Research Methodology

Unit 6

Overview
Secondary Data - Definition, Sources, Characteristics. Primary Data - Definition, Advantages and disadvantages over secondary data Observation method Questionnaire Construction Personal Interviews Telephonic Interview Mail Survey, Email/Internet survey.

Secondary Data
Data previously collected for any purpose other
than the one at hand.

ALWAYS USE THIS FIRST

Secondary Data
Secondary data is gathered BEFORE primary data. WHY? Because you want to find out what is already known about a subject before you dive into your own investigation. WHY? Because some of your questions can possibly have been already answered by other investigators or authors. Why reinvent the wheel?

Sources of Secondary Data

Internal Corporate Information
Government Agencies Trade and Industry Associations Marketing Research Firms Commercial Publications

News Media

Advantages of Secondary Data

Saves time and money if on target
Aids in determining direction for primary data collection Pinpoints the kinds of people to approach Serves as a basis of comparison for other data

Disadvantages of Secondary Data

May not answer the exact question of your research problem

Quality-Dont know who gathered it and how the data was gathered
Accuracy of data may pose a problem-Dont know age of the info and how biased the survey was

Primary Data
Information

collected for the first time

ALWAYS USE THIS LAST

Advantages of Primary Data

Find data you need to suit your purpose
Answers a specific research question

Data are current

Source of data is known

Secrecy can be maintained

Disadvantages of Primary Data

Expensive Usually more costly and time consuming than collecting secondary data Quality declines if interviews are lengthy Reluctance to participate in lengthy interviews

Primary Research Methods

Survey Internet surveys, Mail Surveys, Telephone Interviews Focus Groups bring together respondents with common characteristics Observation - actually view respondents Experiment - controlled variables and respondent groups. Non-personal survey on site, telephone, mail, fax, computer, panel Personal interview - one-on-one survey with respondents Company records internal document survey research

Comparison of three kinds of surveys

COMPARISON OF SURVEY TECHNIQUES

Observation Research

A research method that does not involve personal interaction between interviewer and subject.

Observation Research
People Watching People
Mystery Shoppers One-Way Mirrors

Types of Observation Research

People Watching an Activity Machines Watching People

Audits

Traffic Counters

Passive People Meter

FIGURE 8-2 Types of marketing information

TYPES OF DATA

Constructing the Questionnaire

Select the correct types of questions: Open ended harder to score but get richer
information

Closed ended, dichotomous offer two

either/or responses (true/false; yes/no; for/against Multiple choice select one or more than one

Scaled response gather range of values

(strongly disagree, somewhat disagree, neutral, somewhat agree, strongly agree

1. Have you had any of the following medical preventive tests/exams?

_____ lung x-ray _____ electrocardiogram

_____ stress test

2. Do you currently smoke? _____ YES _____ NO

3. Please evaluate the following statement:

I understand the Universitys code of conduct as it relates to plagiarism.
____absolutely agree ____somewhat agree ____neutral ____somewhat disagree ____absolutely disagree

Typical problems in wording questions TYPICAL PROBLEMS IN WORDING QUESTIONS

Important characteristics of good questionnaires

Plan a user-friendly format Gather demographic data age, gender, etc., when necessary. Guarantee anonymity Ensure ease of tabulation Scantron forms Ask well-phrased and unambiguous questions that can be answered Develop for completeness get all the data Pilot test the instrument

Important characteristics of good questionnaires

The questionnaire will be inserted as an appendix at the end of your formal report. Remember, you should include on the survey: an introductory statement about the purpose of the survey, a motivational reason why customers should take it, and a reminder to participants that they are taking the survey anonymously. You should NOT include on the survey: answer percentages

purpose of the survey Introductory Statement

The purpose of this survey is to help management identify family issues that our employees experience that are related to job performance. Please respond to the following survey items by checking the appropriate response next to each question/item. Your responses are completely anonymous and will only be used to assess overall employee characteristics.

ensure anonymity

Data Mining
Data mining is the extraction of hidden predictive information from large databases.

The End
Thank you