There are 4 main types of primary research: interviews, surveys, questionnaires, and focus groups. Primary research involves collecting original data through methods like experiments and direct observations. It allows researchers to focus on specific issues and control the research design but is more expensive and time-consuming than secondary research. Secondary research uses already existing information from sources like books, articles, and the internet. It is quicker and less expensive than primary research but the data may be biased, incomplete, or out of date. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods have advantages and disadvantages depending on the research goals. Quantitative research uses statistical analysis to study relationships between variables while qualitative looks at more descriptive, contextual details.

1. 4 types of primary research
MR WOD
1. Interview
2. Survey
3. Questionnaire
4. Focus group
Primary research
Primary research consists of a collection of original primary data
collected by the researcher. It can be accomplished through various
methods, including questionnaires and telephone interviews in market
research, or experiments and direct observations in the physical
sciences, amongst others. There are advantages and disadvantages to
primary research.
Advantages:
 Researchers can focus on both qualitative and quantitative issues.
 Addresses specific research issues as the researcher controls the search
design to fit their needs
 Great control; not only does primary research enable the marketer to
focus on specific subjects; it also enables the researcher to have a
higher control over how the information is collected. Taking this into
account, the researcher can decide on such requirements as size of
project, time frame and goal.
Disadvantages:
Compared to secondary research, primary data may be very expensive in
preparing and carrying out the research. Costs can be incurred in producing
the paper for questionnaires or the equipment for an experiment of some sort.
In order to be done properly, primary data collection requires the
development and execution of a research plan. It takes longer to undertake
primary research than to acquire secondary data.

2. Some research projects, while potentially offering information that could
prove quite valuable, may not be within the reach of a researcher.
By the time the research is complete it may be out of date.
Low response rate has to be expected. (Wikipedia)
Secondary research: research using information already by other people or
organisations. Often available in books/internet/magazines…etc.
Sometimes a media organisation use gathered analysed by the internet or boots.
Secondary research (also known as desk research) involves the summary,
collation and/or synthesis of existing research rather than primary research,
where data is collected from, for example, research subjects or experiments.
(Wikipedia)
Advantages:
1. Quick and easy to get information
2. No cost-Researchers are often attracted to secondary data because getting
this information is much less expensive than if the researchers had to carry
out the research themselves.
3. There is a wide range of information available
Disadvantages:
 May be biased or incorrect
 Not specific to your work.
 Inefficient Spending for Information-Since the research received may not be
specific to the marketer’s needs, an argument can be made that research
spending is inefficient. That is, the marketer may not receive a satisfactory
amount of information for what is spent.
 Incomplete Information-Many times a researcher finds that research that
appears promising is in fact a “teaser” released by the research supplier.
This often occurs when a small portion of a study is disclosed, often for free,
but the full report, which is often expensive, is needed to gain the full value
of the study.

3.  Not Timely-Caution must be exercised in relying on secondary data that
may have been collected well in the past. Out-of-date information may
offer little value especially for companies competing in fast changing
markets.
 Not Proprietary Information-In most cases secondary research is not
undertaken specifically for one company. Instead it is made available to
many either for free or for a fee. Consequently, there is rarely an
“information advantage” gained by those who obtain the research.
Qualitative research
Qualitative research:
1. More reliable and objective
2. Can use statistics to generalise a finding
3. Often reduces and restructures a complex problem to a limited number
of variables
4. Looks at relationships between variables and can establish cause and
effect in highly controlled circumstances
5. Tests theories or hypotheses
6. Assumes sample is representative of the population
7. Subjectivity of researcher in methodology is recognised less
8. Less detailed than qualitative data and may miss a desired response
from the participant
Quantitative research
Quantitative research is widely used in social sciences such as psychology,
economics, sociology, marketing, community health, health & human
development, gender and political science, and less frequently in
anthropology and history. Research in mathematical sciences such as
physics is also 'quantitative' by definition, though this use of the term

4. differs in context. In the social sciences, the term relates to empirical
methods, originating in both philosophical positivism and the history of
statistics, which contrast with qualitative research methods.
Both qualitative and quantitative researches are used in studies throughout
many disciplines, including science and the social sciences. Qualitative
research is concerned with complete and detailed descriptions of events,
whereas quantitative research creates statistical models to explain events.
Qualitative and quantitative researches have several advantages and
disadvantages, depending upon the researcher's aim and area of focus.
Advantages of quantitative research
Quantitative research allows the researcher to measure and analyse data. The
relationship between an independent and dependent variable is studied in
detail. This is advantageous because the researcher is more objective about
the findings of the research. Quantitative research can be used to test
hypotheses in experiments because of its ability to measure data using
statistics.The main disadvantage of quantitative research is the context of the
study or experiment is ignored. Quantitative research does not study things in
a natural setting or discuss the meaning things have for different people as
qualitative research does. Another disadvantage is that a large sample of the
population must be studied; the larger the sample of people researched, the
more statistically accurate the results will be.