Lesson video

Hi, I'm Mrs. Allchin and I'm going to be taking you through this citizenship lesson today.

I'm going to give you all the information that you need to be successful and I'm also going to pause and tell you when to complete a check for understanding or a task.

I hope you enjoy the lesson.

This lesson is called Why is Secondary Research important and it's taken from the unit of lessons, How Can I Be a Change Maker In My Community? By the end of this lesson, you will be able to explain what secondary research is and how it can support your active citizenship project.

Keyword for today's lesson are secondary research, which is data that others have already collected.

So newspaper articles, internet stories, government statistics or radio or TV interviews.

Support, which is something that strengthens your argument or point of view and evidence, proof or data that shows something is true or backs up claim.

Our lesson outline for why is secondary research important is first we're going to look at actually what is secondary research and then we're going to consider how will it support citizenship.

So let's start by looking back what is secondary research? So Andeep is asking what is secondary research? This was one of our key words, so pause and see if you can remember.

Secondary research is research that already exists, so it's already out there.

So secondary research could include articles, reports, published interviews, programmes that are on the television and information on websites.

So there are just some examples of secondary research 'cause they already exist, they're already out there.

Secondary research ultimately refers to gathering and using information that has already been collected and published by other people or organisations, rather than collecting new data yourself.

So Andeep is saying, our teacher taught us a way to remember this.

Secondary research already exists so it's therefore older.

Whereas primary research we carry out ourselves, making it younger, just like how secondary pupils are older than primary pupils.

So that might be a little way that you can remember the difference between the two.

You will know that secondary students are older than primary pupils.

So if you think about the same thing for research, it still applies.

Secondary research has already been made by someone else who is already out there.

It exists already so therefore it's a bit older.

Whereas primary research is what you do yourself.

So it's brand new, it's younger.

So Andeep is saying, can you think of any specific examples? So we've already looked at broad examples like articles or websites.

Can you think of any specific examples? Let's look at some examples together.

So Home Office Hate Crime statistics recorded over a one year period are an example of data sets which produce secondary research as the data has already been recorded and published by government department.

So if you were to go onto a website like this and you will look at to look at reports with statistics have already been compiled and put together and then released ultimately to the public, that would be an example of this type of secondary research.

A newspaper report about the cost of living in the capital city is an example of secondary research, as the information has been collected by journalists and it's been published via the media.

So again, something that already exists, is already out there.

It's been created by someone else.

Various human rights reports by international organisations such as Amnesty International are also examples of secondary research as the investigations have already taken place and they've been published on their website.

Or reading a memoir written by a politician about their life as a member of parliament.

Again, could be an example of secondary research as the author has provided a firsthand account which has then been published.

So there are some examples.

Now Andeep is asking what features should high quality secondary research have? So we think about it, there's so much things and research and reports and articles that exist out there.

So how can we be absolutely sure that secondary research is of high quality? So pause and have a think.

Let's have a check for understanding before we start looking at that high quality secondary research.

So what is not an example of secondary research? Is it A a magazine article about recycling? B, an interview you have carried out? C, a report on Oxfam's website.

Or D, a documentary about benefit fraud? And the answer is an interview you have carried out.

Remember, if it's research that you carry out then it's primary research, if it's research that already exists, then it's secondary research.

So why is an interview you have carried out yourself not an example of secondary research? Secondary research is research that already exists.

Research you carry out is new research, making it primary, not secondary.

Remember, a way to remember that is if it's something that you have done yourself, it's gonna be brand new, it's younger and it's primary, whereas if it already exists, it's older and it's secondary.

So let's have a think then about high quality secondary research.

So with the popularity of social media and the ease in which people can create websites, it is important to consider the quality of secondary research as some is certainly more beneficial than others.

High quality secondary research should be valid, reliable, accurate, current and free from bias.

So if secondary research is valid, it accurately reflects what it aims to measure.

So for example, a report on Scottish independence that uses opinions from Scottish citizens is valid because its surveys the relevant group, it's literally going to be reporting on the thoughts and the opinions of people in which that really, really matters and has an impact on.

So that makes it valid.

If secondary research is reliable, it means it's trustworthy and it comes from a dependable source.

So for example, statistics from the office for national statistics, you might know this as ONS are reliable because ONS is an official government source that uses consistent data gathering methods each year.

If secondary research is accurate, this means that information is correct and does not include errors or false claims. So for example, information regarding the number of MPS elected after a general election and the parties they represent is accurate as it is actually true.

And this is one that you really, really need to really think about when you're looking at your secondary research.

Really thinking about, could this be a false claim? Can I check that this information? Can I find the same information elsewhere? It's really important that you're not using secondary research that's inaccurate.

If secondary research is current, this means that information is up to date and recent.

Or if a report is used, this is the most recent one available.

So for example, if you were looking at the ministry of justice's re-offending statistics, these are updated each year.

So therefore the 2025 version would be current.

If you were using data from one that was maybe five, 10 years old, actually it's not current.

That's not going to be as useful.

It's not going to be as high quality for what you need your secondary research to be.

If secondary research is free from bias, it presents a fair and balanced view.

For example, a newspaper article that includes opinions both for and against lowering the voting age of 16 is unbiased as it represents multiple perspectives.

Considering these factors helps avoid using unsuitable research since fully valid, reliable, accurate and up-to-date and unbiased research is rare, it is important to use a wide range of sources.

So it's really, really difficult to have absolute perfection within a secondary piece of research.

That's why it's really important to look at a wide range of sources when collating your secondary research.

Let's have a check for understanding.

What features should high quality secondary research have? And Andeep is reminding you that you've been given the first letter of each feature just to help you a little bit.

So high quality secondary research should be valid, reliable, accurate, current, and free from bias.

For task A, I'd like you to explain what high quality secondary research is.

Your answer should include two of the features from the list below.

So valid, reliable, accurate, current, free from bias.

Pause while you have a go at this task.

When explaining what high quality secondary research is, you may have included: high quality secondary research is when you use information that someone else has already collected and published.

For it to be high quality, it needs to be current, which means it's up to date.

This could include using the most up-to-date report available on a website.

It also has to be reliable, which means it comes from a trustworthy source like a government website or respected news source.

If it is out of data from a website that someone unknown has made, then you cannot really trust it.

So now we've got a good understanding of what secondary research is.

We're going to think about how will it support active citizenship? Secondary research can be very powerful within active citizenship.

And this has been proven with well-known previous campaigns.

So when we think about the Marcus Rashford campaign in 2020, he used secondary research to support his campaign for free school meals.

He used reliable data from charities at the Trussell Trust and that highlighted the scale of child hunger, helping him to persuade others.

He also used up-to-date COVID-19 figures to stress the urgency of the problem.

And when Greta Thunberg campaigns about climate change, she refers to scientific reports from the intergovernmental panel on climate change, the IPCC when carrying out her speeches.

These facts and figures help her articulate scale of the problem and ensure her speeches are focused on facts, not just her emotions.

As the data she refers to as recent, this also helps her speeches remain so we can see there that actually change makers have used secondary research really, really effectively.

Using high quality secondary research within active citizenship can support by supporting your arguments with evidence, helping you to be persuasive and providing information about existing or historical campaigns.

So let's have a look at a bit of a case study.

So Sophia is saying our active citizenship project, we are going to lobby our local council to invest more in youth services and John is saying we have research other local council websites to see what services they offer and we also find an article in the local newspaper written by a former youth worker that highlights the issues with our lack of youth services.

If you wish to, pause and just read through that information again.

So let's have a check for understanding.

How might Sophia and John's secondary research support them? So they're lobbying for the local council to invest more in youth services and they've researched what the councils are doing in terms of services and they've also found an article written by a former youth worker that highlights the issues with our lack of youth services.

So how might their secondary research support them? So they'll be able to use this secondary research to highlight to their local council what other areas have achieved and the potential benefits of this.

They can also refer to the firsthand account of a former youth worker to emphasise why they feel an investment in youth services is so important.

So Sam is saying, I want to inform my peers about the effects cocoa farming in Ghana, including its climate impact and the poor pay working conditions farmers face.

I found case studies and videos with firsthand accounts on fair trade websites.

Since many of my peers enjoy cocoa products, I hope to encourage them to be more globally aware and choose fair trade when possible.

So let's have a check for understanding with this.

How might Sam's secondary research support her? So she's hoping to educate her peers about poor working conditions that farmers are facing and she's found case studies and videos on fair trade websites that provide firsthand accounts.

So pause and think how might the secondary research support this action? So Sam's secondary evidence not only provides factual firsthand accounts, it also provides a motive information that Sam can use to persuade others to change their shopping habits.

Secondary research can also be used in a slightly different way to support your active citizenship project.

By researching previous active citizenship projects on charity websites, local grassroots organisations or by looking at published case studies, you can get ideas about active citizenship methods that have been successful.

You may then decide to use similar methods in your own active citizenship project.

So this is still a type of research that's out there.

People literally talking about the methods they use, if they were successful or methods they use that didn't work very well.

So by using and really utilising that secondary research, it can actually help you to be more successful too.

Let's have a check for understanding What are the missing words? Using high quality secondary research within active citizenship can support by supporting your something with something, helping you to be something, providing something about existing or historical campaigns.

Let's see how you got on.

So using high quality secondary research can support by supporting your arguments with evidence, helping you to be persuasive and providing information about existing or historical campaigns.

For Task B, I'd like you to explain how secondary research can support active citizenship.

Your answer should refer to supporting arguments with evidence as helping to be persuasive.

So when explaining how secondary research can support active citizenship, you may have included: secondary research is really useful when you are trying to be an active system, 'cause it gives you real facts and evidence to support your arguments.

Instead of just saying what you think, you can show that other people or trusted organisations agree with you, which makes what you are saying more powerful.

For example, when Marcus Rashford campaigned for free school meals, he did not just say kids are hungry.

He used reports and statistics from charities to prove that millions of children in the UK was sometimes going without meals.

You may have also included that kind of secondary research made Rashford campaign more persuasive 'cause it showed the government and US citizens that this was a serious problem backed by real data, not just his opinion.

Using secondary research also helps you to make better decisions in your campaign 'cause you understand the issue more deeply.

It shows that you have done your research and it makes people take you more seriously.

So overall, secondary research is a key part of making your voice heard as an active citizen.

So in summary of the lesson, why is secondary research important, secondary research is research that has already been collected and published by other people or organisations, rather than data that has been collected yourself.

Secondary data could include articles, reports, published interviews, programmes and information on websites.

High quality secondary data should be valid, reliable, accurate, current, and free from bias.

And this was will help you to support your argument with facts, persuade others, and also provide you with useful tips about methods that you could use.

That brings us to the end of the lesson.

Well done for all your hard work and I hope that you'll come back some more citizenship lessons in the future.