Research methods 1 - the audit

The first step in our data gathering for this project was to audit the reclaimed resources in use in each of the four early years settings. The audit, carried out by the researcher and setting staff, took the form of a checklist. The checklist was prepared with lists of resources under headed categories representing different types of materials. The four categories were: natural resources; food stuffs; craft materials; and found / donated materials.

The researchers ticked where resources were seen, added items to the audit if they saw things that were not on the original list, and in some cases also annotated the audit form with additional information about the items. It was necessary to complete the audit together with staff in order to gain access to materials that were out of sight, e.g in storage cupboards, and to identify some equipment that was reclaimed rather than purchased. For example, in one of the nurseries, a sofa, tables, soft furnishings and a wooden climbing frame had all been found in skips or charity shops and given a new lease of life!

In every setting the checklist was accompanied by photographs of the resources in context. Such as this one:

The audit form offers a means of recording the materials in use within each setting. It is also useful for making comparisons of the amount and types of reclaimed resources between settings. Having grown to include over seventy items, our checklist would now benefit from further work to refine the original categories and so make it more user-friendly.

We are interested in hearing from people who want to try out the checklist in their own setting and / or to help us to improve and develop it as a tool for practice and research. If you would like a copy of the audit checklist then please let us know - via the comments box, below, or by email to our gmail account.