cancer as there is spent in creating cosmetic surgery procedures and Viagra, we would have cured this disease a decade ago. Only the future will tell what is to be discovered. It is essential that we keep working to provide resources in funding, legal and administrative areas to keep the discoveries coming. Maybe soon we will not be at risk for any disease or ailments and maybe one day we’ll find a cure for the common cold but probably not in my lifetime.

Emerson and Thoreau Represent American Identity Essay -- Comapare and

Compare and contrast the way in which Emerson and Thoreau represent American Identity. â€Å"Identity means who a person is, or the qualities of a person or group which make them different from others,† (Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, Third Edition). Every individual, group and country has their own identity which makes them different from others and it shows uniqueness of oneself. Reaction against the existing philosophy takes place when there is conflict in interest amongst the philosophers. It was from the late eighteenth century until mid nineteenth century that the philosophical and literary movement (Transcendental Movement) took place in America as a result of extreme rationalism of the enlightenment. â€Å"Transcendentalism, an idealist philosophical tendency among writers in and around Boston in the mid-19th century. Growing out of Christian Unitarianism in the 1830s under the influence of German and British Romanticism, transcendentalism affirmed Kant’s principle of intuitive knowledge not derived from the senses, while rejecti ng organized religion for an extremely individualistic celebration of the divinity in each human being† (Oxford Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms, p. 262). Thus, being the transcendentalists, both Emerson and Thoreau represented American Identity by influencing American to participate in the construction of American identity through their writings and actions. Therefore, this essay will compare and contrast the way in which Emerson and Thoreau represented American Identity; firstly it will argue Emerson’s influence on the American scholars to create American Identity through creation of an intellectual scholars, which was unique and free from European influence and secondly it will discuss th... ... really awakened the people and society on the whole to work on creating and establishing the real American identity. â€Å"The American Dream, the belief that everyone in the US has the chance to be successful, rich and happy if they work hard,† (Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, Third Edition). Emerson and Thoreau are the men who made the American Dream come true in New England in the 1830s and continued through the 1840s and 1850s, but the energy that had earlier made Transcendentalism a unique movement to create American Identity had subsided for several reasons. Works Cited Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary, Third Edition. Oxford Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms by Chris Baldick. The American Scholar by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Walden by Henry David Thoreau. The Bedford Anthology of American Literature by Susan Belasco and Linck Johnson.

Religion and Morality Essay

Morality as dependant on religion The idea of whether morality and religion are linked or not was first looked upon by Plato, where in his Euthyphro Dilemma he asks, ‘Is what is pious loved by the Gods because it is pious, or is something pious because it is loved?’ In other words he is questioning whether things are good because God commands them to be, or does God command them because they are good? I will first examine the view followed by theists today, that things are good because God loves them and that religion and morality are linked. There are a number of ways which you can establish a possible link between religion and morality, the first being heteronomously. Heteronomy is the view that morality depends on religious belief, or things derived from religion. The rules in heteronomous societies are from religious authority so will obviously be linked to religion, however a non-religious person is still capable of being heteronomous as they live and abide by the culture’s laws therefore adopting a morality based on religion. To a certain extent it is hard to deny aspects of heteronomy, since words like ‘good’ and ‘evil’ are shaped by religion. It would be hard to present an ethical theory free from these terms. A theonomous link can also be made, where morality and religion depend on one source (for example, in Western cultures God) who is the fundamental designer of what is moral. Unlike Heteronomy, Theonomy does not require a religious authority as it is to do with the individual’s personal belief in the aforementioned source. The Natural Law theory developed by Aquinas is considered theonomous, in which an uncaused cause is the creative source for all. We can access God directly in this theory by fulfilling our purposes in life set by Him at our creation. The view that things are good through God’s command is directly illustrated in The Divine Command Theory, the common theory adopted by believers in the God of Classical Theism. According to Emil Brunner (1947), ‘The Good consists in always doing what God wills at any particular moment’, as it essentially impossible for God to command an evil act. If nothing was commanded or forbidden by God then there would be no wrong or right and arguably, there would be chaos. The DCT can be seen to provide a strong foundation for a stable necessary morality to be built upon as well as personal reasons to abide by it. For example, taken from the views of Kant (although not directly aimed at the DCT) the belief in the existence of an afterlife gives us incentive to live a moral life, which we otherwise may not be able to force ourselves to do. The presence of such an afterlife, and the fear of punishment make it rational (According to William Craig) to go against your own self-interest for the benefit of others, as self-sacrificial acts are looked upon well by God. This provides more answers to the question ‘Why be Moral?’ The DCT can be accessed through the Decalogue in the Bible (Exodus 20, old Testament), which provides a set of ten absolute, deontological commands by God. Also through the New Testament in Jesus’ ‘Sermon on the Mount’ where he makes laws much more situationalist with teachings such as ‘Love your neighbour’, which are flexible and apply to many situations. Finally, many theists argue that it does not make sense for morals to exist in a non-moral universe as there is nowhere they originate from, they don’t fit into a natural universe. They do however fit into a theistic universe where they were created by a moral creator (i.e God), it is then easy to see why they exist. This is supported by philosophers such as John Newman who states that feelings of responsibility and guilt point to God, and by D.I Trethowan, who suggests that an awareness of obligation is an awareness of God. Aii) Morality as independent from Religion A belief in morality as being totally independant from God is an autonomous belief, and there are many arguments in compliance with Autonomy, very much to do with the idea of free-will. If we really are to act with personal freedom of choice then we cannot act out of fear of God’s punishment, it totally voids the notion of free-will; and if God is omniscient and omnipotent he would know what decisions we are to make anyway and he would have the ability to stop us making the wrong ones. James Rachels concludes that no being like God can exist who requires us to abandon our moral autonomy is worth worshipping. There are theories in concurrence with Autonomy which allow still for a good, firm morality without dependency on religion such as Utilitarianism (greatest good for greatest number) so it can be said that religion is unnecessary There are many autonomous arguments against the DCT, beginning with the fact that God himself is not bound by any moral law. This would mean that God’s Ten Commandments could easily have been totally the opposite to what they are, encouraging acts like murder and we would still consider them to be good as God is the epitemy of good. This worrying problem was recognized by philosophers such as G.W Leibniz, who decreed, ‘Why praise him for what he has done, if he would be equally as praiseworthy if he had done the contrary?’ There is belief that if God had commanded acts such as murder, people still would not do them as we through our intuition feel they are intrinsically wrong. Another difficulty with the DCT lies in the many different interpretations which can be drawn from God. The existence of lots of different religions all with equal claim to God makes it very complicated as we cannot tell which one is right. Also, if morality depends on God then surely it would be impossible for an atheist to live a moral life, but this is obviously untrue as so many atheists do live morally. Further criticisms of the DCT stem from its assumption that God is omnibenevolent, a claim which is not easy to comprehend for the atheist because of the undeniable existence of evil. Lastly, many people argue that religion is itself immoral, as it is through religion that the most part of suicide bomb attacks, and other horrific acts are carried out. Examples could be drawn from the events in America involving the Twin Towers, or more recently the teacher in Sudan who is imprisoned for allowing a teddy to be named after the prophet Muhammad. If not for religion, these arguably ridiculous acts would never be justifiable. Hume said on the subject, ‘the errors in religion are dangerous; those in philosophy only ridiculous. Richard Dawkins in ‘The God Delusion’, clearly advocates the theory that religion is immoral when he discusses the story of Lot. This ‘righteous’ man is to be saved from the destruction of Soddom and Gomorrah because he is the most worthy man, however he offers his daughters for gang rape. According to Dawkins this emphasizes the serious disrespect for women in an intensely religious culture. B) To what extent is one of these claims more convincing than the other Going back to the basics of the Divine Command Theory, there are 613 commands in the Bible which were originally in effect, but are not now because they are ‘outdated’, and theists argue that an omniscient God used them knowing they would be relevant for different times. These theists fail, however to a provide a logical explanation for why there is nothing in the Bible which can be related to biological advances such as cloning, an omniscient God should be capable of filling in these gaps in moral law. Furthermore, as Dawkins relevantly points out – how can someone decide that parts of the Bible are now irrelevant, this is just picking and choosing which parts are in your best interest to follow. This suggests that the Bible and therefore the DCT does not in fact provide a stable foundation for morality as there are numerous conclusions to be drawn from ‘relevant’ parts. It must also be taken into consideration that the Bible is not in its original form, through hundreds of years it has been composed and revised so (as put forward by Dawkins again) does it not seem strange that we base our whole morality on such a distorted teaching. Another feature of the DCT, is that everyone will be judged by God, punished for their sins, often in the form of natural disasters. People could say that the recent tsunami and Hurricane Katrina incidents were a form of punishment, but as Dawkins once again highlights, why did this have to happen? It is hard to believe that everyone who died in these disasters was evil, so why could our omnipotent God of Classical Theism not just strike down the individuals without causing so much collateral damage. Moreover, this persuasively further argues the immoral messages religion can be seen to give. Often, it is argued that the set in stone rules of the DCT inspire people to live a moral life out of the incentive of making it to heaven, and avoiding hell. This may be true, but does it not tarnish the goodness of an act when it is done out of selfish reason? Does it then make that act immoral? Yes it does, so it can then be said that the DCT again fails to provide a stable, reasonable basis for morality. These set in stone rules are also cause for discussion, as they are obviously inarguable to a Divine Command Theorist. To them, consequentialist views such as killing someone to save a greater number would undisputedly be wrong. Even if our intuition is what is telling us that defying a command is right, the believer in DCT would say it is our intuition at fault; They do, however fail to take into consideration that by their own decrees intuition is given to us by God to live morally, so why would we intuitively want to go against God? Dawkins’ arguments suggest that religion is responsible for the most part of evil in the world and his descriptions of people like terrorists as e.g. ‘Not psychotic; they are religious idealists who, by their own lights, are rational’ certainly make sense. However he makes it seem that no religious person has the capacity to do good, which can easily be refuted at the mere mention of the names Mother Theresa, or Martin Luther King. He also unsurprisingly doesn’t mention the likes of atheist like Stalin who birthed communism in Russia. Despite this, the majority of Dawkins views and the massive flaws in the DCT show the latter statement in the initial question (‘Is something good because God commands it, or does God command something because it is good?’) to be the most convincing of the two. Although the DCT offers a way for humanity to be good, religion itself harbors too many inconsistencies to base everything we stand for on.

Alexandra Kollontai – Biography

Biographical information: Name – Alexandra Mikhailovna Kollontai Born – March 31st 1872 in St. Petersburg Died – March 9th 1952 in Moscow Occupation – Russian communist revolutionary, Soviet Ambassador to Norway Family background: Kollontai was born to a relatively wealthy family. Her father, General Mikhail Alekseevich Domontovich, served as a Calvary officer in the Russo-Turkish war and was an advisor to the Russian administration in Bulgaria. Kollontai’s mother, Alexandra Androvna Masalina-Mravinskaia, was a daughter of a Finnish peasant who made a fortune selling wood.Kollontai’s parent’s long and difficult struggle to be together would colour her views on relationships, sex and marriage. Kollontai was extremely close with her father, both sharing an interest in history and politics. Education: Kollontai’s mother and her nanny were demanding, â€Å"There was order in everything, there was order in everything: to tidy up toy s myself, to lay my underwear on a little chair at night, to wash neatly, to study my lessons on time, to treat the servants with respect†.Alexandra was considered a good student, mastering a range of languages. She spoke French with her mothers and sisters, English to her Nanny, Finnish with the peasants at a family estate, and she was a student of German. Alexandra wanted to continue her education at university but her mother said that there was no real need for women to have higher education. Political membership: At the time of the split in the Russian Social Democrat Labour Party in 1903, into the Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks, Kollontai did not side with either.Kollontai then first joined the Mensheviks but then in 1915 finally joined the Bolsheviks. After the Bolshevik revolution in 1917, Kollontai became the People’s Commissar for Social Welfare. Kollontai founded the Zhenotdel or â€Å"Women’s Department† in 1919. This organisation worked to impro ve the condition of women’s lives in the Soviet Union, fighting illiteracy and educating women about the new marriage laws put in place by the revolution. Revolutionary activities:Kollontai’s first activities were timid and modest, helping out a few hours a week with her sister at a library that supported Sunday classes in basic literacy for urban workers, sneaking a few socialist ideas into the lesson sideways. At this library, Kollontai met Elena Stasova, an activist in the budding Marxist movement in St. Petersburg. Stasova began using Kollontai as a courier, transporting parcels of illegal writings to unknown individuals.In 1898 Kollontai left to study Economics in Zurich, Switzerland. She then paid a visit to England, where she met members of the British Labour party. She returned to Russia in 1899, at which time she met Vladimir Lenin. She became a member of the Russian Social Democrat Labour Party in 1899. Kollontai went in exile, to Germany in 1908 after publis hing â€Å"Finland and Socialism†, which called on the Finnish people to rise up against oppression within the Russian empire.

Comparison and Contrast of Prometheus Bound and Frankenstein essays

Comparison and Contrast of Prometheus Bound and Frankenstein essays Comparison/Contrast between Aeschyluss Prometheus and Shellys Frankenstein Modern Prometheus, commonly know as Frankenstein, is the complete title to Mary Shelleys novel, in reference to the Greek myth involving Prometheus, a deity. The novel, the title being quite fitting, uses major themes involved with the Prometheus mythology for and against the moral she created. Themes such as isolation and loneliness were used as well as elements of fate and father-son relationships. In Prometheus Bound and Frankenstein, the protagonists are very alike in many ways. They created life, stole and got punished for what they did. Prometheus was a clever deity and a master craftsman who had the gift of prophecy. He created man from the spark of heaven for the purpose of creating a noble being, nobility that many Gods abused. He taught man the many crafts that were necessary for mans survival. He enlightened man so that they would not have to do their own work. Prometheus taught man astronomy, to know seasons and animal domestication. He gave them language. He instructed his creation on how to build carriages and ships. He also gave them powers of medicine, soothsaying and extracting metals from the earth. He teaches them the beginning of civilization and changes their lives completely. But man lacked one crucial gift, that of fire. Fire was sacred to the Gods. Prometheus was unable to bestow such a grant to man because Zeus, the cardinal God, denied it. P rometheus, loving his creation considerably stole the fire and concealed it in the stem of a plant. Prometheus who gave men every art and every science finally gave them fire. Knowing that there would be consequences to his actions, the protagonist sacrificed himself. Zeus, discovering this act, has Prometheus chained to the rocks of a desolate mountain named Mount Caucasus where a vult...

5 Tips for Handling your Thesis Data Analysis - Proofed

5 Tips for Handling your Thesis Data Analysis - Proofed 5 Tips for Handling your Thesis Data Analysis When writing your thesis, the process of analyzing data and working with statistics can be pretty hard at first. This is true whether you’re using specialized data analysis software, like SPSS, or a more descriptive approach. But there are a few guidelines you can follow to make things simpler. 1. Choose the Best Analytical Method for Your Project The sheer variety of techniques available for data analysis can be confusing! If you are writing a thesis  on internet marketing, for instance, your approach to analysis will be very different to someone writing about biochemistry. As such it is important to adopt an approach appropriate to your research. 2. Double Check Your Methodology If you are working with quantitative data, it is important to make sure that your analytical techniques are compatible with the methods used to gather your data. Having a clear understanding of what you have done so far will ensure that you achieve accurate results. For instance, when performing statistical analysis, you may have to choose between parametric and non-parametric testing. If your data is sampled from a population with a broadly Gaussian (i.e., normal) distribution, you will almost always want to use some form of non-parametric testing. But if you can’t remember or aren’t sure how you selected your sample, you won’t necessarily know the best test to use! 3. Familiarize Yourself with Statistical Analysis and Analytical Software Thanks to various clever computer programs, you no longer have to be a math genius to conduct top-grade statistical analysis. Nevertheless, learning the basics will help you make informed choices when designing your research and prevent you from making basic mistakes. Likewise, trying out different software packages will allow you to pick the one best suited to your needs on your current project. 4. Present Your Data Clearly and Consistently This is possibly one of the most important parts of writing up your results. Even if your data and statistics are perfect, failure to present your analysis clearly will make it difficult for your reader to follow. Ask yourself how your analysis would look to someone unfamiliar with your project. If they would be able to understand your analysis, you’re on the right track! 5. Make It Relevant! Finally, remember that data analysis is about more than just presenting your data. You should also relate your analysis back to your research objectives, discussing its relevance and justifying your interpretations. This will ensure that your work is easy to follow and demonstrate your understanding of the methods used. So no matter what you are writing about, the analysis is a great time to show off how clever you are!