MEDIA DIANE NADURATA
research. primary // secondary qualitative // q uantitative questionnaire structured interview semi structured interview unstructured interview focus group observation using secondary sources
PRIMARY SECONDARY first hand research information that you produce yourself. examples _________ - focus groups - questionnaires (self-produced) - surveys advantages _________ - you know that the information you have is accurate - it can be tailored to what you are focusing on - it is current information/up-to-date. disadvantages _________ - time consuming - can be costly
second hand information that someone else has already produced. examples _________ -
articles existing questionnaires (self-produced) wikipedia // internet research data gathering agencies
advantages _________ - quick - low costs - wide range of results from a range of different people disadvantages _________ - may not be quality information - may not be accurate - information may not be up to date
QUALITATIVE Qualitative Research is about finding out not just what people think but why they think it. It’s about getting people to talk about their opinions so you can understand their motivations and feelings. An example of this would be an interview because although you get results from a minimal amount of people, the responses are in depth and in detail.
QUANTITATIVE Quantitative Research on the other hand is is about asking people for their opinions in a structured way so that you can produce hard facts and statistics to guide you. To get reliable statistical results, it’s important to survey people in fairly large numbers and to make sure they are a representative sample of your target market. An example of this would be an questionnaire because the results you’ll be getting are specific and exact.
QUESTIONNAIRE A form containing a set of questions, especially one addressed to a statistically significant number of subjects as a way of gathering information for a survey.
STRUCTURED INTERVIEW
Also known as a formal interview (like a job interview) The questions are asked in a set / standardized order and the interviewer will not deviate from the interview schedule or probe beyond the answers received (so they are not flexible). These are based on structured, closed-ended questions. Structured interviews are easy to replicate as a fixed set of closed questions are used, which are easy to quantify – this means it is easy to test for reliability. However, Structure interviews are not flexible. This means new questions cannot be asked impromptu (i.e. during the interview) as an interview schedule must be followed.
UNSTRUCTURED INTERVIEW
They are sometimes called informal or discovery interviews. An interview schedule might not be used, and even if one is used, they will contain open-ended questions that can be asked in any order. Some questions might be added / missed as the Interview progresses. Unstructured interviews are more flexible as questions can be adapted and changed depending on the respondents’ answers. The interview can deviate from the interview schedule. However, it can be time consuming to conduct an unstructured interview and analyze the qualitative data.
SEMI
STRUCTURED INTERVIEW Semi-structured interviews are often preceded by observation, informal and unstructured interviewing in order to allow the researchers to develop a keen understanding of the topic of interest necessary for developing relevant and meaningful semi-structured questions. Many researchers like to use semi-structured interviews because questions can be prepared ahead of time. This allows the interviewer to be prepared and appear competent during the interview.
FOCUS GROUP Focus group is a term often applied to a group discussion carried out for market research purposes. Participants unknown to each other are brought together, in a particular neutral location, for the specific purpose of discussing an issue, or responding to ideas or materials of interest to the client of the research.
OBSERVATION Observation is a systematic data collection approach. Researchers use all of their senses to examine people in natural settings or naturally occurring situations.
USING
SECONDARY SOURCES
Secondary research can be described as the most widely used method for data collection. This process involves accessing information that is already gathered from either the originator or a distributor of primary research.