Researching and obtaining information Learning outcomes i After studying this chapter, you should be able to: i © gather information with a purpose | 8 identify appropriate sources of information relevant to and sufficient for | the purpose @ locate and retrieve information efficiently and effectively using different media @ evaluate sources of information A | ® identify and use an appropriate method for primary data collection. res : : soshast aed ae Introduction "e Itis unlikely that lecture and seminar/tutorial notes and handouts will provide all the information required to get you successfully through your studies. In fact, much of your study time willbe spent gathering information —-not just forthe assessments you have to complete but also to support lectures, seminars, tutorials and examinations. One of the most important study skills to develop is that of gathering appropriate and relevant information. Thic will be a eritial factor in the oucccs9 of your atudies. There is now a-wide range of resources available on a variety of different media other than the traditional printed word, for example, CD-ROMs, microfilm, videos and DVDs. ‘The information technology revolution has resulted in a huge expansion in the quantity of information available by making it easier and quicker to search and access. It is important to familinrise yourself with gathering information from a range of different ‘media at an early stage in your studies. ‘The quality of the information available can vary from an uninformed opinion to thor- oughly researched facts. When gathering material for your studies, aim to obtain the ‘most relevant, accurate and reliable information possible, within the limits imposed by time. cost and your own research ability. Unreliable and inaccurate information leads to faulty judgement and decisions. ‘The vast amount of information and resources available can be very bewildering. You can spend 4 iot of valuable time floundering uiess you adopt a systematic and 163PARTI DEVELOPING STUDY SKILLS orderly approach. The aim of this chapter is to help you find your way through this sea of information =o 4 systematic approach to information gathering Why do you want the information? Before beginning tu collect infuruetion, you need to be sure why you need it Consider the purpose of gathering the information — is it to enable you to complete an assessment, prepare for a lecture or tutorial, further your understanding of a subject or simply for interest? The purpose behind your information gathering will determine the nature, focus and depth of the information you need and how you record it Stop and © Why do you need the information? think What do you need to know? ‘Youneed to define precisely the topic area and any related subject matter that may be rel- evant to the topic. This means analysing the topic. What is it about? What are the supporting ideas and concepts? If there are words or ideas you do not understand, use a dictionary, encyclopedia or thesaurus for clarification. ‘Make notes on what you already know about the topic and identify any information you already have. Look at the lecture/tutorial notes and reading lists you have been given. Reading lists will provide references that the tutor considers relevant to the subject. IF you are at all unclear about what is required, ask your tutor for guidance, par- ticularly if the inforniation is for an assessment. This will avoid you making a time-consuinizyg search for information that may tum out to be irrelevant. { q Remember... | @ Brainstorm the topic - think about the what, why, when, now, where and who of the topic to provide you with a basic framework. At this stage, itis useful to identify the main concepts, key words and phrases associ- ated with the topic under investigation. Key words or phrases are the words that identify and are related to the subject area. This is an important part of gathering information - key words and phrases are required to locate appropriate resources, so it is worth 5. spending some time thinking about these. Using the wzong key words may mean that relevant material is missed. Key words that are too broad will result in too much infor- mation, and those that are too narrow will lead to limited information. Figure 9.1 ‘provides an example of how key words and phrases for an essay title may be broadened. or narrowed. 164RESEARCHING AND OBTAINING INFORMATION Figure 9.4. Key words and phrases Key words pressure groups democracy Narrower Related/ Broader Synonyms voting systems lia political systems | Greenpeace representation power trade unions etc. lobbying Political partes petition participation ‘government influence etc. ete, Philosophies consultation : etcete. 3 Identifying key words and phrases 7 Examine the question below and determine the key words and phrases that could he Used to search for information. : ie ‘The value of information derives from its effect on decision behaviour: Discuss, sha q Key words/phrases, Related termsisyronyms; Narrower terms: Broader terms: When do you need to know the information? Ensure that youknow when you must have the information, Gathering information canbe a very time-consuming activity, so itis essential to plan. The time you have available will influence how you collec the information and also in what depth. (See also Chapter 11) “Stop end © Whet is your deadline fur completing the Work? thinkPART} DEVELOPING STUDY SKILLS Where will you get the information? ‘When embarking on the search for information, first consider whether the search may be based solely on information that has already been published by someone else (secovsdary tjormation) or Whether you need to add to this by generating it yourself (primary research). Secondary information sources Secondary sources provide information that has already been collected and issued by Somebody. amples are all the journals, sewspapers, official ctatistics, books and other material that have been published. Investigating the material already available in a topic area should be the first step in finding information. In fact, some tasks will not require you to go beyond this. Primary data If information is not available or appropriate from secondary sources then it may have to bbe collected first hand. This can be done using a variety of different methods, such as observation, experimentation and surveys, which are covered in detail later in this ory data can be an extremely tima-cansiiming and expensive activity so be sure that it is necessary before embarking on such a quest. Essays and tutorials or seminars will rely mainly on secondary information but a dissertation or project may require the collection of primary data. Stop and © Does the work you are doing require primary researciir 166 2 How will you gather and record the data/information? ‘The method used is particularly important for primary data, which may be collected in a ‘number of different ways, such as surveys, observation or experimentation. Refer to the section on primary data collection for more detail on this. ‘Chapter 6 provides advice on recording information from secondary sources, but itis vital dat sures aie conectly referenced and any cources used are listed in a bibliog- raphy (see Chapter 16 for advice on references and bibliographies). Who will be able to help? Make a list of the people and organisations that may be able to help in your search for information. This may include librarians, organisations external to the academic institu- tion, other students, etc.RESEARCHING ANO OBTAINING INFORMATION Secondary sources ‘The obvious place to start the search for secondary sources is a library. Libraries Libraries will be an invaluable resource during your studies. Traditionally, libraries have been a source of printed and audio-visual material, but now many libraries, especially academic ones, offer access to information stored on other media, such as CD-ROMs and the Internet. Its important to make a determined effort at an early stage of your studies to get to know the organisation, operation and facilites of the library you intend to use regularly for study. ‘here are a number of different types of library tn the UK, which are outlined below. Public libraries ‘A public library provides a service for the community in which itis situated. Many of the readers using a public brary are primarily interested in fiction, but the librarian will try tw meet thee dessins of all types of weades. Ik is unliely iat the subject coverage of books on a particular topic will reach a great depth, although occasionally a public library may house a special collection of information that is pertinent to the area in which the library is situated, Academic libraries Your university or college library will have been stocked to meet the specialised needs of the academic community it serves. The stock will include journals, periodicals, reports and professional magazines, as well as academic texts. The library may also allow access toejoumals and databases. The material provided may embrace fewer suibjects than in a public library, but the depth of provision will be greater. The librarians may'even be specialists in a particular subject area. Company libraries Some organisations have their own library, which houses material on every aspect of the Tiun's business in order to support all the organisation's activitics, Theac Hbravica are par ticularly useful if you have to research a particular industry or organisation, For example, British Gas plc has a library at its headquarters in London that contains books, reports and other material relating to the gas industry and energy in general. Many hospitals house specialist library collections for their staff that in some cases may be available to students, Specialist libraries ‘The Association for Information Management (formerly ASLIB, the Asscciation of Special Libraries and Information Bureaux) publishes a Directory of Information Sources fn the UK which liste cpoctatist libraries with specific subject collections in the UK. ‘An example of a specialist library is the British Film Institute National Library in London. 167PARTI 168 DEVELOPING STUDY SKILLS Using the library ‘You may feel apprehensive about asking the library staff where to find information ~ many people do, particularly in a large academic library. Do not be afraid to ask the brary staff for their help ~ asking for help is an indication of your desire to learn and extend your knowledge. Library staff are highly trained and well-qualified people, dedt- cated to the tack of helping people ta s1eo the facilities that the libraries offer. They build up a wide knowledge of books and other lenzning resources, and are generally happy to share this knowledge with anyone who asks. Tis a good idea to establish a rapport with a member of tie university or college library staff, particularly one who is responsible for the subject area you are studying, ‘Time invested in this could yield valuable time savings later on, as they become a friendly link between you and the vast range of resources available in the library. Specialist subject librarians in university and college libraries may have a bibliography already prepared on a subject you are researching, If su ley will be able to indicate the location of appropriate resources within the library. “To help their users, some libraries issue their own publications, such as lists of resources and how to use them. These are useful, but remember that such lists are out of date from the moment they are printed, as tey will not contain the latest additions to the brary. A very useful publication isa map of the library indenting where all the different resources are located. ‘There are two main categories of resources held in libraries: those for reference pur- poses and those for lending. The category is usually determined by usage. Reference ‘material will generally only need to be consulted for some particular piece of infor- ination, whexeas lending material will be required for periods of continuous use. Sometimes expensive resources, although they are not strictly reference, are added to the reference section because of their cost. You may also find that, if a lending resource is in great demand, there will be multiple copies and a copy will be placed in the reference section so that one copy is always available, Some libraries, particularly academic libraries, operate a short-term loan section. This allows lenders to borrow the resources for shorter periods of time than the usual lending, period. Recommended materials for courses are often placed on short-term loan so that all students have the opportunuty to use them. G Remember... ‘ ® Get to know the librarian for your subject area ~ they will have invaluable information. Inter-library loans One of the great benefits of the library system is the cooperation between the different libraries through the inter-library loan system. If you request a resource from your local or university/college library and they are unable to supply it, they are likely to have the facility to search the catalogues of other libraries to determine whether the item is stocked elsewhere. Ifo, your ibrary may be able to make a request tor thus tem on your behalf. The holding library will then send the item to your library for you to use ifitisinwe @ ety 92 ‘THEDENEY Lass carion s¥srew inthe Oe stu cud, RESEARCHING AND OBTAINING INFORMATION stork Note that there may be a charge for thie service, and inevitably there will be a time delay whilst the material makes the journey between libraries, Ifyou need to use the inter-library loan system, make sure you provide the librarian ‘with full details of tie material you Wish to see: ‘Author Publication ttie Article title (if applicable) Publisher Date of publication Page number (ifapplicuble) ISBN (International Standard Book Number) (if known) ‘Many universities have reciprocal arrengements with other universities so that students ‘may use a restricted range of their facilites. Organisation of the fibrary Information is held in libraries on a variety of different media, all of which can appear very perplexing at first. However, the material is caretully organised so that information ona particular subject is readily accessible. Usually similar media are held in the same area of the library: for example, all books in ane area. magazines and periodicale in another, videos in another, etc. Within these areas, material will be grouped together by subject. The Dewey Decimal Systern Most libraries use the Dewey Decimal System to classify the majority of the non- electronic media within the library. This system, developed by Melvil Dewey, librarian of Amherst College, Massachusetts, in 1873, uses the decimal principle to divide the whole of human knowledge into ten broad subject areas called classes (see Table 9.1). “ ach class is subdivided into ten subclasses and each of these into a further ten. Dewey classification numbers are used to represent the subjects, and thus the numbers become a shorthand symbol for the subject. Material within the same classification is grouped. together, usually aranged in alphabetical order of author's name. All material is arvanged on the library shelves acconding to this systeny, ina prugiessive miatuter arvused the library. With constant use you will quickly become familiar with the classification numbers associated with the subjects you are studying. ‘When looking for books, remember that many important subjects are included under 2 general heading — for example, the 500 clas contains subjects ranging from mathe ‘matics to pure science. Hach class is broken down into more precise subject headings, which become more detailed and precise at each level (Table 9.2). If there are a lot of bbooks on the same subject with the same classification number, three letters may be added to the number. This represents the author's last name. 169PARTI 170 DEVELOPING STUDY SKILLS Table 9.1 General headings within the Dewey classification system Class _| Category (000 | Generalities | This includes encyclopaedias, bibliographies, periodicals, etc. ~ anything that ranges aver the whole field of human knowledce. 100 | Philosophy | This class includes psychology. and related disciplines 200 | Retigion 300 | Secial “This elacs includes staticties. eeanamics, oublic administration, sciences social welfare and education. 400 | Philology _| This includes language and linguistics. 500 _| Pure sciences | This includes mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and botany. 600 | Apptiod ans on madiine, agriculture, business and management are i science this class. (echnology) roo | Thearts ‘This covers books on recreation os well as architecture, photography, music, and fine and decorative arts. 900 | Literature _| The study of the literature of the world's languages will be found In this class, whereas the study of the grammar is founa in tne 400 class. Using this system, fiction would be placed in this class but most libraries have a separate fiction area because of the space required. 900 | Geography | This class also includes biography. end hletory Notes tities of each eategory may change slightly depending on the lary you use ‘Table 9.2 Example of subdivisions within the Dewey classification system 300 ‘| Social sciences 310 Collection of general statistics 320 Political eclencee 330 Economics 331 Labour economics 332 Financial economics 3324 Banks 3322 Specialised banking institutions 33221 Savings banks ‘Another classification system that you may come across in large universities or research libraries is the Library of Congress Classification System. This system uses letters and numbers.RESEARCHING AND OBTAINING INFORMATION Library ceteloyues The key to a library is the catalogue. Most libraries now hold their catalogues on a com- puter system, which means that searching for the mformation you need 1s tast and flexible. The library catalogue allows access to resources through a number of different routes Subject ‘he subject inte list all Ue subjects covered by the Mbrary in alphabetical order. Thus 13 a quick and easy way to find related subject areas, or alternative terms for the key words identified for your topic. It will also provide a rough guide to the volume of resources covering a subject area ‘The Dewey classification number is provided for each subject. For example, looking ‘up Marketing in the oubject catalogue will identify the Dewey classification number for this topic area as 658.8. Title ‘This is list ofall the books held in the library in alphabetical order by title. Author ‘The author index is a list of all the books held in the library alphabetically by author's name. If the author of a book is known, this index may be used to find the classification ‘number and thus locate it, However, this can be more time consuming than the title Index, ae hare will be many authors with the came or similar namo who may cach have written a number of books, whereas most tiles are unique, Classified catalogue é ‘The dasified catalogue provides alist ofall the resources that are held under a particular classification. ‘The British National Bibliography (BNE) is a useful publication that can usually be found in the reference section of the lihrary Tk contains an up-to-date list of books and journale in ptint and may be referenced by subject, author or title. a louue (Uk, color (USA). i ‘© Terminology, Are you using the correct terminology? Beware of jargor anid is the differences between languages, e4. cars (UK), automobiles (USA) ‘@ Abbreviations. Are you using the correct abbreviations? Also try the words in full. An incorrect Input will cause the search in the catalogue to be misdirected, mPARTI DEVELOPING STUDY SKILLS Using the library catalogue Look up a subject you are studying on the library catalogue system. Identify five books, three videos arid twu juurnels of interest in the subject orea and locate them aa the library shelves. Identify several roference books in your area of churly. Are they all together in the one reference section of the library or located on the shelves with the lending resources? Printed resources ‘Yhe traditional method of publishing infunmativn is through the printed word, but there are many formats in which the information may be presented. Books Docks contain material that has been provinnely written on subjects that have been inves- tigated by other people. They therefore provide a convenient starting point in a quest for information. However, when using books, remember that they take a long time to get {nto print, so some information may be out of date before they appeut vu he libsary shelves. This is important in some disciplines such as technical subjects where infor- mation changes rapidly. Before deciding to borrow a book, you need to assess its usefulness to you. Some of the things by which this may be judged are listed below: © Title page. This may not be particularly useful, though it should indicate the subject matter of the book. © Author's name. You may recognise the author as an expert in the particular subject. If you do not know the author, see whether their qualifications and experience are given ifco, thie may provide a clue as to whether they are equipped to write such a book. ‘©. Publisher's name. Some publishers specialise in particular types of book. The publisher's name can therefore be an indication of the quality of the work. ‘© Copyright date. This is usually found on the back of the title page and will indicate how up-to-date the book is, ¢g. © 2008. In many subjects it iy wecesoary and important to have the latest edition. Many printings or editions of a text may indicate that the work has become a standard source in the area and is therefore reliable. ‘©. Prefaceforeword. This states why the author has written the book and will often ‘mention the level of study or type of person for whom it is written. ‘© Contents list. This will indicate the subject matter of the book and the major topic areas. © Index. When searching for information, avold buoks tat du nut have an index. Indexes save time by enabling information to be found quickly within the text. 72RESEARCHING AND OBTAINING INFORMATION Petivuicals ang journals Periodicals and journals (also referred to as magazines and serials) are published on a regular basis and thus wre an important source of up-to-date information in a subject area, Some periodicals cover very broad subject areas: for example, New Statesman. Others cover very specific subject areas, such as the European Journal of Information Systems. Copies of periodicals and journals for the current year willbe in the periodical section of the library, whilt those for previous years are uouelly buuud in volumes and found ina different section. With so many journals being published, itis often difficult to determine the different levels of knowledge contained in each. Table 9.3 divides journals into three categories: scholarly, substantive and popular. For most of your academic work you will need to refer to the scholarly or substantive journals for information Categories of journal In your university or ‘college library, find examples of two (or mare) journal category forthe subject you are studying. Scholarly: 1 Substantive 1 Popular: 1 Libraries subscribe to as many periodicals and journals as they can. afford, but there are many thousands of journals published throughout the world and it would be very. ‘expensive to purchase them all, Abstracting and indexing services provide a very useful and convenient way of finding information, especially in those journals and periodicals, to which your library does not subscribe, Increasingly, libraries subscribe to ejournals, so check whether yout library has this resource. 173PARTI DEVELOPING STUDY SKILLS Table 3.3. Different types of journal ‘Senovariy ‘Sunstantive Popular Examples | Journal of Applied The Economist Reader's Digest Beychalogy Natinnal Geographic | Vooue Harvard Business People Management Review Management Today Long Range Planning ‘Authors | Respected academics | Freelance writers, Freelance writers, fr people who have | members of the editorial staff and carried out some ‘editorial staff or contributions trom tne research in the subject | academics. general public. 3 ‘Sources | Sources are always ‘Sometimes sources are | The information is cited using footnotes | cited but often they are | often second or third angjor protiograpnies. | not. arid with the origina! source indeterminate. Language | Usesthe language of | Uses ianguage that is _ | Uses simple language, the discipline, assur suited to any ‘educated’ | assuming a minimum some scholarly audiance, level of intelligence. ‘background of the reader. Appearance | Generally sober. serious | May be attractive in| Glossy, attractive and look with few glossy | appearance though _| eye-catching pages or exciti some are in newspaper | appearance using many pictures format Articlae may he | photograohs and other heavily illustrated. ‘graphics. Gontent | Substantial artictes ‘A mixture of articles | Short articles with title with specialist content. | some specialist and | depth to the content. Many refereed articles, | some broad issues. Often include fictionat le, approved by Factually based. material. academics other than the author. Purpose | 10 extend tne To pruvide informetion | To entertsin and sell boundaries of Ina general waytoa | products. knowledge and ‘wide audience of ‘promote academic Interested people. debate, 74 ry q Remember... ® Use scholarly or substantive journals if you are doing i scholarly research or to find bibliographies that lead you to other research in the area.RESEARCHING ANO OBTAINING INFORMATION Abstracts Abstract journals are reference sources that provide summaries (abstracts) of articles published in a given time period covering a particular field of knowledge. The abstracts should provide sufficient information to enable you to decide whether or not it is necessary fo refer in the original article. A full bibliographical reference to the original article should be included to enable the source article to be traced. Examples of general abstract journals are: ‘9. Emerald Reviews (formerly ANBAR). This lists abstracts of articles published in a range of quality business journals and magazines. They are broken down into subject areas: for example, Personnel and Training abstracts, and Information Management and Technology abstracts. This is available electronically as well as in hard copy journal format. ¢ ABIINFORM, This is similar to Emerald Reviews but includes a larger proportion of ‘material from the USA. Many libraries now provide abstracts on CD-ROMSs, which offer a fast and easy way of searching, However, whilst more time consuming to search, the printed abstracts tend tw be more current than the CD-ROM versions, as they are issued more regularly. Periodical indexes Periodical indexes complement the abstracting journals. They are lists of articles giving detail of where the articles can be found, 99 that infoxsuativ published in numerous periodicals and newspapers can be easily traced. Some indexing services cover a single journal or newspaper. Others are published to cover a large number of periodicals dealing with one particular subject. Examples include the British Education Index, q Engineering Index, Business Periodicals Index (USA), Current Technology Index (or scientific and technical subjects), and British Humanities Index (for the arts and social sei- ences). Indexes may be searched using author or broad subject heading, These may be available online if your library subscribes to the service. When using mcexes, take time to ensure that you understand the layout and termin- ology of the index, as this will differ between indexes. Most indexes will include the following information: Author(s) Date of publication Title of article Title of periodical a journal Volume and part number of the publication issue Page numbers of the article t Remember... ® Use a periodical index when you want to find relevant articles for your topic in Journals or newspapers. { | Ae oe ee ee 75PARTY 176 DEVELOPING STUDY SKILIS Abstracts and periodical indexes Locate the abstracts in vour library. Identify an abstract that is relevant to a topic you are studying. See if you can locate the original article. Repeat the activity using the perodical indexes. Note that you will only be able to locate the original article if the library stocks the particular journal to which the abstract or index refers. Newspapers Most libraries subscribe to a number of quality newspapers. These are useful for Keeping abreast of current events and developments. Libraries may also keep back copies of newspapers on microfilm or microfiche. CD-ROMs are riow available which provide indexes of the contents of back issues (for exemple, the Times index provides an index to all materials contained in the newspapers of the Times Group) and some ‘also include the full text of the articles. Most newspapers now have websites where you ‘can access current editions and search tor articles, etc., on particulas subjects. Exampleo include: The Times ‘www dimesonbine.co.uk ‘The Financial Times www.ftcom The Independent www andependent.co.uk It is a good idea to read the quality newspapers regularly to keep abreast of current issues and examples that could be included in your assessments. Remember... : ® Use quality newspapers to find current information on: i jssues and events internationally, nationally and locally. i Government publications and statistics ‘The Government Statistical Service (GSS) provides most of the official statistics for the UK. The reports and statistics it publishes cover many aspects of national life such as the economy, education, health and the environment. Official statistics are an important ref- ference and a library will usually hold a collection of them. A useful publication is the Central Statistical Office's Guide fo Official Statistics, which indicates all the statistics and reports that are available. Some of the statistics are also available on its website ‘www statistics gov.uk.RESEARCHING AND OBTAINING INFORMATION. Government statistical publications Locate the section in the library that houses government statistical publications. {In which government statistical publications would you find the following information? (@) The value of exports from and imports to the UK. () Index nuimhars af producer prices. (©) Building society mortgages: balances, arrears and repossessions, (®) Road and ral passenger transport use. 4) Spectator attendance at selected sporting events (8 Government expenciture on the National Health Service. Special reports Some private sector organisations specialise in collecting information and publishing it in report form. Libraries may stock a selection of these. Rxamplos are © Mintel, which is one of the best-known publishers of market intelligence information on UK and Buropean consumer and industrial products and serviras © the Jordan Report, which analyses the financial performance of organisations, Professional body publications ‘Many professional bodies have their own publication, which reports recent develop- menis relevant to the members of the profession. Examples of professional body publications are: ‘The Lancet British Medical Association Management Today Chartered Management Institute People Management Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development Directories ws Libraries may hold large reference directories containing factual information. There are a large number of directories and, although each may contain slightly different information, there will be some overlap. It is important fo read the introduction to the directory, as it will provide you with information about how the data are arrenged ‘and how they were collected. This will help enable you to establish the integrity of the information and to judge whether or you can usé it for comparison. Examples of directories are: © the Kompass Register, which lists companies situated in the different regions and counties of the UK ‘© Extel, which provides up-to-date information, mainly financial, on all quoted British ‘companies and same af the major European companice. 7PARTY DEVELOPING STUDY SKILLS Problems associated with printed resources “The printed word has, until recently, been the most popular medium for publishing information. However, when uaing the printed word as a source of information, you need to be aware of the problems that may be associated with it Currency Books take along time to get into print; periodicals and journals tend to contain the more up-to-date information. However, come texte aro geminal texts, laying the foundations for and influencing more cuzrent works. These texts are often worth searching for. Time Searching the catalogues and abstcacts can be very time consuming unless you use the Uctuuide search mechanieme. Even then, it ie etl! me consuming to search the shelves of libraries to find the exact reference. ce Other media Developments in technology. have meant that information may be published on media other than paper: Audio-visual media “There is now a wealth of information available on al sorts of audio-visual medi, such as audiotapes, videotapes, DVDS, slides, photographs and filme. Microfilm/microfiche Some tbractes heey some miceoflm and/or microfiche an which back issues of RewS- papers and journals may be held. You willneed to familiarise yourself with the equipment for reading the microfilm and microfiche ~it can be rather tricky, but worth the effort. Electronic media “The computer has become an increasingly valuable tool for accessing information. I is ‘unlikely that you will avoid using a computer to search and retrieve information during ‘your studies, Electronic information is becoming a mujor source within academia, pa- ticularly with the use of ejournals and many Hbraries are now replacing hard copy jourals with electronic versions. ~ CD-ROM CD-ROMs are now a popular way of publishing information. Some libraries have com- ‘puters available to access the information held in databases on CD-ROMs.RESEARCHING AND OBTAINING INFORMATION CD ROMo are vary useful when searching fur speuific key words or phrases, ao the search facilities allow instant access to the topics and/or phrases for which you are searching, The search process may be: © free text’ a search for the occurrence of particular words or phrases ¢ indexed: words or phrases are selected from the index or thesaurus compiled to describe the contents of the database, ‘The information available on CD-ROM may be one of the following, Full text When the search has found a match for the word or phase required, it may be possible to display the full text of the article, although diagrams or tabular data may not be included, Examples ofthese are The Times, Guardian and McCarthy. Indexing and abstracting ‘These CD-ROMs provide references and a brief abstract rather than the full text: for example, ABI/INFORM, ERIC (educational and training topics) and INSPEC (infor- mation technology related topics). However, remember that the printed indexes may be ‘more up-to-date than the CD-KOM version, as they appear more frequently. Statistical or figure based These CD-ROMs hold data of a financial or statistical nature: for example, Extel MicroEXTSTAT (mainly UK companies but with some continental European, US and ASHAN) and Exel MicroVIEW (Company database including share prices and official company news items). When using the CD-ROM facilities, you will probably be expected to do- the search yourself. This may be rather daunting if you are doing it for the first time. Libraries may provide printed guidelines, but there is usually a fairly user-friendly search interface. Some systems allow text and/or data to be transferred difectly from the CD- ROM to a word-processing package. However. it is important to remember that this material may be subject to copyright. Remember also that CD-ROMs are a feirly recent phenomenon and therefore you may not be able.to search too far atk Listosically. Information held on CD-ROM Visit the aie and identify a CD-ROM that holds Informattor Determine where the falitics are that enable you to access the CD-ROM and look at the information on the CD-ROM, fe Comment ath usetltiesd oft inormation éna'the Way inhi p resented, and compare It with similar information found In books oF (Journals 179PARTI DEVELOPING STUDY SKILLS. Online databases New technology means that some libraries now offer facilities for undertaking ‘online’ searches, which can enable a range of national and international databases to be accessed. ‘An online database enables the user to search for and rettieve current formation on a subject of interest. Commercial databases provide information on such things as business performance ctatistice, company accounts and market information. Searches are pet formed using a key word or a combination of key words. ‘Datastream is an example of an online database, which also includes analysis and graphics capabilites. It contains some of the latest accounting and financial information ‘on individual companies and sectors: for example, share prices, balance sheets and accounting ratios. It may also be used to access data such as economic time series for all the major economies of the world. ‘Although academic libraries will undoubtedly have access to some of the online data~ bases, you may find that access Is restricted because uf tte cost of uoing them. They can also be very dificult to use and thus may require some training to use effectively. Often the computer-based facilites in a brary are restricted and it is therefore necessary to book time to use them. If this is the case itis likely that there are also time restrictions, so be sure to know exactly what you want to find and have your key words and phrases picpased in advance. » Other sources of secondary information Gp, Thee ce ery ober sources ‘of information available, some of which are listed below: Local authorities ~ they collect information on the local environment. © Public bodies, eg, national and regional tourist boards, the Civil Aviation Authority. Professional associations ~ they collect information pertinent to their membership eg, the Chartered Management Institute, trade unions. ‘Trade associations - they collect and publish information about activities within a pasticular industry, og the Federation of Motor Traders the Glass Manufacturers! Federation. ‘a Ranks, hnilding societies and other financial institutions ~ they publish reports and special journals, some of which are available to members of the public. @ Commercial research organisations ~ they tend to be expensive, eg British Market Research Bureau. ‘© The Internet. The Interne! ‘The Internet is often referred to as the world’s largest computer network. However, itis actually a collaborative collection of networks enabling the exchange of information between computers across the globe. The exact size of the Intemet is difficult to estimate 180RESEARCHING AND OBTAINING INFORMATION because there io no central owmership anu itis growing rapily as snore and more organ- istions and individuals connect in order to take advantage of the range of facilities it offers. Each constituent network is owned by some organisation (academic, government or commercial), and each of these will have its own separate management, rules and policies. However, there is nn single body that controls, manages or organises the Internet centrally and thus, importantly, no one polices the information or how it is, used. ‘The Internet offers access to a body of global information unparalleled by the largest library imaginable. Much of this information would be too difficult or too expensive to acquire by traditional means, Through the Internet information can be retrieved on almost any topic by browsing newspapers or books, wandering electronically arounc libraries and museums all over the world, or entering into discussions with people on a whole host of subjeuis via ue cat zooms. Because there is no central body governing the way in which data are stored and accessed, retrieving information via the Internet can be a difficult and time-consuming process, yielding much irrelevant information. Imagine walking into a huge darkened ‘warehouse with books strewn all over the floor. There is no cataloguing system, no floor plan and a hidden light switch — it would be very difffcull ty find anything, not t0 ‘mention a specific reference. This is similar to the Internet - vast amounts of valuable ‘material available, but with no central catalogue to help. Fortunately, however, there are arganisations that are continuously developing search tools and techniques to help navigate and reach the resources of the Internet. Just as you have to herame familiae with the techniques of accessing Libliogeaphic information, you will now also need to become accustomed to electronic information retrieval techniques. Once you have become familiar with these, you will be able to access new sources of information from across the world. Accessing information via the Internet Because there is so much information available through the Internet, finding what you want is not caoy, A number of differs search services have been developed and one of the first decisions to be made is which of these to use. The one you ulti- mately choose will be a matter of preference and depend on the purpase of the search, For most users, accessing the Internet now means accessing a page on the World Wide Webs World Wide Web ‘The World Wide Web (the Web or WWW) is the fastest-growing area of the Internet and was developed to give a more graphic way of finding information on the internet. The WWW can be thought of as a collection of documents residing on thousands of com- puters around the world. Information is structured into pages, which may contain text, images, souiul, vidhews (utultlmedia) and links to documents held on other computers accessible through the Internet. The links create a complicated ‘web’ of individual pages connected to one or more other pages. 181PARTI & 182 DEVELOPING STUDY SKILLS Table 9.4 Example using the search term ‘study skills’ ‘Search method Operation ‘An exact phrase match ‘The search would [00k for the specific phrase “stuay skills’. Matches on all words (AND) ‘The search would fook for both ‘study’ and ‘sklls'on a page. Matches on eny word (OR) ‘The search would look for elther the word ‘study’ or the word ‘skills’ on a page. ‘The World Wide Web is accessed by using browser software such as Netscape ‘Navigator or Microsoft's Internet Explorer, This software enables you to read documents, view images and carry out most activities with the click of a computer mouse. ‘There are two main ways of finding information on the Web: search engines and network directories. Search engines ‘The browser software provides links to the search engines. These ure Web hosts (com: plers) that hold large databases ofthe millions of Web pages accessible to them. The Pinch engine hoct will regularly explore the Web pages and update the databases. Some Of the search engines provide an index of the material and may even provide comment on the quality of the site. Search engines are generally easy to use. Most allow yuu tv type ia a key word or phrase (referred to as the search ter). The search engine will then look forall the Pages containing this key word or phrase (see Table 9.4). After extracting the detail from the Gatabase, the search engine will present a summary indicating how many documents were found that matched the search terms and rank them according to how many refer- cnees to the search terms they contain. Paradoxically, the more thorough the search engine ist searching the Web, the more likely itis to yield a daunting tangle of hundreds of inks, many of which will be of litle value. Itis therefore important to refine the search term as much ag possible, (See the section on key words and phrases earlier in the chapter.) Search engines vary is the degree of aophietication they offer for the search. Some allow searches using a single word; others allow several words and the facility to combine the search words in different ways. It may also be possible to select a search * area: for example, to search the whole of the Web, UK sites only, sites mn English look for information added in the last three years, etc. ‘None of the seaicl engines searcheo every singla page of the Web. If you are unable to find the information required using one search engine, it may be useful to try the others, Examples of popular search engines are Google, Lycos and Excite. See Table 9.5 for some addresses of search engines. a t Remember. \ ® there Is no perfect search engine. Use the one which best | meets your needs. ARESEARCHING AND OBTAINING INFORMATION Network directories Network directories or subject trees arrange pages under broad ‘subject headings. These Tink to subheadings, which become more precise as you niove down the tree; aul evel ally to individual pages. Examples of subject directories covering all subject areas are World Wide Web Virtual Library and Yahoo, ‘More specialised directories are also available, which concentrate on specific subject areas or are aimed at particular users. They do not cover as many Web pages as the general directories but may be more relevant, as they are uoually compiled by comeone with a specialist interest in the field. Examples of specialist directories are: , ‘9 SOSIG: the Social Science Information Gateway. This provides a zeasonably structured access to information relevant t social scientists, The address is http: //www.sosig.ac.uk, @ HERO: Higher Education and Research Opportunities (formerly NISS: the National Information on Services and Software). This provides access to information that is relevant to the UK education and research communities. The address is hitp://wwwheroac.uk. Figure 9.2 Structure of a Wortd Wide Wep adaress ntto://wnrw.campustite.utoronto,ca/Handbook/learning/studyskils.atm! The address can be broken down as follows: How Whore What Format httav/ www.campustife.utoronto.ca_ Handbook/learning/studyskills htm! www indicates the page is on a This part of the |Web server. The next part of filename indicates the address refers to the «| the format in which ‘oduress of Ite Lomnputer on the pages are ‘which the page is stored, in this described - in this case the University of Toronto's case hypertext (utoronte) computer in Cenade markup language. (Ca). theres no tworletter code, the address is in the USA, In tha LIK it ieeammon te find .a¢ indicating an academic ‘organisation orc indicating a commercial organisation, The http refers to the ‘This part refers to the location of ‘mechanism by which the files the file In that computer system - are transferred to the local this address refers toa fle called ‘computer. Ths is usually http studyskils in a subdirectory (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) earning) of the directory or ftp (ile Transter Protoco)). Handbook. 183PARTI DEVELOPING STUDY SKILLS Addresses Each page of the Web has its own address or Unitorm Resource Locator (URL). The a edzes of any page of the Web isshown ina box towards the top of the computer screen. aernedmus vilier sourcce will provide an Internet or WWW address, which enables you to access more information from the Internet. If you know the exact address ofthe page of information you require, the browser soft ware has a location box near the top of the couiputes screen into which you can type the aaldress. However, t must be exact, including punctuation and capitalisation, otherwise the page will not he fruind. i The addresses look complicated but with use you will be able to recognise the compo- ‘ent pars (se Figure 92). However, itis worth noting that WWW addresses frequently change as sites are developed and moved or removed. Moving around Links between pages are usually indicated by an undertine on a particular woud. If you move the cursor over the words that are underlined, the pointer should change toa hand, indicating that there isa link to another page containing further information. Ifyou click con this link, the linked page will be accessed. ‘in the top-left area ofthe computer screen there are some useful buttons (icons) marked BACK () and FORWARD (-») that simplty moving around. Using the computor mouse toppoint and click on these will allow you to retrace your steps, one step at a Hime. Bookmarks When you have found a site or address that contains useful information, the browser softwave allows you to mark ic with « Lwivsark. This io used like a traditional bookmark and marks any pages you may wish to return to. This facility enables you fo Tetum {quickly tothe site without having to type in the address or go through the search Pro cedures you completed to get there initially. Tt is eosential to make a note of any addresses from which information has been retrieved so that the information may be referenced correctly when including it in your ‘work. Saving tHles It's possible to save some Web pages as files on a computer disk. These fles may then bbe taasferred into a word processing package for later reference. To do this it is advis- ble to save the information from the Web in text format - this makes the transfer to a srord-processing package easier. One way of saving file intext format is as follows: 1 Select File from the menu at the top of the screen. 2 Select Save As. ‘3-Click on Save ile as type: and select PLAIN TEXT (-TX1). 4 ‘Type inthe filename, ensuing it has the extension txt (for example, MYRILE-TX7). 5 Select OK. However. copyright laws also apply to electronic information and much of the material on the Web will ‘belong’ to someone. You must not publish tnforanution from the Web without obtaining the permission of the owner.RESEARCHING AND OBTAINING INFORMATION Remember... a Any information downloaded fram the internet and used in an assignment must be referenced appropriately. amills Information from the Internet Although the Interet offers access to a wide variety of information from across the | globe, the information received must be used with caution, Some search engines attempt to provide some comment on the quality of the websites they access, but generally it is up to you to decide whether the information you retrieve is reliable and valid. ‘Things to look for are as follows: © Quality. Because the Internet is not controlled and anyone can publish almost anything on it, itcan be difficult and time consuming to establish the accuracy, reliability and comprehensiveness of the information. ‘© Currency. It can be difficult to ascertain if a host organisation offering statistical data is taking the responsibility for providing the mnst up-to-date version of the data, or is simply providing a single snapshot of the data. Source. Examine closely the source of the information — look at the address and in particular the domain part of the address. There are two types of domain: ~two- or three-letter designations which identify the type of organisation, For example: Domain Likely source ac ‘An académic institution in the UK edu An educational institution in the USA q -comor.co_A commercial organisation org A.nor-profit organisation gov ‘A governmental body : net ‘A network such as an Internet service provider ~ A geographic designation ending in a two-letter county code. For example sites in the UK are generally designated with .uk; US sites have .us and Australian sites au, 1 Wee site iy baved in the UK and the address contains .ac.uk the information is from, ‘an academic site and may be used with some confidence. Check the last date the site was ‘mainiained (usually found at the bottom of the page) - this will give an indication whether the site is updated and maintained on a regular basis, ¢ Focus. Be aware that a lot of information on the Web is North American in focus rather than European. © Interface, Some users may find that the interface is not very user-friendly and. therefore difficult to use. @ Security, Although perhaps not an issue for information retrieval, it shoul be noted that the Internet is liable to umauthoriced acceco from computer hackro, 185parti 186 DEVELOPING STUDY SKILLS Some important issues when using the Intemet to retrieve information are outlined Velow Time Ttcan be very time consuming to search the Internet because of the lack of organisational structure. Finding a relevant resource is often achieved by luck and considerable perse- verance, Experiment with the different cearch services until you find those you are comfortable with, but wherever possible use specialised directories for the subject area. {tis important to stick to what you are doing and resist the urge to retrieve that vital piece of information that might come in handy for some uncertain thin in the futere. “To speed up the transfer of information frotn the Internet it is possible to request text only. Graphic images slow the transier down, so retrieve these only when you are certain the file is exactly what you want. ‘able 9.5 World Wide Web addresses of some useful search engines ‘Address (URL) Description hittp://googlecom “Gooale Is one of the most popular and comprehensive search engines. Tittp:/echolargooglecom | A relatively new development oy Guuyle thot enables Information suitable for academic work to be retrieved. iittpi//askjeeves.cun “A natural language eearch engina, 'e this may be searched by asking questions. ‘hitpy/iwuwyahoacom | Yahool Search - a simple-to-use selective subject based approach with a useful menu-driven faciity Tor refining 4 Laste search. The results page links to sites that match the query ‘and also to subject areas where sites were found. The Electric Library ~ a selective catalogue resembling the reference section of a local library. Excite - a fast and friendly tool for searching the full text of millions of Web pages and thousands of newsgroups. Subject ‘erlontad approach, http://Iycos.co.uk Lycos -a huge database of websites providing everything from constantly updated stock market share prices to downloadable road maps, a subject guide to sites and a userul muttimedta index which can be searched for picture and sound file. inttp://hotbot.com TMS provides easy acess to the Web's three major crawler~ based search engines: Google, Yahoo and Teoma (used by Ask Jeeves). it does not blend the results, but it does offer a fast ‘and easy way to get different Web search results in one place, hittp//weberawiencom | Webcrawier a database of Web pages, indexed by content, whieh supports natural language searching, e. can be ‘searched using plain English. Input search criteria or select @ subject area, e.g. arts, education, entertainment, etc.RESEARCHING AND OBTAINING INFORMATION "Stop and © Have you spelt your search term correctly? A search for an incorrect term is think time consuming! Access time Unless access is via broadband, searching and retrieving information from the Intemet can be slow at certain times ofthe day. Itis advisable to use off-peak times (before 11 am. and after 11 p.m. UK time). Access may also be speeded up if you take the option not to download the images but concentrate on the text only. Use bookmarks, wherever possible, to go directly to the sites you use regularly; this removes the need for complex and time-consuming search processes. Information overload ‘Be specific with the search terms you use. The network is so large that searches often lead to more responses than you can handle. If you are retrieving hundreds of pages when using search terms, refine your search criteria by using the ‘and’ and ‘or’ operators. Most of the search engines offer the facility to ‘refine your search’. ‘A search may retrieve many pages ot results. It s0, do not look past the first page. Itis, generally better and quicker to try another search using different search words. Suggestions for. improving your: web Search techniquas ‘© Know where to go, Use specialist directories where possible. This will reduce the search time. ‘©. Think small. Look out for smaller, specialist search engines that are appropriate for ‘your topic. For example viviwancestry.co.uk is a specialist site sultable for those ‘researching genealogy. © Be specific. Avoid using common words or general terms, Try to think of words that, are very distinctive to the topic you are researching. ~ @ Pay attention to your spelling. It can be very frustrating to wait for a search to be ‘completed only to find that you typed in an incorrect spelling, ‘© Learn the language of toarching. Ensure that you know how to express search terms correctly. ; €@ Stick fo the first page. Don't be tempted to look beyond the first page Of results. It Is usually better and faster to try anotner searcn using alternative key words. @ Bookmark it. When you find a site that is Interesting and/or provides the information you need, markt using the bookmark facility or print out the first page: This means ‘you can carry on with the séarch, returning to the ‘marked’ sites later, © Check the adaress (URL. Ths helps te Identiy the source and thus relaty of the information contained on the site (see Table 9.3). 1 Ask fr help. Diterent sites wil have different rules and procedures, which can be ‘confusing. You can atways ask for help from the search engine's help area, 187part t DEVELOPING STUDY SKILLS Evaluation of information py Risinger to vane ‘the infarmation retrieved fem secondary sources. Do not just se accept the information, but use your powers of reason to ensure the information has the domostale following attributes: ANALYSIS OF : Sai a : AALS" 5. CHectnity What is the objective of the information provider/publishes- to inform, aeRO N° plain, persuade or ‘sel’ Information that is being used to sell something is often LET Swajcuge «biased. @ Authority. Check the credentials of the originator of the information. Do they have the credibility to publish the information? ‘© Currency. Check the date of publication or compilation of the source. The information may be out of date and not reflect the current position. © Reliability and validity. The information should not be anecdotal, but should be supported by facts. Any data on which the information is based should have been collected using method(s) that provide reliable andl valid xesults. The way in w the information was gathered — the research methods and sample sizes used ~ may distort the results. In this case, the information should be treated with caution. © Suitability for purpose. The information may not meet your requirements exactly — it may have been collected with a different purpose ot objective in mind. Different definitions, terminology or measurements may have been. used. Tur example, many different definitions and measurements of unemployment are used by the different bodice that publish information in this topic area. Thus itis important to be aware of how the data you choose to use are defined or measured. © User friendly. You must be comfortable with the format of the material you are intending to use. Is it easy to follow and interpret? Ee Retrieving Information from the Internet Fird out where you are able to gain access to the Internet in your university or college, Identify a search term for a topic you are studying. Log on to the Internet and use one ‘of the search engines to find any appropriate Web pages. Look at ths fest twa nods that are Idantifed by the Search engine and evaluate the information contained on them using the criteria isted above. trva afferent search engine using the some search term. Evaluate the information displayed on the first three pages.is.. 5... bis How does the information cmpae using the alfferent search engines? 198RESEARCHING AND OBTAINING INFORMATION. © When to stop collecting secondary information It is difficult to decide when you have sufficient information to complete the piece of work you are reseaiching, There can be a tendency to collect that little bit more, which you aie convinced will yen you a Lette: grade, However, there are dintinishing 1etus. Some useful guidelines to help you decide when to stop gathering information are outlined in the checklist below. If your answers are mostly ‘No’, you should consider continuing your search for information. Checklist: when to Stop collecting information. © Does the new information repeat what | already have? 2 Yes/No Does the information | have cover the core material required? Yes/No Is the information | am finding now irrelevant? Yes/No ‘Am | becoming overwhelmed with the amount of information | have? Yes/No Have | run out ot timer Yes/No Have | picked up all obvious omissions? Yes/No Jy Uhe Information Have of the riyhl depttt a level? Yes/No {s the Information retrieved as up-to-date as possible? Yes/No Do | have quality Information? Yes/No Wil the information | have allow me to complete the task? Yes/No © Deflie precisely the purpose of yathiering the information. Plan carefully for the time that it will take to collect the data/information required. @ Take time in defining key words and phrases, ensuring the correct terminology is used. ‘© Donot be afraid to change your ideas ~ itis not unusual to find a valuable piece of information that causes you fo refloct an what you are dang and prampts yaut ta change direction, Get to know the library and librarians. Learn how to use the library catalogues. Learn how to use all the facilities the flbrary has to offer. Have a well-defined subject area, Formulate the right questions, key words and/or phrases for searches. Work from the general to the specific - find background sources first, then use more epocifie sourees If you are having difficulty finding information, use broader headings and revise your key words (use synonyms). eeccees 189PARTI 190 DEVELOPING STUDY SKILLS It your search produtes luo muci information, refine your key words co that they are more specific. Exploit bibliographies in texts and journals - they can provide useful sources. Use current material where possible. Do not be distracted by bits of interesting, though irrelevant, information. ‘Aek the librarians for helo if you need it, Look outside the library. Record what you find and where you found it. Find a teW search eniylies on the Web that you ore comfortable with and bookmark them, eoorcee Getting to know your library Visit the tibrary you will use regularly during your studies end obtain a map of the facilites if there Is one available. Collect atl tne appropriate leaflets thet the trary iecuse to.help their readers and find the answers to the following questions: > How many ites con be borrowed at any one time? How fong may the items normally be borrowed for? What are the oponing times af the lary? Normal/weekend/holiday periods? Which classification system does the library use? What is/are the classification number(s) for the broad subject area you are studying? ‘What media are used for the catalogue? How does the inter-ibrary loan system operate? Where are the audio-visual materials located? Where are the abstracts? Are they neld In print ui uu CO-ROM or-both? What is the name of the librarian who specialises in your field of study? How much Is charged for overdue buuks? {s there a short-term loan facility? Can you yal exiess to the Internet in tho library? If so, what do you need? Do you have to book time? Which faites, if any, do you havi to book to use? ‘Which facilities, if any, do you have to pay for? eeoeRESEARCHING AND OBTAINING INFORMATION Primary data collection For some academic work, it is @ requirement that primary data are included. For example, some academic institutions often require students to conduct some primary eoearch for their dissertations Primary data are data relevant to your zesearch which you collect yourself. The collection of primary data can be very costly and time con- ‘suming, 50 itis essentirl that all secondary sources are consulted before embarking on primary data collection. This will help to determine what, trom whom and how the primary data should be collected. Stop and © Do you need to collect primary data? ‘think There are many books available covering research methods. This section of this book provides an overview of some of the skills required, but students who need to conduct rluuary research are advised to seek out a spectalise text. Consideration of objectives and resources, The aims and objectives of the research, need to be considered carefully before deciding which ic the moct appropriate method of primary data collection for the investigation, The objectives must be precisely defined, together with the data required to achieve them, If they are vague at this stage then you may collect irrel- evant data or miss something essential. ‘The results of the search for secondary information will help to determine what primary data need to be collected, bnt the following issues regarding the primary data you may wish to collect also need to be considered. (© Accessiblity and availability. You must be certain that the data required can he obtained, given the time and resources available. © Sensitivity. People and organisations até often uncomfortable revealing information that they regard as personal or sensitive. For example, some people may not want to divulge how much they eam, ot even how old they are. Organisations tend to be particularly sonetive about ieeuse surrounding employee relationo. © Confidentiality. Sometimes the issue of sensitivity may be overcome by assuring confidentiality. I this is the case, confidentiality must be honoured and the confidential nature of the data must be brought to the attention of the reader(s). (© Moral and ethical issues. You should not attempt to collect data that will bring you or ‘your institution into disrepute or involve you in breaking the law. ‘When gathering primary data it is important that the data are reliable, valid and unbiased, If not, the work that they support will not be meaningful or have credi- bility in the eyes of the reader. These concepts could be expressed more precisely as follows: 191PART! 192 DEVELOPING STUDY SKILLS © Reliability. This is the extent to which a repetition of the research would result in the ‘game data and conchisinne —in ather wards, if the research were to be repeated, by ‘you or another researcher, the same results would be achieved, assuming that nothing has changed. © Validity. This is the extent to which the observations recorded are appropriate to the investigation - do they measure what they are supposed to measure? If the data ouggeet that A is better than B, you shanld have confidence that A is better than B and that an alternative method of measurement would arrive at the same answer. @ Unbiased. Eliminate any systematic errors in the data that may cause bias. Data coverage ‘The next decision to be made is where to collect the data. This may be, for example, a single organisation, a number of organisations, the general publlc, a section of die general public, ete. In other words, the research population (also referred to as the target population) must be defined Research population (target population) ‘The research population is any complete group of people, ubjerts or entities that share some common characteristic and from which data may be collected. For example, if data shont the leisure activities of UK students are required, the research population may be defined as all UK students. The common characteristic is that all members of this population are students in the UK. However, this definition may need to be refined further. For example, the general pupulalion ‘UK studente’ con: sists of a number of different populations, such as full-time students, part-time students, students of a particular discipline, students at a particular level of edu cation (for example, higher education and further education), etc, not all of whom may be appropriate for the investigation. Note that the defined population does not necessarily have to be hutvian in origin — the population could be objects, such as items coming off a production line, or events such as the number of cars passing a particular road junction. Tf data are collected from all members of the research population, this is Known as a census. An example of a census is the collection of data about people living in the UK, whlch ure uullected by the government every 10 years. Often itis impossible to gather data from every member of the defined population because of the impractcalities of doing this, such as the time and cost involved. Itis more likely that primary data will be collected from a sample, ‘sampling ‘A sample is a group of items taken ftom the population for data collection. The basic idea of sampling is that the sample should be as representative of the population as possible. This is because the data collected from the sample are generally used to predict things about the population from which they were drawn.RESEARCHING AND OBIAINING INFDRMAIION Suggestions for deciding when to sample Take 2 eample inthe following circumstances. ‘© Youhave limited time avallable for the collection and analysis of data. ‘@ You have limited finances available for the collection of data. ‘@ Data are not readily available trom the population. For example, 2 population such as homeless people may be difficult to locate. The defined population is larae - smalier numbers are easier to deal with and often more checks can be done on the data, which will give a higher level of accuracy. © The time taken to collect and analyse data from the whole population means that the results willbe out of date by the time the analysis Is complete. © Collecting data destroys the population (destructive testing). For example, when collecting data about the life of light bulbs coming off a production fine, if all the fight bubs produced were tested this would result in no light bulbs being avaiaote for sale, Cleary this is @ case where a sample must be taken. ‘@ There are problems of confidentiality - it may be difficult for organisations to keep their activities from thelr competitors if they attempt to collect data from the whole population When sampling there are two importantissues that need tobe carefully considered ifthe reader isto be convinced of the validity of the data collected. First, how large should the samplebe? Thesizeof the sample will depend upon the degree ot contidence that younced. to have in the data collected, and how much error is acceptable when making estimates _ahont the popiation from the sample dala. In other words, how certain do youneed to be that the data collected from the sample will reflect the characteristics of the population from which they were collected? The sample needs to be large enough to ensure that it is representative of the population, but not so large that the berwfils of sampling are lost ‘Many research methods texts provide mathematical formulae for determining samplesize. ‘Second, consider how the sample should be selected so that there is adequate rep- resentation of the population but bias is not introduced. In some cases it can be difficult, if not impossible, to get a list of all the population members (known as the sampling {finine). This can cause problems in sclecting the oample. ‘Table 9.6 indicates the different methods by which samples may be selected from their populations and highlights the associated advantages and disadvantages of each method. To decide which sampling method is most appropriate for your investigation, con- sider the following factors: @ The resources available to you, particularly time and money. © The availability of the sampling frame. Some of the sampling methods outlined require you to have a complete list ofall the population members. ‘© Your knowledge of the population. Some sampling methods require a detailed knowledge of the target population. © The geographical apread of the population. © The analysis of the data you collect. If non-probability-sampling techniques are used, you cannot use the sample data to project beyond the sample. 193part t DEVELOPING STUDY SKILLS Table 9.6 Sampling chart Types of sampling ‘Characteristics Examples Advantages, Bhalventeges Probability sampling (oasea on chance selec being selected) ion proeedurce, every element of the pap ion havina an equal and known probability of ‘Simple random Tach member ofthe | Drawing names out of Requires minimum — | Cannot guarantee the sample (SRS) Fapuiation nas tie. [tal unthly drew |hnowledge of the | samole is free from seme possibility of | of premium bond | population in bias; does not make being selected. swinbers. advance; no use of any Knowledge Selection of une item lassifiatinn errors | ofthe population, oes nat affect ‘as it does not make selection of another. Use of any knowledge of the population: simple to use. ‘Systematic “The Gompe is texen | Every tenth customer [ifthe population is | Fluctuations/ accorainy va Ia interviewed ae they | ordered, it gives a | variations may, systematle plan ~the | leave 2 shop. population is ordered in some way and ‘every nth iter is taken from the Stratification effect | coincide with the ‘and hence reduces | sampling intorvals Variability; easy to} and thus introduce conduct. bias: a sampling rame may not exis. sored tis. Waltistage random | The samples To obtain the views of | Gan Keep costs down | Errors will increase as sampling Selected in stages, | students at university |if geographically the number of Heeceerrng Unie at | ebuut the student | defined; only a et of | subarouns selected tach stage being | union, take arandom | the subgroups is | decreases; errors are Selected from the | sample of courses, | needed. Akety tobe larger Target wits chosen et | and thon taka 9 the previous stage. random sample of ‘The number of units | students on these selected at each | courses. The number stage should be [of students sampled proportionate to the | from each of the Stee of the larger | courses selected is ‘group from which its | proportionate to the selected, umber of students fon the course, than with systematic ‘or random sampling for the same sample size; need to know the size of each subgroup. Stratified random sampling “The population is__| To survey people divided into strata so_| affected by a now that indicate within | runway at an airport ch stratum are as | stratify the alike as possible In| population around terms of the the airport based on stratification factor} noise levels (eg. age, sex, ‘experienced, so those ‘occupation, while the | individuals in the strata themselves are | same stratum as different as experience possible (this isthe | approximately the reverse of the same levels of nots requirement for | Take a random tlusters).A random | sample from within Sample ic celarted | each stratum, from each stratum depending on the sre ‘Teomparison can be [Need accurate made of the stratum; | information on the ensures all sections. {sizeof the different fof the population are | strate. represented; removes some of the bias of SRS, ea If rere are equal numbers of ‘male and female but ‘an SRS produces 60:40; uses. knowledge of the population to Increase the representativeness ‘and precision of the sample. 194Table 9.6 cuntinued RESEARCHING AND OBTAINING INFORMATION, sample of groups is, {3kon and all ‘members of those groups are sampled. The elustors mist he defined in sucha way that each cluster Is as fully representative of the whole population as possible | ang eampte ol! students on these | information is courses, required only for the within a university groups or clusters Types of sampling [Characteristics | Examples “dvontages Disadvantages ciaser items are seieiea | Tore a renaorh Tow coats ine [tach member ofthe clusters random [sample of courses | population is population must be geographically spreed; detalles ‘groupe eelects characteristics ofthe (groups may be analysed and ‘compared; do not ‘eed a complete list of the sample population available ~ can use alist of assigned uniquely to 2 group. ‘Non-probability sampling (The sampler has rector indirect contol over the items selected for basis of a judgement about some appropriate characteristic required of the sample. The sample is selected on the the sample members.) ‘Quota Each member of the Population must be [actigned uniqutly to ‘Sampling shoppers in | Quick, economical, the town centre~it | easy to administer; may be neceseary to_| convenient. May fal to get the required quota; haphazard seiectivn adaltional research will subsequently be conducted with a probeablity sample, a group. have certaln numbers may introduce bles quotas) of people in (easily found, ‘articular aoe grauns witingnoes to ‘and/or ofa particular [complete, etc); can ‘gender. only be used for interview surveys. Convenience ‘A-sample is drawn [Students in the caffee | Data for large Cannot use the sampling from the most barat the time the [numbers may be | results to predict conveniently avallable| researcher goes in| gathered quickly and | beyond the sample. population members. | are asked thelr economically; best opinions of the used for exploratory oleae. eoconerh wha Sampling methods ‘Suggest how you would sample for the following situations, giving reasons for your choice: (a) An investigation into the resources that are'‘uséd by people using the university or college library. () A survey of the opinions of people In a town with regard to the development of an out-of-town shopping site, (©) A survey of residents’ university. opinions of the faci ies in the halls of residence of the (©) A study to determine whether there is any difference in the rate’ of absenteeism in the different aac aroups of empiovees.PARTI 196 DEVELOPING STUDY SKILLS Data collection “There are three basic methods of collecting primary data, whether the survey is conducted sicing » sample ot the whole population - survey, observation and experimentation. ” Surveys “Acsurvey is the collection of standardised data from a specific population or sample, This ‘may be done by the use of questionnaires and/or interviews. Surveys are a quick and celalively cheap way of gathering Aatn, especially from a large population. However, response rates can be quite low, particularly if the survey is cor Huucted by post. You may also find that respondents do not give answers that reflect their way of life, beliefs and attitudes, but give the answers that they think you want fo hear, Questionnaires (Questionnaires are a popular method of gathering data, particularly for students who are on a tight budget. Great care must be taken in constructing a questionnaire ~ often, appropriate data are not collected because of a poorly structured questionnaire or an. Overestimation of the willingness of respondents to comple’ it. Wherever possible a pilot study chould he carried out to test the questionnaire. This involves constructing the ques” tionnaire and asking a few members of the sample or population to complete tt to determine whether the answers will provide the information required. TA pilot euudy Wil also hlyldigt any ambiguitia or other euch diffiitesin the wording of the questions. After the pilot study, questions can be amended in the light of the data sshtained, before completing the fullstudy. It may bea good idea toincludea few open-ended (questions in te plot study in order to ascertain other areas of information that arerelevas, but which have not been covered by questions in the initial draft ofthe questionnaire. Questionnaire design ‘The design of a questionnaire will depend on the following factors: The type of data to be collected. This may be factual (for example, the number of hours spent watching TV in a day, the number of children per family) or may include or ily be opinions and artudes, Thus will affect the type of questions used The target population or sample. It is important to recognise the ability of respondeits Wy ansyrer the qucotione you intend ta pose and the time they have available to complete them. ‘2 How the questionnaire is to be administered ~ personally, by post or telephone. ‘© How the data collected is to be analysed. ‘There are a number of different types of question that can be considered when designing a questionnaire. The basic distinction is between questions that are open- ended and those that have pre-defined answers (closed). ‘Open-ended questions Open-ended questions give the respondent the opportunity to answer the question in their own words. Using open-ended questions will provide a wide varlety of respuracs in both content and level. Some answers may be only a word or sentence, whereas other respondents way provide lengthy anewors.RESEARCHING AND OBTAINING INFORMATION Although opeseiuled questions area Valuable way of gathering data, theresponsescan prove difficult to analyse, so think carefully before including too many of them. They are also reliant on the sespondent having an awareness of the subject and being able to articu- late their answers. This sort of question is useful for exploratory purposes: for example, to determine what the major issues are before constructing a more detailed questionnaire. Feamples af open-ended quactions are e3 follows: ‘© What is your opinion of the way in which your organisation has implemented its staff develapment policy? © Identify three things that you enjoy about the course you are studying. Closed questions Closed questions have pre-defined answers from which the respondent is required to elect the moot appropriate. They aie quick and easy to complete and have the advantage of focusing the respondent on the specific area of interest. The analysis of the data obtained is also somewhat easier than that for open-ended questions, When choosing the pre-defined answers from which the respondent has to select, ensure that there are sufficient and appropriate responses so that answers are not inhibited. It is useful to inchide an ‘Other’ category, which gives the respoilent dhe ‘opportunity to provide a different answer if an appropriate one is not offered. Sometimes you may wish to give the respondent the opportunity to supply more than one answer — ifso, provide mstructons mn the question to indicate this. ‘There are a number of different formats for the design of pre-defined answer questions depending on the type of answer required Thee are described below. Dichotomous ‘The question offers two answers from which the respondenis select, for example: “Yes/No’, ‘Agree/Disagree’. Example, Do you own a car? ‘Yes/No. There Is a wide cholce of food in the refectory, _Agree/Disagree TICK BOX Respondents are asked to select one or more items fram a list hy ticking the appropsiate box or boxes. Example: Which of the following do you consider when selecting a holiday destination? (Tick the appropriate box/es) Weather Cost Travelling time Mode of travel Other - please state: goo0o00 197PARTI DEVELOPING STUDY SKILLS SCALING ‘The question is designed so that respondents place their answer on @ scale, Tis i an insight into the respondent’ evaluation of the particular aspect under investigation ‘A number of different types uf scale that may be uoed. For example: @ Verbal — the respondent evahiates the aspect against a verbal continuum such as: Never (Seldom LJ Sometimes (2 usually Aways Stronaly C1 Agree () Neither agree 1 Disagree 0 Strongly O agree nor disagree disagree ‘This type of scaling is often used to determine people's attitudes or beliefs about things. Tenors, note that there may be a problem with respondents always selecting, the middle box. Example: The choice of food in the refectory is: Excellent 1 Good C)_~— Reasonable] Poor (1 Very poor o Semantic differential The respondent answers by putting a tick or cross on a scale that has a statement at either end. These statements are polar opposites. For example: tawmorled 2-324 5 6 eer Han morale Example: What is your preferred style of working? Use own initiative |_2__3__.4__5___ Follow set procedures RANKING “The respondent is asked to plac things in order. Tis is useful if yqu need to establish the relative importance ofthe things listed to the respondent. Howeves, there faim to the ‘umber of tems that can be put on the list without causing the respondent some difficulty. Example: Rank the following factors in order of importance to you when choosing a hotel to stay in (1 = most important, 6 = Jeast important): Cost per night Quality of food Service Lelsure facilities Number of rooms Cleanliness Toate 2.5RESEARCHING AND OBTAINING INFORMATION When designing « questionnaire itis important to be perfectly clear in your own mind ‘what you wish to find out and thus why each question is included. Filter questions Sometimes you may wish a person who responds ta qneetinn in a particular way to skip a question or series of questions. This is known as a filter question. If a filter question is used, clear and precise instructions should be included for the respondent. If not, you may confuse them, causing them to answer irrelevant questions. Iney may also answer the filter question in such a way that they avoid any further questions. Identify the problems with the following questions and suggest sultabie alternative ‘wording and/or formats (@)_ How often do you.use.the library? (2). ynit ave a gare? (©) Does your university 6r college library have an en a (@ When do vou olan to ao on holiday? ‘ (©) _Do'you not agree that the unjon representatives are’ © Do yoi think that, in academic terms, the module ais aspects of oun behaviour using te parceled rail (@) 00 you agtee thatthe Fefestory offers a wide canoe Table 97 Do's and don'ts of questionnaire design q Do Don't Use simple, clear and unambiguous Use leading questions ~ for example, Do you questions. There otter iu opportunity for | not agree that .?" Responaents wilt usually the respondent to ask for clarification of the | answer ‘Yes’ Leading questions make ‘question (postal) assumptions and often contain elements of ‘Arrange questions Ia logical sequence approval or disapproval towards the subject. ‘Tackle only a single issue or aspect in each | Use emotive words or phrases. quoztion Uso catehrsilquectione that ack for Use simple language. Information about too many things in one 4 question Keep the questionnaire short and to the pot Use over-personat questions Be discreet in seeking information on Use fong questions. sensitive issues, Use ambiguous questions. Use pre-arinted answers where possible, _| Use generalisations and abstractions. Provide clear instructions. Use negatives and particularly double ‘Avoid giving the respondent the impression - | Negatives. that they should know the answer ~ include a’ | Use hypothetical questions. ‘don't know’ category if appropriate 199PARTI 200 DEVELOPING STUDY SKILLS Administering Use questionnaire Questionnaires may be administered in a number of different ways. The method you decide to use will depend on the resources available, It will also influence the design of the questionnaire. Questionnaires may be distributed by mail (traditionally or electroni- cally), by telephone or personally. Postai/mail This involves cendiing a questionnaire by post for respondents to complete. Although this is an inexpensive way of gathering data, particularly if the respondents are geographi- cally spread, the response rate is generally quite low. Suggestions for improving the res A tionhainee ce.” ae ‘9 Send the questionnaire to a named individual, This may involve some investigative ‘work initially, But you are more likely to get an answer from someone you approach by name. Ack permission before sanding the questionnaire. ‘© Ensure the instructions for completing the questionnaire’are clear and unambiguous. gees ‘@ Keep the questionnaire priet anu simple. Busy peuple do. got heve time to complato lengthy questionnaires and will not struggle £6 try to_understand something if itis rot clear. Often questionnaires are completed unsatisfactorily because respondents have misunderstood the question, Remember that there is no opportunity to explain tthe questions in person to your recipient; the questions must be clear and precise. © Collect the completed questionnaires personally. Some people find it more difficult rot to do something i they have to face the person making the request. f this is not possible, an alternative is to include a stamped addressed envelope for the return of the questionnaire, eas: ‘ {f questionnaires are not returned by the due date, send a follow-up letter gently reminding the respondents about the reply and how valuable thelr response is. When dealing with questionnaires in this way, include a covering letter. This should be kept as briet as possible but include the followliy lafuunations. ¢@ A full explanation of who you are, what you are doing, what you require and why, land what you intend to do with te data yuu wotlect, @ A statement about confidentiality. Ifthe data you are requesting is of a confidential ‘nature, you should acknowledge it and respect this confidentiality. ¢@ If the questionnaire appears long, a statement that the questionnaire has been designed to be quick and easy to complete. @ A date by which the questionnaire must be completed and returned. If the respondent is aware of a deadline, they can assess how much time they have to complete it. © A contact address or telephone number so that ifthe respondents have any queries they are able to contact you (if approprinte)RESEARCHING AND OBTAINING INFORMATION ‘The letter needs to persuade the recipient to answer the questionnaire, so indicate how important their response is to the research. A good response rate may be achieved if they ‘can see some beneiit for themselves in completing the questionnaire tor example, you could offer to send them a copy of the results of your analysis. If appropriate, you could invite the involvement of the respondent - for example. if they disagree with any aspect of the survey, invite them to say so and why. If possible and appropriate, it is a good idea to use headed notepaper, as this estab- lishes your qutheitiity. Finally, reuesnber w thank the respondent in avarice for thelr time and effort. Postal questionnaires ei List the advantages and disadvantages of collecting data by using a postal questionnaire. internet or e-mail It is also possible to distribute questionnaires over the Internet or using electronic mail "The ame isoucs are relevant for thio method a9 for the traditional postal method. ‘However, be aware that by using electronic media you are immediately introducing bias (by including only those people or organisations that have access to this technology) and this may cause problems in analysing the data you collec. Telephone Some questionnaires may be conducted using the telephone. Whilst this does provide two-way communication, itis an expensive and time-consuming way of administering questionnaires. Because data are collected only from those people who are accessible by telephone, this may introduce bias into the sample. This method is often used if an on- the-spot response is required. but it is not a good method for gathering detailed To improve the response rate, find out the namie of the person you wish to question ‘and make contact at times when the respondent is available but not busy. Personally administered questionnaires Questionnaires may also be completed by a process of interview, i.e. conducted by an interviewer. This means that there is two-way communication (questions may be dlarified and elaborated upon if necessary) and visual aids may be used. Although these are time consuming, the response rate tends to be quite high. Using this method enables data to be gathered from a more structured sample: for example, if you are interested in the age of respondents, you can control the number of people you approsch in a par- ticular age group. Tloweves, you need to enouse that you (or the interviewer) minimize the influence of your own personal opinions, as there is a tendency for the respondent to offer the answers they think the interviewer wants to hear, rather than giving their own answers and opinions. 201PARTI 202 DEVELOPING STUDY SKILLS Checklist: how to prepare a questionnaire Q Wit the questionnaire yield all the data required? Will the target respondents understand the language used In the questionnaire? ‘are the questions in a loaical sequence? Are the questions requiring sensitive or controversial responses at a sultable point in the questionnaire? Will the layout of the questionnaire encourage the respondents to complete It? Willi be easy to analyse the data from the responses given? For each question: Ist necessary? Wr tne question provive au oppupriate response? Will the respondent answer the question correctly? Will the meaning of the question be the same to all respondents (no ambiguity)? ‘Are there unstated assumptions bebind the question? Is ta leading question? Is the format of the question appropriate for the information required? Are the pre-defined choices of answers appropriate? Is there sufficient choice of pre-defined answers? afm pp eng al gg interviews Interviews for the collection of dala may be structured, unstructured or a combination of both. Structured interviews are rather like a postal questionnaire in that the questions are pre- prepared. They are a good method to use where factual information is required and are quite common for opinion polls or audience research surveys. Many of the things high- lighled in the section on qucotionnaire decign are appropriate for composing questions, to be used in a structured interview. Unstructured interviews are more difficult to carry out. They should be a continuous flowing discussion based on questions and answers. The interviewer must be well, informed in the subject area in order to compose pertinent questions as and when required. The respondent must be encouraged ta tlle abot the appropriate issues whilst the interviewer listens, identifies the important issues and writes comprehensive notes without breaking the dialogue. It may be possible to seek the interviewee’s approval to tape-record the interview. ‘Unstructured interviews are appropriate for searching for information that may be useful within a very broad area, but itis difficult to record answers in a structured way, 0 the analysis of the data can be problematic. Preparation Before embarking on an interviews it is essential to be well prepared. The interview is often the only chance you will have to pose your questions and get the infor-RESEARCHING AND OBTAINING INFORMATION mation needed. The intervieweo(s) will probably be giving up valuable time for the interview and will not appreciate ill-prepared, rambling questions. Prior to the interview: @ Determine the objectives. @ Determine the information you require. ® Formulate your questions. ‘> Arrange them ina logical sequence. @ Confirm the date, ime and place with the interviewee(s) © Find out how much time will be avatlable forthe interview. Bear this in mind in your planning. Iti also useful to prepare the interviewee(s) for the interview ~ if appropriate, write a letter to confirm the details and explain the objective in broad terms. This can save time on the day. For the interview: ‘® Dress in an appropriate manner. © If necessary, ensure you have some form of identification to verify who you are. @ Arrive on time. If you are late, the interviewee(s) may become irritated and not have sufficient time to answer your questions fully. © Obtain necessary permissions if you are intending to conduct surveys on private property, eg. on a supermarket forecourt. Avoid using outdoor sites that are noisy or open to adverse weather conditions ~no ‘one will want to stop and answer questions if they are going to get drenched in the process. Beginning the interview Always introduce yourself and explain the purpose and objectives of the interview before you start asking questions. This helps to establish rapport and set the interviewee at ease. Bo felondly and smile. Confirm the time that each interviewee has available and ‘establish any“rules of confidentiality that may apply. Outline the structure of the inter- ‘view and confirm that tis is agreeable to the interviewee. Ifit isnot, you may need to do some negotiation. ‘ ‘You should ask permission to take notes on the answers to your questions. Sometimes it is ensior fo record the interview and tranecrthe i lator. Tf this is youre plan, you must request permission to record the interview, though Some interviewees will not allow this. However, note that the presence of a microphone may inhibit the answers that the inter- viewee gives. ‘Once the preliminaries are over, progress to the main part of the interview in a clear and professional manner. Conducting the interview procedures ‘When trying to gather information using an interview, always be polite and evurteous but tactful and persuasive. Use a soft but audible tone of voice, speaking slowly and deliberately so that you can be understood easily. Sympathise if they say they are very busy and have little time, and express your gratitude for their time. 203PARTI 204 DEVELOPING STUDY SKILLS Figure 9.2 Strategy for eliciting information from an interview 'SUMMARISE Be precise in asking the questions, keep your abjectives in mind and do not digress or ramble, Sequence the questions in a logical order so that they flow naturally. The ques- tions should move from simple to complex. Do not confront the interviewee with an early and sudden request for personal information. Try tu keep Uwe questivus upenr ended and avoid closed questions that invoke a yes/no answer. You need to encourage the interviewee to provide full answers to your questions. ‘You must try to maintain the interest of the respondent, particularly if it is a lengthy interview. If you appear uninterested, you cannot expect your interviewee to be nterested, Use active listening skills and snieverlal couununication to encourage the interviewee to provide good answers. Prompt the interviewee as necessary by saying “Yes, and ...,‘Goon...’,ete,,and use non-verbal prompts such as head nods, smiles and raised eyebrows. Le Allow'the interviewee time to think: ee hat he tempted ta break the silance _cHowever If it becomes obvious that the Interviewee does not understand the question, be prepared to reframe it. ee ¢ oia ie temprayo tooo ame tang = you ate mere fo eran, not to present ie questions and bevare of introducing bias inthe response by lingo eating the respondent, # Do not become agitated by the response or aiftude ‘Sf the respondent, but remain calm contfol your body Janguage signals, trying not to show your reaction to an answen ; Take care in noting dawn the responses given, fecording the answers legbly. © Summarise Occasionally this wil felp the respondent and provides a check for you to ensure the answers given ha ‘© Be prepared to'be flexible ~ if the original plan’ for the Interview disintegrates, do not panic, but try to gét the best out of the sitUation.RESEARCHING AND OBTAINING INFORMATION Closing the interview ‘To draw the interview to a close, summarise the ground that has been covered. Ask the interviewee if they wish to pose any questions to you, and answer them. If appropriate, explain the next stages of the research and arrange any future communication that may bbé required. Bafore leaving, bo oure to thank the reapondont for their time and partic pation. After the interview ‘When the interview is over, write up the notes as soon as possible while they are still fresh in your mind. Send a letter to the interviewee thanking them for their time and trouble. Although interviews can be expensive in both time and money, they can eliminate the problems of a low response rate and incorrect completion of questionnaires. They also have the advantage that an interviewer can note down any observations they make. For ‘example, it may be appropriate to know about the respondent's reactions, home, appeat- ance, etc. These data would not be available from a postal questionnaire. ‘When interviewing, be wary of providing direction and guidance to the respondent beyond Wut provided Ly Ue inteview schedule. Also, you shuld uttempt to prompt and probe each respondent in the same way. Itis easy, without realising it, to approach a respondent positively, or negatively, because of subconscious factors. This leads to one of the most common problems with interviews ~ the introduction of interviewer bias. ess enc ing ea sof an a ‘wel © observation Gathering primary data through observation involves listening to people and observing their behavfour. Observation may also be used if you are collecting data about events. For example, when researchers collect data about the traffic using a particular road, they observe what actually happens, It would be difficult to collect data about traffic in any ilies may. However, tere aie some situations thet would prove impossible to observe —for example, observing what people would do if they won the natioriat lottery. ‘An advantage of observation as a method of collecting data is that there is less chance of collecting incorrect data through respondents misinterpreting the questions. However, 208PART 1 206 DEVELOPING STUDY SKILLS ‘you need to be acmirate and diligent in ynuir observation. Observation can be a useful way of checking for bias after gathering data by survey methods - do the respondents actually do what they say they do? ‘As an observer, you may fully participate in what you are observing, alllivugl suite times this may be inappropriate and you should remain completely detached. Each of these approaches is problematic. If, for example, you are a full participant observing a situation, you could become so immersed in it that you are unable to be objective and become biased. On the other hand, if you observe but do not participate, you may miss much of the siclusess vf the situativ. Although observation can be inexpensive to carry out, there are some situations where it could prove costly - for example, it may not be very efficient to follow a manager around all day to observe how they spend their time. ‘When carrying out observation, it is important to remember that the act of observing may cause the pervon(s) boing obesrved to change their behaviour The reciilts therefore will not provide a picture of the normal situation. It is sometimes possible to overcome this by using concealed means: for example, hidden cameras in supermarkets to observe the effectiveness of a display. However, it is important to remember that if people are involved in the observation exercise, you must get their consent beforehand. These are ethical isaites that must be considered at the outset of the research. ‘A drawback of this method of data collection is that it does not enable you to probe into the underlying reasons why someone ot something behaves in the way it is observed. For example, a traffic census will determine the number of cars passing, par- ticular junction, but not why they pass. Identify the problems and advantages of collect ig observation. > Experimentation i: ‘Many people think of experiments in a laboratory cetting, with people in white coats eur- rounded by test tubes, chemicals, samples, etc. Othets view experiments as simply trying something different to see whether the outcome improves: for example, planting vegeta- bles earlier than usual in the year to see if a better crop results, or painting a room a different colour to see if the ambience improves. Both of these are examples of experi- ments. It io not what io done but the way it is done that qualifies something as an experiment, ‘Experiments may be designed to: @ answer such quéstions as ‘What if ‘change the wrapper on a product?” ‘© measure a particular attribute, such as the speed with which a car can take a bend in the road without rolling over © test out a hyputtwsts ~ fur exauiple, you may Lelieve that students prefer bees X to beer Y and an experiment may be set up to determine if this presumption is correct. —for example, ‘What will happen to sales if weRESEARCHING AND OBTAINING INFORMATION Experiments involve the researcher in constructing situations so that the conditions are con- trolled and the variables may be manipulated. This will allow any causal relationships to be evaluated, le. whether the change in one vaniable causes @ change in another. The methods of carrying out experiments are beyond the scope ofthis text If you choose to collect data in thisway, twouldbe advisable toreferto textbooks covering researchmethods inmore detail = Ee Gathering data through experiments Provide examples of instances when it would be appropriate to gather data through experiments. Identity the problems and advantages of gathering data in this way. Whichever way you decide io the most apprupriate (o wll dhe data sequited, itis important to remember that the respondents have aright to refuse to take part in the data collection, unless of course they are required to provide the data by law, as in the UK ten- year national census, Do not assume that everyone will respond to a request for data. You need to make provision for non-respanses. > Anaiysis of data (Once the data have been collected, they must be analysed in some way in order to make sense of them. The analysis will depend on the type of data that you have collected. Some data will lend themselves to quantitative analysis, whereas other data will be inappro- priate for this and require a qualitative treatment. ‘A number of different computer software packages are available, which will provide an analysis of the data: for example, Minitab, SPSS and Snap. If you decide to use one of these, ensure that you know at an early stage in what format the package will expect the data to be input. This will be a factor in the design of your data collection. ‘A detailed look at the analysis of data is beyond the scope of this book. Texts that include quantitative and qualitative data analysis should be consulted. Gathering data areas ‘ E The local theatr® is considering the production ene plays by modern asplring authors. They intend to cover six during the year, eachplay! ing staged on four consecutive ‘Thursday evenings: Nothing like this has been tried inthe ety before, but the theatre managements anxious to try new things and wishes to establish potentiallevls of demand. You have been asked to conduct research to ‘determi ye whether or not this will:be a worthwhile venture. assumptions you nak). 2a (©) How would vou collect the data your require? ce 207DEVELOPING STUDY SKILLS Summary This chapter has outlined: that information, both primary and secondary, is a vital resource for every student the wide range of sources ot secondary data available, Including electronic sources the importance of determining the purpose for which the information Is required and boing adept at using key words and phrases, and coarch terme. ‘the need to check information and sources for reliability and validity It primary research is required, the importance of planning carefully In order to ensure that the data collection method used is appropriate and yields data that are reliable, valid and unbiased.