How do you research a citizenship issue for your Citizenship Action?
How to choose a citizenship issue, the difference between primary and secondary research, how to use sources critically and check their reliability, gathering different viewpoints, and forming an aim for your action.
A focused answer for OCR GCSE Citizenship Studies on researching a citizenship issue for the Citizenship Action: choosing an issue, the difference between primary and secondary research, using sources critically and checking reliability, gathering viewpoints, and forming an aim.
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What this dot point is asking
OCR wants you to explain how to research a citizenship issue for your Citizenship Action: choosing an issue, the difference between primary and secondary research, using sources critically and checking their reliability, gathering different viewpoints, and forming a clear aim. This Section 4 skill is assessed through your own project and through Paper 2 questions on research methods and source reliability.
Choosing an issue and forming an aim
Primary and secondary research
A strong project uses both. Primary research (such as a survey of fellow students) gives you fresh, relevant evidence about your own community; secondary research gives you the wider facts and context. Knowing the difference, and giving an example of each, is a common exam point.
Using sources critically and gathering viewpoints
OCR rewards explaining why reliable, balanced research matters: it gives a fair understanding of the issue and a sound basis for setting an aim and planning effective action. The strongest answers connect good research directly to better-planned, more credible action.
Try this
Q1. Give one example of primary research and one example of secondary research. [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. Primary: a survey, questionnaire or interview you carry out. Secondary: a website, news report, official statistics or a book.
Q2. Explain why you should check the reliability of a source. [Short explanation]
- Cue. Because some sources are biased or inaccurate; checking who produced it, when and why helps you rely on trustworthy evidence and avoid being misled.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR J270 20192 marksState the difference between primary and secondary research.Show worked answer →
A short knowledge question (2 marks, 1 mark each). Reward both terms defined and contrasted.
Primary research is information a person gathers themselves, first hand, for example through surveys, interviews or questionnaires (1 mark); secondary research is information gathered from sources others have already produced, such as websites, books, news reports and official statistics (second mark).
Top marks. Both defined and clearly contrasted: primary is collected by you, secondary already exists.
OCR J270 20228 marksExplain why it is important to use a range of reliable sources when researching a citizenship issue.Show worked answer →
An extended "Explain" question (8 marks, AO1 and AO2). Reward developed reasons, each explained.
Reason one (accuracy and avoiding bias). Using several sources, and checking who produced them and why, helps avoid relying on biased or inaccurate information, so the research is trustworthy.
Reason two (different viewpoints). A citizenship issue usually has more than one side, so gathering a range of viewpoints (including those you disagree with) gives a fair, balanced understanding and a stronger case.
Reason three (a sound basis for action). Reliable research lets you set a realistic aim and plan effective action, because decisions are based on evidence rather than assumptions.
Top band. Three developed reasons (accuracy, viewpoints, sound basis), with a judgement on why reliability matters most when planning action.
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Sources & how we know this
- OCR GCSE (9-1) Citizenship Studies J270 specification — OCR (2016)
- Citizenship in action (J270/02) sample assessment material — OCR (2016)