Define your Research How you carry out research largely depends on the project. As with many things we discuss, there is no absolute right or wrong way to research. We are often asked for advice by readers, so I have put together some information on the topic to help you. According to the English Oxford…

Think about the kind of information you want and where you might find that information. If you want facts and figures about local spending, your local council website might have that. If you need marketing statistics, the major market researchers would be a good place to start. If you want scientific information, think about scientific…

In the last module, we discussed primary, secondary and tertiary sources. Let’s consider what that means in practice. If you were conducting research on a new product your company had developed and is planning to launch, your primary research may include observing behaviour or other measurable factors, such as positive or negative response to the…

The type of research you will need to undertake will also be governed by the field in which you work. If you are a scientist, your research will involve reading scientific journals and papers, getting up to date with the latest developments, discoveries and advances in technology. If you are involved in bringing consumer products…

Your project, and the information you glean, will be very influenced by the quality of the questions you ask. So let’s spend a little time thinking about how to write good questions that will produce unbiased and clear answers, for both interviews and surveys. Avoid biased or leading questions Don’t ask leading questions. For example,…

Plagiarism is defined by the English Oxford Dictionary as; “the act of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own “ The word is from the Latin plagiarius, which means kidnapping The Merriam Webster online dictionary says that to “plagiarize” means; – to steal and pass off (the ideas or…

When you are writing your report consider the layout and your presentation. As always when presenting your findings, adopt a structured layout which clearly labels each section and allows for the fact that some readers will only want to read overviews, summaries and conclusions. We have dealt in detail with how to lay out a…