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Interview is of utmost importance as every extra mark will push the rank a few notches higher and in the end that determines what service you get.Candidates are required to fill up a DAF. This contains details about educational back ground; work experience, native place, extra-curricular activities; optional papers, choice of services etc. In fact, this detailed form serves some sort of CV to the panel members. Hence, it is likely that many questions of the panel members may be based on the responses of candidates on the form.What to Prepare?Prepare the answers for the following questions as these will be helpful for the Interview:-Reason for applying for Civil Services Exam!>> Why do you want to be a civil servant?>> Why want to switch the job to AIS / civil services, if already employed?>> If having engineering / medical / technical qualifications – reasons for switching over to more administrative / generalist role!>> How your technical /professional qualifications will be helpful in proposed job – civil services (Better to have some good examples- ex. Application of IT in e-governance etc.)Choice of services for I.A.S./I.P.S/I.F.S and other civil services>> Reason for preferences inter se various civil service categoriesPreferences given for States>> Reasons for preferences among the states;>> How you will adjust on allotment to state, other than the native state: language / cultural adjustment etc.@ Study / refresh / brush up of the knowledge on following items-Native City / City of Education / City of work etc.> History of the Place;>Places of historical and cultural importance;> Major events of the city.State / Region> Geography & History of the state / region;> Agriculture / Soil / Biodiversity / Forest;> Economic & Industrial Scenario;> Political & Culture; etc.Education Background> About College / University> Streams of Studies: Degrees – reason for choosing;Subjects Studies: Adequate Knowledge would be expected-> Refresh the important topics / issues / concept;> Any matter on these subjects which are in current news;> Application / utility of the study subject in the proposed job / civil services. (Better to have some examples)Optional SubjectsReasons for choosing the optional subjects ( if candidate choose optional subjects other than what they have studied);Good knowledge about these optional subjects (Concepts, important topics; etc.) – better to refresh them from your notes / other resource materials.Work Experience, if anyNature of work; functions and responsibilities;Knowledge about Organization;Extracurricular activities /Hobbies> Care has to be taken while filling up the details about hobbies ( no bluffing )> What are your Hobbies? Reason for pursuing such a hobby;> Ensure that you have good knowledge about the chosen hobby;> What exactly you did or your role if being part of a NGO / voluntary organization;> Details of the prizes / certificates won etc. in Extracurricular activities, if anyDescribe yourself!Be yourself in replying such questions; you should able to substantiate / justify with concrete examples, if asked)(Sincerity, Integrity, honesty, hard working, committed, responsive, leadership qualities, initiative and decision making are some of the terms generally used by candidates)Interview / Personality Test generally focus on-^ Assessment of intellectual abilities; Social traits; leadership qualities;^ Knowledge about happenings of national and global importance, range of interests;^ Awareness and concern for socio-economic problems;^ Alertness, clarity of thought and logical thinking; Judgment capability;^ Attitude and confidence level;^ Intellectual and moral integrity)NameName / surname - related / similar to any famous personality; meaning of the name etc.General Studies & Current AffairPrepare well the topics of recent national & international importance; issues related to policy@ Read 2-3 Newspapers regularly to know the latest knowledge / awareness about current affairs.Situational questions –as collector/SP – ex. Government schemes/ Law & order, Terrorism etc.Tips# A good personal appearance; wear neat / clean and well ironed dress;# be yourself in the Interview# Questions not able to answer-> Better to say so politely; (I am not very sure about the answer of this question);> Be honest, don’t try to bluff or make wild guesses;> don’t panic or lose composure;> keep poise and smile intact;# be careful in answering the questions, avoid certain terms, which you are not knowing / sure, as they may lead to further questions;# It is often noticed that some students despite doing well in written examination not able to perform well in interview because of inadequate communication skills and lack of confidence.# Make a self-analysis of strengths and weaknesses; and work on them> Improve your communication skills;> Answers should crisp clear and to the point;> Develop a positive attitude;> Talk softly and intelligently;> Have a positive attitude, alertness, mind, and a good decision making approach.> Greet Chairperson / pleasant nod at other members on entering the room;> Appear attentive during interview;> Make eye contact with chairperson / panel member while answering a question; and then generally look in the centre & not towards one member only;> Don’t be too casual on serious questions;May take stand on a issue but not to adamant or unwilling to appreciate the board's opinion;> Maintain Moral Integrity;> Politely thank the chairperson and nod at the others members while leaving.@ Take mock IAS interviews / tips from good mentors and experienced civil servants / professionals – to have actual experience of interview facing, to check the extent of preparation, and any weak links thereof. But keep intact your personality and be yourself.IAS/CSE 2020: Important Topics & IssuesSome of the topics of recent national & international importance; and socio-economic issues are:-Current National issues* CAA - Analysis​~ Issue of powers of States / States Assemblies to oppose the CAA?~ CAA & North East / Assam* NRC -~ What is NRC? Issues and challenges! ​~ Why was NRC updated for Assam?​~ Is NRC related to CAA?* What is Citizenship Act 1955? subsequent amendments!​* issue of illegal immigration to India? ​* India needs to have a policy on stateless people?* NPR -​~ What is NPR?; Objective; historical prospective -How did NPR start?​~ Need for a count of the residents-named as National Population Register in India-for security purposes and for delivering welfare schemes? ~ Difference between earlier questionnaire and the proposed one* Census -~ historical prospective, objectives~ issues and challenges ​# CAA, NRC and NPA have emerged as the issues on political front* Student's Agitations / Role of Police in agitations> JNU, Jamia Islamia, Aligarh University etc.* Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 / Article 370 / Article 35 -~ provisions /issues​~ judicial review - pending in SC~ issues related to foreign relations on this matter~ Visit of foreign ambassadorsTopic of Economic Importance@ India’s $5 trillion economy: target and challenges ahead@ Economic slowdown?​- causes, structural issues etc.- implications; concerns and challenges- initiatives taken by government- Reforms@ GST -- issues, concerns / problems- A case for reduction of slabs / rates- Is it a success story foe federalism?@ Evaluate outcome of Demonetization@ The Insolvency And Bankruptcy Amendment Bill, 2019@ Economic Survey 2020@ Budget 2020** NPA / Banking Reforms** Credit ratings 2019/ 2020 for India​** Ease of Doing Business 2019** Global Income inequality ReportRecent Supreme Court Judgments​* Ayodhya Case* Sabrimala* SC /ST Act​* RTI Act supersedes the Official Secrets Act* Constitutionality of IBC upheld* Maradu flats demolition order* SC Strikes Down Section 87 Of Arbitration & Conciliation Act Inserted By 2019 Amendment​Recent important Ordinances / Bills /Acts> The Mineral Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020> The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019> The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019> The Code on Social Security, 2019> The Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill, 2019> The International Financial Services Centres Authority Bill, 2019> The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Bill, 2019> The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019>The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2019> The Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2019> The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019> The National Investigation Agency (Amendment) Bill, 2019​Government Schemes / Policies / Organizations^ Pradhan Mantri Kisan Pension Yojana ^ Jal shakti abhiyan​^ AMRUT Plan ^ Mega Pension Scheme^ Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission ^ Solar Charkha Mission^ National Nutrition Mission ^ Dhan Yojana^ Transformation of Aspirational Districts Programme^ Samagra Shiksha Scheme ^ Krishonnati Yojana ^ Atal Bhujal Yojana^ Khelo India School Games ^ One Crore Loan in 59 minutes for MSMEs^ Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana ^ Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana^ HRIDAY – Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana^ Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana* Digital India; * Stand up India; * Make in India; * Beti bachao beti padhao; * Swatch Bharat; * Pradhan Mantri Ujjawal Yojna; * Niti Aayog; * Smart City * Start up India* RERA * Affordable HousingSocial and Economic Issues* Transparency in Governance * An Honest and Responsive Government* Right to Information - recent amendments / issues * Corruption & Black Money* Poverty - Human Development Index; * Child Malnutrition; Hunger* Gender Equality * Political Freedoms* Issue regarding Cow vigilantism * Religious / Caste conflicts * Women safety* Education – Right to Education, * Health - National Health Policy 2017* The Rights of Persons with Disabilities BillSecurity Issues* National security; * Surgical strikes;* Terrorism^ Naxalite Problem – both security & social issues;^ Law & Order* Unlawful Activities (Prevention) ActMiscellaneous Topics~ ISRO latest projects - Chandrayaan, Gaganyaan~ Recent Satellite Launches~ Unrest in CampusesEnvironment / Pollution Issues^ Pollution Status in Country ^ Stubble burning ^ Climate Changes ^ El Nino> Natural Disasters> Recent floods> Bio DiversityForeign Policy Issues* Neighbourhood First * Stable and multipolar balance of power in the Indo-Pacific; “Act East.” * International Organizations / Issues# Issues on India’s foreign relations with~ Pakistan ^ Kartarpur Passage ^ Infiltration~ China ^ Docklam ^ Wuhan Summit~ Other neighbouring countries~ US ^ Indo Pacific Strategy ^ BIMSTEC ^ BRICS ^ G 4 ^ SAARC^ G 20** WTO - Protectionism; Crisis of Legitimacy* European Union / Brexit*UN & UN related organizations# Above topics / issues are illustrative only.@ Read 2-3 Newspapers regularly to know the latest knowledge / awarenessabout current affairs.Topic of Economic Importancewww.roadtoias.com

Methods in Human GeographyA guide for students doing a research projectR. Flowerdew and David MartinThis summary is made possible by Ellen van Dalen2. Philosophies underlying human geography research*3 important assumptions when choosing a research topic with sub-questions:That the questions themselves are intelligibleThat they can, in principle, be answeredThat the answers will add to our understanding of the topicThe purpose of your dissertation is to produce ‘warranted geographical knowledge’; if you claim to know something, you must be able to justify that claim when it comes under attack.*You cannot avoid Philosophy because methodological choices are, at heart, philosophical choices, and are crucial to any justification you will have to make when undertaking your own research. The claims you make in your research must be defended against competitors.*Any research will have a subject matter and a method or approach. These two dimensions define the basic methodological framework of the project, together with theories and underlying philosophies they form the research design.*Deciding your research design is not easy, in order to make an informed choice, you need to understand the philosophical basis of that choice. Exploring some of the major philosophical debates that underlie the choice of research methodologies in human geography is necessary:One of the most fundamental choices that any social scientist has to make is that between the philosophical positions of naturalism and anti-naturalism.Naturalism: The claim that research in the social sciences is essentially the same as that in the natural sciences with their methods (empirical evidence, falsification, natural laws).Anti-naturalism: The claim that social science is not like natural science, anti-naturalism has roots in hermeneutical or interpretative movements in philosophy with a key role of mental qualities of human beings. Human geography is anti-naturalistic and is unlike physics because it deals with human action and experience. (Terms: experiential place, text, discourse.)Another choice is the debate between the ontological positions of realism and anti-realism (idealism).Which simply means that these positions involve opposing claims about the basis of existence.Realism: A common sense philosophy which maintains that there is a ‘real’ world out there, even if we don’t see it and independent of our conceptions of it (material existence, it is ‘really’ there).Anti-realism: There is no possible justification for believing in a reality other than that constituted by the human mind. We make our world in our minds. This view is sometimes known as (metaphysical) idealism.Realism/anti-realism does not neatly map the distinction of naturalism/anti-naturalism. Mostly: idealism as a hermeneutical and hence anti-naturalistic philosophy (but leaving open the possibility of naturalism). Realism can be positive and hence naturalistic (but leaving open the possibility of anti-naturalism).*Judging between competing social theories can be problematic. Nevertheless, it is possible to detect some dimensions of choice which provide grounds for accepting or rejecting certain ways of conceptualising social interaction.Marxism is a particular way of interpreting the world which is often called historical materialism it takes as its starting point the material conditions of human existence, the presence can only be understood in term of the past. A central concept of Marxian social theory is the ‘mode of production’ which characterises a society, a mechanistic model of society beyond individuals. Capitalism is seen as a functioning system with its own internal logic, and individuals are reduced to passive agents in the production and reproduction of the system, which ultimately depends on the economic base. ‘Contemporary’ capitalism is seen as inherently unstable and thus inevitably bringing about its own demise. (Marxism is very critical about idealism.)A social theory that challenges Marxism in a certain way is Feminism. At the core of Feminism is the concept of patriarchy, which sees an understanding of the historical relationship between men and women as basic to any analysis of how societies are ordered. If the Feminists are right then Marxist theory must be modified so that gender relations and their interplay with economic relations are seen to form the substructure of society. As a social theory, however, Feminism is not dissimilar to Marxism in that it is a holistic theory which explains individual conduct by appealing to much larger scale social facts.Another challenge concerns Marxism’s treatment of human agency. Marx conception of capitalism is hotly contested by those whose view of the individual of society is informed by the ideas of Humanism. Humanism is not itself a social theory but rather a diverse set of ideas which have in common an emphasis on the humanity of individuals. People are capable of being creative (or destructive), reflective (or not) and above all, they are moral beings, which is to say that there is a moral dimension to their actions (the characteristics of any social theory). Consciousness and intentionality are central concepts and human meanings and values are emphasised. This is the active view of human agency which rejects any deterministic interpretation of human behaviour.Marx provided a grand theory describing the way in which societies are transformed by the inner logic of capitalism. His mission was to uncover what he calls ‘the law of motion of capitalist society’. Almost like the natural lows of ‘hard’ science. Postmodernism however, rejects the notion of a single general theory of society and sees social order as much more partial and even contradictory. Postmodernism presents a special challenge and opportunity for human geographers. It embraces, just like post-structuralism, a complexity of ideas both about the nature of contemporary Western society and appropriate ways of thinking about and studying that society. Yet the very toleration of different approaches (where all interpretations are equally valued) is also its greatest weakness.*Consistency and a deeper understanding of the basis of your research design demands that you take philosophy seriously. Underlying your dissertation research will be certain philosophical assumptions and, probably, a particular conception of the nature of relationships in society. However, the practice of geography, its approaches and methods, does not map neatly onto the philosophical choices you might make.Any research project starts from a question or problem that defines the topic or what is to be studied. The approaches and methods used to tackle the research problem, or how you are going to study, should be appropriate to the question posed. First, the way in which the aim of a piece of research is conceptualised and expressed contains within it assumptions that tend to direct researchers towards certain methods. Secondly, it is the framing of the research problem that links epistemology and social theory to method.The term ‘warranted knowledge’ indicates that answers to research questions need justification. It should now be evident that philosophical and theoretical choices form part of that justification along with the details of empirical evidence collected.Section A: Preparing for the research project3. Choosing a topic*Where can you turn for sources of inspiration?Consider a course, or set of lectures, or maybe just one class that has interested you, and was worth following up.Authors; will usually end with a paragraph or more that calls for further research. Books; browsing the library shelves, see if any of the titles appeal.Browsing newspapers, magazines, or television and radio programmes.If you have settled on a broad topic area, why not try to ‘solicit’ a topic from an organization, or individual working for such?Seek to develop one of your own outside interests into a research topic (football).You can, off course, always talk to one of your lecturers, a post graduate student or research assistant.What should you avoid when generating ideas?Previous projects (not university level).General geographical descriptions without any sense of research problem.Use a technique in search of a problem. (First find a research problem, then worry about what kind of approach, method, or technique is appropriate.)That it has to be useful! (intellectual curiosity is enough)*What criteria makes a project to be research?Originality: main criteria. (Does not necessarily mean the collection of data first hand.)Topicality: is the subject of contemporary interest, eighter to academics or the public or both? (Anything in the current papers is, by definition, topical!)Interesting: select a topic that will keep your interest over several months.*You should be able to find a geographical angle to most topics, but you should be prepared to defend its geographical character: which has a fundamental concern with place, landscape, space and location.*When looking for a topic you will need to consider some practical constraints, revolving around time, cost, personnel etc. Have you obtained any permission or clearance necessary to collect data? Are ethical issues involved? Do never pick a topic that puts you in any danger!4. Finding previous work on the topic*It is important to find out what other work has been done on the topic:You are a university student and acquiring an education involves increasing your knowledge by finding out about your chosen subject.Other people working in the area will have thought about it and come up with some interesting ideas and findings.People expect a literature review as a component of a dissertation.A bad reason: somebody else might already have had your idea; you should not worry about this!*Approach to finding relevant literature:Talk to your supervisor and other people in your department.An up-to-date textbook: may provide some general context or contain references to highly relevant studies.Local authority departments.Subject catalogue of your library.Bibliographies (but may contain lots of material which is not easy available).Abstracts: summary, almost all journal articles have them at the top of the article or on-line. (GeoAbstracts/GeoBase)*Once you have found one article it is easier to find more:Reference lists: which are no good in finding up to date literature on a topic.Citation index: if you have found a relevant article you can use it to look up other articles that have cited it. This allows you to work forward from a relevant article, to find recent work on your topic.Always take note of recent developments in your subject.*Be pragmatic, do your best in the time available.5. Secondary data*Secondary data: information that has already been collected by someone else and which is available for you, the researcher, to use.Primary data: which you gather for yourself.The secondary data sources relevant for dissertations comprise existing information which is publicly available even if not already published like major government surveys, statistical resources, records of all kind, newspapers and publications, maps, photographs and video and sound recordings.*The strengths of secondary data:It exists already (and so is cheaper and quicker to obtain than primary data).It provides the researcher with contextual material for his/her primary research.It is usually of proven quality and reliability.A very wide range of secondary data material is available.The weaknesses of secondary data:Its inflexibility (you cannot customise it to your needs).Its quality is unverifiable since it is not replicable (you have to trust it).It may cost you money and takes you time to obtain.Secondary data is a cultural artefact, produces for administrators with priorities and ways of seeing the world that may be very different from those underpinning your dissertation.Why you should take the best use you can of the secondary data:They sketch out the issue or question you will pursue in your own primary research.To provide a context for the primary data you will subsequently collect (provides three overlapping types: geographical, historical and socio-economical data).It helps you show potential employers that you can be relied on to find out what is already known about any topic.Warning: secondary data are not static; you have to be careful for representativeness (validity).*For human geographers perhaps the single most widely used source of secondary data is the population census. The best starting points are websites of national and international statistical organisations and directories of official publications (Eurostat).*Online: single sites, maps, catalogues, compendia, portals (websites that does not provide information itself, but is a list of hyperlinks to other websites usually having something in common), search engines (narrow it down, be precise, if ‘tourist’ / ‘tourism’ etc. Search for ‘tour-‘ / ‘touris-‘, keep trying all the synonyms you can think of, use AND/NOT/OR).Websites are usually unregulated and need to be treated with some caution.*Finding comparable data may be difficult, u need the same spatiality, date, methodology, and with cartographic issues need the same scale.The principle functions of secondary data are to provide a context for more detailed case-study work which you might conduct yourself.Section B: Collecting Primary Data6. Questionnaire design and sampling*Main focus: Analytical surveys, they are more concerned with explanations and causality and are therefore more frequently adopted by academic researchers.The questionnaire survey is an indispensable tool when primary data are required about people, but should be avoided when secondary data can answer your questions. The need for a survey must arise from a carefully considered set of research objectives and not from a general desire to ‘go out and do a survey on my topic’. Conducting questionnaire surveys entail a lot of work.*Three types of survey data:Data that classify people, their circumstances and their environment (respondent variables).Data that relate to the behaviour of people.Data that relate to attitudes, opinions and beliefs.Four types of variables considered in analytical surveys:Experimental or independent variables: these include all variables that may be possible predictors of the main effects that are being studied.Dependent variables.Controlled variables: factors that need to be held constant to compare results.Uncontrolled variables: factors that have different answers (distance).*The stages of a questionnaire survey:Initial research idea: refine and develop analytical design, research objectives, and literature.Design of research: hypothesis, consider variables, choice of survey methodology.Further refinement of the research instrument and sampling: pilot survey, sampling frame (representive, sampling size: each cell at least 30 respondents).Main fieldwork.Processing / analysis of data: Data control, coding of data, data transcription, statistical analysis, production of tabulations.Results: test hypothesis, research report and conclusion.*Fundamental: researchers must address the twin issues of reliability (can the results be replicated?) and validity (does the survey measure what it was intended to?).Sampling errors: associated with how respondents have been selected (sample size).Non sampling errors: by questionnaire design biases.Response errors: by the process of interviewing (understanding opinions, expected answers, inappropriate questions).Non response errors: arise through biases in who did and did not respond.*The content of the questionnaire needs to be firmly rooted in the research question of hypothesis under investigation. A pilot survey is very useful. The survey should not be too long, the content must be practicable and relevant to respondents (understandable language, do not jump from topic to topic, use an introduction).Frequent mistakes: Double-barrelled questions (2 in 1), Negatives, recurrent of habitual behaviour (not ‘recently’ but ‘in the last month’), leading or lauded questions, potentially embarrassing questions, classifying questions (age).Use a number of different question types. Basic distinction is between open and closed questionnaires.Closed: when most/all of the alternative answers are provided.Open: do not force respondents into giving particular answers, but are more work.Attitudes and opinions are the most difficult category of social survey data to collect and are best put on scale: attitude battery (not interesting – very interesting and in between, or so).*Surveys are usually conducted by sampling. Ask yourself: What are the appropriate units of study? (A geographical boundary, a tempotal boundary (time), a boundary defined by population characteristics.) What is the target population?Sampling terminology see Box 6.3 on page 96!*The choice of survey technique is of great importance to the overall success of the research:Observational studies: do not require interviews.Unstructured interviews: informal approach, need preparation.Questionnaire surveys: face-to-face, internet surveys (low costs but a high non-response), self-completion, postal surveys (cheap for large geographical coverage), telephone (good compromise between postal and face-to-face surveys, responses are high and call-backs easy).Advantages must be weighed carefully against the disadvantages compared with face-to-face interviewing (see box 6.4 on page 102).*The design of a pilot survey should take in consideration: question design and format, length, output, classification questions (do you really need income?), serialisation (put a number on each survey) and other information.Response error can be avoided or minimised by careful consideration of interviewing technique (safety, time and location, your appearance, identification).*The main editing and data processing tasks begin once the survey is complete. Think good about how to deal with low frequently answered question options, non-response or multiple answered questions.When analysing: refer back to the original research plan: What were the main dependent and independent variables? Which types of statistical tests might be required?Final report:Fieldwork locations and dates should be included in the methodology section as well as details of sampling. Provide a justification of the survey technique, mention failings and include a copy of the questionnaire.Be selective in the data tables you include in the text. Do not get frustrated with a few results, that is normal. Acknowledge institutions which gave assistance and send them a summary of your main findings.7. Tell me about...: using interviews as a research methodology*Questionnaire surveys might push respondents’ answers into particular categories. Interviews are an alternative and are unstructured or semi structured, they are a dialogue rather than an interrogation. Unlike a questionnaire, the aim of an interview is not to be representative but to understand how individual people experience and make sense of their own lives.Critique on in-depth interviews: interviewers bias the respondents’ answers; interviewers are not or cannot be objective or detached.*Recruiting informants for interview is to select an illustrative sample; it has to be a theoretically motivated decision. Who you want to interview depends on your own identity, recognise your personality and be reflexive. Watch out for power relations between you and the informant but also in the informants surrounding.Different ways to approach potential informants:Via a questionnaire: to get information and ask for willingness.Cold Calling: trace telephone numbers of possible informants.Gate keepers: individuals in an organisation that have the power to grant or withhold access to people or situations for the purposes of research.Snowballing: using one contact to help you recruit another contact, who in turn can put you in touch with someone else.Where to hold interviews: At their own territory (relaxed and you learn more about the person). Avoid busy places where you can get disturbed. Always take safety precautions.*Brief yourself on the topic carefully. Interviews do not rely on a rigid set of questions worded beforehand but work out a list of themes or some key questions on which you may then hang a series of follow-up ideas. If they start talking about your last theme first, follow their train of thought, otherwise the spontaneity of the interview is lost.Encourage interviewees to talk by: ‘Tell me about...’, use silences, ‘uhuh’, or repeat back statements as questions, use gestures, facial expressions and body language.Asking the questions is only half the skill of interviewing, the other half is learning to listen and respond to your participants.*Always tell interviewees that they do not have to answer any questions which they do not want to and remind them of this during the course of the interview. Let them stay anonymous and confidential, and always be objective (especially with unequal power relations / cultural differences).*Advantages of taping: you can concentrate better, you can have a proper conversation, more detailed, and you can listen to it over and over again.Always check if it works and think about the location.Try and transcribe the tape as soon as possible (some hard parts you might still remember and it takes a lot of work).Write down your experiences after the interview.Write a thank-you letter with a summary of your findings.8. Focus groups*Focus group: a group of individuals selected and assembled by researchers to discuss and comment on, from personal experience, the topic that is the subject of research.Group size: 4-10 participants as an ideal, with a researcher (or two) to facilitate and moderate the conversation.Start with an introductions followed by an issue-based discussion, with participants contributing in the ways and at the times they wish to. The conversation is usually audio recorded (or video recorded), and transcribed as a written text. The text may be supplemented by moderators’ notes regarding group dynamic, mood, gesture etc. The result is a rich qualitative record of a focused group conversation.Focus groups are useful in two main regards:Gaining insight into views that individuals hold regarding a particular issue.The nature of their interaction and dialogue over that issue.Focus groups lie somewhere between individual interviews and participant observation.*History:The origins of focus groups are generally held to lie in work undertaken at Columbia University in the 1940’s (experimental procedure of 12 people together in a studio with yes/no buttons). A series of subsequent studies with alternative procedures were developed. It was not until the 1980’s that focus groups began to re-emerge as a prominent method in the social sciences (marketing, group therapy).People construct environmental and social issues, share their knowledge, experiences and prejudices, and argue their different points of view.*Usefulness of focus groups as a core research method to:Gain insight into participants’ understandings and views of an issue.Gain insight into how these views relate to each other (debates and arguments).Look at how such views differ by social grouping.Probe the gap between what people say and do.Also useful for:Preliminary brainstorming: generating potential lines of enquiry.Developing survey or interview questions.Disseminating research findings and receiving feedback.*Central issues: determining a focus, recruiting participants, formulation of question schedules or other forms of discussion prompts, nature of the role of the moderator, and how to analyse the qualitative materials.Recruiting: Two options are known as ‘natural’ (individuals are likely to be familiar) and ‘assembled’ (strangers) focus groups. Always over-recruit. How many groups? That depends on the range of subgroups you are interested in and the number that could make ‘theoretical saturation’ possible (having heard all the main points of view on the issue).*Running a focus group: normally seated in a circle, room must be well lit, heated and ventilated. Practice run the audio recording. Start with introducing yourself and the others.To help initiate a focused conversation: use participants statements, images, distribute preliminary questionnaires.If the conversations dry up: prompt, guide and intervene. The length of a focus group should last somewhere between 60 and 120 minutes. If the moderator senses a point of saturation, draw the focus group to a close.The moderator’s involvement should centre around:Ensuring the conversation does not significantly diverge from the predetermined focus.Intervening when there is an unproductive conversational dynamic emerging between participants, such as when the volume or intensity of one contributor is notably inhibiting others from speaking freely.*Transcribing focus group material can be difficult when people talking over each other. Tone is very significant and could mean different things.When analysing focus group material: The researcher is centrally interested in the themes that are evident within the discussion of the research issue. It is also important to be attentive to the unexpected issues and ideas that emerge within the conversation, whether these fit with the a priori research framework interests or not. Unforeseen responses may be of particular significance.The overall aim of the analysis should be an understanding, as noted earlier, of the spectrum of different views a group of individuals has on an issue.*Focus groups are able to generate rich conversational data that provides insights into complex social issues. This material is relatively unstructured, however, is not statistical and is not readily generalisable to a wider population. It is thus important to consider whether focus groups are the most appropriate method for addressing your research aims.9. ‘Participatory’ approaches and diagramming techniques*Participatory approaches: working with rather than on people; generating data and working in ways that increase participants’ ability to bring about positive change in their own lives (not about simply describing or analysing social realities). There is a distinction between alternative research techniques such as participatory diagramming, and a participatory approach to research; one does not necessarily imply the other.*Conventional research: a process that begins with an externally developed research design, proceeds with the extraction of data from ‘the field’ and ends in the presentation of results.Participatory diagramming techniques: participants, rather than the researcher, produce the maps, transects, charts and matrices that describe the research results. After raising a question and suggesting a visual means of addressing it, he or she takes a ‘back seat’ while participants generate the diagram. The task of diagramming is tactical as well as verbal; it facilitates the contributions of less eloquent individuals in the group (ethical reason for pursuing a participatory approach). All diagramming techniques are highly visual and flexible, with the use of loose materials to put on the diagram.Gold standard: integrating participation into all aspects of a research project (most projects fall short of this goal).Methodology:The initial diagram should not be viewed as an end product but you should see it as a mechanism through which to gather further qualitative interview data and as a means to stimulate further discussion and self-analysis among the participants.Plan your methodology so you have mapped out in advance the particular diagramming session and also its place within the project as a whole.Aim to achieve two goals: obtain the best and fullest impression possible of the subject you are investigating; facilitate participants’ own learning, self-reflection and analysis.If alternative techniques and participatory approaches are to run smoothly, considerable forward planning is required.You can cover a wide range of issues relatively quickly and get on to difficult subjects more readily than if you use more established methods.*Suggestions about how you can integrate participation into one or more stages of your research project are summarised in box 9.2 on page 160. These set out an approach within which you might decide to use a particular methodology.Comments when you are thinking about participatory research:You will need to make some decisions about the scale at which you wish to operate.Think about the level at which you attempt to enter the power/decision-making structures of society.The presence, or absence, of pre-existing structures through which to work and gain access to participants (snowballing).Should the group be composed of strangers or naturally occurring groups of people.*The scientific validity of ‘participatory’ approaches and techniques:It can legitimise the researcher’s presence, and position the participants as stakeholders with a reason to help the project succeed.If participants are involved in the data analysis, the method is likely to produce more ‘credible accounts’ that participants themselves recognise as accurate. Triangulation and ‘member checking’ (respondents certifying the validity of data) are built in.Because process is such a central concern and is meticulously recorded, participatory research is well placed to provide a full and open audit of how and under what conditions ideas and themes arose.The final written report incorporates multiple accounts, including the participants’ own analyses of the data; it provides a narrative ‘between’ the perspectives of participants and those of the researcher.The epistemological foundation that underlies all qualitative research is that researchers need to build trusting and reciprocal relationships with ‘respondents’ id they hope to gain really deep insights into their life-worlds.10. Participant observation*Participant observation: a method which involves living and/or working within particular communities in order to understand how they work ‘from the inside’. By participating in a community or observing a community. It is a three-stage process in which the researcher somehow, first, gains access to a particular community, second, lives and/or works among the people under study in order to take on their world views and ways of life and, third, travels back to the academy to make sense of this through writing up an account of that community’s ‘culture’.*Access: It does not have to be an isolated community in some faraway part of the world; it can legitimately involve anything like several months of sustained work during a summer holiday. Access has to be negotiated through various ‘gatekeepers’. If a community is not open to you and gives you doubt and frustration than this is where the fieldwork starts. You should not expect things to proceed according to any pre-planned schedule.*Roles: it is not only who you contact during the gatekeeping and subsequent stages of your research that is important, but also the way that you present yourself when doing this: what role you take on in the course of your work. Take in consideration whether you should provide a full explanation of your role, or conceal your purpose and identity and to what degree your research can or should be participatory and/or observational. Think about any impacts it might have on the loves or the participants in the future.*Constructing information: the most important information that you construct from your participant observation you put in your field diary. How you were able to access the community, power relations, expectations and motives, what you have observed, day by day, and what you have come to (mis)understand as a result.*Key questions which you will continually have to ask yourself along the way if you choose to take on this method:How can I vividly convey what I have learned during my fieldwork to those who will read the final dissertation? (Creative writing!)How can I integrate this kind of account with the kinds of theoretical, methodological and substantive discussions which are usually required in a dissertation? (Set out the relationships between theory and practice.)Section C: Analysis of data11. Analysing numerical spatial data*Data analysis is the part of a research project with the greatest trepidation, it is most closely scrutinised and most easily criticized. In order to increase the positive aspects of data analysis and reduce the negative ones; some simple questions to ask yourself:When should I start thinking about data analysis?Why should I undertake data analysis?How do I decide what technique to use?How geographical is my analysis?What problems might I encounter?The appropriate time to start thinking about data analysis: before the data are collected rather than after!*Why should you undertake data analysis?To summarise large amounts of data through descriptive statistics (arithmetic mean, median, interquartile range, coefficient of variation, centre of gravity, standard distance etc.).To explore data through visualisation: this is called exploratory analysis (suggest aspects of data or a modelling technique that might be worth investigating in more detail, presented in visual format such as pie charts or box plots).To infer aspects of the population from samples or processes from observations: the answers to the question are then provided by hypothesis testing and statistical inference which fall into the category of the more usual deductive-based confirmatory analysis.To develop models of the real world.There are a bewildering number of statistical techniques available; there are two properties of data that limit the range of appropriate numerical techniques: the number of samples and the type or level of data. How to determine an appropriate statistical technique is shown in Table 11.1 on page 198.There are three levels of data that are commonly encountered:Nominal: discrete (data can only take certain values, categories have no ranking.Ordinal, weakly ordered: discrete, data are in categories which are ranked.Ordinal, strongly ordered: discrete, data are ranked.Ratio: continuous.Non-parametric statistics: statistical techniques that can be applied to nominal and ordinal data.Parametric statistics: data that provide the most information since they are continuous and have metric properties (ratio).*Weakly geographical: uses data for different locations but effectively throws the interesting spatial component away and utilises the data as if they are simply lists of numbers that could be reshuffled without affecting the outcome of the analysis (ordinary least-squares regression analysis).Strongly geographical: explicitly uses the information on the spatial location of the data points (calculation of spatial means, standard distance, spatial variation).What problems you have to consider:The modifiable areal unit problem: in the analysis of aggregate spatial data, the conclusions reached might be dependent upon the definition of the spatial units for which data are reported.Spatial non-stationarity: relationships might vary over space making ‘global’ models less accurate. Global models will also hide interesting geographical variations.Spatial dependence: to what extent is the value of a variable in one zone a function of the values of the variable in neighbouring zones? Strong spatial dependence can affect statistical inference. Data should be independent of each other.Non-standard distributions: examine the nature of the data being analysed. Not all data are normally distributed! Consider experimental methods of statistical inference if data have an unusual distribution. Experimental distribution methods may be used to confirm or reject hypotheses.Spurious relationships: make sure that any relationships identified are meaningful and are not caused by a variable or variables omitted from the analysis. Each parameter indicates the relationship between the dependent variable and one independent variable, everything else being equal.12. Analysing categorical data*Categorical data is encountered mostly with questionnaire surveys. Both nominal and ordinal variables are discrete (i.e. can take only certain values) and are types of categorical data. It is always possible to convert data from a higher level (ratio) of measurement to a lower one, but not in the reverse direction. It is consequently important that results are not blindly accepted as correct just because the computer software produced them. Ensure that relationships between variables are examined in as thorough a manner as possible. It is therefore a good idea to undertake exploratory analysis of the data before using confirmatory methods to test hypotheses.Interrelationships: Multiple causes cause misleading conclusions, this is particularly likely when interactions are present (i.e. the association between two categorical variables changes according to the value of a third factor). Linear models test the significance of particular associations (interrelationships) or interactions between variables.*Methods of exploratory data analysis use descriptive summary and graphical display variables (SPSS, MiniTab, Excel). They can be used to examine trends in data and are also effective at detecting outliers (check for any outliers early in an analysis).Associations between nominal variables can be investigated by cross-tabulating the data to form contingency tables. It is important to think about the question you wish to answer before deciding the direction in which percentages should run. They should sum to 100 within the categories of the explanatory variable.Appropriate exploratory methods for ordinal variables differ according to whether the data are weakly (treat the data as if they were nominal) or strongly ordered (scatter plots).*You will need to undertake some form of confirmatory analysis to test the hypotheses. A statistically significant result in this context is one where the trend in the sample data is sufficiently strong that there is only a small probability (conventionally under 5%) that it could have occurred by chance. Non-parametric methods have lower statistical efficiency than parametric methods, but they also make fewer assumptions about the parameters of populations from which samples are drawn.Irrespective of the type of data and tests involved, you should pay some attention to the presentation of results from confirmatory analyses. Including the output from every test conducted is usually unnecessary and conveys the impression of a lack of thought. A suitable approach might be to discuss one or two in detail and then summarise the remainder in a list.*Modelling more complex relationships like with several different possible explanatory variables, it is necessary to use types of generalised linear models. These have the advantage that they can be used to test explicitly for the presence of particular combinations of associations and interactions between variables.It is important that results are presented in a succinct and interesting manner.13. Analysing qualitative materials*Analysing qualitative material deals with verbal or textual material. Analysis of the material should not be an afterthought, but needs to be included in early research plans, because getting to grips with the materials properly can take as long as creating them in the first place.Large quantities of material generated by qualitative research, so called field materials are interviews or open-ended questionnaire responses, observations and notes made by the researcher, sketches, maps, itineraries, diaries, letters, memoirs etc. They all need different approaches when analysing them.*The first step is to get them into a presentable, readable form. The amount of detail in the transcription really depends on what sort of study you are doing, you can afford to miss out irrelevant portions but sometimes you may need more detailed transcripts. Styles and transcripts vary between researchers and approaches, notations can be used for pitch, pause length, pronunciation and even body language.What tends to be done, while sifting and sorting the material, is that the researcher goes back over all those notes and transcripts and starts to formalise them into categories or codes. Each time people refer to a particular event, it is given the same code. After that you cut up a copy of the materials and put the coded sections into piles, so each code forms a pile.*The notes to yourself are often termed theoretical memos and are worth keeping, and need to be labelled so they can be linked back to the materials they refer to. One of the important reasons for keeping theoretical memos is so you can trace back through them as well as see what made you change your ideas. This in the end becomes one way of justifying your conclusions, by being able to show how they were created.*You should be clear whether you see the relationships of codes to materials as your own interpretation, as structures underlying the issues you studied, or as relationships your informants used more consciously. There are obviously grey areas between all these and your position will depend on a variety of theoretical and ethical considerations, which will vary for every project and researcher.It is important to note he different epistemology (how you can claim to know something) from many quantitative projects. What is not so much of interest are the codes itself rather the text they denote, not how often they occur but what is in them. The codes have emerged from an iterative process, going through the material, what is called analytic induction.Organise the materials so that interesting relationships can be seen, the status of codes needs a little clarifying. It needs a little caution about what your codes do and do not mean. The division between emic and etic codes should be considered.Emic codes: Those used by informants themselves.Etic codes: Those assigned by the analyst to describe events and attribute meanings and theories. These are more theoretically oriented, responding to issues in the research.In thinking through the relationship of category and material, theory and evidence, researchers have to consider what sort of account they want to give. (It might sometimes be useful to turn to styles that pay more attention to the perhaps unsaid structures.)*Structures of meaning that may not be apparent to the informants themselves like that the researcher is seen as knowing best or structures that relate to real-life situations, account for regularities but they do not explain what actors think. This type of analysis (of underlying structures) will be developed from semiotics.Semiotics: the study of signs and the construction of meaning. It is concerned with the way words, things, pictures and actions come to be signs, that is to convey meanings in particular times and at particular places. A few tactics:The first principle of semiotics is that meanings are relational rather than fixed. Signs derive their meaning from other signs and from the wider system of signs not from their actual form or content.Charles Peirce divided communicative signs into three types: iconic, indexial and symbolic. Iconic: depicts what it means (picture of woman with child = woman with child). Indexial: part of a wider complex (picture = motherhood). Symbolic: relationship between sign and meaning is purely conventional.A third tactic is to look for oppositions between categories; we see meaning created by the relationships between things or semiotic clustering.Complex cases, simple oppositions developing a semiotic square of rules. The square organises incidents into the 4 categories or especially outside the categories. The interesting parts are the more shifting relations between categories.These tactics should make clear how organising the relationships between categories might help you develop ideas. It is not necessary to use these particular devices; they are examples of developing arguments from the relationships between your categories. You can also use a common diagram which is not discussed.*Narrative analysis: people tend to make sense of things by seeing them as stories, comprising events, imputing motives, agency and roles, rather than in terms of static characteristics.You can think about the story on several levels. At the grand level, you can think of whether it talks of progress or decline. On a more detailed level, you can look at how events themselves are defined as significant or not. The level of detail tells us something about the importance of an element. The position of the teller, the actors and roles can be thought about. On a final level, the ideas of drama and scripts can be seen, what is really meant with a certain message, why a certain role is adopted.*There is no single mandatory way that materials have to be understood or used. They suggestions in this chapter are ways of thinking about your materials that might help you develop your own approach.14. Textual analysis: reading culture and context*What are texts: data that you need for an original research project, through art, films, videos and books.How do you approach texts: through theoretical windows and interpretations of text through semiotic, Marxist, feminist, psychoanalytic, post-colonial and post-structural critiques.*Text: written material that occupies anything from a newspaper article to a volume sitting on shelf of a library. But also other communication systems such as fashion, etiquette and urban design. Diverse subjects as zoology, medicine, musical codes. Today geographers even read images such as paintings, maps and landscapes with social, cultural, economic and political institutions as texts. These productions exhibit text-like qualities and are interpretable using textual methods.Literary texts: geographers turn to literary texts so that the concept of place may be reinserted into discussions of societal transformations through modern times.Travel writing, diaries and other anthropological texts: Research on travel writing attempts to elaborate imaginary geographies in the context of othering and masculine heroic projects. It is possible to glean how sexuality, race and power are geographically elaborated through culture and globalisation.Visual texts: geographers use textual methods to help read paintings, photographs, movies etc. There certainly is some methodological tension between the use of textual and visual metaphors to understand the contexts of the geographic world.Musical texts and performances: understudied topic in geography, although music is clearly an important cultural text for regional differentiation, cultural diffusion, perception of place rather than anything specifically textual.Reading maps: Maps may be described as visual texts and analysis in geography found great potential in cartography.Landscape as text: describing the morphology of contemporary landscapes.*How we come to understand texts, simple how-to steps: See list on page 242, in short: find something interesting, decide if textual analysis is appropriate, read the text, ask why the author created the text, read everything you can find on the topic, read the text, look for structure, determine how your text relate to other texts, look for subtexts/missing texts, read text, make connections to larger geographies and social processes, create dissertation.The treatment of any kind of geography as a text that can be read implies that, at least at the moment of reading, the text has some meaning which may be grasped. Some of the theories perspectives and ways of knowing that make these bodies of knowledge more accessible.Semiology: a science of signs: uncovering the meaning of texts by dealing with what signs are and how they function. Any sign could be divided into two components: the signifier and the signified. The point that makes the analysis of texts interesting and problematic is that there is no logical connection between them.Intertextuality, metaphors and metonym: Important concepts of semiology. Intertextuality: refers to the conscious of unconscious use of previously created texts. Readers must be familiar with the original text to fully appreciate the new text. Metaphor: the relationship between two things is suggested through analogy, are used to give objects and events different identities. Metonym: relationship is based upon association of names. The use of metaphors and metonyms implies the existence of codes in people’s minds that enable them to make connections.Hermeneutics: a method of interpretation: much in common with semiotics but its base is in literary criticism rather than linguistics and its scope is broader, embracing methodological principles of interpretation which incorporate the context of the reader as well as the context of what is written.Marxist analysis: the production and consumption of texts and ‘the political unconscious’: Powerfully suggestive way of interpreting texts. Assumes that beneath the superficial randomness of things there is a kind of inner logic at work. Everything is shaped by the economic system of society, which affects ideas and consciousness. A secondary concern is how the economic base can be defined without having recourse to the categories which are themselves superstructural.Feminist and psychoanalytic criticism: Feminism addresses aspects of woman’s geographies that have heretofore remained silent. It’s about woman/environment reciprocity and renewal rather than male stoicism; they talk about personal vulnerability rather than dominance and power. Another aspect is the focus upon the gendered power relations inherent within texts.Psychoanalytic theory; we form an image or text of ourselves that takes the place of the real us, but we are always trying to rediscover the real.Post-structural?: Treating texts as social products that are dynamic, and culturally mediated by discursive practices. The student brings something of themselves to the text. The readers’ knowledge is used and is interconnected. A post-structural question is not only what is known, but also how it comes to be known.*All forms of text are produced in large part through discursive practices, which structure flows of understanding. Discursive practices imply intertextuality rather than rambling chaos, but these practices are as always embedded in social relations of power and ideology that give authority to some texts while subverting others.15. Visual methodologies: what you see is not always what you get*Of all our senses, the visual is our most useful and, by extension, our most acute, what we see is important and there is a lot of confusion about what actually constitutes visual imagery. Work images on our senses as narrative-like texts?*It may be argued that visualisation is at the heart of geographic practice with the study of landscape, maps, paintings and photographs.There are many ways to study power relations in images. Geographical shapes, meanings and arts do many things. They are used to represent real world places and people and geographical images create landscapes, the traditional domain of geographers.Representational spaces are shaped and created by life experiences.The opposite is also true: conditions within material society are most certainly shaped through their visual representations.Geographical images are not objective representations of the material world but are socially created under the influence of particular ideologies, meanings are social constructions.*Art and photography: much research derives from humanistic tradition, and involves highlighting the ways that landscapes are depicted. The images become places that can be analysed to better understand lived experience.Film and advertising: Interest of film in geography often revolves around the power of film to shape contemporary culture with the compilation of power, place, situation and spectacle. (Braveheart; how does his representation of a brave but failed hero reflect on contemporary Scottish politics?) Advertising provides momentary gratification for the alienated spirit because it stimulates desire.*Before choosing your method and beginning your analysis:Read through and around the context of your image, get knowledge about his times and place.To avoid analytical incoherence, you need to situate yourself within the debates of visual culture to interpret your chosen image.Understand the theoretical position that you bring to your analysis.Visual methodologies:Semiology: a method and theory of signs: take images apart and then focus on how they relate to larger systems of meaning. Interpret images by identifying signs and then analysing what meanings those signs construct. Sign: everything that, on the grounds of previously established convention, can be seen as something standing for something else. Signification: the social process whereby something (the signifier) comes to stand for something else (the signified) and by questioning this process, semiotics provides a popular way of getting behind and through images.Psychoanalysis and feminist analysis: visual ideology and the male gaze: in history woman are never represented as self in these images, but rather as other, the dark continent, the love inspired in the hero etc. Today there is a significance of space as a site of gender differences: home, family and femininity or masculine space of adventure and action. Mapping politics onto body space is affected by how the body is seen and recognised.Discourse analysis: the ways meanings are connected through representations, texts and behaviours become forms of disciplining and so discourses are also about power and knowledge production but reject classical analysis. The discourse produces subjects and landscapes but it also produces technologies like maps and GIS that enable particular ways to visualize the world.*Visualisation becomes a constructive process, an active and creative act that emphasizes the viewer’s awareness of a greater need to understand their own cultural reality. By utilising visual methodology, geographers can form uniquely valuable understandings of the geospatial environment. Various visual methodologies help us to understand how particular spaces are produced by manipulating images of the landscape and the built environment, but there is no precise relationship between landscapes and images. The relationship of images to narratives and texts may be metaphorical at best: we do not really know.16. Geographical information systems and spatial analysis*Geographical information systems can be used to support many different research projects in which there is a requirement to process geographically referenced data, particularly where a wide range of data sources are involved (large volumes of spatially referenced information).GIS: Alternative real world scenarios can be explored with systems for the input, storage, manipulation and output of geographical information. You can use GIS to handle pretty much all kinds of information for which you might think of producing a map. GIS are better at data manipulation than analysis and it will often be necessary to use other software as well. The golden rule is to perform each task because it is a logical requirement of your research, and not just because it happens to be available in the GIS software.*It is important to know if the chosen system will perform all the tasks required in addressing your research question. It is not necessary to understand the details of how the entire system works.There is a very wide range of software marketed as GIS and the choice will depend on what is available in your own institution.A commonly encountered division among strategies for data organization in GIS systems is between vector and raster models.Vector: location is recorded by using map coordinates. Include topological information and store geographical features individually and stored separated in tabular form.Raster: location is recorded by row and column position in a grid. Based on entire gridded layers.*Data availability will be a very major consideration in any research project using GIS. Data comprise the largest single component of the financial costs associated with commercial GIS, and there is a whole industry concerned solely with digital data creation and supply. In many situations the most appropriate approach will be to georeference (assign specific locations to) research data by use of an existing locational data set. Important geographical data such as census boundaries, postcode locations and general topographical information are created by different organizations and many of these are available to the academic community and some through internet.Whatever your data sources, it is particular important that you make appropriate acknowledgement in your final report and that you watch out for licensed conditions and copyright.Important issues relating to digital data are those concerning data quality. Checklist of potential sources of error:Age of data (out of data, incompatibilities between different layers).Differing definitions of objects (e.g. coast defined as high of low water marks).Quality of source document (poor-quality source causing geometric distortion).Coverage of data (not all data layers cover the whole study area).Locational recording errors (e.g. poor digitizing, duplicating or missing lines, poor matching at edges of source map sheets).Attribute recording errors (e.g. wrongly labeled zones, census under-enumeration, missing values).*Visualization is a very important aid to exploratory data analysis and you should be sure to allow yourself time to simply study maps of your data and to question what you see. Think geographically.Start with undertaking background research that falls in more than one domain, use secondary data, it is actually very unusual to encounter a GIS research project that involves only self-generated data. Analysis and manipulation should always relate back to the original research question, and not seen as a methodology per se.*In considerating the role which GIS can play in more complex data analysis, it is helpful to distinguish between the terms weakly and strongly geographical research using spatial data. Weakly: uses spatially referenced data, but fails to make much use of the spatial component. Strongly: utilizing explicitly geographical concepts such as clustering, dispersion, distance, contiguity, etc.The data manipulation and quary tools available within GIS are able to provide many of the input measures required by more specialized spatial statistics.Section D: Producing the report17. Designing the report*The structure and presentation of the written product are vitally important to a successful project. The report needs to follow a logical sequence and this requires a great deal of thought from an early stage.The structure that you decide upon will not be set in stone, flexibility is very important. Various formal aspects of the structure can be identified but most important is that the story (dissertation) is both informative and enjoyable to read.*Chapters: Findings should be written-up in a clear and logical manner.Title: Clear and concise and should reflect the work that you have undertaken. Clarity is probably a safer bet than originality.Title page: title, name, year and institution putted in the golden section of the paper: the eye naturally positions at about one-third of the page down.Acknowledgements: thank those who have aided something to your research. Keep it brief and not too personal.Contents page: Make sure it summarizes the dissertation structure adequately. Each of the figures and tables that you use in the dissertation are summed up in a different contents page and require titles that neatly summarizes what it shows.The abstract: should provide a clear idea in reader-friendly language of what the dissertation is about, a brief summary of the methods you used and a description of the major findings.The introduction: an essential part of the logical argument you are putting forward. Clearly state the aims of the dissertation by briefly describing what the main findings on the subject have been previously, highlight why more work is needed and how you want to archieve this. The introduction must be interesting, so that it encourages the reader to continue.Literature review: ‘if you steal from one author, it’s plagiarism; if you steal from many, it’s research’ (W.Mizner, 1953). Cite those which are the most pertinent and those who have been most influential in the field, put the rest in bibliographies. The ideal literature review begins with a discussion of the topic in general, progresses through the development of ideas on the topic, show what questions have partial answers and how new questions arise. Contradictory findings should be acknowledged. A literary review is longer than you think.Methodology: Describe the procedures that you used in your research. This might include a number of sections, depending on the methodological complexity of the study. It is vital to include a section that discusses the philosophical approach and the methods you decided upon. It is possible to identify problems that may have influenced your study. Convince the reader of your methodology.Results: It is tempting to include too much material. The results should be logically structured, the results chapter can concentrate just on results. If there are a lot, concentrate on the most interesting and relevant.Discussion: To bridge the gap between the results section and the conclusion and provide a personal interpretation of the results. Identify the limitations of the study and it is inevitable that the research will not be perfect.Conclusion: It means a logical outcome implied from the previous work. Do not report new findings. Discuss how the results may be of interest to policy-makers and avenues for further work. It does not have to be long.References: Only contain those references that you have cited or were particularly relevant. You do not have to read everything from cover to cover to include it. (Bibliographies include lists of publications that are relevant to the subject.)Appendices: for information that is important to the argument, or that would interrupt the flow of the text unnecessarily, detailed eduations, example of the questionnaire, copies of important correspondence etc.18. Writing the report*It is important that you pitch the project at the correct level when writing up. Do not assume readers know a great deal about the topic already. Show that you have done the preliminary work and include all important steps (Chapter 17).Putting the first words on paper is hard and therefore it is essential to begin writing early and continue writing as the research develops.*Practical considerations:Follow the guidelines laid down by your institutionThere is no single correct style that you must adopt, usually write-up is in the third person, with a formal structure but there are 3 narrative conventions: realist (third person), confessional (highly personalized, detail on fieldwork) and impressionist (reader experiences aspects like the researcher did).Language should be understandable and readable. Avoid long centences, nominalization (substitution of verbs with nouns), Words like ‘very’ and ‘much’, question marks and exclamations.Acknowledge your sources as a matter of etiquette, ascribing to others the credit for their efforts. It is only plagiarism if it is unacknowledged but watch out for copyright policies.Editing and presentation, use word processors and check logical page classification, use diagrams and tables to replace words.*Your work will never be perfect in your own eyes!17. Illustrating the report*Illustrations in a geographical dissertation could include any or all of: maps, diagrams, graphs, charts, photographs, satellite images or aerial photographs. Whatever their specific purpose, illustrations are normally used in a general sense to communicate ideas and to summarise in a small amount of space on the page what would otherwise be difficult to explain by using text. Use text only to refer and interpret the information.The interpretation of map features are very critical when using maps in your dissertation. Maps can serve to generate ideas and hypotheses, and they allow us to explore spatial variations and relationships.*Do not leave finding maps to the very end! You should give some time and thought to the type and number of illustrations from both primary and secondary sources and try to assemble these as you go along. Cartography greatly facilitates the process of illustrating a piece of work, helps to provide a professionally finished end-product and can also save time.*Two main caregories for sources of maps: existing maps, and wholly new maps created by the author.Existing maps can give a professional result if you redraw or digitize them in the features that are most relevant to your application, to generalize and add information and to keep all your illustrations in the same ‘house style’. Acknowledge clearly the sources of all illustrative material.*Creating illustrations take numerous detailed functions of individual cartographic or mapping software packages. It is important to consider at the outset which type of software might best meet your needs. An attractive finished product has a good scale (whole field of work), all the needed features and a good map design. The best maps and illustrations are often the simplest.Principles of map and illustration design:The subject should always be placed on the same page close to the illustration.The frame should comprise a bold line delimiting the map from surrounding text. The title, scale and north arrow can be fitted in, around the subject, where space is available within the frame.Shading can be used to emphasize the idea of contrast. ‘Natural’ breaks in the distribution can also be used to create the mapped categories. (Choropleth maps)If a photograph: make sure the date on which the image was captured is also included.The text should always include the figure number.You should have a separate list of figures and tables at the start of the dissertation.Illustrations should be positioned as close to, and after, their first mention in the text.20. Conclusion*Your institution requires a copy, just like people that have helped. If your results have policy implications, and if you feel your work is good enough to withstand critical scrutiny, it may be worth passing on to a community group, local planners or the press. The abstract or executive summary might then be the most important part (except for the title).Think about what you have learned:You will have learnt a lot about whatever you have been studying.You will have learned much about methods for research.You will have learnt about conducting a research project.You will have learned something about yourself.Clearly the best project is one which comes up with interesting findings and fulfils your original goals. If it does not, however, it is not a complete failure. You may learn as much from failure as from success.Potential employers see more relevance in successful completion of research projects than in examination questions so it can be relevant to the job market or is a good topic for discussion at job interviews.

Accurate and thorough information is the foundation of all successful business ventures because it provides a wealth of information about prospective and existing customers, the competition, and the industry in general. It allows business owners to determine the feasibility of a business before committing substantial resources to the venture.Market research provides relevant data to help solve marketing challenges that a business will most likely face--an integral part of the business planning process. In fact, strategies such as market segmentation (identifying specific groups within a market) and product differentiation (creating an identity for a product or service that separates it from those of the competitors) are impossible to develop without market research.Market research involves two types of data:Primary information. This is research you compile yourself or hire someone to gather for you.Secondary information. This type of research is already compiled and organized for you. Examples of secondary information include reports and studies by government agencies, trade associations or other businesses within your industry. Most of the research you gather will most likely be secondary.When conducting primary research, you can gather two basic types of information: exploratory or specific. Exploratory research is open-ended, helps you define a specific problem, and usually involves detailed, unstructured interviews in which lengthy answers are solicited from a small group of respondents. Specific research, on the other hand, is precise in scope and is used to solve a problem that exploratory research has identified. Interviews are structured and formal in approach. Of the two, specific research is the more expensive.When conducting primary research using your own resources, first decide how you'll question your targeted group: by direct mail, telephone, or personal interviews.If you choose a direct-mail questionnaire, the following guidelines will increase your response rate:Questions that are short and to the pointA questionnaire that is addressed to specific individuals and is of interest to the respondentA questionnaire of no more than two pagesA professionally-prepared cover letter that adequately explains why you're doing this questionnaireA postage-paid, self-addressed envelope to return the questionnaire in. Postage-paid envelopes are available from the post officeAn incentive, such as "10 percent off your next purchase," to complete the questionnaireEven following these guidelines, mail response is typically low. A return rate of 3 percent is typical; 5 percent is considered very good. Phone surveys are generally the most cost-effective. Here are some telephone survey guidelines:Have a script and memorize it--don't read it.Confirm the name of the respondent at the beginning of the conversation.Avoid pauses because respondent interest can quickly drop.Ask if a follow-up call is possible in case you require additional information.In addition to being cost-effective, speed is another advantage of telephone interviews. A rate of five or six interviews per hour is typical, but experienced interviewers may be able to conduct more. Phone interviews also can cover a wide geographic range relatively inexpensively. Phone costs can be reduced by taking advantage of less expensive rates during certain hours.One of the most effective forms of marketing research is the personal interview. They can be either of these types:A group survey. Used mostly by big business, group interviews or focus groups are useful brainstorming tools for getting information on product ideas, buying preferences, and purchasing decisions among certain populations.The in-depth interview. These one-on-one interviews are either focused or nondirective. Focused interviews are based on questions selected ahead of time, while nondirective interviews encourage respondents to address certain topics with minimal questioning.Secondary research uses outside information assembled by government agencies, industry and trade associations, labor unions, media sources, chambers of commerce, and so on. It's usually published in pamphlets, newsletters, trade publications, magazines, and newspapers. Secondary sources include the following:Public sources. These are usually free, often offer a lot of good information, and include government departments, business departments of public libraries, and so on.Commercial sources. These are valuable, but usually involve cost factors such as subscription and association fees. Commercial sources include research and trade associations, such as Dun & Bradstreet and Robert Morris & Associates, banks and other financial institutions, and publicly traded corporations.Educational institutions. These are frequently overlooked as valuable information sources even though more research is conducted in colleges, universities, and technical institutes than virtually any sector of the business community.Public Information SourcesGovernment statistics are among the most plentiful and wide-ranging public sources. Helpful government publications include the following.The State and Metropolitan Area Data Book provides a wide variety of statistical information on states and metropolitan areas in the United States. Published by the U.S. Census Bureau, it's available online for $31 through the U.S. Government Printing Office and at larger libraries.The Statistical Abstract of the United States provides tables and graphs of statistics on the social, political and economic conditions in the United States. Published by the Census Bureau, it's available online for $48 through the U.S. Government Printing Office and at larger libraries.U.S. Industry and Trade Outlook presents recent financial performances of U.S. manufacturers and identifies emerging trends. Published by the Commerce Department in cooperation with McGraw-Hill, it's available online for $76 through the U.S. Government Printing Office and at larger libraries.The U.S. government online bookstore at the U.S. Government Printing Office has an abundance wealth of publications on topics ranging from agriculture, aviation, and electronics, to insurance, telecommunications, forest management, and workers' compensation.The U.S. Census Bureau website also contains valuable information relevant to marketing. The Bureau's business publications cover many topics and trades--such as sales volume at furniture stores and payrolls for toy wholesalers--and are useful for small businesses as well as large corporations in retail, wholesale trade, and service industries. Also available are census maps, reports on company statistics regarding different ethnic groups, and reports on county business patterns.One of the most important information resources you'll find is the SBA. The SBA was created by Congress in 1953 to help American entrepreneurs start, run, and grow successful small enterprises. Today there are SBA offices in every state, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Guam. Among the services offered by the SBA are financial assistance, counseling services through Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), management assistance through programs like SCORE, and low-cost publications. The counselors at SCORE can provide you with free consultation on what type of research you need to gather and where you can obtain that information. They may also be able to suggest other means of gathering the information from primary sources. SBDCs generally have extensive business libraries with lots of secondary sources for you to review.One of the best public sources is the business section of your public, or local college or university, library. The services provided vary from library to library but usually include a wide range of government publications with market statistics, a large collection of directories with information on domestic and foreign businesses, and a wide selection of magazines, newspapers and newsletters.Almost every county government publishes population density and distribution figures in accessible census tracts. These show the number of people living in specific areas, such as precincts, water districts or even ten-block neighborhoods. Some counties publish reports that show the population ten years ago, five years ago, and currently, thus indicating population trends.Other public information resources include local chambers of commerce and their business development departments, which encourage new businesses to locate in their communities. They will supply you (usually for free) information on population trends, community income characteristics, payrolls, industrial development and so on.Don't overlook your bank as a resource. Bankers have a wealth of information at their fingertips and are eager to help their small business customers get ahead. All you have to do is ask.Commercial Information SourcesAmong the best commercial sources of information are research and trade associations. Information gathered by trade associations is usually limited to that particular industry and available only to association members, who have typically paid a membership fee. However, the research gathered by the larger associations is usually thorough, accurate, and worth the cost of membership. Two excellent resources to help you locate a trade association that reports on the business you are researching include the Encyclopedia of Associations (Gale Research), and the Encyclopedia of Business Information Sources (Gale Group).Local newspapers, journals, magazines, and radio and TV stations are some of the most useful commercial information outlets. Not only do they maintain demographic profiles of their audiences (their income, age, gender, amount of disposable income, and types of products and services purchased, what they read, and so on), but many also have information about economic trends in their local areas that could be significant to your business. Contact the sales departments of these businesses and ask them to send you their media kit, since you're working on a marketing plan for a new product and need information about advertising rates and audience demographics. Not only will you learn more about your prospective customers, you'll also learn more about possible advertising outlets for your product or service.Dun & Bradstreet is another commercial source of market research that offers an abundance of information for making marketing decisions. It operates the world's largest business database and tracks more than 62 million companies around the world, including 11 million in the United States. For more information, visit the Dun & Bradstreet Small Business Solutions website.Finally, there are educational institutions that conduct research in various ways, ranging from faculty-based projects often published under professors' bylines, to student projects, theses, and assignments. You may be able to enlist the aid of students involved in business classes, especially if they're enrolled in an entrepreneurship program. This can be an excellent way of generating research at little or no cost, by engaging students who welcome the professional experience either as interns or for special credit. Contact the university administration and marketing or management studies departments for further information.