Primary research
Primary research is information that is collected by the researcher. The data collected in primary research is being collected for the first time and is specific to the researcher’s objective or purpose.
Advantages of primary research
- The information is up-to-date.
- The data is unique – no one else will have access to it.
- Primary research can be obtained quickly, if certain methods such as An activity in which many people are asked the same questions in order to find out what most people think about something. Opinion polls are popular at election time, when people are asked who they are planning to vote for. are used.
Disadvantages of primary research
- Primary research can be difficult to collect, or take a long time to collect depending on the method selected.
- It can be expensive to collect.
- It can provide misleading or inaccurate results, eg if the sample size is not large enough, if the research is not The characteristics of the sample should be similar to the characteristics of the population., or if questionnaires are not worded clearly enough.
Primary research methods
When carrying out primary research, it is very important to select the most appropriate method.
The research question, budget, time and the type of information required should be carefully considered. Then the appropriate methods can be selected.
There are many different methods that can be used to gather primary information. These include:
- observation
- questionnaires
- interviews
- focus groups
