Making money as a web-based researcher... official MoneySavingExpert.com discussion

brownbabygirl

By the way I read and write German and full agree with you about the last question. The inconsistencies with the range is also ridiculous! I also work for them and have failed 2 reviews so far....I have taken a short hiatus as I was getting really discouraged.

skipsey

While it does appear a little harsh I would have made the following suggestions;

Q. How many different noises does a guinea pig make?
A. A guinea pig makes between 15 and 18 different sounds, depending on your definition of a "different sound".

I think you would have got away with this if you'd said, "A guinea pig makes between 15 and 18 different sounds, depending on the variety being studied" but really, with such a low number you should give a definitive answer.

Q. How much is scrap copper worth per tonne?
A. Scrap copper is worth £3,062 per tonne [...]

Scrap metal clearly doesn't have a fixed value, so in this case a range is appropriate. You should have appended the figure with 'on average' if giving such a precise number.

Q. How is the song X by band X played on the guitar?
A. Song X by band X is played in dropped-D tuning in 4/4 time. There are too many notes to fit into one text, but you can find the music at: Site X.

Where there's a lot of info you should just write something like 'First chord;' and fit as much as you can in, abbreviations are fine in these cases. Personally I would have picked you up on this one for using half the reply to tell them you weren't answering the question.

Q. What's the name of Germany's national anthem?
A. Germany's national anthem is called "Lied der Deutschen" but it is more commonly referred to as "Deutschland Ueber Alles".

A bit harsh I think, but technically you should have written 'Uber'. Google also ignores the umlaut, so if they used your spelling to search for extra info they might not get results as relevant as they might otherwise have done.


Anyone reading this should bear in mind that if you follow AQA rules on answering questions you won't get into trouble. You get quite a few chances to improve your answers before they'd actually resort to sacking you.

IndieSinger

skipsey wrote: »

While it does appear a little harsh I would have made the following suggestions;

Q. How many different noises does a guinea pig make?
A. A guinea pig makes between 15 and 18 different sounds, depending on your definition of a "different sound".

I think you would have got away with this if you'd said, "A guinea pig makes between 15 and 18 different sounds, depending on the variety being studied" but really, with such a low number you should give a definitive answer.

I was told not to do that as it doesn't give a definite answer. I should have chosen a species and stuck to it.

Q. How much is scrap copper worth per tonne?
A. Scrap copper is worth £3,062 per tonne [...]

Scrap metal clearly doesn't have a fixed value, so in this case a range is appropriate. You should have appended the figure with 'on average' if giving such a precise number.

I was told not to append with "on average" as it is against guidelines.

Q. How is the song X by band X played on the guitar?
A. Song X by band X is played in dropped-D tuning in 4/4 time. There are too many notes to fit into one text, but you can find the music at: Site X.

Where there's a lot of info you should just write something like 'First chord;' and fit as much as you can in, abbreviations are fine in these cases. Personally I would have picked you up on this one for using half the reply to tell them you weren't answering the question.

Again, there are no chords as it's a lead guitar piece. The only section of my answer that was praised was the bit about telling them AQA can't fit the answer into a text.

Q. What's the name of Germany's national anthem?
A. Germany's national anthem is called "Lied der Deutschen" but it is more commonly referred to as "Deutschland Ueber Alles".

A bit harsh I think, but technically you should have written 'Uber'. Google also ignores the umlaut, so if they used your spelling to search for extra info they might not get results as relevant as they might otherwise have done.

Why "technically"? Surely researchers should "technically" tell the absolute truth - which is ueber - rather than deliberately misspell it?

Anyone reading this should bear in mind that if you follow AQA rules on answering questions you won't get into trouble. You get quite a few chances to improve your answers before they'd actually resort to sacking you.

This is why AQA's subjectivity annoys me. But I thank you for your input, it was very useful.

IndieSinger

It's been a little while now since my contracted was terminated by AQA.

I've just received an e-mail telling me I have been inactive for too long..?! I wish they'd make up their mind.

brownbabygirl

You need to log into KES at least once a month otherwise they will terminate if you fail to do so without contacting your SR to let them know why (eg illness or holiday)..

IndieSinger

brownbabygirl wrote: »

You need to log into KES at least once a month otherwise they will terminate if you fail to do so without contacting your SR to let them know why (eg illness or holiday)..

I know, but my contract was terminated weeks ago!

brownbabygirl

IndieSinger wrote: »

I know, but my contract was terminated weeks ago!

What event led to contract termination? Did you fail 3 consecutive reviews? You make it seem aqa terminated you overnight but i am sure there is more to it.

IndieSinger

brownbabygirl wrote: »

What event led to contract termination? Did you fail 3 consecutive reviews? You make it seem aqa terminated you overnight but i am sure there is more to it.

That's right, the questions and answers posted above were only some of the questions I failed. My intention was to point out that some questions I failed on were subjective - if they had not been marked down, I wouldn't have failed any reviews at all.

Olivia_Buck

I took the AQA test last week and got my rejection email today. After having read some of this thread, I can't say I was too surprised - it sounds like they're pretty fussy!

Also noticed that they're no longer looking for UK-based researchers, so maybe I wasn't quick enough. Ah well - if anything comes of Texperts (I passed their test a couple of weeks ago) then I'll be happy - it sounds like they're a nicer company to work for anyway.

I might re-apply to AQA some time, but I don't know if I could take their abuse with good humour!

ultramobile187

IndieSinger...I'm glad I'm not the only one with your experience! I was working for AQA since January 2008 and all was well, my SR (Keith Dudhnath) was very friendly and pleasant and I was generally happy. Then I had one bad review (80% instead of the required 92%) and I was warned that AQA would consider terminating my contract. I tried hard but I had a second bad review and that was it...you're out, no second chances. IMO, my reviews, especially the 2nd one, were EXTREMELY objective...example - Q: 'what are the recommended procedures when carrying out routine maintenance', my answer: 'routine maintenance procedures depend on the equipment involved. Consult your user manual'. I was marked down because I should have given an example such as 'check the oil', etc - what if they were referring to maintenance of a computer! Indie - were you doing a lot of hours for AQA? I was only managing about £150 per month and I think they are just trying to weed out the people who don't have time to do too much. What annoyed me was that there was no chance to argue my point, no reason, just....see ya. Now I remember why I left the private sector for my FT job.