3.4 Broad and targeted research In order to research the project you are developing and the wider social context in which it is operating you will undertake both broad research and targeted research: Broad research: Social mapping and contextualising You use a range of methods to build up a rich understanding of the project and its context, including the communicative ecology. Through this research you build relationships with workers, users and stakeholders; and build up a picture of the main themes and issues that need to be understood. Targeted research Once you have a clearer map of the social context, and once your project is underway, you and your project will need to focus on more specific issues and groups of people.
Broad research: Social Mapping and Contextualising From the start, and throughout the life of a project, you as the researcher will become immersed in the project and the local community, and will map the characteristics, needs and relationships that exist. The aim of this broad and holistic research is to build up the Mapping exercises: Graphic depictions of roles bigger picture of the project and relationships in your research environment and its context, and to ground help understand your project and its context. planning and evaluation in the local setting, so that any actions emerging from the research are more likely to be relevant and successful. This is broad based exploratory research, designed to generate an understanding of the location and the social and cultural structures and networks that exist. Throughout the life of your project you will learn more and more about the communicative ecology of the area, and you will see the ways in which your project brings about change. This type of research can be called broad because you are using it to build up a picture of the project and community,
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