Research

A well-researched issue will lead to the creation of a successful active citizenship campaign. Through research you will be able to find out more about the issue, test your own assumptions and develop arguments that are backed by data.

Finding out more

Research isn’t just searching for your issue online, reading the first link and calling it a day. Researching an issue is about creating questions which help you come to a greater understanding of the topic, evaluating sources for reliability, accuracy, and bias, and looking for help and other opinions. These activities will help you build your skills in these areas.

Where do I look?

Detect the bias

Getting in touch

Who can help me?

Research doesn’t mean only reading and writing notes. There are many sources of information you can access to find out more about the issue. When reading, listening or discussing the information with others, it is important that you are continually questioning and analysing. Like everything else, well planned research will lead you to your answers quicker.

First seven steps

Step 1

Find an issue you feel the most connection with. The issue should be something that interests you and something that you want to take action on.

Step 2

Write down the change you want to see.

Step 3

Write down how you think the change might be achieved.

Step 4

List all of the things you think you know about the issue, what you don’t know and what you want to find out.

Step 5

Talk about the issue to your family, friends, teachers or a responsible adult in some other organisation outside the school.

Step 6

Use books, internet and the media to find out information about your issue.

Step 7

Observe the world around you. An inspiration for an action or change can come from a range of sources.

Source of Information

When looking for information on your topic, make sure that is a form a reliable source, is current and relevant to your issue. Here is a list of possible sources of information you can use and things you should look out for:

Although information found in books can be out-dated, in particular if you are looking at statistics, books are still the most reliable sources of information. By looking for your search terms on an index page or reviewing the contents page, you can easily find out if the book is relevant to your issue. Librarians can also assist you in searching for a suitable book.

When looking for information on the internet be aware that it is fairly easy to create a website and put content on it. If you are embarking on the exploration of a complex issue, Wikipedia is a good starting point to get your head around things. However, it should not be used as the only source of information.

The media will frequently report on topical political issues. You can use the Google News search function to find news articles on a specific issue. If you type next to your search term ‘radio’ the search will return radio shows which have covered this topic. This can often contain interviews with experts or callers.

In the past decade lots of films have been made on a range of issues, in particular global issues (e.g. environmental, poverty, arm conflicts). Documentaries or short independent films, which you can find on YouTube are good sources of information that can provide you with an overview and background information on an issue.

Research Template

This document can help you in your quest for further information. If you are taking action on an issue with a group of people you should divide areas of research. Once you have completed your research, consolidate and share your results.

Download Research Template DOC | 114 KB

Research Tips

Use variety of sources before you accept something as true
Be aware of bias
Investigate both side of the arguments on your issue
Create a bibliography of all your resources
Comments and forums will give you an understanding of what others thinks about a particular issue. Keep in mind that some people setup false identities in order to cause trouble or to encourage a certain point of view
Government, University and reputable organisation (e.g. Oxfam on gobal issues) websites are reliable source of information.

What information can others provide?

Interviewing, surveying, talking and writing to people who have an interest in your issue can help you clarify your own ideas and understandings. Before you embark on contacting others, be very clear about the information you wish to obtain from them. Make sure your questions are well structured and are relevant.

An expert is someone who knows a lot about a topic. They have spent years researching it, writing about it and advising others.

You can create online surveys, which are easy to distribute and to collate. Surveys are a good way of understanding what those that are affected by an issue think about the problem and how it can be solved. Survey data can be used to support your claim for change.

A person who is responsible for an issue might provide you with insights if anything has been already done about this issue or if any plans are made for the future. Or they simply might have ideas on how you should approach your campaign.

Sometimes talking to people affected by the issue can help in extending your understanding of it. Recorded interviews can provide a personal story behind the issue, to which others respond better than just facts.

Public servants administer and create policies around the laws. If you want to know what is currently in place and what the governments responsibilities are around particular issues, you can contact one of the departments which deal with it.

Contacting an activists or lobbyist on a particular issue can provide you with insight on what has worked for them in the past. They can also explain any information about your issue that you don’t understand. Make sure that you form your own view point which is balanced and based on evidence.

Your turn

Have a look at the following scenarios. Think about whom would be the best person or group of people to contact before deciding on your course of action?

(0 of 0 questions answered)

More for students

Decide

Activate

Vote

Research

Finding out more

First seven steps

Source of Information

Research Template

Research Tips

What information can others provide?

Your turn

How to find my representatives?

Activity Instructions

More for students

Research

Finding out more

Where do I look? Where do you start? What should you do first? These seven steps will help you start researching an issue.

Getting in touch When taking an action on issues you need to be well informed and understand your issue in depth. Apart from reading about the issue, you can also gather information by just simply talking to people. A more challenging task is then finding the right person or people to talk to.

More for students