Gathering primary data - Black History Level 2 Higher Project Qualification - Learning materials

Oct 20, 2026

Guidance for completing a Level 2 Higher project in Black History focuses on gathering primary data safely and effectively. It explains choosing between qualitative and quantitative approaches, using interviews or questionnaires, and matching question types to research needs. Learners receive structured advice on interview formats, open vs closed questions, questionnaire planning, recording consent, and participant communication. It also covers analysing qualitative data through counting, content analysis, and interview quotes, and analysing quantitative questionnaire responses with tables, charts, graphs, and tools like Excel.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Gathering primary data

Which method to use?

Interviews

Questionnaires

Carrying out your research

Analysing the data-qualitative

Analysing the data-quantitative

Welcome to the Black History/ Level 2 Higher Project Qualification 1 Gathering primary data • You may choose to gather primary data yourself as part of your research project. • This could include interviews, questionnaires or surveys. • You may collect qualitative or quantitative data. • Quantitative = related to quantities (numbers), gathers statistical or numerical data from a larger sample of people. Uses methods such as observations, questionnaires and structured interviews. • Qualitative = related to qualities, based on a small sample, will explore an issue in more depth or develop initial understanding. Uses methods such as interviews. • Consider how you will gather the information in a way that is safe and doesn’t make your participants feel uncomfortable. Which method to use? Think about: • Do you need to explore an issue in depth with just a few people? • Do you want to find out what lots of people think about an issue or idea? A questionnaire or survey • Do you need to gather evidence to support or refute an idea or proposal? • Often researchers will use both quantitative and qualitative methods. An initial interview can help to come up with questions for a survey. Or a questionnaire may raise issues that you want to explore in depth through a series of interviews. Interviews • Structured interviews have a format that is set in advance. You will already have written a series of questions which you would ask all participants. • Semi-structured interviews give more flexibility in exploring an idea. You will have some questions set in advance, but by listening to the responses and asking further questions, each interview will be different. • The type of questions and nature of the interview will depend on your participants. Think about: • Do you want to ask open or closed questions? • Open questions will get a wider range of responses, e.g.“What do you think about….?”. • Closed questions will restrict the possible answers, e.g.“What is your name?” • Are your questions clear? • Do you want to ask everyone exactly the same questions? • Consider where you will carry out the interviewsand what impact that could have on the responses. • How will you record the answers? • If it is a one-to-one interview, how can you make sure it is done in a safe way? Questionnaires • Questionnaires can be: – short or long – multiple-choice (closed) or free response (open) – in-person, on paper or digital. • You will need to plan in advance: – the questions you want to ask – who you will be asking to complete it – in what time frame – how you will gather the responses. Think about: • Will your questionnaire be verbal, on paper or digital? • Do you want to ask open or closed questions? • Questionnaires are usually multiple-choice but you may want to include some free-response options. • Do you need to include an ‘other’ or ‘don’t know’option for some of your questions? • If possible, give an even number of answer options as people tend to pick the middle option. • Ensure that the answer options are clear and do not overlap. E.g. avoid options of 1-2, 2-3, 3-4. • Have you ordered the questions in a sensible way? The first few should be the easiest, and the questions should flow well. Carrying out your research • Make sure you give participants information about what you are doing and why. • Be honest about how long an interview or questionnaire may take to complete. • Consider doing a test interview or survey to see if it works the way you want. • Ask permission to make a recording of an interview or to make notes. • Let people know what you will do with the results. • For a questionnaire, you should include a short introduction section explaining the purpose of the research. Analysing the data-qualitative • What you do with your results will depend on the method you used. • For qualitative data, you can turn information into numbers by

FAQs

What counts as primary data in this project guidance?

Primary data can be gathered by conducting interviews, questionnaires, or surveys. It may be qualitative or quantitative, depending on what the research needs.

How do qualitative and quantitative methods differ?

Quantitative methods relate to quantities and use statistical or numerical data from a larger sample, often through observations, questionnaires, and structured interviews. Qualitative methods focus on qualities using a smaller sample to explore an issue in more depth, often through interviews.

What steps should be followed when carrying out interviews and questionnaires?

Provide participants with information about what you are doing and why, be honest about timing, obtain permission to record or take notes, and explain how results will be used. For questionnaires, include a short introduction section explaining the research purpose.

Oct 20, 2026

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