Driscoll outlines the types of primary research that you will be conducting. What, according to Driscoll, is primary research? Why is it important? What will you learn from conducting it yourself?
Thinking forward, I want you to begin to think about how you’ll employ all of these different methods for your own research. Be specific: what are some observations that make sense? Who makes sense to interview? What types of surveys will you conduct? We will learn more about specifics as we go along, so these are initial impressions. As well, think about how a mixed method approach to research is beneficial to your own understanding about how to conduct research and how this might serve you in future situations.
Be sure to pull on Driscoll’s piece to discuss your primary research.
In response to yours peers: provide feedback on their methods. What do you think? Agree, disagree? Why?
DUE by class time on Tuesday, January 27, 2015.
According to Driscoll, primary research has a different definition for each field utilizing it. However, it tends to be “based on principles of the scientific method,” which implies that you have a theory and you seek to confirm or deny it with some method (he gives three main examples, observation, interview, and survey as methods first-year undergrads typically pursue).Primary research is important for a variety of reasons. One that I think is important is that it acts kind of like a reality check – you may have some idea about what to expect about a particular question, but the only way to really know is to actively ask and observe. With this in mind (and as Driscoll states), it is important to note that primary research is only useful for questions that can be answered by asking questions and observation.
ReplyDeleteBy conducting primary research myself, I have the potential to learn a lot about linguistics. It’s all well and good to read out of a book, but actually getting to speak to someone will be really interesting (especially given that I am studying linguistics, it’s about the talking!). I will (probably) employ the different methods in my own research by conducting at least two of the three processes Driscoll discusses. I have already spoken to my poetry teacher about interviewing her, as she spoke to our class on the first day about linguistics, drawing the chart of the tongue and where the sounds we make actually come from. This let me know that she has an interest in linguistics, and when I asked her about it she said she would be okay with me interviewing her for my paper! I could also do some type of an observational study where I pick out the words that people use on a regular basis, but this would be difficult without being able to record and then transcribe situations. I could also do a quick survey inquiring DU students about linguistics, what they know about it, and possibly clear up some misconceptions if I’m able to pinpoint any.
By using a variety of primary research methods, I’ll gain a more practical understanding of linguistics in our society fairly immediately. In a more long term sense, I’ll be gaining experience with conducting research, which will also help in any future situation where I’m trying to conduct primary research again. It’s a great opportunity!
Hey Jules (if that's how you spell it), I agree that your poetry teacher would be a great person to interview knowing that she has a lot of knowledge about linguistics. Surveying DU students also sounds like a great idea because personally, I barely know anything about linguistics and I feel like it is a subject that is not commonly talked about.
DeleteJulie!
DeleteI think that it is very clever that you are going to use your teacher as one of your main sources, seeing that this is something that she is passionate about. I know Jason already mentioned this, but I was thinking the same thing in terms of interviewing DU students about linguistics since I believe that it is a topic that not many truly understand.
Driscoll states that primary research is broken down into three components: observations, interviews, and surveys. It is not research that you find from books, articles, journals, etc. It is research that you conduct to produce your own information about your research topic. Depending on the research topic, there are many ways of gathering information by conducting different types of surveys and interviews. I think that this type of research is very important because you can actually find out information in real life instead of just relying on articles and printed sources. It helps make your arguments stronger because you can actually back them up with these real life observations.
ReplyDeletePrimary research will help me get a better understanding of how people’s health is affected depending on how much time they spend using the computer. I’m honestly not quite sure of what groups of people I should observe and interview. I think it makes sense to eliminate the variable of genetics when interviewing people because it might be harder to obtain accurate data. I can ask people about how long they use the computer each day, if bad vision runs in their family, if they did need to get glasses, at what age did they do so. I can conduct surveys for different age groups, for example, college students, and professors. After completing this primary research process, I will gain more knowledge and experience in the researching process in general, and it will definitely give me better ideas of how to go about future research projects.
Hey Jason-
DeleteI agree with everything you said! I specifically like how you tie in your own research, showing how your paper can benefit from the primary research you plan on conducting. I think your paper will definitely improve from this inclusion!
According to Driscoll, primary research varies from field to field. Driscoll says engineers focus on applying their scientific knowledge to things, historians focus applying archival objects to research, and so on. With that being said, there is no specific definition, according to him, for what "primary research" except for the fact that it is something that is "based off of scientific method." Because of the complexity of primary research, it is important because not only does it lay down the foundation for what you will investigate, but it also allows you to "learn about something new that can be confirmed by others and to eliminate any biases in the process." By conducting my own primary research, I believe that I will learn that certain topics are as black and white as they seem, showing me that there is a deeper meaning to the actual topic.
ReplyDeletePerforming my own primary research, I will be able to fully construct my research question as well as my thesis statement. These methods that Driscoll speaks of will be shown throughout my project as I will incorporate personal interviews (which I just finished) into the paper as well as my own personal aspect. I will also use a "road map" that was given to me in high school for my senior thesis. This road maps lays out everything that I will talk about and also allows me to put paragraphs in the right location etc. Between research online and research through books, I know that I will have a fully constructed paper that discusses the outcome of a person current relationship, based off of the ones that they have had previously with others.
Using these online databases and books, as well as online research, I will see how many people are different and how many people are similar when it comes to talking about this topic specifically.
Primary research is research that you conduct, something you are physically present for and possibly influencing, so observations and interviews mainly. Primary research is important because it gives you a first hand view of the subject that you are interested in. It helps you understand it from multiple perspectives and get a one on one view of what it looks like to and through other people. I feel like doing it can open your eyes to ways in which others may perceive your topic or the multitude of reactions and/or opinions around it. My topic is about the way in which women in the media change how we feel about the everyday woman. I feel like observations might be hard in this particular situation, but interviews or surveys make a lot of sense to get an idea of how others perceive women in our day and age. I could interview/survey people of different ages and genders about their views on popular women in the media and also ask them questions relating to specific issues around women, for instance the way they dress, act, etc. I could also interview women who have lived through different popular female icons and get their perspectives on the links between the way they were portrayed and the way women were treated at the time.
ReplyDeleteHey Emma,
DeleteI think that the methods that you've specified are very fitting for your topic. Since you're evaluating something as abstract as a portrayal of women and how it affects our perception, getting to know exactly what a group thinks of women will give you better data to work with. I also think you have a very good definition of what primary research is! I look forward to seeing what kind of research you will conduct.
I feel like studies on people are the most difficult to get primary research on because you are basically surveying people only to find an opinion (or at least that's how I feel about my topic!). I think interviewing women's perspectives on different icons is an awesome idea because they experienced them through the media.
DeletePrimary research is the process of collecting research firsthand, instead of relying on journal articles of other information published by a source other than yourself, you are in charge of conducting your own research using such methods as interviews and surveys. Primary research is important because it allows one to collect research that can be extremely specific to the research question the researcher is trying to answer. For instance, my research has to do with avalanche prevention in Colorado, and there may be many journals talking about avalanche prevention around the world, but my research has specific parameters that require specialized information. By conducting my own interviews with avalanche experts in Colorado, I am able to learn about more than reported statistics in an academic journal; I am able to collect information on personal experience and attitudes towards my specific field of study. Primary research is an invaluable resource for enhancing the quality of a research based essay.
ReplyDeleteHey Helen!
DeleteI really like your definition of primary research. Its simple, and easy to understand. I think collecting information on people's attitudes towards avalanches is a really good way to get primary research. Good Job!
According to Driscoll, primary research is different in every field. Primary research is research and data that you find yourself through observing, interviewing, and surveys. This is different from secondary research, which has already been found and written down. Primary research is important because you are finding out information that is relevant to your topic. By conducting primary research in the form of surveys, questionnaires, interviews, and observations, I will learn more about how sleep and dreams are different for every person.
ReplyDeleteI plan on gathering research by interviewing sleep specialists and some psychology professors here at the University of Denver about their thoughts on dreams and other side effects of sleep. I will also survey people in different age groups, asking questions about sleeping schedule, average hours of sleep, and dreams. I also plan on asking if they have any sleep disorders. When I am doing this, I will need to be careful to stay inside the ethics of primary research. I will have to have my subjects volunteer, and promise confidentiality. I will have to be careful not to let my own bias cloud my research.
Hi Jenna! I really like your thoughts on planning this research. I really like how instead of "just" surveying and interviewing people, you also like to include professional opinions into your research. By doing so, I think this will give you more credibility to your work. As for your plans to stay inside the ethics, I definitely support you. While many people see dreams as just dreams, for some, they can be extreme nightmares or triggers to recollections to painful memories and etc. It is always good to stay impartial when dealing with potentially sensitive topics with people, especially whom you don't know very well.
DeleteDefined right at the beginning of the article, primary research is “research that is collected firsthand rather than found in a book, database, or journal”. It is not something you go to the library and read about, it is information you are able to discover yourself through experimentation. This is used to make research papers more reliable because there is a form of proof that the authors went out and found for themselves. Driscoll also mentions that it will eliminate any biases, which is very important for a research essay. If the assignment was an opinionated piece, the author’s bias would be accepted and an important part of the writing because it is about choosing a perspective. Analyzing any primary research will be helpful in my paper because it will give me a sense that the paper is my own. Sometimes, using secondary research seems like just collecting other peoples’ facts to answer some question, but with your own surveying you can compare the primary with the secondary. For my paper, I will be able to survey people to ask if music has the ability to change their mood, either for better or for worse, because I don’t have the ability to track their brain performance. However, others have, so I have the opportunity to compare what people say to scientific research that has been previously done. One other thing I am considering is keeping a focus on negative effects, because most of the research I have done on the effect of music on mental health has shown positive effects and I want to make sure my research is thourough and includes everything it needs to.
ReplyDeleteI like that you defined primary research as Driscoll defined it at the start of your blog response-- it set you up for a more educated stance. I like how the ways you described using primary research, as well as secondary research within your topic. Seems so interesting!! :)
DeleteWhile the specifics depend on the field, Driscoll regards primary research as research conducted by the person seeking the information. For instance if I wanted to do primary research in a field, instead of reading books and citing sources I would perform experiments and be the one to write the books that others would reference for research. Primary research is necessary because it often provides the most correct, precise info for one's research question since it's based off of scientific principles and the format can be tailored to fit the researcher's exact question. It's also important since it provides a step stool for other members of the field to do research. Conducting my own research will give me a better sense of how the topic I'm researching works in the real world. It also helps me practice my skill of being a better researcher which is an extremely transferable skill.
ReplyDeleteThere are a few primary research techniques that I anticipate being able to implement in my research so far. I can perform observations, surveys, and interviews to some extent to gain some insight into my topic. Driscoll mentions being able to use both inductive and deductive techniques to perform research and I'm not sure which one of these two routes I may take. I can observe how people use certain apps, look at what parts of the screen they touch frequently, where it seems like their hand is most comfortable with resting while reading something on the app and use this information for research. I can also perform surveys about which apps people enjoy using, and maybe what apps they spend the most amount of time on. Thirdly, I can interview somebody maybe who is in the realm of app development about what they think about when designing an app to get some primary information from a reliable source. I think that these would be easier if they were inductive, moving from specific to general now that I think of it. I do have a few theories though that I could use from the secondary research I've conducted in order to perform deductive research. I suppose it will need further thinking on and secondary research.
Primary research is collecting data and information in a specific field. It consists of observations, surveys, and interviews that you conduct and run. It is extremely lucrative for personalized research, as it can be as specific as you want it to be, and make it. As my research has to do with marine life and the sustainability of these ecosystems, I will be able to conduct primary research. I hope to interview several different people for this process, as well as conduct a few surveys in order to gauge how many people know, and to what extent they are aware, of marine life sustainability and ways they can help. Driscoll's view on primary research, as such conducted by the person that is obtaining additional information on specific subjects, is that it must be ethically gathered and conducted. I really liked her view on primary research, and look forward to performing my own.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Driscoll the most general definition of primary research “is research that is collected firsthand.” (154) More specifically Driscoll says that while “primary research varies widely from field to field,” it is generally based on the concepts described in the scientific method. (153) Thus, in accordance with the scientific method primary research can be defined as research that is based off of occurrence that are observed by the researcher, rather than reading it out of the book or seeing it on a screen. Driscoll then goes on to say that most primary research falls into three categories; observations, interviews, and surveys. (154) In each of these forms of research, the researcher uses his own observations to formulate or justify certain conclusions rather than being based off of the observations of others. Thus, for this reason primary research is extremely valuable because it allows the research to find new knowledge, in a sense. What I mean by that is that while secondary sources provide knowledge that is already known, and published, primary sources allow the research to explore aspects that weren’t previously known, such as Newton’s experiments on gravity.
ReplyDeleteMy research can benefit significantly from primary research because what is media without an observer? When researching film perception is everything, thus it is incredibly valuable that I can get first hand accounts of how people perceive Tarantino’s use of violence in his films. While there are certainly numerous secondary sources on critical examinations of Tarantino’s work, I think it is equally important to find out what his general audience, the average film goer, thinks about his movies. I can do this by taking advantage of surveys, which should be able to capture the general perspective that people perceive when they view Tarantino’s films. Thus, I’m given two perspectives from which to draw from, the critical perspective, located in the secondary sources, and the public perspective, which I can gain through my primary sources. It will be interesting to see how my primary sources relate to the secondary sources. By being able to mix different types of research I think that I’ll be able to create a fuller and more encompassing perspective on what purpose violence serves in Tarantino’s films.
Hey Aizhak,
ReplyDeleteI do like that you mentioned the ethics regarding primary research which many of us, including myself, neglected to mention. However, you note that ethically collected research is found through observation, surveys, and interviews, but I don't think that these things are mutually exclusive. For one could certainly do ethical primary research outside of these bounds and at the same time one could also do an unethical survey or interview by violating someones right to confidentiality or their privacy, such as mentioned by Driscoll. But aside from that spot on!