Research Skills

What Research Skills covers

Research Skills is examined in Unit A2 2, Research Project — internally assessed, compulsory. It covers primary and secondary research, questionnaires and interviews, food diaries, observation and sensory evaluation, sampling and research ethics, Evaluating and referencing sources and Analysing and presenting data.

The 6 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• Primary and secondary researchPrimary and secondary research and their strengths and weaknesses, the National Diet and Nutrition Survey, aims, objectives and hypotheses, reliability, validity, pilot studies and triangulation.Open →
• Questionnaires and interviewsOpen and closed questions, rating scales, leading and double questions, questionnaire layout, online surveys, structured and unstructured interviews, interviewer bias and social desirability.Open →
• Food diaries, observation and sensory evaluationFood diaries, weighed records, 24-hour recall and food frequency questionnaires, observation, and ranking, rating, triangle and star profile tests under fair conditions.Open →
• Sampling and research ethicsTarget populations and representative samples, random, stratified, opportunity and quota sampling, sample size, informed consent, withdrawal, confidentiality and taste-test safety.Open →
• Evaluating and referencing sourcesReliable sources, peer review, funding bias, the age of sources, government and social media sources, literature reviews, Harvard referencing and plagiarism.Open →
• Analysing and presenting dataQuantitative and qualitative data, percentages and averages, the range, bar charts, pie charts and line graphs, trends and anomalies, conclusions and recommendations.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Research Skills further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Primary research vs Secondary research

  Primary research: new information collected first-hand by the investigator for a specific purpose. Secondary research: existing information that others have already gathered and published.

• Quantitative data vs Qualitative data

  Quantitative data: numerical information such as percentages, scores and totals. Qualitative data: descriptive information in words about opinions, reasons and experiences.

• Reliability vs Validity

  Reliability: the consistency of results when a study is repeated in the same way. Validity: how far findings measure what they claim to measure.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is primary research?

   Model answer

   Primary research is new information collected first-hand by the researcher for a specific purpose. A questionnaire on students' breakfast habits produces primary data.

2. 2

   What is secondary research?

   Model answer

   Secondary research uses information that others have already collected and published. Government dietary surveys, journal articles and textbooks are secondary sources.

3. 3

   Give one strength and one weakness of primary research.

   Model answer

   Primary research answers the researcher's exact question and gives up-to-date data. Primary research can take a long time and usually reaches only a small sample.

4. 4

   Give one strength and one weakness of secondary research.

   Model answer

   Secondary research is quick and cheap, and can draw on very large national samples. The data may be out of date or collected for a different purpose.

5. 5

   What is the National Diet and Nutrition Survey?

   Model answer

   The National Diet and Nutrition Survey is a continuing UK survey of the diet of people aged 18 months and over. The survey has run as a rolling programme since 2008.

6. 6

   Why is the National Diet and Nutrition Survey a useful secondary source?

   Model answer

   The survey uses a large, representative UK sample and a consistent method over many years. Researchers can compare their own small findings against national trends.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Research Skills revision questions

What does Research Skills cover in CCEA A-Level Nutrition and Food Science?

6 subtopics: primary and secondary research, questionnaires and interviews, food diaries, observation and sensory evaluation, sampling and research ethics, evaluating and referencing sources and analysing and presenting data. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Research Skills organised?

By the CCEA 3310 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.