About This Subject
This subject is not mainly a knowledge-based subject like Biology, History or Geography.
A student is not expected to memorise detailed facts about climate change, migration, healthcare, sport, technology and all the other syllabus topics. Cambridge states that the topics provide contexts in which students develop skills, while knowledge of topic content is not assessed. It also says students are not expected to have experience of every topic.
1: Core Concepts And Global Perspectives Skills
2: Research Methods, Evidence And Source Evaluation
3: Written Exam Preparation
4: The Individual Report
5: The Team Project
6: Global Topics 1–8
7: Global Topics 9–15
8: Global Topics 16–22
9: Practice Tasks, Model Responses And Checklists
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Learning Objectives
- Distinguish primary research from secondary research.
- Explain the strengths and limitations of common research methods.
- Select methods that match the type of evidence required.
- Use more than one method to improve understanding of an issue.
Key Terms
- Primary research
- Evidence collected directly by the researcher for the current enquiry.
- Secondary research
- Evidence that was collected or published previously by another person or organisation.
- Survey
- A set of questions used to collect responses from a group of people.
- Interview
- A planned conversation used to obtain detailed information or perspectives.
- Observation
- Systematically recording behaviour, events or conditions as they occur.
- Triangulation
- Comparing evidence from different sources or methods to see whether findings support one another.
Understanding The Difference
Primary research includes surveys, interviews, observations and locally collected measurements. It can be designed for the exact question being investigated. Secondary research includes books, reports, articles, databases, documentaries and published statistics.
Primary does not automatically mean better, and secondary does not mean less reliable. A student survey of twenty friends may be weaker than a carefully designed national study. The value of a method depends on how the evidence was produced and whether it is relevant to the claim.
When Primary Research Is Useful
Primary research is especially useful for exploring local perspectives, recent experiences or information not available in published sources. Interviews can reveal reasoning and values. Surveys can identify patterns in responses. Observation can show what people do rather than only what they say they do.
However, primary research takes time and usually involves small samples. Students may lack the expertise or access needed to measure a complex global issue accurately. Findings must therefore be presented modestly and should not be generalised beyond the evidence.
Using Secondary Research
Secondary research gives access to a much wider range of places, time periods and expertise. International organisations, governments, universities and independent research groups may publish large data sets and detailed analysis that a student could not produce alone.
The challenge is selection and evaluation. Published information may be outdated, based on unsuitable methods or written to promote a particular interest. Students should compare sources and identify who produced the evidence, why it was produced and how it relates to the question.
Matching Method To Purpose
A survey is useful when the researcher needs comparable answers from many people. An interview is useful when depth and explanation matter. Observation is useful for behaviour or conditions that can be seen. Documentary analysis is useful for comparing policies, arguments or media representations.
Students should explain why a method suits the enquiry. Choosing a method because it is easy is not enough. The method should produce evidence that contributes directly to the question.
Worked Example: Investigating School Food Waste
A student could weigh leftover food for five school days, observe where waste occurs, survey students about reasons for leaving food and interview catering staff. Secondary sources could provide research on food waste, nutrition and successful reduction programmes.
If the different methods point to the same problem, confidence in the finding increases. If they disagree, the disagreement should be investigated rather than hidden. Students may say they dislike the menu, while observation may show that portion size is the larger problem.
Common Mistakes
- Assuming primary evidence is automatically reliable because the student collected it.
- Using a research method that does not answer the question being asked.
- Generalising from a very small local sample to an entire country or the world.
- Collecting several types of evidence but failing to compare the findings.
Knowledge Check
1. What is primary research?
Answer: Evidence collected directly by the researcher for the current enquiry.
2. Give one advantage of secondary research.
Answer: It can provide access to large data sets, expert analysis and evidence from many places or time periods.
3. When is an interview more useful than a survey?
Answer: When detailed explanations, reasoning and individual perspectives are needed.
4. What is triangulation?
Answer: Comparing evidence from different sources or methods to see whether the findings support one another.
