Primary Research Strategies
Primary research is an important strategy practised in this course, usually in the second and third assignments. The following methods are typically used: o Survey o Interview o Site observation
When conducting any kind of field research, Cunningham et al suggests the following steps:
1. Review your notes on the problem to determine what information you need from your primary research.
2. Establish objectives by identifying specific tasks you must complete.
3. Set up schedule for completing each task.
4. Test your interview questions, survey and direct observation procedures before you implement them. What may go wrong:
· Selecting wrong subjects for interview or survey or wrong sites
· Observing factors that do not apply
· Asking ambiguous or irrelevant questions
· Using inconsistent collection procedures
5. Evaluate progress throughout and make necessary adjustments
Survey Construction
Surveys attempt to gather a small amount of information from a large number of respondents. It is easy to construct a questionnaire, but difficult to construct one that is effective. The goals of a successful survey are:
- Objectivity
- Validity
- Accuracy (Veracity)
- Reliability
Guidelines
· Decide objectives –questions you ask should match info you want – clearly specified, phrased as questions or measurements, not too general, questions consistent with objectives.
· Does question ask what you intend to find out? Phrasing captures info you want.
· Choose questions from regular sequence of information types, e.g. demographic info, knowledge, practices, attitudes and beliefs, based on what information would be useful to your objectives.
· Choose questions from regular sequence of response types, e.g. yes/no, multiple choice, ranking, rating or open-ended. More than one type may be combined in a single question for conciseness.
· Scientific sample – know your target market/population, if any; pick group that is representative of that population
When conducting any kind of field research, Cunningham et al suggests the following steps:
1. Review your notes on the problem to determine what information you need from your primary research.
2. Establish objectives by identifying specific tasks you must complete.
3. Set up schedule for completing each task.
4. Test your interview questions, survey and direct observation procedures before you implement them. What may go wrong:
· Selecting wrong subjects for interview or survey or wrong sites
· Observing factors that do not apply
· Asking ambiguous or irrelevant questions
· Using inconsistent collection procedures
5. Evaluate progress throughout and make necessary adjustments
Survey Construction
Surveys attempt to gather a small amount of information from a large number of respondents. It is easy to construct a questionnaire, but difficult to construct one that is effective. The goals of a successful survey are:
- Objectivity
- Validity
- Accuracy (Veracity)
- Reliability
Guidelines
· Decide objectives –questions you ask should match info you want – clearly specified, phrased as questions or measurements, not too general, questions consistent with objectives.
· Does question ask what you intend to find out? Phrasing captures info you want.
· Choose questions from regular sequence of information types, e.g. demographic info, knowledge, practices, attitudes and beliefs, based on what information would be useful to your objectives.
· Choose questions from regular sequence of response types, e.g. yes/no, multiple choice, ranking, rating or open-ended. More than one type may be combined in a single question for conciseness.
· Scientific sample – know your target market/population, if any; pick group that is representative of that population