A Guide to Commissioning Cultural Sector Research in the South West of England

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Section 4

Appendices

Section 1: GETTING IT RIGHT UP FRONT: THE BIG QUESTIONS

Step Two: Are the answers already available?

Having established what it is you need to know and how you are going to use that information, the next questions are:

Q Does this information already exist?
Q Is there similar information out there to inform my research?
Q Where do I find this information?

"Research shouldn't be undertaken as a PR exercise or as a nod to consultation without having any confidence that it’s going to tell you anything you don’t know already. Nor should it be undertaken to smooth the way for something you’re going to do anyway. If there’s no genuine sense of inquiry or need – don't do it!"
Consultant

To answer these questions you will need to do some research yourself. There are many places you can look, for example the South West Intelligence Database, the DCMS Evidence Toolkit and the world wide web. However, the best starting points are likely to be your colleagues and the South West Observatory (SWO) : discuss your project idea with colleagues who have research expertise and with the cultural sector’s Research Officer at the SWO.

"the best place to find information?
It’s called Google"
Commissioner

If the information already exists in a format that tells you what you need to know or that can be applied to your area or population group you may not need to do the project.

"Beware the 'magic wand' syndrome –
a consultant and a piece of research won’t 'make it all better'"
Consultant

If the information does not already exist, your own preliminary research is likely to provide useful material that will inform the development of your project and confirm the need for the research project.

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