Unit 4.4 market research

Question 1

Academic journals

Answer 1

Academic journals are periodical publications from educational and research institutions that publish data and information relating to a particular academic discipline.

Question 2

Ad-hoc market research

Answer 2

Ad-hoc market research is market research conducted as and when required in order to deal with a specific problem or issue.

Question 3

Continuous market research

Answer 3

Continuous market research is market research conducted on an ongoing basis, rather than a one-off (ad-hoc) basis.

Question 4

Convenience sampling

Answer 4

Convenience sampling uses research participants who are easy (convenient) to reach. It relies on the ease of reach because of the convenient availability of volunteers.

Question 5

Focus groups

Answer 5

Focus groups involve forming small discussion groups to gain insight into the attitudes and behaviour of respondents. The group is typically made up of participants who share a similar customer profile.

Question 6

Government publications

Answer 6

Government publications are a type of secondary market research, referring to official documents and publications released by government entities and agencies.

Question 7

Interviews

Answer 7

Interviews are a type of primary research that involve discussions between an interviewer and interviewees to investigate their personal circumstances, preferences and opinions.

Question 8

A market analysis

Answer 8

A market analysis is a form of secondary market research that reveals the characteristics, trends and outlook for a particular product or industry, such as market size, market share and market growth rate.

Question 9

Market research

Answer 9

Market research refers to marketing activities designed to discover the opinions, beliefs and preferences of potential and existing customers.

Question 10

Media articles

Answer 10

Media articles are a type of secondary market research referring to the documents (articles) in print or online media. They are written by skilled journalists and authors.

Question 11

Observations

Answer 11

Observations are a method of primary research that involves watching how people behave or respond in different situations.

Question 12

Online secondary market research

Answer 12

Online secondary market research refers to sources available on the Internet for research purposes. These include media articles, government publications, academic journals and market analyses available on the Internet.

Question 13

The population

Answer 13

The population, in marketing terms, refers to all potential customers of a particular market.

Question 14

Primary market research

Answer 14

Primary market research involves gathering new data for a specific purpose, using methods such as surveys, interviews, focus groups and observations.

Question 15

Qualitative market research

Answer 15

Qualitative market research involves getting non-numerical responses from research participants in order to understand their behaviour, attitudes and opinions.

Question 16

Quantitative market research

Answer 16

Quantitative market research is about collecting and using factual and measurable information rather than people’s perceptions and opinions.

Question 17

Quota sampling

Answer 17

Quota sampling involves using a certain number of people (known as the quota) from different market segments for primary market research purposes.

Question 18

Random sampling

Answer 18

Random sampling gives everyone in the population an equal chance of being selected for the sample.

Question 19

A sample

Answer 19

A sample is a selected group or proportion of the population used for primary market research purposes.

Question 20

Sampling

Answer 20

Sampling is a primary research technique that selects a sample of the population from a particular market for research
purposes.

Question 21

Sampling errors

Answer 21

Sampling errors are caused by mistakes made in the sample design, such as an unrepresentative sample being used or the sample size being too small.

Question 22

Secondary market research

Answer 22

Secondary market research involves the collection of second- hand data and information that already exists, previously gathered by others, such as media articles and government publications.

Question 23

A survey

Answer 23

A survey is a document that contains a series of questions used to collect data for a specific purpose. Surveys are the most common method of primary research.

Question 24

Advantages of primary research

Answer 24

• Relevance - Primary market research is carried out for a specific purpose, so directly addresses the questions that need to be answered. By contrast, secondary data is not always in a format that is useful or usable for the business.
• Up to date - Secondary market research data tends to be more dated and therefore often less reliable than primary research findings.
• Confidential and unique - As the market research is conducted first-hand, no one else (including competitors) has access to the information.

Question 25

Disadvantages of primary research

Answer 25

• Time consuming It can be a very tedious and lengthy task to collect primary research data that are accurate and representative. This can delay decision-making and could lead to lost market opportunities in the short-term.
• Costly - Collecting primary data is often costly, due to the time involved to gather sufficient and meaningful data or because data is collection is difficult.
• Validity - Flaws in market research (such as poor questionnaire design or sampling errors) will lead to misleading, incomplete and biased results.

Question 26

Advantages of secondary research

Answer 26

• If the data or information already exists, it is generally cheaper and faster to collect and analyse rather than primary market research that has to be designed and collected.
• It can provide an insight to changes or trends in an industry, such as whether customers are spending more money on household goods, jewellery and tourism. This allows firms to develop strategies in response to these market changes.
• There is a huge range of secondary sources that market researchers can use, especially with online sources. This makes secondary research data usually more accessible than primary research data.
  Findings are often based on large sample sizes and thorough research techniques, so the results are statistically valid.

Question 27

Disadvantages of secondary research

Answer 27

• Secondary data is second-hand data, so the information might already be outdated or can become obsolete quite quickly, such as SWOT analyses for the organization. The data or information might be in an inappropriate format for the researcher as they have been collected for another purpose. Hence, the research needs to be further adapted or manipulated to suit the specific needs of the business.
• Secondary research might only provide partial information as it was produced for a different purpose. This means the information does not address all the questions sought by the researcher.
• Unlike primary research, the data and information from secondary market research are also available to competitors.

Question 28

Advantages of qualitative research

Answer 28

• It is better than quantitative research for exploring the driving forces (motivators) and restraining forces (demotivators) concerning the behaviour and attitudes of respondents.
• Information gathered from qualitative research can be very valuable. Unlike the use of surveys, there is flexibility in the process so extra and useful information from in-depth interviews can be gathered.
• Due to the low number of respondents involved in qualitative market research, it can be inexpensive yet provides detailed information to the researchers.
• With one-to-one interviews, respondents are not under the pressure of conforming to the views and opinions of the majority. This should help to generate more honest and representative answers.

Question 29

Disadvantages of qualitative research

Answer 29

• Due to the small sample size typically used in qualitative research, the findings might not be representative of the whole population. Further research might therefore be necessary.
• It can be very time consuming to conduct and to interpret the findings. Quantitative responses are easier and quicker to collate than qualitative responses. So, analysis of the results can be rather limited.
• A high level of interviewing expertise is required to engage and encourage respondents. The costs of hiring skilled interviewers can therefore be high.
• Interviewer bias might be introduced to serve the researcher’s own purpose (to deliberately skew the results). Hence, the validity of the findings from qualitative market research can be questionable.