What is research? Research is fi nding information and facts about a particular topic.
Research Techniques Closed Questionnaires (Primary Research)
Why do you need research? The information collected from research is required in many different scenarios. Maybe you are starting a business and you’re looking for what the local population wants the new shop to be based around. Or, it might be required to write an article, embedding the facts you find into the text backing up a point you’re stating.
Advantages
Disadvantages
- Easy to change into statistics - People are more inclined to take part due to their convenience - The information is direct
- Don’t get any reason behind the answer - Can only work for simple questions
Where can research be found? There are two types of research, primary and secondary. Primary research is information which you have collected. This may come in the form of a questionnaires or a survey. Primary research includes questionnaires, interviews, phone calls, surveys. Secondary research comes from books or surfing the internet. It is information you haven’t collected yourself and instead, used research which others have put together. Secondary research includes pictures, books, internet and magazines.
Quantitative
Qualitative
• Analytical • Used to explain behaviour using mathematics • Attempt to replicate reality by using statistics • Used to look at the performance of someone/something
• Looks at human behaviour • Reasons why this behaviour has occurred • Looking behind the choices of decision making • Small and focused samples are better than larger and vague
Open Questionnaires (Primary Research) Advantages
Disadvantages
- The detail in the answer can be very useful - Can gain a lot more information out of the public
- Information cannot be changed into a statistic very easily - People tend to avoid taking part due to the inconvenience
Books/Internet (Secondary Research) Advantages
Disadvantages
- Cheap - Less time consuming
- There could be a bias view and therefore making the information unreliable - The information might be out of date and therefore, could be incorrect