e-Government - Audit Desk Research

How Ipsos MORI Can Help You Conduct e-Government Research

Audit: Desk Research

It is always useful before any new research is carried out to audit currently available research and information. This helps establish whether there are findings which could be built upon, assumptions which could be further tested, or indeed whether further research is actually needed. In many cases Ipsos MORI can also provide important contextual and benchmarking information.

The task of conducting a formal literature review, desk research or even a discourse analysis is something completely different. At Ipsos MORI, we take an analytical approach to the collection and evaluation of information which produces actionable findings and which can often be seen as a project in its own right.

Recent studies that have included a substantial amount of desk research include work for the e-Citizen, e-Pay and Local e-Democracy National Projects. In each case, the literature review was led by Ipsos MORI Market Dynamics, the award-winning strategic research consultancy which joined Ipsos MORI in 2002. Their focus is on understanding the strategic context in which business and policy decisions have to be made, providing advice on optimum solutions to complex problems and working with clients to turn theory into practice. Other clients include the NHS, Postwatch, Royal Bank of Scotland, hp, Volkswagen Group, BT and Tesco.

The structure of the Ipsos MORI approach to literature reviews and desk research is:

1. Assessment of current information

Once the scope of the study has been established, our preliminary task is to read and assess all currently available studies. This includes information provided by you and your partners, Ipsos MORI, and other organisations such as central government and academics. At this stage, information is gathered through any means possible, including visits to specialist libraries, phone calls to authors and use of the internet.

2. Development of an analytical framework

In order to make sense of the wide variety of source material, Ipsos MORI develops an analytical framework which will allow the research to be dissected along key dimensions. These may include such issues as effectiveness, inclusiveness, practicality, flexibility and value for money.

3. Contextual analysis

No research programme sits in an environmental vacuum. It may be critical to consider multiple factors, such as assessments of technological, political, economic and consumer change that may impact on the topic. For this, we draw on our own proprietal sources and experience, as well as a wide range of other external sources.

4. Integration of the findings

The final phase brings all of this together in a presentation and report. These identify common themes from the various studies (as well as key differences), and will usually include the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches, likely future developments, national and international best practice ("What works?"), information on regional/local differences, and our assessment of information gaps and further research needs.