There are necessary stages for collecting relevant data in research which you must uphold if proper data must be gathered.

Sometimes relevant information needed for research may not be readily available within the purview of literature gathered and reviewed; at every point in your research journey, there’s always a time for sourcing information from ministries, agencies or professionals.

This information improves the reliability of your study, depending on the nature of research you are undertaking, there is a need for you to visit institutions related to the study you are carrying out. This is more practical when you are trying to state your population of study; you will find out that there is always a need to identify the number of individuals or group that make up your population of study. You will also have to back up this information by citing your authority.

Illustration: Let’s say your topic is “an examination of the effect of corruption in the Nigerian Police Force in Lagos, Nigeria”. Already your scope of study is known as Lagos State Police Command; take note that “having a scope helps you to delimit your research within a given jurisdiction to enable ease in collection of data and study of such area under investigation” now that you know why Lagos State Police Command can be chosen as a scope of study, you are required to state the number of police in Lagos Command which brings us to researcher’s personal observation;

There are two main stages of personal observation during research

The First Stage: This involves you visiting your scope of study and trying to find out the problems faced.

The Second Stage: This is when you visit respondents with the aim of administering questionnaires but end up collecting additional information within the area in focus.

Now, your first visit to Lagos State Police Command should give you an idea of the the nature of corruption and as well help your inquiry on the number of area commands and number of policemen registered in each division (police station). These details should be provided in population of study section, additionally, you must endeavor to state the authority of your information.

See sample below:

According to Lagos State Security Trust Fund (2021), the Lagos State Police Command has 13 Area Commands and 107 Police Divisions. 

Note: Sometimes getting this information could be a little difficult especially if the data required is not available on the internet. At this junction there’s just one thing you can do, that’s to source for unpublished materials with relevant data. Because some of these materials have some sort of restrictions due to confidentiality or organizational policy, they may not be available in the public.

You must be wondering what these materials are; yes, I am referring to organizational gazettes, Government Archives, institutions directories, Magazines, newsletters etc. these may not be sold in the public market, you can mostly get them within selected institutions and establishments.

Again, what this tells is that you will have to leave your comfort zone and visit various offices to collect the needed data and possibly interview a few staff.

You could use the services of Data centers to get information, statistics, records etc. others include National Bureau of Statistics, National Population Commission, National and State Libraries, Ministry of environment, Real Estate Development Association of Nigeria, Nigerian Bar Association the list is endless depending on your research subject and scope of study.