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BSBRES401 Analyse and Present Research Information: Gather and Organise Information

Case Study

Northern Sydney Institute

Case Study

BSBRES401 Gather And Organise Information Case Study V1

Page 2 of 20 Revision date: 24/09/2016

Table of Contents

Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................. 2

Overview .............................................................................................................................................. 3

Scenario: Pelican Waters Council - Gather and Organise Information ................................................ 4

New project initiative at Pelican Waters Council ................................................................................ 5

Step 1: Gather and organise information which can be analysed, interpreted and distributed according to Pelican Waters Council requirements ............................................................................ 6

Step 2: Access accurate and relevant information which meets the needs of Pelican Waters Council .............................................................................................................................................................. 9

Step 3: Ensure that methods of collecting information are reliable, make efficient use of resources and adhere to the requirements of Pelican Waters Council ............................................................. 12

Step 4: Use business technology to access and organise information and combine online research with non-electronic information ........................................................................................................ 14

Step 5: Update, modify, maintain, secure and store information in line with Pelican Waters Council’s policies and procedures ...................................................................................................... 16

Review ................................................................................................................................................ 20

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Overview

Research consists of gathering, organising and analysing information to improve decision making in an organisation. It is a process that can be as simple as asking customers whether they are satisfied with the service they have received or as complex as determining the effectiveness of a drug on a medical condition.

We all do research in everyday life, for example, deciding which school to send our kids to, what bank to use, whether to holiday in Australia or overseas.

In research it is important to:

define the research purpose and scope (set limits on how much information will be collected)

determine what information is required

allocate someone to source the information - sources can be internal (within the organisation) or external (outside of the organisation)

collect the information – the type of information gathered can be primary, secondary, qualitative, quantitative or a combination of these and it should be relevant and accurate

Identify if there are gaps in the information and if it fully meets the organisation’s needs. If there is insufficient information, collect further information to address such gaps.

organise and collate the information

use reliable methods to analyse the information, make assumptions and draw conclusions from which informed business decisions can be made

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Scenario: Pelican Waters Council - Gather and Organise Information

Sunita Nair, Manager of the Community and Library Services Department, and the library staff work hard to make sure that the library is welcoming and the hub of the community. It is a meeting point for Pelican Waters residents, school children and visitors. The library is located on Boardwalk Parade, Pelican Waters, next to the tourist information centre and across the road from the Chamber of Commerce and enjoys a reputation for award winning community service.

The council is operating in a changing environment where it needs to review its processes and services. Sunita plans to continually improve the library services through innovative practice. She is interested in investigating the feasibility of implementing free wireless internet access (Wi-Fi___33) at the library. Many of the large Sydney libraries have successfully implemented free Wi-Fi___33 with very favourable results including a huge increase in customers and greater equity for people who do not have broadband coverage in their area.

Sunita Nair would like to implement free Wi-Fi___33 at the council library for the following reasons:

To provide access to quality internet information for all Pelican Waters residents and visitors. This will increase the number of people using the library and promote the free flow of information and ideas.

Increase flexibility for customers - the library currently has a limited number of computers available for Internet use, because of budget constraints. Wireless technology will enable customers to bring in their own notebooks and still reap the benefits of free Internet access via the library network including:

o Access to government websites e.g. complete online job applications, view online forms, bank details etc.

o Providing internet access to school children when local schools have closed.

Promotes equity – the last Australian Bureau of Statistics census highlighted that much of the Pelican Waters region does not have access to broadband. Fortunately the library is located on Boardwalk Parade which is one of the few areas in Pelican Waters with broadband coverage.

Visitors often complain to the tourist information centre that many of the hotels and Bed &Breakfasts don’t have wireless internet access as they are not located in areas covered by broadband. Many visitors still need access to the internet either for business or personal reasons. The tourist information centre is located next to the library and Sunita is regularly updated on business and tourist requests for internet access. She believes that free Wi-Fi___33 at the library could help alleviate this problem.

Sunita has seen for herself the advantage to major Sydney libraries in implementing free Wi-Fi___33 and realises that a remote library such as Pelican Waters would be able to provide the same service as major Sydney libraries.

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New project initiative at Pelican Waters Council

A new innovative practices project initiative is underway at Pelican Waters Council. One goal of the innovative practices project committee is to ‘to establish and implement innovations in Council policies, practices and small projects involving changes on how the Council carries out its work’. The committee members are Jenny Hunter, Administrative Officer, Clare Shepherd, Customer Service Manager, Brian Turner, Manager Planning and Development Services and Sarah Ortega, General Manager, Pelican Waters Council, who is an occasional committee member.

This committee plans to have the first meeting to consider project proposals in two months’ time. Suzie de Lillo, from Out Front Management Consultants, is an external consultant who will provide assistance to council employees in their research and in preparing their research project proposals to present to the innovative committee. Suzie has been selected because of her impartiality and the very successful community survey she undertook in response to lobby groups within the Council area. Sunita Nair is very interested in the innovative practices projects initiative and believes this is an ideal opportunity to put forward the innovative proposal to offer free Wi-Fi___33 to library customers in Pelican Waters.

Research Project Officer

Sunita has selected Toody Jones to research the requirements for implementing Wi-Fi___33 at the library. Toody has worked as a research project officer for five years at Pelican Waters Council. He has high level skills in identifying, accessing and assessing information, organising and analysing this information and professionally presenting it so that effective decisions can be made.

Toody uses business technology available in the Council to simplify the research process. This technology includes computers, videoconferences, databases, wikis, microfilm and other technological aids. John also uses problem solving skills to resolve gaps, inconsistencies, and ambiguity in information and to separate useful information from information which doesn’t directly contribute to the research. When undertaking research, Toody ensures that the information gathered is correctly sourced and that all sources are acknowledged. He regularly accesses Pelican Water Council’s policies and procedures and relevant government legislation to make sure his research adheres to the council’s requirements.

Where should Toody start?

Sound familiar? The prospect of sourcing information can be daunting and Toody knows this feeling. Toody starts by assessing the scope of the work involved in responding to Sunita’s research request. He is not familiar with wireless technology and therefore will need extra time to bring himself up to date on this. Fortunately, Elaine Long, Finance and Information Manager for the Council can provide much of the information Toody needs to assist with understanding Wi-Fi___33. Access the organisation chart for Pelican Waters.

Toody decides to concentrate on gathering and organising information in the initial phase of his research and to focus on the following:

Sourcing the information both from within Pelican Waters Council and external to the council

https://nsfsakai.nthsydney.tafensw.edu.au/access/content/group/a8a59010-a4c0-41ee-95d1-dbe7ef0fa243/BSB01/DevelopWorkPriorities/bus/case_studies/pelican_waters_cs/people.htm

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Using a variety of information gathering methods – Toody plans to collect different types of information including primary, secondary, qualitative and quantitative information

Ensuring the information collected is accurate, relevant, reliable, valid, sufficient and adheres to Pelican Waters Council’s policies and procedures

Adapting appropriate technology to simplify the research process thus making it more efficient and effective

Updating, maintaining and storing the information in a secure location approved by Sunita Nair.

Adhering to Pelican Waters Council’s policies in relation to copyright and legislation covering privacy and confidentiality of information.

Toody knows that he has two months to undertake the required research and to present his findings to the innovative practices project committee.

Step 1: Gather and organise information which can be analysed, interpreted and distributed according to Pelican Waters Council requirements

Toody, the research officer, should make sure that the information he collects will be easily understood, suitable for analysis and presented in a way that assists effective decision making and meets the requirements of the council’s innovative practices project committee.

Toody will gather, organise, analyse and distribute information according to the Council’s organisational requirements and he realises the importance of sorting the relevant and critical information from information which does not add value to his research. The council is a government organisation and the research process needs to strictly adhere is to policies and procedures, comply with legislation and be impartial and unbiased.

Toody is also aware that he should adhere to the council’s internal library policies. These policies assist the library staff in the day to day running of Pelican Waters Council library and include:

Strategic direction – the overarching policy for the library

Library customer service charter – outlines the benchmark in customer service standards

Library standards and guidelines – guidelines for best library practice including goals and objectives.

This research will involve liaising with Eileen Long from the Finance and Information Management Department to find out about information technology polices such as:

Information Security Policy

Internet Use Policy

Internet Filtering Policy.

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Internal sources of information

Toody will use internal sources where possible which directly relate to the research purpose. Toody intends to collect internal information from:

Pelican Waters Council intranet

Staff training records

Council databases identifying library customer details and complaints

Staff interviews (including library staff and Information Technology staff) and informal staff discussions – often colleagues provide interesting qualitative information in an informal setting such as the tea room or in a social setting

Surveys

Observation of library practices – Toody will observe how the library currently functions and the issues that arise.

External sources of information

External information is information which is unavailable within the council. Toody will access external sources of information which include:

Liaising with Suzie De Lillo, external consultant, who is assisting the innovative practices project committee and staff working on research proposals which will be presented to this committee

Reviewing library Journals and/or internal newsletters

Researching the internet including government websites such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics (for demographic research and statistics on internet use in Pelican Waters) and reputable library websites sites. Toody will ask Eileen Long, Finance and Information Manager, to recommend reputable information technology websites for information on Wi-Fi___33 and to provide technical assistance when required

Facilitating focus groups to find out opinions on what local business, residents and visitors think about Wi-Fi___33 and to highlight issues they may have. Tourist operators are very pleased about this as many visitors have complained about connectivity problems in rural areas and this focus group will give them an opportunity to put forward their ideas

Participating in video conferences with Sydney libraries who have already implemented wireless internet access to find out the advantages and disadvantages of providing free Wi-Fi___33

Preparing and distributing surveys to a representative sample group in Pelican Waters to find out the type of information Pelican Waters residents access on the internet (e.g. bill payments, online job applications, completion of online bank forms etc.).

Primary and secondary sources

Primary sources

Toody intends to undertake both primary and secondary research. Primary research is new research that he will directly undertake to collect information not already available, for example,

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how the Pelican Waters community feels about the implementation of free Wi-Fi___33 in the library. This primary research will include:

Observing or videotaping staff working in Sydney libraries that already have Wi-Fi___33 access (permission will be required for this)

Participating in focus groups with key stakeholders such as management and library staff

Reviewing internal information technology documentation to determine if information systems will be impacted by the implementation of Wi-Fi___33

Developing and distributing questionnaires to residents who use the library and to visitors who need to access the internet while staying in Pelican Waters

Interviewing Pelican Waters Council library staff to find out their current computer literacy levels and identify skill gaps – Access the following council documentation a) OHS form 4, Record of training form and b) Training and development plan’ on the Pelican Waters site to find out how training is logged in the council.

Secondary sources

Secondary research means drawing on information already available. John will access secondary research as follows:

Examine existing library research papers into wireless internet access – this will save time, money and avoid duplication of work

Query computer databases containing factual data such as addresses and personal information

Read library journals to understand the implications of Wi-Fi___33 for the library

Research accurate websites such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics (www.abs.gov.au). The ABS runs the biggest information collecting activity in Australia every five years, the national census, which provides valuable information about Australia and its people. John will access the ABS website to determine how many Pelican Waters Council residents have access to the internet and demographic information such as the population size and average age of residents.

Toody is aware of the importance of acknowledging work that is not his original work and references all of the sources used during the research process.

Quantitative and qualitative research

Toody plans to use both quantitative and qualitative research as this will provide a broader research focus.

Qualitative research

Toody will collect qualitative research which includes:

Conducting open-ended interviews and focus groups with Pelican Water staff and customers to find out their opinions on the implementation of free Wi-Fi___33. Toody will use his communication skills to undertake interviews and obtain relevant and accurate information for analysis.

http://www.abs.gov.au/

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Participating in video conferences with Sydney library staff who have already implemented Wi-Fi___33 to assess the implication of this method of internet access.

This qualitative research involves less people than quantitative research (a smaller sample) and will have a narrower focus. It aims to obtain people opinions, attitudes and feelings about relevant issues.

Quantitative research

Toody is interested in collecting statistics and targeting a wider sample of Pelican Waters residents and visitors. He will collect quantitative research which includes:

Liaising with Telecommunication Companies to find out the number of residents who have access to the internet and what type of access (dial-up or broadband)

Distributing questionnaires to a representative sample of Pelican Water residents and visitors to find out if they have used wireless internet access, how often they access the internet and their age (this may impact the type of internet information accessed).

Toody’s quantitative research will involve a larger group of people than his qualitative research and will have a broader focus. Toody has extensive research experience and knows that he will achieve higher quality research by combining qualitative and quantitative research information. This covers both the ‘what’ and ‘why’ aspects of research.

Step 2: Access accurate and relevant information which meets the needs of Pelican Waters Council

Research can be a complex and demanding activity depending on the research purpose and the information required. It is easy to get distracted and spend time collecting irrelevant information. Sources must be identified and the information collected needs to be of high quality, current and meet the organisation’s needs. Toody must adhere to Pelican Waters organisational requirements such as:

Legal and organisational policies specific to the council including OHS policy

Anti-discrimination and related policy

Code of Conduct/Code of Ethics and Ethical standards

Defined resource parameters

Information protocols

Quality assurance, continuous improvement policies and/or procedures manuals

Security and confidentiality requirements and procedures for updating and storing records

Ethics approval and signing of consent forms from research participants.

Ethical approval

Pelican Waters council has formed a research ethical committee to make sure that all of its research projects are carried out ethically. It is important that all research proposals have been

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approved by the ethics committee before the research commences. The committee is overseen by Sarah Ortega, General Manager of Pelican Waters Council.

Toody always undertakes his research ethically and with integrity. His research will be independent with no conflict of interests. Toody will liaise with his manager Sunita Nair to help him prepare the research proposal. He will submit the research proposal to the ethics committee and in this proposal, he will:

Disclose the full research project details involved with implementing free Wi-Fi___33 in the library

Ensure that the Wi-Fi___33 proposal adheres to the council’s mission of providing services and facilities which meet the community needs

Outline his research strategies and include samples of questionnaires, interview plans and focus group questions

Gain written consent from all participants using the official council research consent form. The consent form includes giving consent for information supplied by the participants to be used in the research and consent for images and video recording of participants where necessary to support the research. If a participant does not agree to sign the consent form, then that participant’s information and/or image cannot be used.

Ask permission and gain consent from the primary caretakers for participants under 18 years of age. Toody has already successfully completed all the working with children screening checks as this was required in his previous research project

Forward all consent forms to the ethics committee to be reviewed and securely stored

Ensure that all questionnaires are completed anonymously and confidentially

Undertake qualitative research to find out the community’s opinions on using Wi-Fi___33 through holding interviews, focus groups and/or video conferences. Toody will clearly explain to the participants in qualitative research how their contributions will be used to support his research and will make the research findings available to all participants

Gain sign-off of the research findings from Sunita before submitting it to the innovative practices project committee. Sunita will also carefully evaluate the research findings before publication and dissemination

Explain that at this stage funding for the project is internal and there is no incentive payments which may impact the research

Make sure that he complies with all legislative requirements covering privacy, health, safety, intellectual property and copyright.

Supply referees reports to accompany the research proposal from Sunita Nair and Elaine Long.

The council’s ethics committee will carefully assess the research proposal and make sure that it adheres to the council’s code of ethics. Sarah Ortega will make the final decision on whether the research proposal to evaluate the viability of free Wi-Fi___33 in the library will be approved.

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Evaluation of information

Toody should critically evaluate the information he collects. He understands that not all information is good information and that it is important to access information which is up-to-date, factual, impartial and adds value to the research.

To enable Toody to select the most appropriate sources of research information he needs to consider the following critical information requirements:

Accuracy

Good management decisions depend on information which is based on accurate and properly classified data. Toody will access reputable Sydney council library websites to help him understand the impact of wireless internet access (Wi-Fi___33) in a library environment. He also intends to reference the council’s internal documentation which must meet quality control requirements and is well written and accurate.

Reliability

Ask yourself, if the research were to be conducted again, would it generate the same results? If so, the research information is said to be reliable. Toody will make sure that much of the information used is cross-checked with more than one source (i.e. using reputable websites with contact names). Toody will compare information from different Sydney libraries in order to correlate and substantiate his research information on Wi-Fi___33 – this includes accessing different websites, a range of library journals and talking to a number of Sydney librarians who can give first-hand accounts about what is involved in implementing Wi-Fi___33 . These librarians are very experienced in understanding research and know the importance of providing reliable information.

Currency

Toody will check if his sources are current as he knows that the use of out of date information can result in errors in research findings. As he wants to find out dynamic demographic statistics, Toody will reference the Australian Bureau of Statistics website instead of accessing old council records or books.

Relevance

The challenge for someone collecting information is to collect only relevant material. Relevant information adds value to the research undertaken. Sourcing relevant information happens when researchers know the purpose of their work and have experience in undertaking research activities including preparing surveys, conducting interviews and sorting useful data from insignificant data.

Toody will ensure he has specific information on providing wireless access in the library – this includes checking other libraries Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and journals, information technology sites on Wi-Fi___33, liaising with Elaine Long and addressing the benefits and challenges of implementing Wi-Fi___33 in Pelican Waters Council library.

Ownership of information

Toody should be aware of copyright issues, particularly in relation to quoting information downloaded from websites and information provided by staff from other libraries.

Validity

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Did the research measure what it set out to measure? Toody needs to be very careful in selecting the representative sample to distribute the questionnaires to. He should ensure that this sample reflects the wide range of groups living and visiting Pelican Waters. He needs to control that his sample is proportionally representative of the districts population (permanent and visiting) on factors such as age, education level, internet access and other relevant criteria. If his sample doesn’t reflect the district statistics on these issues he will likely end up with a biased or skewed sample and the research results will represent only the needs of this particular sample group and not the whole community. By having a representative sample group Toody can have confidence his research is valid.

Sufficiency

Toody intends to make sure his research is complete and will collect valuable information from many different sources which will ensure he has substantial evidence on which to base his research recommendations. He will also ask Suzie De Lillo, an external consultant, to check his information and make sure the information is sufficient. If there are gaps in his information, Toody will collect further information to address these gaps.

The end result of meeting all these factors is that Toody can have confidence in generalizing the research results beyond the sample group to the whole Pelican Waters population.

Step 3: Ensure that methods of collecting information are reliable, make efficient use of resources and adhere to the requirements of Pelican Waters Council

Once Toody has identified the probable sources of accurate and reliable information, he will consider how to efficiently collect this information using the council’s resources and adhering to its policies and procedures. Toody is considering the following information gathering methods to assist him in this research:

Setting up a wiki for internal communication with other stakeholders in this project such as:

o Sunita Nair, Community and Library Services Manager

o Elaine Long, Finance and Information Technology Manager

o Internal council staff

Researching online e.g. accessing secondary sources of useful information such as Australian Bureau of Statistics reports

Checking research provided by others - Toody will contact a number of Sydney council libraries and request access to their research on implementing Wi-Fi___33

Reviewing documentation – Toody will check if there are existing reports and/ or publications that will assist in this research – this could be information from within Pelican Waters Council (e.g. provided by internal staff, the intranet or internal files) or from external sources such as the research report findings from libraries that have implemented Wi-Fi___33

Using effective communication skills:

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o Effective questioning techniques and active listening

o Ability to build rapport and empathy with research participants

Observing Pelican Waters Council library staff interacting with existing customers. This may highlight problems with existing practices, such as too many people using the libraries existing computer technology.

Interviewing and participating in focus groups with colleagues/customers/stakeholders – methods used could be face to face interviews, web conferencing, teleconferencing and/or videoconferencing

Access Pelican Waters Intranet and discuss the training needs of library staff with in-house trainers.

Designing and distributing surveys which target a representative sample. Surveys could include customer satisfaction surveys, internal staff surveys and/or business surveys

Toody will use more than one research method to ensure his research results are valid and reliable, for example, he may compare the results from a survey with a focus group. The survey will give him quick impressions about people’s views but the focus group will provide more depth and analysis.

To track the required research, Toody will categorise the information gathering methods into sources and identify whether they are internal, external, primary, secondary, qualitative or quantitative as displayed in the table, which follows.

Key: I – Internal | E – External | P – Primary |S – Secondary | Ql – Qualitative | Qn – Quantitative.

Information Gathering Methods I E P S Ql Qn

Referencing Pelican Waters Council policies and procedures to ensure that the information gathering methods adhere to the council’s requirements

Interviewing Pelican Waters library staff to find out their training needs for the implementation of wireless access at Pelican Water library

Developing and distributing Questionnaires to find out the number of residents using wireless internet access

Interviewing or participating in focus groups with Pelican Water residents, local businesses and/or tourists to find out their opinions on using Wi-Fi___33

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Step 4: Use business technology to access and organise information and combine online research with non-electronic information

Business technology is used in organisations to manage information and can include computer hardware, printers, faxes, scanners, databases, wikis, blogs, emails, spreadsheets and/or word processing. Toody believes that using business technology facilitates the research process and makes it easier to access, organise and monitor research information. Toody will use a range of technology to assist him including:

Customer databases to extract customer information

Photocopier to copy questionnaires and other relevant documents

Software to organise the information collected and to produce relevant information gathering tools such as questionnaires, observation checklists and/or interview questions.

Wikis to enable collaboration on research ideas and to share files

Online forums, blogs and/or newsgroups to get additional ideas on Wi-Fi___33

Meeting with Elaine Long, Finance and Information Technology manager to discuss implementing wireless library internet access e.g. security, information technology requirements, cost etc.

Accessing the Australian Bureau of Statistics website to find out the number of people living in Pelican Waters, their ages and how often they access the internet

Evaluating feedback from Sydney libraries which have implemented Wi-Fi___33 including:

Survey statistics analysing the use of Wi-Fi___33 at these libraries e.g. how often it is accessed, speed etc. (secondary, quantitative)

Interviews/videoconferences with Sydney staff to find their opinions on the implementation of Wi-Fi___33 (primary, qualitative)

Library journals discussing the Wi-Fi___33 project

Access the internet to find out how Wi-Fi___33 operates

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Library catalogues and subscription databases

Emailing external customers who may be restricted from accessing Pelican Waters Intranet or wiki

Internet to access websites which will support John’s research. Toody will use search engines such as:

o www.google.com.au

o http://au.yahoo.com/

o http://www.bing.com/

Fax machine to fax urgent information which is unavailable in softcopy

Video conferencing to discuss the implementation of Wi-Fi___33 with Sydney librarians.

Scanners to scan critical legal information which have relevant signatures and password protect these scanned documents

CD-ROMs to access specialist information such as encyclopaedias or vendor information.

Toody will combine online research from Pelican Water Council’s intranet, databases and the internet with non-electronic sources such as the findings from focus groups, questionnaires completed by library customers, local businesses and/or tourists, information technology documentation and relevant professional library journals.

Toody realises that the internet has become very valuable as a research tool. However the internet can also be overwhelming in the volume of information it holds. The challenge for Toody is using his skills to sort through the huge number of websites and to distinguish relevant, current and authentic websites from irrelevant websites. Toody should adopt a logical approach to his online research and access current and reputable websites, for example, government websites. Toody always acknowledges the websites he references in his research and he keeps a record of the website accessed through using Favourites and delicious which is a social bookmarking website (http://delicious.com/)

Toody plans to organise the information collected into categories using software applications such as word processing, spreadsheets and databases. Spreadsheets automate the process of calculating numbers, word processing is used for organising and formatting the information into research reports and databases are an invaluable tool for sorting, retrieving and managing information.

Statistical analysis packages

Statistics is a science which involves the collection of data, analysis, interpretation and presentation. Probably the most well-known statistical collection is the national census undertaken by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Toody plans to use a statistical computerised package to identify trends in statistical information, manage complex numerical data, chart the data and make predictions. Toody already uses Microsoft Excel. He is therefore thinking of using ‘Analyse-it’ which is add-in statistical software to be used with Excel. Toody hopes to use this package to:

Graphically depict and test sampling information obtained from Pelican Waters residents and visitors

http://www.google.com.au/

http://au.yahoo.com/

http://www.bing.com/

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Identify patterns and trends, for example, changes in the number of people accessing the internet in Pelican Waters. This information may be able to help Toody predict what will happen with internet use over the next few years.

Extensively use charts such as a scatter plot and frequency histograms to depict summary statistics, explore the data and look at alternate views of sample distributions throughout the region

Establish data relationships from which forecasts can be made

Produce formatted reports containing charts and statistics

Save and update this analyses in a workbook and publish it on the council’s intranet

Step 5: Update, modify, maintain, secure and store information in line with Pelican Waters Council’s policies and procedures

During the research process to evaluate free Wi-Fi___33, Toody will:

Define his research purpose and determine the information required

Schedule when information will be collected

Arrange efficient and cost-effective ways for collecting relevant, accurate and valid information

Store research information so that it is convenient, easy to access and retrieve. Where possible, Toody will store information electronically

Organise and categorise the information so that it is useful, meaningful and relevant to his research.

Toody will prepare a portfolio of information collected during this research. This portfolio will consist of research notes, information downloaded from websites, completed surveys and interview findings, copies of journal articles, information technology documentation on Wi-Fi___33, customer feedback, staff comments, and video conference recordings. This information needs to be maintained and must be current.

Toody is aware that he will need to regularly update his information to reflect important changes, thus ensuring the timeliness, accuracy and relevance of his research information for decision making. To assist in managing research information, Toody plans to set up a tracking sheet to monitor the status of the research. It is important that he can easily categorise his information, access it and modify it when appropriate.

Modifying information includes:

Changing existing information

Adding new information

Removing redundant or non-current information

Deleting inaccurate, irrelevant or invalid information

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Changing sampling techniques if there are errors in the original samples

Adding new categories of information or

Removing categories of outdated information.

Maintaining research information

Maintaining information means keeping the information current and ensuring changes that impact Pelican Waters are reflected and updated in this research. Toody will ensure that the council’s records are maintained through:

Regularly removing names of inactive customers from internal customer databases, thus ensuring surveys/documents are going to the correct address and the appropriate people

Correcting information errors

Version control – ensuring that the most current records are used and that different versions of data are logged and traceable.

Store information safely and securely

Care must be taken in extracting information to ensure that records are not damaged. This could be important when accessing old records, journals, magazines or newspapers. Also, records should be replaced with care so that they do not end up in the wrong location or get misfiled.

The storage medium impacts on how information will be stored and extracted. Eileen Long, Finance and Information Technology Manager, has strict controls on information security in Pelican Waters Council and staff have different access levels depending on their information needs. Toody must complete an information request form to obtain information from the finance and technology department. Toody needs access to information on whether the implementation of Wi-Fi___33 in the library will impact upon other information technology systems. In order to access this confidential information, Toody will need to complete the Information request form (which follows) and submit this request to Eileen Long for approval.

Information Request Form

TO: DATE:

FROM: REF:

PURPOSE:

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DETAILS:

POSSIBLE SOURCES

REQUIRED FOR:

REQUIRED BY:

FORMAT: Report Memo Table Presentation

Paper records

Toody finds it much more difficult to extract information from paper records than computer databases because paper records may:

need to be retrieved from offsite storage locations

be misfiled or incorrectly labelled

need to be photocopied

o photocopies sometimes need to be logged in a document register to comply with the council’s copyright requirements.

Storage of qualitative and quantitative information

Toody intends to undertake both qualitative and quantitative research and will develop surveys which will facilitate storage. He knows that this will be much easier for quantitative surveys where questions fall into the ‘check the box’ category which is easily coded and stored electronically in computer databases.

Qualitative research is more difficult to categorise as it needs interpretation. Some of this research may have to be stored in paper form to retain authenticity (i.e. ensure the information is genuine and can be verified as true). This research may also consist of audio tapes, video recordings or notes created by the researcher. All such research media should be transposed onto a standard record (using appropriate software) as soon as possible for two main reasons:

1. It is a breach of confidentiality at Pelican Waters Council to have surveys or private customer information lying around Toody’s desk where anyone can access it

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2. From past experience, Toody knows he will quickly forget the context of interviews, surveys or observations, so he needs to record the information promptly before he forgets his own notes!

Where the original transcript is no longer needed, for example if Toody has collated information from a videoconference, the original recording should be safely stored away until the end of the research and then destroyed to ensure the confidentiality of the participant and to adhere to Pelican Water’s policies on privacy of information. Where, for some reason, such as the need to revise the research at a later date, Toody wishes to keep original information longer than the life of the research project, this needs to be explained to participants and their permission sought.

Confidentiality

There are also a number of strategies which Toody will use to ensure the information gathered in his research remains confidential such as:

Informing participants about the aims of the research, how the data will be collected, securely stored, presented and distributed

Not discussing his findings prior to the research presentation except with staff closely involved with the research such as Sunita Nair, Suzie De Lillo and Elaine Long

Ensuring that participants information is kept private through securely storing their details

Asking permission from participants/key stakeholders to release his research findings (John will need to obtain sign-off on his research proposal from Sunita Nair before presenting it to the innovative practices project committee)

Keeping all the research information in a secure place such as a locked cabinet, in a password protected computer or both.

Information technology security measures

Toody understands that the information held on computer systems can be easily erased or corrupted if it is not properly secured. He will therefore discuss ways of protecting information stored on computers with Elaine Long, Finance and Information Technology (IT) Manager. Some of the IT measures which will be discussed include:

Checking that the latest virus protection is loaded on to the council’s information system

Performing regular back-ups

Storing critical information at another location

Ensuring that all Pelican Water Council staff have a password to access the Intranet and other information systems in the council

Maintaining registers of staff accessing information systems.

The end point in this process is when the data has been checked for accuracy and securely stored in a format that Toody can use in his research.

Case Study



Review

Toody knows the importance of gathering and organising information to support Sunita Nair’s proposal to implement free Wi-Fi___33 in Pelican Waters Council library. The research strategy that he will adopt to undertake effective gathering and organising of information consists of:

Accessing all the information needed to improve decision making in an organisation

Efficiently gathering and organising this information according to the needs of Pelican Waters Council

Sourcing the information internally within the council and externally where necessary

Categorising the information into primary or secondary information. Primary information tends to be more directly relevant to the research purpose but is more time consuming and expensive. Secondary information can be gathered more quickly and is cheaper.

Collecting qualitative information (based on opinions) and quantitative information (information which can be analysed numerically)

Critically assessing the information gathered to make sure that it is relevant, accurate, current, reliable and valid

Using business computer technology to efficiently gather and organise the information

Ensuring the information is updated, maintained and securely stored according to the requirements of Pelican Waters Council.

Sources

D Aaker, V Kumar and G Day (1995), Marketing Research, 5th edn, John & Wiley Sons, USA, p73 (types of research – exploratory, descriptive, causal)

N Benjamin & F Moore, (2002) Analyse and Present Research Information, Pearson Education Pty Ltd, p40.

D Davis (2000), Business Research for Decision Making, 5th edn, Duxbury, USA, p 231.

N Benjamin & F Moore, (2002) Analyse and Present Research Information, Pearson Education Pty Ltd, p41

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