If we were to undertake some primary research, we may obtain the Metro link's email address or phone number to contact someone and try to arrange a first person interview. Or we may head to the nearest tram stop and look for someone working at the ticket office or around the station to talk to. If we didn't receive feedback from either we could send a letter to the head office as the address is on the Transport for Greater Manchester's website.
I think another good piece of primary research we could use to obtain information and details about the tram system is by looking at the FAQ on the official website. The faq holds a number of questions with detailed answers detailing topics such as
- Safety and security
- Standard fares
- Times
- General enquires
- Ticket information
We will also do some secondary research, most likely exploring online articles and newspaper articles about debates/criticism or positive feedback and the benefits towards the community. There are plenty of articles online talking about the new reopening of the tram system after 60 years so this would be a good start to gain more information to background our documentary. In my opinion secondary research would be the least time consuming and costing method of research. As primary research may take up a lot of time trying to contact certain people and then trying to arrange to meet and interview someone. This is quite a hassle where was looking and gaining from online articles is far more economical. We may also look at some old books about when the tram station first opened and the history if we can not find as much online. These seem to be the best techniques.
Qualitative research -
For our section of qualitative research we may gather opinions from people around the tram station which would provide us with a rich source of information as we have opinions from the consumers of the tram station. This information may be detailed and easy to compare and gain feedback from. Although it may be time consuming and the findings will contain a lot of variables. We may also be able to receive some statements from people working at the station or ticket office.
Quantative research -
We could design a poll or questionnaire, if not we may be able to find one online or obtain the view count on the metrolink website or videos linking to the tram system (news clips etc) this would be a good way to do some quantative research. Both quantative and qualitative research are valuable methods. Although quantative is a lot less time consuming if you are obtaining the information online and most time's doesn't cost a penny. Especially considering the genre/narrative of our idea for the documentary, quantative research would be the most valuable alongside secondary research. As both are not time consuming. We may also find statistics from polls or graphs with percentages and numbers on whether the public have responded positively or negatively towards the re-opening of the tram system. Here are some positives and negatives of both quantitative and qualitative data, also secondary and primary.
Quantitative pros
Advantages of quantitative
- Easy to analyse (clear results from graphs,charts etc)
- Facts can be used in your favour (percentages,statistics)
Cons
- Results are without detail (usually binary,yes or no)
- Doesn't inform you for future research
Qualitative pros
- Results can guide a project to success (feedback)
- Can inform future research
- Is a rich source of information (detailed information)
Cons
- Can be tricky to get exact results (may differ)
- Findings are a result of lots of variables (who,where,when)
- Has the impression of being less valid.
