Research Methods in Documentation Course

Lesson 1 • Types of Research Relevant to Documentation

Surveys primary, secondary, and tertiary research and their roles in documentation projects. Provides a taxonomy students apply throughout the course.

Lesson 2 • Research Ethics and Professional Standards

Covers ethical obligations in sourcing, attribution, and data handling for documentarians. Establishes norms that govern all subsequent research activities.

Lesson 3 • Setting Research Objectives and Questions

Teaches how to formulate clear research questions aligned with documentation deliverables. Connects objective-setting to project planning and scope control.

Lesson 1 • Accessing Specialised Documentation Sources

Covers technical databases, standards repositories, and subject-matter expert networks. Expands the source landscape beyond general web searches.

Lesson 2 • Building and Managing a Source Library

Teaches systematic organisation of sources using reference management tools and tagging strategies. Prepares students for efficient retrieval during documentation projects.

Lesson 3 • Mapping the Information Landscape

Introduces the full spectrum of source types available to documentarians, from internal records to published literature. Builds awareness needed for strategic source selection.

Lesson 1 • Constructing Effective Search Queries

Guides students through query design from keyword selection to iterative refinement. Builds on Boolean logic to produce targeted, reproducible searches.

Lesson 2 • Evaluating and Narrowing Search Results

Teaches systematic review of result sets to identify high-value sources and discard noise. Connects retrieval skills to the source evaluation criteria from Chapter 2.

Lesson 3 • Boolean Logic and Search Operators

Introduces AND, OR, NOT operators and their effect on search result sets. Forms the technical backbone of all structured search strategies in the course.

Lesson 4 • Managing and Reproducing Searches

Covers documentation of search processes for auditability, reproducibility, and team collaboration. Reinforces professional standards introduced in Chapter 1.

Lesson 1 • Designing Effective Interview Questions

Teaches open, closed, probing, and clarifying question types and their strategic use. Directly shapes the quality of information captured during expert consultations.

Lesson 2 • Planning and Preparing for Interviews

Covers stakeholder identification, interview goal-setting, and logistical preparation. Grounds interview practice in the research objectives framework from Chapter 1.

Lesson 3 • Recording, Transcribing, and Validating Data

Covers ethical recording practices, transcription methods, and member-checking for accuracy. Ensures interview data meets the reliability standards set in Chapter 1.

Lesson 4 • Conducting Structured and Semi-Structured Interviews

Guides students through active listening, note-taking, and real-time clarification during interviews. Builds practical facilitation skills for live expert sessions.

Lesson 1 • Conducting Think-Aloud and Contextual Inquiry

Teaches think-aloud protocols and contextual inquiry as methods for capturing user cognition. Builds on interview facilitation skills from Chapter 4.

Lesson 2 • Designing Usability Studies for Documentation

Covers task scenario design, participant recruitment, and protocol development for usability tests. Applies research objective-setting skills from Chapter 1 to usability contexts.

Lesson 3 • Principles of Observational Research

Introduces structured observation as a data collection method and its advantages over self-report. Establishes the theoretical basis for all observational techniques in the chapter.

Lesson 4 • Collecting and Recording Observational Data

Covers observation logs, screen recording, and behavioural coding schemes for systematic data capture. Connects to recording and transcription methods from Chapter 4.

Lesson 1 • Fundamentals of Survey Research Design

Covers when surveys are appropriate, sampling logic, and the relationship between survey design and data quality. Grounds survey work in the research ethics framework from Chapter 1.

Lesson 2 • Structuring and Piloting the Survey Instrument

Covers logical flow, skip logic, and pilot testing to refine the instrument before full deployment. Ensures data quality before large-scale distribution.

Lesson 3 • Analysing and Interpreting Survey Data

Introduces descriptive statistics, cross-tabulation, and qualitative coding of open responses. Bridges survey data collection to the synthesis and reporting skills in Chapter 7.

Lesson 4 • Writing Clear and Unbiased Survey Questions

Teaches question types—Likert, multiple choice, open-ended—and common wording pitfalls. Builds on question design principles introduced in Chapter 4.

Lesson 1 • Critical Evaluation of Evidence Quality

Teaches students to assess strength of evidence using hierarchy-of-evidence concepts and confidence levels. Extends source evaluation skills from Chapter 2 to synthesised data.

Lesson 2 • Structuring Analytical Conclusions

Covers how to formulate defensible conclusions supported by synthesised evidence. Prepares students to translate analysis into documentation-ready outputs in Chapter 8.

Lesson 3 • Principles of Data Synthesis

Defines synthesis as distinct from summary and introduces frameworks for combining heterogeneous data. Establishes the analytical foundation for the entire chapter.

Lesson 4 • Triangulation Across Research Methods

Applies triangulation to cross-validate findings from interviews, observations, and surveys. Builds directly on data collected in Chapters 4, 5, and 6.

Lesson 1 • Citing Sources and Maintaining Traceability

Covers citation styles, in-text referencing, and traceability matrices for documentation projects. Reinforces attribution ethics established in Chapter 1.

Lesson 2 • Communicating Research to Stakeholders

Teaches tailoring research presentations to technical and non-technical stakeholders. Completes the research cycle by connecting findings to organisational decision-making.

Lesson 3 • Translating Research into Documentation Content

Guides the conversion of research findings into procedures, reference material, and user guides. Bridges the research process to tangible documentation deliverables.

Lesson 4 • Structuring Research Reports for Documentation

Covers standard research report components—executive summary, methodology, findings, recommendations. Applies analytical conclusions from Chapter 7 to formal report structures.