day-64-ielts-listening-practice

IELTS Booster Lab Listening

Day 64 IELTS Listening Practice - Research Method Discussion

Section 3 discussion practice with three fresh accents, research methods, reliability, final decisions, responsibilities, equipment, dates, and deadlines.

Practice Instructions

  1. Listen once without pausing.
  2. Answer all 10 questions.
  3. Check the answer key.
  4. Replay the mistakes only.
  5. Read the transcript after trying.
  6. Write one weak point for tomorrow.

Questions 1-5

Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.

  1. What will the students investigate?
    A. cafeteria food prices
    B. food waste in the cafeteria
    C. students' favourite meals
  2. Why do they reject a questionnaire as the main method?
    A. Students may give inaccurate answers.
    B. Printing it would be expensive.
    C. Too few students use the cafeteria.
  3. What primary research method do they choose?
    A. interviewing cafeteria staff
    B. photographing unfinished meals
    C. weighing discarded food
  4. Why will they also conduct a short observation?
    A. to identify why food is left
    B. to count available tables
    C. to measure waiting times
  5. Who will contact the cafeteria manager?
    A. Dr Foster
    B. Amir
    C. Theo

Questions 6-10

Complete the research plan. Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

  1. Data will be collected for __________ days.
  2. Measurements will be taken during __________ only.
  3. The students will borrow digital __________.
  4. The pilot study will take place on __________.
  5. The ethics form must be submitted by 12 __________.

Answer Key

  1. B
  2. A
  3. C
  4. A
  5. B
  6. five
  7. lunch
  8. scales
  9. Tuesday
  10. November

Distractor Explanations

  • Prices and favourite meals are possible causes; food waste is the research focus.
  • The questionnaire is rejected because students may report their behaviour inaccurately.
  • Interviews and photographs are considered before weighing discarded food is selected.
  • Observation is added to identify why food is left, not to count tables or measure queues.
  • Theo offers to contact the manager, but Amir takes responsibility.
  • Two weeks, all meals, kitchen scales, Monday, and December are replaced by the final arrangements.

Transcript

Dr Foster: Amir and Theo, your project proposal says you want to investigate food waste in the university cafeteria. You may consider prices and favourite meals as possible causes, but food waste must remain the central topic.

Amir: We first thought about giving students a questionnaire after they finish eating.

Theo: Printing would not cost much, and the cafeteria serves hundreds of students, so we would receive plenty of responses.

Dr Foster: The weakness is accuracy. Some students may claim they finished everything even when they left food, so reported answers may not match their actual behaviour.

Amir: Then a questionnaire should not be our main method. Could we interview cafeteria staff instead?

Theo: Staff interviews would provide useful background, but they would not tell us how much food students leave each day.

Dr Foster: Correct. You need a method that produces measurable data.

Amir: We could photograph every unfinished meal and classify the pictures later.

Theo: That would create hundreds of images. What if we collect the discarded food and weigh it?

Dr Foster: Weighing discarded food will give you comparable numerical results. Use that as the primary research method.

Amir: Weight alone will not explain why food is left. Should we add a short observation?

Theo: We could count empty tables or record the time students wait in the queue.

Dr Foster: Those details do not explain the waste directly. Observe the return area briefly and note visible reasons why food is left, such as portions being too large.

Amir: Fine. The observation will help us identify why food is left without questioning every student.

Theo: We need permission to work near the return area. I can contact the cafeteria manager.

Amir: I already know the manager from my part-time job, so it will be easier for me to explain the project.

Dr Foster: Good. Amir will contact the manager, and Theo can prepare the recording sheet.

Theo: How long should we collect data? Two weeks would show differences between the menus.

Dr Foster: Two weeks will produce more data than you can analyse. Collect measurements over five consecutive days.

Amir: Should we measure waste at breakfast, lunch, and dinner?

Theo: Dinner has fewer customers, but comparing all three meals could still be interesting.

Dr Foster: Keep the project manageable. Lunch is the busiest period, so take measurements during lunch only.

Amir: The cafeteria has ordinary kitchen scales. Can we use those?

Theo: Their measurements may not be precise enough for small amounts.

Dr Foster: The science department can lend you digital scales. I will reserve them for the collection week.

Amir: We should test the procedure before the five-day study. Could we run the pilot on Monday?

Theo: Monday is the cafeteria's busiest delivery day, and the staff will not have time to help us.

Dr Foster: Move the pilot to Tuesday afternoon. You can test the scales and recording sheet after lunch service.

Amir: Our full project proposal is not due until December. When is the ethics form required?

Dr Foster: Submit the ethics form by 12 November. Without approval, you cannot begin observing students.

Theo: Tuesday for the pilot and the twelfth of November for the ethics form. I will add both dates to our plan.

Amir: I will speak to the cafeteria manager tomorrow and confirm access to the return area.

Mistake-Review Point

Identify whether a method is merely suggested, rejected because of a weakness, or accepted as part of the final research design.

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