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Questionnaires: These are often used by companies. The questions can be asked face to face, publicly, over the phone or posted to people’s homes.
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Focus groups: These are small carefully chosen groups that discuss a variety of topics of common interest. It is hoped this will encourage those taking part to be more open about there needs and wants. Focus groups are often used by political parties to find out what policies are popular.
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Test marketing: This is where a new product is tested in one small area of the country before opening it up to the full market.
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Consumer panels: This is where groups of consumers are asked to test a new product and are to comment on their findings before the product is put on the market.
Advantages and disadvantages of questionnaires
Advantages:
Generally it is relatively quick to collect information using a questionnaire. However in some situations they can take a long time not only to design but also to apply and analyse (see disadvantages for more information).
Potentially information can be collected from a large portion of a group. This potential is not often realised, as returns from questionnaires are usually low. However return rates can be dramatically improved if the questionnaire is delivered and responded to in class time.
Disadvantages:
Questionnaires are standardised so it is not possible to explain any points in the questions that participants might misinterpret. This could be partially solved by piloting the questions on a small group of students or at least friends and colleagues. It is advisable to do this anyway.
Open-ended questions can generate large amounts of data that can take a long time to process and analyse. One way of limiting this would be to limit the space available to students so their responses are concise or to sample the students and survey only a portion of them.
Respondents may answer superficially especially if the questionnaire takes a long time to complete. The common mistake of asking too many questions should be avoided.
Students may not be willing to answer the questions. They might not wish to reveal the information or they might think that they will not benefit from responding perhaps even be penalised by giving their real opinion. Students should be told why the information is being collected and how the results will be beneficial. They should be asked to reply honestly and told that if their response is negative this is just as useful as a more positive opinion. If possible the questionnaire should be anonymous.
Advantages and disadvantages of using interviews
Advantages:
- Central location allows for close supervision of interviewers therefore, a high degree of quality control
- questions can be repeated and interpreted; lower costs than face-to-face interviews; random-digit dialling sampling can be used
Disadvantages:
- Households without phones are excluded
- some resistance to intrusion via telephone; inability to use visual aids, such as flash cards
Secondary Research:
What is secondary research?
Secondary research is information and/or data that someone else has collected. You can find this type of information in printed sources (books, magazines, and newspapers) and in electronic sources (CD-ROM encyclopaedias, software packages, or online services, such as the Internet). Super markets use the data collected from their sales tills to determine such things as trends and loss leaders. Companies can also use published sources if information.
Collecting secondary research:
Market research agencies
These collect data, analyse it and publish the results in journals. This can then be bought by companies who need information on current consumer markets.
Office of population censuses and surveys
These carry out a census every ten years for the government, and this data is available to companies. It includes such details as age groups in different areas, where people live and employment statistics.
Public libraries
These have any different types of reference books, and many also have CD-ROM facilities.
Newspapers and magazines
These provide information on market trends.
Advantages and disadvantages of using secondary data
Advantages
- Considerably cheaper and faster than doing original studies
- You can benefit from the research from some of the top scholars in your field, which for the most part ensures quality data.
- If you have limited funds and time, other surveys may have the advantage of samples drawn from larger populations.
- How much you use previously collected data is flexible; you might only extract a few figures from a table, you might use the data in a subsidiary role in your research, or even in a central role.
- A network of data archives in which survey data files are collected and distributed is readily available, making research for secondary analysis easily accessible.
Disadvantages
- Since many surveys deal with national populations, if you are interested in studying a well-defined minority subgroup you will have a difficult time finding relevant data.
- Secondary analysis can be used in irresponsible ways. If variables aren't exactly those you want, data can be manipulated and transformed in a way that might lessen the validity of the original research.
- Much research, particularly of large samples, can involve large data files and difficult statistical packages.
