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What is Primary Research
and How Do I Do It?
Source:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/r
esource/559/1/
► Primary research is any type of research that
you go out and collect yourself.
► Examples include surveys, interviews, analysis,
participation-observation…
Primary Research
•
Also called field research
•
Involves the collection of data that does not
already exist, which is research to collect
original data.
•
Primary Research is often undertaken after the
researcher has gained some insight into the
issue by collecting secondary data.
Primary Research
► Quantitative
 Quantify (measure)
 Large number of test
subjects
 Broad results –
narrow focus
 Achieve results
based on a large
sample group
 Examples: survey,
experiments
► Qualitative
 Small number of test
subjects
 Develop detailed
knowledge of
participants
 Human-based –
emotion, opinion,
experience
 Examples: interview,
observation
Method
Survey - Quantitative
Experiments- Quantitative
Interview - Qualitative
Observation - Qualitative
Advantages
Disadvantages
Research Method – Survey
► Advantages
 Carried out in a natural
setting
 Since they usually
involve larger numbers
of people, results can be
used to generalize and
draw conclusions
 Can be anonymous
 No bias from interviewer
► Disadvantages
 Difficult to obtain
random sample
 Large amounts of data to
organize and analyze
 Cannot contact subjects
for clarification (unless
survey is not
anonymous)
 Can’t ask complicated
questions
Research Method – Experiments
► Advantages
 Clearly allow you to
determine causality
(a certain factor or
variable causes a
change in the person
or group)
► Disadvantages
 Difficult to make
generalizations to
other situations
 May be difficult to
find participants
 Time consuming for
participants
Research Method – Interview
► Advantages
 Can apply more detailed
and complex questions
 Interviewer can clarify
questions
 Interviewer can control
environment (quiet) and
order of questions
► Disadvantages
 Participants may be
reluctant to reveal
personal information
 Time consuming
 Possibility of biased
results due to
interviewer (hints,
explanation, body
language)
 No anonymity
Research Method – Observation
► Advantages
 Can be carried out in
a natural setting
 Can allow for
detailed information
regarding human
behaviour
► Disadvantages
 People may change
behaviour if they
know they are being
observed
 Data may be difficult
to analyze
 Observer must be
completely partial
and unbiased
► For the purpose of your Phase 4 ISU, you are
going to choose between doing either a survey
or interview.
► The following is some basic advise on how to
properly create survey or interview questions.
► Follow the directions on your Phase 4
assignment outline on how to incorporate the
survey/interview into your final research report.
What is an Interview?
► Interviews: 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.
► It is based on qualitative research (feelings, indepth experiences, personal responses to
situations)
► Researcher asks the subjects to describe and
explain his or her behaviour.
► Useful for determining the motivation for the
subject’s behaviour.
► To be valid, the interview questions should ask
subjects to discuss actions after they occur
rather than to speculate about what they might
do.
► It should be expected by the interviewer that a
subject may choose not to answer all questions.
The privacy and anonymity of a subject is
essential to ethical research.
What is a Survey?
► Surveys: Surveys are a form of questioning that is more
rigid than interviews and that involve larger groups of
people.
► Surveys will provide a limited amount of information
from a large group of people and are useful when you
want to learn what a larger population thinks.
► This means that it is based on quantitative research
► The questions are written out and given to the
subjects to answer in written form – can be
done online as well.
► Usually the questions are closed questions
that require the subject to select from the
answers required.
► It is possible to use a combination of closed
and open-ended questions depending on the
focus of your research.
► For purposes of compiling accurate statistical
data, closed questions are easier to analyze.
Consider the following questions when beginning
to think about conducting primary research:
What do I want to discover?
► How do I plan on discovering it? (This is called your research
methods or methodology)
► Who am I going to talk to/observe/survey? (These people are
called your subjects or participants)
► How am I going to be able gain access to these groups or
individuals?
► What are my biases about this topic?
► How can I make sure my biases are not reflected in my
research methods?
► What do I expect to discover?
►
Creating Good Interview and
Survey Questions
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/r
esource/559/06/
THERE ARE A FEW ISSUES THAT
RESEARCHERS MUST CONFRONT
ALL OF THE TIME.
HERE ARE SOME OF THE MOST
COMMON ONES:
► Over generalizing your results
 It is impossible to make sweeping generalizations about groups of people based
solely on a few interviews, observations, or surveys. You can find general
patterns or trends, but should never assume that what you have found is what
exists or what will always exist. In fact, it is hard to make concrete generalizations
about any occurrence that relates to people because people themselves are
dynamic and situations are always changing.
► Biased methodology
 If you create a biased survey or ask biased questions, you’ll get biased results. See
the "creating good survey and interview questions" section for tips on how to
make your questions non-biased.
► Correlation does not imply causation
 Remember that just because two results have a relationship between them does
not necessarily mean that one causes another to occur. For example, although
video games and violent behaviors are shown to have a link, it has not been
proven that video games cause violent behavior (instead, it could be that
individuals who are predisposed toward violent activity are drawn to violent
video games).
►
Not considering other related factors
 It is very difficult to be able to study all the factors that relate to a specific group
of people, event, or occurrence. Even so, if you do not include these factors
within your primary research, they should still be considered when you begin to
analyze your data.
►
►
For example, if you are studying the parking issue on campus and look at the amount of cars being
parked on campus vs. the student population, you are omitting other factors like the amount of
commuter students, the number of faculty who drive, accessibility of public transportation and
many others.
Being able to know what data is valid
 Some participants in your research may not take it seriously and will provide silly,
inaccurate answers or engage in purposely aberrant behaviors. This most likely
occurs with surveys that individuals complete but occasionally can occur during
interviews or even with observations. These answers can throw off your entire
research project, so it is very important that you examine your surveys or
interviews for this type of erroneous information. If you find information that is
highly questionable, it is best to not include it in your analysis of results.
►
Reported behavior vs. actual behavior
 What people report as their behavior might not actually how they behave. People
will often report their own behavior in a more positive light than it may actually
be. For example, if you are surveying college students about their study habits,
they may report that they study for more hours than they actually do.
How Do We Know What
Research to Believe? –
Bias in Science Research
► Ben Goldacre is a best-selling author,
broadcaster, medical doctor and academic who
specializes in unpicking dodgy scientific claims
from drug companies, newspapers, government
reports, PR people and quacks. Unpicking bad
science is the best way to explain good science.
► http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKmxL8VYy
0M
When Creating Questions You Want to
Avoid:
► Biased questions
► Biased questions are questions that encourage
your participants to respond to the question in
a certain way. They may contain biased
terminology or are worded in a biased way.
► Biased question: Don't you agree that campus
parking is a problem?
► Revised question: Is parking on campus a
problem?
► Questions that assume what they ask
► These questions are a type of biased question
and lead your participants to agree or respond
in a certain way.
► Biased question: There are many people who
believe that campus parking is a problem. Are
you one of them?
► Revised question: Do you agree or disagree
that campus parking is a problem?
► Double-barreled
questions
► A double-barreled question is a one that has more
than one question embedded within it. Participants
may answer one but not both, or may disagree with
part or all of the question.
► Double-barreled
question: Do you agree that
campus parking is a problem and that the
administration should be working diligently on a
solution?
► Revised question: Is campus parking a problem? (If
the participant responds yes): Should the
administration be responsible for solving this
problem?
►
►
Confusing or wordy questions
Make sure your questions are not confusing or wordy.
Confusing questions will only lead to confused participants,
which leads to unreliable answers.
►
Confusing questions: What do you think about parking? (This
is confusing because the question isn't clear about what it is
asking--parking in general? The person's ability to park the
car? Parking on campus?) Do you believe that the parking
situation on campus is problematic or difficult because of the
lack of spaces and the walking distances or do you believe
that the parking situation on campus is ok? (This question is
both very wordy and leads the participant.
►
Revised question: What is your opinion of the parking
situation on campus?
► Questions that do not relate to what you want to
learn
► Be sure that your questions directly relate to what it
is you are studying. A good way to do this is to ask
someone else to read your questions or even test
your survey out on a few people and see if the
responses fit what you are looking for.
► Unrelated
questions: Have you ever encountered
problems in the parking garage on campus? Do you
like or dislike the bus system?
HOW TO CREATE YOUR SURVEY OR
INTERVIEW
Survey/interview format
Title
► Should be bold and attractive
► It reveals to the respondent the topic being
investigated
Introduction
► May appear at the top of the first page or as a
covering letter
► Information to be included:








Introduce yourself
The purpose of your study
Request for co-operation
Instructions for completing and returning the form
Assurance of confidentiality
Deadline for return
Name of contact person
Expression of appreciation for the respondent’s participation
Background Information Questions for Respondents
► Information asked must be relevant to the
research:
► Examples - Gender, Education, Age, Marital
Status, Occupation, Children etc.
► These are not part of your 10-15 required
questions
10-15 Research Questions
► Required for Phase 4
► If you feel you need more questions
to get you point
across, you may exceed 15 questions
► Must be a minimum of 10 questions
► Ask questions that relate to your study - ensure that
each question serves a clear purpose
Conclusion
► Thank the respondent
for participating and indicate if
and when there will be any follow up. Remember that
all respondents are entitled to see the results of your
research.
Types of Survey Questions
Multiple Choice
►
Questions with two or more answer options. Useful for all types of
feedback, including collecting demographic information. Answers can
be "yes/no" or a choice of multiple answers. Beware of leaving out an
answer option, or using answer options that are not mutually
exclusive.
►
Example 1: Are you a U.S. Citizen?
 Yes / No
►
Example 2: How many times have you called our agency about this
issue in the past month?





Once
Twice
Three times
More than three times
Don't know/not sure
Types of Questions for Survey and
Interview
Types of Survey Questions
Scale/Ranking
► Participants are typically asked whether they agree or disagree
with a statement. Responses often range from “strongly
disagree” to “strongly agree,” with five total answer options.
(For additional answer options, see table below.) Each option
is ascribed a score or weight (1 = strong disagree to 5 =
strongly agree), and these scores can be used in survey
response analysis. For scaled questions, it is important to
include a “neutral” category (“Neither Agree nor Disagree”
below).
Types of Survey Questions
Open-Ended Questions
►Questions where there are no specified answer choices. These
are particularly helpful for collecting feedback from your
participants about their attitudes or opinions. However, these
questions may require extra time or can be challenging to
answer, so participants may skip the questions or abandon the
survey. In addition, the analysis of open-ended questions can be
difficult to automate, and may require extra time or resources
to review.
►Example:
What are two ways we could have improved your
experience with our agency today? We take your feedback very
seriously and review comments daily.
Interview Questions
► (a) informal conversational interview
 spontaneous generation of questions in a natural interaction,
typically one that occurs as part of ongoing participant
observation fieldwork
► (b) general interview guide approach
 more structured than the informal conversational interview
although there is still quite a bit of flexibility in its
composition
► (c) standardized open-ended interview
 extremely structured in terms of the wording of the questions.
Participants are always asked identical questions, but the questions are
worded so that responses are open-ended
Interview Questions
► Examples of open-ended interview questions:
 http://www.buckleysearch.com/questions_for_inter
viewing.htm
 http://www.hr.ucf.edu/web/forms/recruitment/Exa
mples%20of%20Open%20Ended%20Interview%20Q
uestions.pdf
Resources to Help You With
Primary Research
► Interview Questions:
 http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/559/04/
 http://www.engin.umich.edu/teaching/crltengin/engineering-educationresearch-resources/turner-qualitative-interview-design.pdf
► Survey Questions:
 http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fairprojects/project_ideas/Soc_survey.shtml
 http://www.surveymonkey.com/QuestionBuilder_Examples.aspx
 http://www.howto.gov/customer-service/collecting-feedback/basics-ofsurvey-and-question-design#open-ended