Questionnaires have both advantages and disadvantages. They can be done in a short amount of time but people may misinterpret the questions if it is a written questionnaire, so the questionnaire must be formed carefully and not be too long. You can gain a large range of data from different interest groups but results may be incomplete. I think a questionnaire would be a good source of data for my project.
Interviewing people allows one to one questioning and therefore has more depth. However, a person may be subjective. On the other hand, an expert can provide good objective information. I think interviewing people would be a viable form of research for my project. I think it is important to use a wide variety of research types in order to gain a wide, varied range of data to enhance my project. I could try to organise interviews with experts on the subject in order to hear their views first-hand.
Interviewing by email allows for more time to think about and answer questions but phrasing of an answer may be hard to interpret. You are not likely to get an immediate response which is also a disadvantage. Interviewing by email would perhaps allow me to extend my research to experts in the field in other countries.
Ethnography is when you spend time in a country and take in a different culture. This may be impractical because of cost or danger and it may take a long time. However, it provides you with first-hand experience and allows you to come to your own judgement so your results are unique. I will most definitely be researching through ethnography on my trip to The Gambia. Hopefully this will provide a different perspective for my project and help to give it more depth.
Participant observation of group interaction allows you to see how a group reacts and gives you an idea of the workings of society. This can be done either covertly, when people don’t know they are being observed or overtly, when people do know they are being observed. I will most likely conduct some research in this way but I will have to look for any overly subjective views. I think a debate may be an interesting form of research that might stem from this.
Research can also take the form of non-participant observation which involves interpreting images, for example watching film. This may take a lot of time and a group may not act naturally if you are watching. However, you would not know them personally so the results would be more objective.
Content analysis is good for issues based research. It involves looking at webpages, newspapers, films and documentaries to see how views are portrayed. An advantage of content analysis is that it is easy to do however, views may be subjective.
Newspapers are good sources for recent event information. However, they are often based upon their reader's views which may display strong political bias. What is printed may also depend upon the editor's agenda.
Websites can be useful if you find the right ones for specific information. However, websites can display bias and on websites such as Wikipedia, people can alter the information so it may not be valid.
Government reports may be a good source of information for bigger issues. Although a disadvantage is that they are inherently biased and you may have to pay for them.
Books can be the best form of research. However, it is imperative that you look at the author and see if they are actually reflecting their research base.
Journal articles are bound to be up to date and are valid as they are peer reviewed and seen by a number of people when published. Their findings will also have been checked for accuracy. However, some of the language used may be inaccessible.
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