Research for Reports Questions from the reading

Secondary research Secondary research (also known as desk research) involves the summary, collation and/or synthesis of existing research. This type of research is based on information gleaned from studies previously performed by other researchers. Although secondary research is less expensive than primary research, it's not as accurate, or as useful, as specific and customized research

Secondary research AdvantagesDisadvantages Cheap and accessible - especially a University Library Often the only resource, for example historical documents Only way to examine large-scale trends Lack of consistency of perspective Biases and inaccuracies can not be checked Published statistics often raise more questions than they answer

Primary research (also called field research) involves the collection of data that does not already exist. This can be through numerous forms, including observations, questionnaires and interviews. Primary research delivers more specific results than secondary research but is also a lot more expensive. Primary research

Boolean Research The Internet is a vast computer database. Its contents must be searched according to the rules of computer database searching. Database searching is based on the principles of Boolean logic. Boolean logic refers to the logical relationship among search terms, and is named after the Irish mathematician George Boole.

Boolean Research on cultural preferences of American tourists American touristsCultural preferences Thailand

Which source is better? "Science Links Japan: The Evolution of Eating Preferences.” (This article was written by a university researcher and appeared in an academic journal) "Yahoo Answers: What the Japanese Like to Eat.” (This article was written by journalists employed by the Yahoo search engine). VS.

Criteria for choosing a source Who are the authors? Are they people with proven credentials Does the source give evidence to support its claims? Is it professional? How complete is the information What is it based on? How up to date is the information?

Citation vs. Documentation a citation occurs when you use a specific source in your work and then follow up with the proper bibliographic information; plagiarism issues arise when you use a specific source, but fail to indicate what you have borrowed, and/or fail to provide proper bibliographic information documentation is the general practice of acknowledging sources by clearly indicating what you have borrowed and giving the proper bibliographic information for each source