Desktop Research
Primary research, such as going out and conducting interviews or user testing, is typically an expensive and time-consuming exercise. Desktop research can help you identify secondary sources that can point you in the right direction before going out into the field. In desktop research, your sources may include journal articles, conference papers, government and NGO reports and statistics, and other (less) reputable sources, such as newspapers.
Example applications
You will need to conduct desktop research for all the work in this course. For the TCs, you can generally refer to this guide and the core resources, as well as exploring resources related to your portfolio topic (eg autonomous braking). For the ETSs, you will need to research your topic and methodology a bit more widely, and in the Portfolio it will need to be considerably researched.
You may also choose to conduct some primary research to strengthen your argument, and this might include conducting your own testing of product for comparisons.
Steps
There are two broad goals of desktop research. The first is to discover your topic, and once you have learnt about it sufficiently, find some reputable sources to help you construct an argument (it’s bad practice to build your argument first and then find sources - usually you’ll miss the point).
As a very general guide, you might:
Discover
- Consult this guide about potential methodology sources. Avoid using these sources in your bibliography in favour of demonstrating your own independent research
- Search Wikipedia, a collaborative encyclopaedia, to find out about the topic. Read widely on Wikipedia to discover the topic, but do not cite Wikipedia in your bibliography
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Explore the (reputable) sources referenced in Wikipedia - every article that meets Wikipedia’s editing standards has a list of references. You can definitely use any reputable sources from here in your bibliography Research
- Once you know a bit more about the topic, explore the area on Google Scholar, or similar search engine. Use phrases you encounter in the discover steps. Many of these sources will be reputable.
- Explore the ANU library journal databases. The ANU library has access to thousands of specialist journals, and these resources, used correctly, will influence your argument and help you to demonstrate scholarly research.
Hints
- Be skeptical during the desktop research phase. Don’t believe everything you read.
- Use the desktop research as a way to understand more about your topic. Read ‘around’ topics not just ‘in’ them, as reading around will help you to see new aspects or perspectives
- Look for reputable sources. Reputable sources are typically peer reviewed and not supported by lobbyist funding. This is sometimes tricky to navigate, so err on the side of caution
- Be aware of bias in your sources, and seek alternative viewpoints (good research would reveal both sides of an argument.
Core resources
- University of Southern Queensland has a great list of example Harvard citations [Online or PDF]
- See the ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre’s guide to generic report structure [Online or PDF]
- CECS has a generic report structure too [PDF]
- There are generic templates for the ETSs available in many formats in the Resources directory (note you do not have to use these){: .link-ext target=”_blank” }
Library resources
- If you’re unsure about Harvard referencing, and would like to know more by consulting a real book, the place to go is the Style manual for authors, editors and printers published by the Australian Government Publishing Service (ANU Library)
Similar tools…
Desktop research is also known as secondary research. Secondary research involves sources where the analysis has been done for you. In secondary research, the goal is to synthesise what has already been done. This should then prepare you for moving into the field to interview, or for conducting your own experiments.
Case studies
In your research, you will have to find sources to make your argument credible and convincing. These are examples of references from real ETSs in previous years.