You will have noticed that in Doing a Successful Research Project I make considerable use of news stories that draw on the reports of research projects. These are generally based on work carried out in universities or by government research units, and their quality (and therefore their trustworthiness) varies greatly. But news editors know that they always make for interesting reading because they are based on something more than the expression of one person’s opinion. Chapter 1 of my book starts with eight examples and I continue to keep my eyes open for others that can be used for teaching purposes.

This month, though, there was one item in The Times that suggested a need for more research in a specific area. It reflected on the concern being expressed by water companies that, before very long in the

UK

and elsewhere, the demand for water will exceed the supply. This is not specifically a climate-change issue (though it’s not unrelated to it); it is principally about rising levels of consumption in an area of limited resources. “The problem is”, said the source of the story, “we just don’t know enough about how people use water”.

What a wonderful opportunity, I thought, for any number of research methods teachers to lead their students down an interesting path. Indeed, I bet some have already done so – it would be interesting to hear from them.

The question is a good one for two principal reasons: it raises interdisciplinary issues and finding answers to it could span the full range of methodological options.

So far as interdisciplinarity is concerned, the topic is one of crucial importance to environmental science, but it also involves aspects of sociology, social policy, economics and psychology.

Methodologically, it is a beautiful example of my consistently reiterated argument that both qualitative and quantitative methods are crucial sources of valid data.

How would you relate the question – “How do people use water? – to your own  subject area? What particular aspect of the question might you choose to focus on?  What do we know about variable levels of usage –in the domestic setting as well as in commerce and industry?

 

And if – as is always the case with a student project – time and resources were limited, how would you tackle your chosen aspect of the question? What method would work well – and what would be its limitations?

You could certainly start by asking yourself how you use water.

Martin Davies