How do you identify a citizenship issue and research it?
Identifying a citizenship issue, forming a team and carrying out initial research, including using secondary and primary research to investigate the issue and prepare for taking action.
A focused answer for Edexcel GCSE Citizenship Studies on identifying a citizenship issue, forming a team and carrying out secondary and primary research as the first stages of the required citizenship action investigation.
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What this dot point is asking
Edexcel wants you to be able to identify a citizenship issue, form a team and carry out initial research, using both secondary and primary research to investigate the issue and prepare to take action. This is the first part of Theme E, the required citizenship action, which is assessed in Paper 2 Section A entirely from your own investigation. It is tested through "Explain" and "Examine" tasks that ask you to apply your own experience, for example explaining the difference between primary and secondary research or why research mattered. The examiner rewards a clear understanding of the research process and the ability to apply it to your own action with real examples.
Identifying an issue and forming a team
The first stage is choosing a good issue. It should be a genuine citizenship issue, linked to the concepts and topics you have studied (such as rights, the environment, the community or fairness), and it should be something on which you can realistically have an impact locally, nationally or globally. A well-chosen issue is specific enough to act on, for example improving a local facility, raising awareness of a particular problem, or supporting a group in need. You then form a team (the specification requires at least two people), because citizenship action is collaborative and many of the skills assessed, such as collaboration and negotiation, depend on working with others. At this stage you also begin to research possible elements of the activity. Edexcel rewards a clear, realistic issue connected to the course.
Secondary and primary research
Investigating the issue properly means using both kinds of research, and Edexcel commonly asks you to explain the difference. Secondary research comes first: you gather and review existing information about the issue, such as official reports and statistics from public bodies, reports in the news and media, and information from NGOs, groups and other organisations. This builds your understanding and helps you prepare. Primary research is information you collect yourself to answer your own research questions: for example, a survey or questionnaire of people affected, interviews, observations, or the results of a poll or vote. Primary research gives you direct, original evidence about your specific issue and community. Being able to define each, and give an example of each from your own action, is exactly what the exam rewards.
Why research matters
Research is not a box-ticking exercise; it shapes the whole action. Understanding the issue properly, including its causes and the people affected, means your action targets the real problem rather than a symptom. Finding out the different viewpoints, including those who might disagree, helps you make a fair case and anticipate opposition. Learning what has already been tried stops you repeating what has not worked. Above all, research lets you set realistic aims and choose a method likely to succeed, which is important because the specification expects you to be realistic about how far your aims can be met (though you are not penalised if an action does not go as planned). When the exam asks you to examine why research mattered, link it to a better-informed, better-targeted and more realistic action, using your own experience.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of Pearson Edexcel exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Edexcel 20194 marksExplain the difference between primary and secondary research, using your own citizenship action.Show worked answer →
A Paper 2 Section A "Explain" task (AO2), answered from the student's own action. Define each and apply.
Secondary research uses information that already exists, such as published reports, official statistics, news articles and websites about the issue; the student gathers and reviews this to understand the issue.
Primary research is information the student collects themselves, such as a survey, questionnaire, interview or observation, to answer their own research questions about the issue.
Markers reward a clear contrast between secondary research (existing sources) and primary research (collected by the student), applied to the student's own action with an example of each.
Edexcel 20216 marksExamine why research was important before you took your citizenship action. (6)Show worked answer →
A Paper 2 Section A "Examine" task (AO2 and AO3), answered from the student's own action. Develop reasons and their effect on the action.
Research helped the team understand the issue properly, including its causes and who was affected, so the action was based on evidence rather than assumptions.
It also revealed different viewpoints and what had already been tried, which helped the team set realistic aims and choose a method likely to work; without research the action might have been misdirected or ineffective.
Markers reward developed reasons linking research to a better-informed, better-targeted and more realistic action, drawn from the student's own experience.
Related dot points
- Representing your own and different points of view, planning the action by setting goals and success criteria and allocating roles, and applying skills of collaboration, negotiation and influence to deliver a campaign or social action project.
A focused answer for Edexcel GCSE Citizenship Studies on representing your own and others' viewpoints, planning the action with goals and success criteria, and using collaboration, negotiation and influence to deliver a campaign or social action project.
- Critically evaluating your learning and the impact of the action, including whether and why it achieved its aims, how well the method worked, and what you would do differently in future.
A focused answer for Edexcel GCSE Citizenship Studies on critically evaluating your citizenship action and its impact, including whether it achieved its aims, how well the method worked, and what you would do differently.
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- The role of groups and organisations in providing a voice and support, how citizens working together attempt to improve communities, the role and origins of trade unions, and the rights of people in the workplace and how they are protected.
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- How groups, individuals and those in power use the media to try to influence public opinion, including campaigns, social media and the framing of news.
A focused answer for Edexcel GCSE Citizenship Studies on how groups, individuals and those in power use the media, including social media and the framing of news, to try to influence public opinion.
Sources & how we know this
- Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Citizenship Studies (1CS0) specification — Pearson Edexcel (2022)