Unit 5 (Certificate), 1.1 "Outline research methods and techniques."

Unit 5 (Certificate), 1.1 - "Outline research methods and techniques."

There are many researching methods and techniques that can be used when you are trying to source something out. These can range from using what you are probably reading this on now (the internet) to the old fashioned non-digital ways.

I have outlined some ways that you can go about researching whatever you need to find information on:

Internet search engines:

There are a number of search engines we have the choice of using. Yahoo and Bing are two of the competing engines to the internet world. The one search engine that I know I use on a daily basis, and one that the majority of the internet-using world have on their computer is Google *stats here.

Social networking sites: 

Social networking sites are a great tool for researching, too. I have found many things through our work Twitter feed (particularly when it came to London riot bulletins), and, of course, Facebook.

The problem with social networking is, that, it is a lot like Chinese whispers, and you can't take everything that is said seriously.

An example of this is when both Justin Bieber and Kanye West  were apart of a hoax, trending over Twitter, saying that the two artists were dead. 

Publications:

The internet isn't the only way you can get information, though. Magazines, books, and so forth are other great ways to research something. Though very few people go to libraries now, the option to read up on topic when it comes to research is always there, whether that be in a physical book-type format, or on the computer screen.

Websites:

Depending on what you are researching, there are many specialist websites dedicated to all kinds of things. The one website that springs to mind when I think of anything and everything to do with film is imdb. IMDb is the home to all things related to film (and also TV). There, you have things that can be useful for someone researching a film (budget, cast, producers, etc). IMDbpro is the 'real' industry website, though. The differences between the pro version of IMDb are extremely significant. Where on the free version of IMDb you can't find out agents of actors for example, on PRO you have that option, along with contact details and more. IMDBPro, especially in my work place, is used quite a lot, particularly when it comes to adding credits and new projects on the site, which cannot be done on the free version.

People:


People are an excellent source of research, something that we seriously take for granted. Experience, in most cases, can equal knowledge - invaluable knowledge.  In terms of knowing about the film industry, people that have lived and breathed it would probably be able to tell you a lot more than you could read online or in a magazine, and it also comes from a place of experience, too.