Which Primary Sources Are Right for You?

Primary sources include experiments, surveys, interviews, and observations that you conduct to gather information about your research question. Not all research projects require primary sources, but sometimes it might be the only way to get the information that you need.

Source: Angus Cattle, PDH, Wikimedia Commons

Let’s go back to the research plan that we made earlier. One of the questions that we need to answer is “Can beef from grazing cattle be made cheap enough for restaurants to use it instead of conventionally-raised beef?” I thought we might need to interview ranchers who raise grass-fed beef. An interview can help you find out what people most affected by an issue think and feel about it. A rancher would know whether it’s possible to meet the current demand for beef with cattle that are grazed rather than raised on a feed lot. Beginning with interviews, let’s look at the types of primary sources you can gather.

Interviews

When you interview people, you ask them specific questions that will help you answer your research question. You can do interviews in person, by phone, by e-mail, by instant message (IM), or by chat. In-person or phone interviews are preferable because they allow you to ask follow-up questions, but sometimes they aren’t possible, so e-mail and IM interviews are OK too. Let’s talk about what makes a successful interview, and then we’ll discuss how to create good questions.

How to choose an interview subject

Choose an expert. Do you want the opinion of an expert on your topic? In our research plan, I suggested that an interview with a rancher who raises grass-fed beef would be a good source for our paper. A local university is a good place to find experts in any field. You can contact the academic department that teaches your subject and ask if there might be a professor willing to be interviewed. Local businesses and professional organizations are also good places to find experts to interview.
Choose someone experienced with your topic. If you were writing a paper about the dangers of texting while driving, you could interview a person who was involved in a texting-while-driving accident. Finding someone with experience could be as easy as asking your friends and family members whether they know someone to interview or posting an interview request on an online discussion forum that deals with your topic.

Tips for writing good interview questions

Avoid bias. Biased questions lead your subject to answer them in a certain way. For example, “Don’t you agree that eating meat is bad for the environment?”
Ask open-ended questions. Don’t ask questions that encourage one-word answers. Don’t ask, “Did you become a rancher because your father was a rancher?” Ask, “Why did you become a rancher?”
Don’t make your questions too complicated. Ask concise, specific questions.

Let’s practice writing interview questions. Using your notes, write three questions for our rancher that will help us learn more about our research question, “Can grazing cattle be good for the environment and affordable for the consumer?” When you are finished, check your understanding to see three questions that I wrote.

Check Your Understanding

Sample Responses:

Why did you choose to graze your cattle instead of feeding them grain? Do you have to charge more per pound to sell grass-fed beef than you would if you fed them grain? To which restaurants do you currently sell your beef?

Surveys

Surveys are another kind of primary source. Surveys can tell you what a large number of people think about a topic. Think of surveys as interviews with several people who aren’t necessarily experts in your subject but who might have an interest in it. For example, if you wanted to find out whether people would be willing to eat less meat if it would help protect the environment, you could conduct a survey.

Tips for an effective survey

Choose the right people to survey. Do you want to know the opinion of students? Women only? Men only? People over 65 only? If we want to find out whether people would eat less meat to protect the environment, we need to survey people of any age or gender who regularly eat meat. Vegetarians will skew our results because they don’t eat meat at all.
Decide how many people you will survey. If you survey too few people, you won’t be able to report any trends. If you survey too many, you will be overwhelmed by the amount of data.
Decide how many questions you will ask. You don’t need to ask too many because your participants might get frustrated and not complete the survey.

As with interview questions, avoid bias and make your questions concise and simple. In surveys, however, you can ask closed, yes/no questions.

Let’s practice what you’ve learned about surveys. Using your notes, identify a group and number of people you might survey, and then write three survey questions that will help us learn more about our research question, “Can grazing cattle be good for the environment and affordable for the consumer?” When you are finished, check your understanding to see three questions that I wrote.

Check Your Understanding

Sample Responses:

I am going to survey 100 people on the Texas State University campus.

I am going to ask the following questions:

Do you eat meat daily?
Are you interested in doing more to protect the environment?
Did you know that meat consumption contributes to air, soil, and water pollution?
Would you be willing to give up eating meat one day a week to help protect the environment?

Observation

Observation is also a valuable type of primary source. Observations are typically part of science and social science experiments. The famous observer Jane Goodall spent years living with chimpanzees observing and recording their behavior. Your observations don’t have to involve changing your living arrangements to be effective, though!

How can you use observation as a research tool to help answer the question “Can grazing cattle be good for the environment and affordable for the consumer”? What if you aren’t convinced that grazing cattle is better for the environment than cattle raised on a feedlot? It might be a good idea to arrange a few visits to ranches that raise cattle each way. You could see how each ranch handles issues related to the environment, such as disposing of cow waste and moving cattle to different pastures to prevent erosion and the depletion of soil.

Conducting an effective observation

Don’t intrude on the activities and behaviors you are observing.
Take detailed notes.
Record the date and exact times you arrive and leave.
Observe on more than one occasion and try to visit at different times of day.

Let’s do a short activity to review what you know about primary and secondary sources. Below is a chart with two columns labeled “Primary” and “Secondary.” Below the chart are examples from these two kinds of sources. Drag each source to its correct column.