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Section 4: THE RIGHT TOOLS TO MANAGE THE JOB
The purpose of this section is to ensure you can make informed choices and decisions relating to the application of methodologies, principles and ethics involved in commissioning research.
Step Thirteen: Which research methods are the most appropriate for my project?
There is a wide variety of methods available for designing, carrying out and analysing the results of research. There are two general strategies for doing research :
Quantitative or qualitative
> Quantitative research is concerned with the collection and analysis of data in numeric form. It tends to involve relatively large-scale and representative sets of data.
> Qualitative research is concerned with collecting and analysing information in as many forms, chiefly non-numeric, as possible. It tends to focus on exploring, in as much detail as possible, smaller numbers of instances or examples which are seen as being interesting or illuminating, and aims to achieve 'depth' rather than 'breadth'.
Fieldwork or deskwork
> Fieldwork refers to the process of going out to collect research data. For example, it might involve visiting an organisation to interview members of staff, or standing on a street administering questionnaires to passers-by, or in sitting in on a meeting to observe what takes place.
> Deskwork consists of those research processes which do not necessitate going into the field. For example, these include the administration, collection and analysis of postal surveys, the analysis of data collected by others, literature reviews and writing up.
It is possible for a research project to use both quantitative and qualitative forms of research and similarly, most, if not all, research projects will make use of both fieldwork and deskwork in the collection of both primary and secondary data.
All research involves the collection and analysis of data and it is important that you have some understanding of the range of methods available to the researcher. There are four main techniques for producing data:
| Techniques |
Description |
Examples |
| Documents |
library-based – aims at producing a critical synopsis of an existing area of research writing
computer-based – consists largely of the analysis of previously collected datasets
have a policy focus – examines materials relevant to a particular set of policy decisions
have a historical orientation – making use of available archival and other surviving documentary evidence
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Examples of documents which form secondary data for research:
- census statistics and reports
- government White papers
- company annual reports
- institutional documents
- books and journals
- newspapers, television and radio programmes |
| Interviews |
involves questioning or discussing issues with people |
Many variations of the interview techniques are possible:
- structured/semi-structured/unstructured
- face to face or at a distance, i.e. telephone
- involve two individuals, i.e. researcher and interviewee or may be a focus group with a number of interviewees |
| Observations |
involves the researcher in watching, recording and analysing events of interest |
Range of different approaches
- researcher may be a ‘participant’ in the events studied or may act as a ‘disinterested’ observer
- observation may be structured or open |
| Questionnaires |
involves the researcher constructing a questionnaire, based on sequence of largely closed questions, that can be completed by the respondent |
Number of different ways in which questionnaires can be administered:
- postal survey
- email survey
- telephone survey
- face-to-face surveys |
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Source: Adapted from Blaxter, L., Hughes, C. & Tight, M. (1996) How to Research, Buckingham: Open University Press.
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It is common for researchers to use more than one method. The main method of data collection in your research project, for example, may be a questionnaire survey, or a set of interviews, or a series of observations, but this is likely to be complemented, at the very least, by some documentary analysis exploring relevant literature and policy.
Top tip: Researchers who base their research on documents are likely to make considerable use of secondary data. The DCMS Evidence Toolkit (DET) has been developed as a 'signpost' to information sources and how to access them and it is important that you guide your researchers to this toolkit. There are data sets grouped according to themes, for example, labour market, users audiences and economic performance and the researcher can access individual datasets which in turn links to the source of the data.
Health Warning: Beware of questionnaire fatigue particularly if you are working in local government. If your housing department is putting out a questionnaire toward the development of your corporate plan consider the effect this could have on you planned research particularly, if your research targets the same respondents.
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