Desk Research – Methodology

Desk Research is the research technique which is mainly acquired by sitting at a desk. Desk research is basically involved in collecting data from existing resources hence it is often considered a low cost technique as compared to field research, as the main cost is involved in executive’s time, telephone charges and directories. However, it could also be a complete waste of time and money if the researcher does not have the proper knowledge of how the research in performed.

What is desk research?

Desk research is another name for secondary research. Broadly speaking, there are two types of research activity: primary research (where you go out and discover stuff yourself); and secondary research (where you review what other people have done). Desk research is not about collecting data. Instead, your role as a user researcher carrying out desk research is to review previous research findings to gain a broad understanding of the field.

Why do desk research?

Before carrying out a field visit, developing a prototype, running a usability test, or embarking on any project that you want to be user centred, it makes sense to see what people have done in the past that relates to the product’s domain. Although it’s unlikely that anyone has carried out the exact research activity you’re planning, someone has almost certainly tried to answer related questions. Reviewing this research is the quickest and cheapest way to understand the domain.

Carrying out desk research is a critical first step, for at least three reasons:

If you don’t know what has gone before, you won’t know when you’ve discovered something new.
You’ll sound credible when you get face-to-face with users and stakeholders. If you’ve not done this “due diligence”, you’ll ask dumb or irrelevant questions and may find your participants cut your sessions short.
Failing to do preparatory research is disrespectful of your participants’ time. You may get less than an hour with a user of your system. Do you really want to waste half that time understanding the domain issues that you could have covered elsewhere?

How do you approach desk research?

At this point, I’ve had many user researchers tell me that they’re working on a bleeding edge design project so there isn’t any desk research to do. There’s a common misconception that no research exists.

In my experience, there is almost always something you can build upon. Here’s an approach I take to go about finding it. It helps me stay focussed but also makes sure that I remember to check all the possible nooks and crannies where relevant research findings may be hiding.

Desk research is very effective and can be conducted in starting phase of market research as it is quite quick and cheap and most of the basic information could be easily fetched which can be used as benchmark in the research process.

There are basically two types of desk research techniques:

Internal Desk Research – Internal desk research can be treated as the most reasonable starting point of research for any organization. Much Information could be generated internally within the organization as a course of normal process. Account related information which indicates what type of products are sold, in how much quantity and at what cost, sold to which type of customers including their geographical location and so on. The main advantage here in performing internal desk research is that it involves internal and existing organizational resources to organize the collected data in such a way that it is not only efficient but also usable. Internal desk research is comparatively very cheap and effective as internal recourses are deputed and the expenditure in getting data from outside is less.
External Desk Research – External Desk Research involves research done outside the organizational boundaries and collecting relevant information. These outside resources are described below:
1. Online Desk Research – There is incredible amount of data available online on internet. It’s important for organization to be information specific while fetching out this information as there are billions of pages available on internet. There could be two approaches for digging out the relevant information from internet, one is directly browsing the specific information from industrial, marketing or business sites and extracting the information out of these sites. Secondly, using the various search engines like http://www.google.com, http://www.yahoo.com, http://www.infoseek.go.com, http://www.altavista.com etc, for modulated searching. The important aspect here is to refine the searching techniques in such a way that results are promising and relevant. For this it is necessary that the researcher should know the importance of the research and follow the guideline intellectually to reduce the efforts made and time consumed in searching.
2. Government published data –Government usually publishes a great extent of data online that can be used in the research process. This data is related to social, financial and economical aspects. The government websites are mostly free to access and contains most prominent information. Thus, this could be the cheapest medium of gathering the information.
3. Customer desk research – One of the best and most prominent ways of extracting information for research is directly communicating with existing or prospect customer. Customers are the one who are considered the most informed as they are actually using products and services and are aware of the current market trends more than any other. Hence the feedback and information provided by customers is the most accurate and useful data which can be used most effectively in the further process of research.

What is Field Research?

Field research is defined as a qualitative method of data collection that aims to observe, interact and understand people while they are in a natural environment. For example, nature conservationists observe behavior of animals in their natural surroundings and the way they react to certain scenarios. In the same way, social scientists conducting field research may conduct interviews or observe people from a distance to understand how they behave in a social environment and how they react to situations around them.

Field research encompasses a diverse range of social research methods including direct observation, limited participation, analysis of documents and other information, informal interviews, surveys etc. Although field research is generally characterized as qualitative research, it often involves multiple aspects of quantitative research in it.

Field research typically begins in a specific setting although the end objective of the study is to observe and analyze the specific behavior of a subject in that setting. The cause and effect of a certain behavior, though, is tough to analyze due to presence of multiple variables in a natural environment. Most of the data collection is based not entirely on cause and effect but mostly on correlation. While field research looks for correlation, the small sample sizemakes it difficult to establish a causal relationship between two or more variables.

Methods of Field Research

Field research is typically conducted in 5 distinctive methods. They are:

Direct Observation

In this method, the data is collected via an observational method or subjects in a natural environment. In this method, the behavior or outcome of situation is not interfered in any way by the researcher. The advantage of direct observation is that it offers contextual data on people, situations, interactions and the surroundings. This method of field research is widely used in a public setting or environment but not in a private environment as it raises an ethical dilemma.

Participant Observation

In this method of field research, the researcher is deeply involved in the research process, not just purely as an observer, but also as a participant. This method too is conducted in a natural environment but the only difference is the researcher gets involved in the discussions and can mould the direction of the discussions. In this method, researchers live in a comfortable environment with the participants of the research, to make them comfortable and open up to in-depth discussions.

Ethnography

Ethnography is an expanded observation of social research and social perspective and the cultural values of an entire social setting. In ethnography, entire communities are observed objectively. For example, if a researcher would like to understand how an Amazon tribe lives their life and operates, he/she may chose to observe them or live amongst them and silently observe their day-to-day behavior.

Qualitative Interviews

Qualitative interviews are close-ended questions that are asked directly to the research subjects. The qualitative interviews could be either informal and conversational, semi-structured, standardized and open-ended or a mix of all the above three. This provides a wealth of data to the researcher that they can sort through. This also helps collect relational data. This method of field research can use a mix of one-on-one interviews, focus groups and text analysis.

Steps in Conducting Field Research

Due to the nature of field research, the magnitude of timelines and costs involved, field research can be very tough to plan, implement and measure. Some basic steps in the management of field research are:

Build the Right Team: To be able to conduct field research, having the right team is important. The role of the researcher and any ancillary team members is very important and defining the tasks they have to carry out with defined relevant milestones is important. It is important that the upper management too is vested in the field research for its success.
Recruiting People for the Study: The success of the field research depends on the people that the study is being conducted on. Using sampling methods, it is important to derive the people that will be a part of the study.
Data Collection Methodology: As spoken in length about above, data collection methods for field research are varied. They could be a mix of surveys, interviews, case studies and observation. All these methods have to be chalked out and the milestones for each method too have to be chalked out at the outset. For example, in the case of a survey, the survey design is important that it is created and tested even before the research begins.
Site Visit: A site visit is important to the success of the field research and it is always conducted outside of traditional locations and in the actual natural environment of the respondent/s. Hence, planning a site visit alongwith the methods of data collection is important.
Data Analysis: Analysis of the datathat is collected is important to validate the premise of the field research and decide the outcome of the field research.
Communicating Results: Once the data is analyzed, it is important to communicate the results to the stakeholders of the research so that it could be actioned upon.

Types of Field Research Notes

The four different kinds of field notes are:

Job Notes: This method of taking notes is while the researcher is in the study. This could be in close proximity and in open sight with the subject in study. The notes here are short, concise and in condensed form that can be built on by the researcher later. Most researchers do not prefer this method though due to the fear of feeling that the respondent may not take them seriously.
Field Notes Proper: These notes are to be expanded on immediately after the completion of events. The notes have to be detailed and the words have to be as close to possible as the subject being studied.
Methodological Notes: These notes contain methods on the research methods used by the researcher, any new proposed research methods and the way to monitor their progress. Methodological notes can be kept with field notes or filed separately but they find their way to the end report of a study.
Journals and Diaries: This method of field notes is an insight into the life of the researcher. This tracks all aspects of the researchers life and helps eliminate the Halo effect or any bias that may have cropped up during the field research.

Reasons to Conduct Field Research

Field research has been commonly used in the 20th century in the social sciences. But in general, it takes a lot of time to conduct and complete, is expensive and in a lot of cases invasive. So why then is this commonly used and is preferred by researchers to validate data? We look at 4 major reasons:

Overcoming lack of data: Field research resolves the major issue of gaps in data. Very often, there is limited to no data about a topic in study, especially in a specific environment. The problem might be known or suspected but there is no way to validate this without primary research and data. Conducting field research helps not only plug-in gaps in data but collect supporting material and hence is a preferred research method of researchers.
Understanding context of the study: In many cases, the data collected is adequate but field research is still conducted. This helps gain insight into the existing data. For example, if the data states that horses from a stable farm generally win races because the horses are pedigreed and the stable owner hires the best jockeys. But conducting field research can throw light into other factors that influence the success like quality of fodder and care provided and conducive weather conditions.
Increasing the quality of data: Since this research method uses more than one tool to collect data, the data is of higher quality. Inferences can be made from the data collected and can be statistically analyzed via the triangulation of data.
Collecting ancillary data: Field research puts the researchers in a position of localized thinking which opens them new lines of thinking. This can help collect data that the study didn’t account to collect.

Examples of Field Research

Some examples of field research are:

Decipher social metrics in a slum
Purely by using observational methods and in-depth interviews, researchers can be part of a community to understand the social metrics and social hierarchy of a slum. This study can also understand the financial independence and day-to-day operational nuances of a slum. The analysis of this data can provide an insight into how different a slum is from structured societies.
Understand the impact of sports on a child’s development
This method of field research takes multiple years to conduct and the sample size can be very large. The data analysis of this research provides insights into how the kids of different geographical locations and backgrounds respond to sports and the impact of sports on their all round development.
Study animal migration patterns
Field research is used extensively to study flora and fauna. A major use case is scientists monitoring and studying animal migration patterns with the change of seasons. Field research helps collect data across years and that helps draw conclusions about how to safely expedite the safe passage of animals.

Advantages of Field Research

The advantages of field research are:

It is conducted in a real-world and natural environment where there is no tampering of variables and the environment is not doctored.
Due to the study being conducted in a comfortable environment, data can be collected even about ancillary topics.
The researcher gains a deep understanding into the research subjects due to the proximity to them and hence the research is extensive, thorough and accurate.

Disadvantages of Field Research

The disadvantages of field research are:

The studies are expensive and time-consuming and can take years to complete.
It is very difficult for the researcher to distance themselves from a bias in the research study.
The notes have to be exactly what the researcher says but the nomenclature is very tough to follow.
It is an interpretive method and this is subjective and entirely dependent on the ability of the researcher.
In this method, it is impossible to control external variables and this constantly alters the nature of the research.

Designing and testing of questionnaire

design and testing

Questionnaires are a potential source of bias and must be formulated very carefully to guarantee the quality of the data collected. From survey design to questionnaire testing, it is important to avoid errors in respondent comprehension and interpretation and to avoid influencing or offending respondents.

Questionnaire design

Designing a questionnaire requires detailed knowledge not only of the survey topic and the target population, but also of the technical potential of the chosen data collection method. Researchers need to be familiar with the existing scientific literature in their field and with any other surveys conducted in the same area. Reliable knowledge of the language, the ordinary or lay terms used to designate aspects of the situation under investigation, as well as of the cultural and cognitive skills needed to answer the questions, is also indispensable.

That knowledge is especially important for surveys on sensitive subjects (sexuality, violence, drug use) or involving specific populations (of particular cultural origins or social backgrounds). It is also needed for general population surveys which, by definition, encompass all categories of persons.

Generally speaking, questions are most effective when they are precise and clearly contextualized, short and formulated in simple language, and when the terms used cannot be misinterpreted. It is also extremely important not to ask leading questions, i.e. questions that may encourage respondents to choose a particular response or to answer in a particular way. These constraints may be difficult to reconcile, which is why questions must be tested and researchers should plan to speak with interviewers—respondents too, if possible—throughout the questionnaire preparation phase.

Questionnaire testing and pilot surveys

Survey protocol, data collection and questionnaire testing are fundamental components of the data production process. Testing provides a means to check whether the questionnaire is valid in itself (form; question formulation, including translation if relevant; overall structure and transitions between questions and/or question sets), and to validate the data collection protocol (interviewer recruitment and training; interpreter training where relevant; the tasks of contacting respondents and presenting the survey to them; tools used for follow-up in the field, etc.). This is an indispensable stage that must be planned for and adequately budgeted.

During the preliminary stages of questionnaire construction, it is extremely useful for members of the research project team to test the questionnaire by administering it among themselves.

Further along in the questionnaire formalization process, the interviewers must be brought in. There are various testing and validation methods, and several tests may be necessary, depending on the types of modification made (elimination or reformulation of questions, changes to the list of response categories or question order, etc.).

The tests are also an opportunity to develop, clarify or improve interviewer training, another crucial factor in data quality. The pilot survey, a sort of “dress rehearsal,” the last step before the full-scale survey is launched, is generally conducted at a larger scale. It serves to finalize the protocol and resolve any remaining problems.

While pilot and even full-scale surveys may be outsourced, the different testing phases are usually handled internally at INED in order to develop and fine-tune the overall survey protocol. These preliminary phases take time. In fact, they are the most time-consuming component of survey preparation. They may take from one to two years, depending on the project.

Sequence for Questionnaire Development

Sequence for
Questionnaire/Instrument Development

Step 1–Background

In this initial step, the purpose, objectives, research questions, and hypothesis of the proposed research are examined. Determining who is the audience, their background, especially their educational/readability levels, access, and the process used to select the respondents (sample vs. population) are also part of this step. A thorough understanding of the problem through literature search and readings is a must. Good preparation and understanding of Step1 provides the foundation for initiating Step 2.

Step 2–Questionnaire Conceptualization

After developing a thorough understanding of the research, the next step is to generate statements/questions for the questionnaire. In this step, content (from literature/theoretical framework) is transformed into statements/questions. In addition, a link among the objectives of the study and their translation into content is established. For example, the researcher must indicate what the questionnaire is measuring, that is, knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, opinions, recalling facts, behavior change, etc. Major variables (independent, dependent, and moderator variables) are identified and defined in this step.

Step 3–Format and Data Analysis

In Step 3, the focus is on writing statements/questions, selection of appropriate scales of measurement, questionnaire layout, format, question ordering, font size, front and back cover, and proposed data analysis. Scales are devices used to quantify a subject’s response on a particular variable. Understanding the relationship between the level of measurement and the appropriateness of data analysis is important. For example, if ANOVA (analysis of variance) is one mode of data analysis, the independent variable must be measured on a nominal scale with two or more levels (yes, no, not sure), and the dependent variable must be measured on a interval/ratio scale (strongly agree to strongly disagree).

Step 4–Establishing Validity

As a result of Steps 1-3, a draft questionnaire is ready for establishing validity. Validity is the amount of systematic or built-in error in measurement (Norland, 1990). Validity is established using a panel of experts and a field test. Which type of validity (content, construct, criterion, and face) to use depends on the objectives of the study. The following questions are addressed in Step 4:

Is the questionnaire valid? In other words, is the questionnaire measuring what it intended to measure?
Does it represent the content?
Is it appropriate for the sample/population?
Is the questionnaire comprehensive enough to collect all the information needed to address the purpose and goals of the study?
Does the instrument look like a questionnaire?

Addressing these questions coupled with carrying out a readability test enhances questionnaire validity. The Fog Index, Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kinkaid Readability Formula, and Gunning-Fog Index are formulas used to determine readability. Approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) must also be obtained. Following IRB approval, the next step is to conduct a field test using subjects not included in the sample. Make changes, as appropriate, based on both a field test and expert opinion. Now the questionnaire is ready to pilot test.

Step 5–Establishing Reliability

In this final step, reliability of the questionnaire using a pilot test is carried out. Reliability refers to random error in measurement. Reliability indicates the accuracy or precision of the measuring instrument (Norland, 1990). The pilot test seeks to answer the question, does the questionnaire consistently measure whatever it measures?

The use of reliability types (test-retest, split half, alternate form, internal consistency) depends on the nature of data (nominal, ordinal, interval/ratio). For example, to assess reliability of questions measured on an interval/ratio scale, internal consistency is appropriate to use. To assess reliability of knowledge questions, test-retest or split-half is appropriate.

Time Frames for Planning

Organizations set goals across different time frames. McDonalds CEO striving to provide a 14% return to investors for at least ten years is an example of a long-term goal.

Long Range Plans

Focus on the long-term plans that usually take years to attain and sometimes even decades. However, it is up to each organization to decide the time span for their long-range goals. Managers must be very careful when planning long-range goals and take future environmental change into consideration. This is crucial in order to keep managers from planning too far ahead.

Intermediate Plans

These plans usually cover a time span of one to five years and are less tentative and subject to change than long-range plans. They are set for middle and first line managers and they typically parallel tactical plans. Intermediate plans have become the central focus for planning activities of many organizations.

Short-range plans

These plans have a time frame of one year or less. Therefore, they are of great importance in a managers day-today activities. Short-range plans have two components: action plans and reaction plans. Action plans are used to operational any other kind of plan. They coordinate the actual changes in organizations. Reaction plans in the other hand are developed to react to unforeseen circumstances. Any situation in which a manager is forced to react to an unforeseen environmental change would be considered a reaction plan.

Tour Planning Process

Tour planning process is as important to enjoy the tour itself. The tour planning process is essential in recognize and prioritizing on the necessary items and activities. Moreover, the planning process determines the schedule of obtaining the necessity regarding your tour package. Let’s help you with all these processes!

Reason for Touring

Knowing why you are traveling is the most important reason to start on your Tour planning process. Touring reason makes you eliminate a lot of stress on budget and the process itself. Moreover, understanding the reason makes you know what to include without stress.

The reason for taking a tour is as good as touring. The reason could be to experience a destination, enjoy in a foreign country and enjoy love. To make travel friends, hike, and to skydive. Therefore, have a reason for your tour plan.

A reason for travel gives a basic list of things to pack. For example, hikers basically know the necessary stuff to pack for their holiday includes a good hiking boot, raincoat, and hiking bag. Therefore, let the reason for travel be an essential guide to you during packaging period.

Personal interviews:

Personal interview method requires a person known as the interviewer asking questions generally in a face-to-face contact to the other person or persons. (At times the interviewee may also ask certain questions and the interviewer responds to these, but usually the interviewer initiates the interview and collects the information.)

This sort of interview may be in the form of direct personal investigation or it may be indirect oral investigation. In the case of direct personal investigation the interviewer has to collect the information personally from the sources concerned. He has to be on the spot and has to meet people from whom data have to be collected. This method is particularly suitable for intensive investigations. But in certain cases it may not be possible or worthwhile to contact directly the persons concerned or on account of the extensive scope of enquiry, the direct personal investigation technique may not be used.

In such cases an indirect oral examination can be conducted under which the interviewer has to cross-examine other persons who are supposed to have knowledge about the problem under investigation and the information, obtained is recorded. Most of the commissions and committees appointed by government to carry on investigations make use of this method.

The chief merits of the interview method are as follows:

More information and that too in greater depth can be obtained.
Interviewer by his own skill can overcome the resistance, if any, of the respondents; the interview method can be made to yield an almost perfect sample of the general population.
There is greater flexibility under this method as the opportunity to restructure questions is always there, specially in case of unstructured interviews.
Observation method can as well be applied to recording verbal answers to various questions.
Personal information can as well be obtained easily under this method.
Samples can be controlled more effectively as there arises no difficulty of the missing returns; non-response generally remains very low.
The interviewer can usually control which person(s) will answer the questions. This is not possible in mailed questionnaire approach. If so desired, group discussions may also be held.
The interviewer may catch the informant off-guard and thus may secure the most spontaneous reactions than would be the case if mailed questionnaire is used.
The language of the interview can be adopted to the ability or educational level of the person interviewed and as such misinterpretations concerning questions can be avoided.
The interviewer can collect supplementary information about the respondent’s personal characteristics and environment which is often of great value in interpreting results.

weaknesses of the interview method:-

It is a very expensive method, specially when large and widely spread geographical sample is taken.
There remains the possibility of the bias of interviewer as well as that of the respondent; there also remains the headache of supervision and control of interviewers.
Certain types of respondents such as important officials or executives or people in high income groups may not be easily approachable under this method and to that extent the data may prove inadequate.
This method is relatively more-time-consuming, specially when the sample is large and recalls upon the respondents are necessary.
The presence of the interviewer on the spot may over-stimulate the respondent, sometimes even to the extent that he may give imaginary information just to make the interview interesting.
Under the interview method the organisation required for selecting, training and supervising the field-staff is more complex with formidable problems.
Interviewing at times may also introduce systematic errors.
Effective interview presupposes proper rapport with respondents that would facilitate free and frank responses. This is often a very difficult requirement.

Telephone interviews:

This method of collecting information consists in contacting respondents on telephone itself. It is not a very widely used method, but plays important part in industrial surveys, particularly in developed regions. The chief merits of such a system are:

It is more flexible in comparison to mailing method.
It is faster than other methods i.e., a quick way of obtaining information.
It is cheaper than personal interviewing method; here the cost per response is relatively low.
Recall is easy; callbacks are simple and economical.
There is a higher rate of response than what we have in mailing method; the non-response is generally very low.
Replies can be recorded without causing embarrassment to respondents.
Interviewer can explain requirements more easily.
At times, access can be gained to respondents who otherwise cannot be contacted for one reason or the other.
No field staff is required.
Representative and wider distribution of sample is possible.

Demerits

Little time is given to respondents for considered answers; interview period is not likely to exceed five minutes in most cases.
Surveys are restricted to respondents who have telephone facilities.
Extensive geographical coverage may get restricted by cost considerations.
It is not suitable for intensive surveys where comprehensive answers are required to various questions.
Possibility of the bias of the interviewer is relatively more.
Questions have to be short and to the point; probes are difficult to handle.

Tabulation of data

The process of placing classified data into tabular form is known as tabulation. A table is a symmetric arrangement of statistical data in rows and columns. Rows are horizontal arrangements whereas columns are vertical arrangements. It may be simple, double or complex depending upon the type of classification.

Types of Tabulation

(1) Simple Tabulation or One-way Tabulation

When the data are tabulated to one characteristic, it is said to be a simple tabulation or one-way tabulation.

For example: Tabulation of data on the population of the world classified by one characteristic like religion is an example of a simple tabulation.

(2) Double Tabulation or Two-way Tabulation

When the data are tabulated according to two characteristics at a time, it is said to be a double tabulation or two-way tabulation.

For example: Tabulation of data on the population of the world classified by two characteristics like religion and sex is an example of a double tabulation.

(3) Complex Tabulation

When the data are tabulated according to many characteristics, it is said to be a complex tabulation.

For example: Tabulation of data on the population of the world classified by three or more characteristics like religion, sex and literacy, etc. is an example of a complex tabulation.