Primary Research

Primary Research

Could different methodologies better serve specific research aims?

Methodologies

DEFINITION

• Topic

• Purpose

• Goals

The Survey

The first step is to provide context to your respondents about the purpose of your survey. This is called a “leveling statement.

One type of primary research you might decide to use is the survey. Surveys are typically used to get a general sense of how a group of people perceive, or feel about, a particular issue. The results can then be used to think about future actions or policy to enact regarding an issue.

Let’s say, for example, that you wanted to create a survey to find out how people feel might feel about the issue of landfilling compostable trash and a “green bin” program. A leveling statement might be something like this:

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, separating compostable materials, like yard trimmings, food scraps, and building supplies from grey-bin trash can reduce the amount of garbage going into the landfill by up to 30%. Removing compostables from the landfill reduces the amount of land needed for landfills, it reduces the amount of “garbage juice” leaking from landfills into the water table, and it reduces methane, a green house gas, from escaping into the atmosphere. Please answer the following questions about landfilling compostable trash.

This leveling statement takes care of a lack of respondent knowledge about landfills. Just remember not to bias your respondents by slanting this information toward one solution or another. You might also recognize that you would be unable to write a good leveling statement without first having done your secondary research.

The amount of questions and the type of questions you use can depend on what form the survey takes, for example if it will be delivered online through something like surveymonkey.com or handed out at a specific location.

The Interview

Face-to-Face Interviews: sitting down and speaking with someone.

Interviews are one-on-one or small group question and answer sessions. Interviews will provide a lot of information from a small number of people and are useful when you want to get an expert or knowledgeable opinion on a subject.

They are beneficial because you can adapt your questioning to the answers of the person you are interviewing. Take copious notes, and if the person agrees, you might even capture some, or all, of the interview with a recording device (video or audio).

Consider your needs, and more importantly, consider your respondent’s time. Remember you need them and their expertise, so be courteous, flexible, and appreciative. You should send a formal “Thank You” to the respondents who have agreed to be interviewed.

Phone Interviews: can be used when you need to interview someone who is geographically far away, who is too busy to meet with you, or who does not want to use Internet

technology.

Email Interviews: less personal than face-to-face or phone interviews, but highly convenient for most individuals. You may not get as much information from someone because you are not able to ask follow-up questions or play off the interviewee’s responses. However, email interviews are useful because they are already in a digital format. In other words, you do not have to take the time to transcribe them

Several different types of interviews exist. You should choose one based on what kind of technology you have available to you, the availability of the individual you are interviewing, and how comfortable you feel talking to people. It is important to remember that you must have your respondent sign an interview release form as permission to use the answers in your Literature Review & Research Report and possibly your Documentary Film.