Research Skills (Copy)

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Welcome to the node on research skills!

Introduction to Research

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Here is what we will cover in this learning module.

Reflection

Summary

Case Studies

Research Types

KnowledgeCheck

Welcome- You are Here!

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A quick quiz.

Let's begin with what you already know about research - who knows, you might already be a pro!

Press the yellow arrow button when you're ready to move on.

Yes

No

Q1. Have you done research before?

Websites

Newspaper

None of these

People you know

Social Media

Q2. What resources do you use for research?

Q3. What is research?

A career that involves doing scientific experiments.

The process of looking for and finding relevant information.

Publishing work in scientific and academic journals

Copying and pasting information from the internet

That's right - in simple words, research is the process of looking for and gathering relevant information. The purpose of this is usually to investigate a topic in order to establish the facts and reach a conclusion.

Well done!

When you're ready to move on, click on the explore button.

The types of research can be categorised by the methods used to do it or by the purpose of the research. Hover over the images below to find out a bit more.

Did you know that there are different types of research?

Explore

This short video is a great introduction to the differences between primary and secondary resesarch. You only need to watch from 2:00 to 6:55 to hear a good summary of the two types of research.

Primary vs Secondary Research

Next

Hint: Hover over the images on the right to give you some ideas.

Take some time to think of an example of 1) Primary research 2) Secondary research

Now that you've watched that...

This short video is a great introduction to the Scholarly or Academic Research! You only need to watch from 0:00 to 3:43 to hear a good summary of the research.

Academic Research

To prove one article is better than another

To assess the skills of an academic peer

To review the research methods and readability

To make the scholars more money

What is the purpose of peer review?

Have a go at this question about peer review.

Now that you've watched that...

The purpose of peer reviewing is to review the research methods and readability!

Well done!

This is a type of research that is generally carried out by companies and businesses, who are trying to design or launch a new product. Watch the two short videos on the right to get a better understanding of market research & why it is done. You only need to watch the second video until time stamp 3:48.

Market Research

Large-scale surveys from statistical agencies.

News articles & journals.

Secondary Research

Primary Research

What is the most reliable and accurate source of information for statistics?

When carrying out market research, what is the more cost-efficient type of research?

Knowing what you know now, have a go at answering the questions below.

Press the arrow when you are ready to move on.

Let us look at a mini Case Study!

Press 'Next' to start Bob's research journey.

Hint: keep Bob's aims in mind as he conducts his research!

Bob is expecting a baby soon and is currently preparing for the nursery. He is struggling to choose the perfect colour for the nursery walls. So, he decides to research this matter. Let’s help Bob!

Next

Have a think about what types of research you think he should do.Where should he find this information?

Bob decides he wants to learn more about which paint colour will help keep his new baby (and Bob!) happy and energetic. Bob also doesn’t want to spend too much money as there is still a lot of baby stuff he needs to buy.

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What resource should Bob look at?

Diary entries about the Great Fire of London

A colour psychology article

The Guardian newspaper

To narrow down his options, Bob wants to identify what each colour represents.

What colour do you think is the best colour for Bob to choose based on these images from the article?

Blue

Yellow

Orange

After reading the article Bob narrows it down to three colours.

No

Yes

Does this count as primary research?

Having decided what colour to use, Bob decides to ask his friends if they know any professional painters that they would recommend. Bob goes on Facebook and private messages some friends. He asks them the same questions and records their answers.

Secondary Market Research

Primary Market Research

Secondary Academic Research

Primary Academic Research

Bob now wants to choose between two painters recommended by his friends. He decides to give them both a call and get a quote to see how much he’ll be paying. What type of research has Bob just done?

Let's recap!

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So now Bob has fulfilled both of his aims. Let’s have a recap on what steps he went through to conduct his research:

Primary market research: talking to painters to get the best price he can

Primary market research: talking to friends to see what painting services are good

Secondary academic research: colour psychology to choose the right paint colour

Click the next button to move on when you're ready.

When doing research, you might feel overwhelmed by the amount sources that claim to have information you need. A key skill when conducting research is being able to distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources! Let explore this further with another example.

Now let’s explore the reliability of sources.

Next

Jia wants to find out information on COVID 19 for her research project.

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Take some time to look through these sources and find the best resources which you think Jia can use. Click on each icon to go to the website.

Hint: there may be more than one correct answer.

Press the arrow when you are ready to move on!

So, what is the best resource for Jia's research project?

COVID19data

BBC

The Onion

• Research is relevant to you on a daily basis!
• There are many types of research. The key ones are primary and secondary research.

• Look out for relevance! Is this resource related to your research aims?
• What about reliability? Check for the author/organisation that wrote or made it.

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