Research Methodology 2 (Mind Maps)

After doing research on the types of research methodologies, specifically in primary research, available and along with their purposes, advantages and disadvantages. My group chose 3 final approaches that we will take to achieve the relevant data we need in primary research.

 We wrote it down in the form of mind maps which we presented in class.

1. Online Survey

We chose to do an online survey to get quantitative data as online survey is quick and easily accessible to those who have internet access which allows us to get the numbers fast. However, the downside is that elderly may not be IT savvy which means we cannot use the approach of online survey on them. That is why we decided to target our survey at the younger audience, from 18 to 35 years old but not limited to the range. 

A change in target audience from elderly to the younger generation is not irrelevant as we can use the data to understand the relationship between the younger generation with the elderly and to see their understanding of the issues and problems faced by the elderly in the society. We can also obtain their perception of growing old, which everyone will experience, and also their understanding of the public transport and the concern of an ageing population. This allows us to not neglect the elderly who lives with their family (e.g. Children and grandchildren) during our research process as questions will be directed to people who have elderly at home. 

I believe that the data obtained from the online survey can actually provide fresh insights for us compared to approaching elderly for a survey as the mentality of young and old can be different. 

2. Interview

For interview, our target audience is the elderly, age 60 years and above who are not chosen at random (not strangers) but specific elderly like grandparents or relatives or friends. If the survey is targeted at a young audience, there is a need to collect data from the elderly and through the interview we can gain some personal and deeper understanding on the feelings of elderly with regards to our topic rather than large numbers of data. However, due to time restraints, we can't interview a large number of elderly.

3. Observations

Because of the limited number of elderly we can interview due to time restraints, we decided to use observations as one of our methods. Observations is time consuming because in order to obtain accurate results, there is a need to extend the time period of observations and it should happen over the course of maybe a week and not just one day.

But this is a fast way for us to collect data and I think that in surveys and interviews, there is always the possibility of answers not being truthful. Observations allow us to get data that are more factual and quantitative as we will be observing strangers in public places like mrt stations to know what are the preferred mode of transport or the timing(s) elderly prefers to go out or the places they usually frequent. Also if they experience any hiccups (e.g. crowded trains/buses), we can observe it through their facial expressions and body languages.