LO3 Research Techniques

Methods of primary research -


- Interviews
Qualitative data, questions can be responded to in depth, interviewer can clarify the questions to the respondant. Possiblity of bias , saying what the interviewer wants to hear.

- Survey (online or telephone) can taylor how the questions should be answered, whether they require a long or short yes/no answer. Possibility of a low response rate, particularly if the survey is done via email as it is likely to go unseen. Should the person filling out the survey not understand one of the questions, there is nobody to consult as there would in say an interview.

- Focus group ideas and throughts can be built upon with the group meaning you get more detailed reponses to questions, you can also take sample materials along to show what say a product would look like. Members of the focus group may be influenced by eachother and or feel under pressure with the leader of the group being present.

- Online poll Doesnt take long for the participant to complete meaning there are many different responses to a small question. Could be ignored as there is no significant pressure into completing it.


Primary definer -

These are individuals who have power, expert or acedemic knowleged and or control whom news institutions use as a source of information to support an argument. Articles will often quote primary definers to add credence to a point of view.


Secondary definer -

these are individuals , often public , who provide opinions. Public opinion is often quoted in articles aimed at a mass audience in order to convey a populist point of view. This sort of opinion can be gathered quickly on social media or online blogging sites and forums.





Secondary research techniques-

- Internet research (taking information from other web pages) Gives us quick access to a vast amount of information about a chosen subject. Some websites such as wikipedia can be edited by anybody therefore may not contain hard fact or may feature missing key features.
- News papers News papers can be back dated therefore you have access to various different stories to aid your research. Depending on the newspaper, there could be substancial political bias which may make it difficult to comment upon a subject of political matter.
- Magazines Magazines comment upon current affairs therefore gives researchers easy access to information Not all information in magazines is factual, in fact the majority of it is based on allegations and alleged events.
- Books/journals Information often free  Language may prove a barrier , elaborate coding may make it difficult for researchers.
- Government statistics (state research, papers that are published) Figures may be manipulated to support an argument.
- Tv programmes / film documentaries May be less credible to sell a product
- Social Media Majority is opinion based, not necessarily reaching the mass audience.

Blottr - is a user generated news service that enables anyone to capture, report and collaborate on news as it happens around them, from mobile to web instantly.

Google Alerts - monitors web for interesting new content

GeoFeedia - location based analytics platform enables hundereds of orginizations around the world to predict , analyse and act based on real time social media signals

Crowd sourcing - Gaining opinion and feedback when publishing work on things such as social media sites.

Web sources - adedemic work v. popular opinion

Observation - Focus, Recording , evidencing : can be done by recording voices or videoing with consent

Task

• evaluating sources and information
• reliability (e.g use of field experts, first hand eye witnesses, authority - official v subordinate, use of primary and secondary definers )
• relevance
• accuracy (cross referancing)
• validity ( is the point valid , does it have worth)
• accessibility ( how you as a researcher access it )
• quality ( the quality of the information recieved , in terms of interview)
• cost effective ( value for money )