As the theory of data collection in general, the sources of information gathering to conduct a preliminary study can be done in 3 objects. The meaning of object here is what should be contacted; seen, researched or visited that roughly will provide information about the data to be collected.
The three objects are in the form of writings in the paper (paper), human (person) or place. Therefore, in English words, to more easily remember, it is abbreviated with 3P:
1. Paper:
Documents, books, magazines or other written materials, either in the form of theory, research reports or previous findings. This study is also called Literature Study.
2. Person:
Meet, ask and consult with experts or human sources.
3. Place:
Places, locations or objects that are in place research. Someone who is eager to conduct research in remote area, may dissuade after conducting preliminary research, because in fact the visited area is difficult to be achieved, so there is unbalanced between the costs incurred and the results to be achieved.
Preliminary research is also called pilot study or preliminary study.
One important single source that is comprehensive is Encyclopedia of Educational Research (Ebel, 1969), which contains a variety of educational research titles, and Year books published by The National for the Study of Education.
