There are a variety of research tools that are utilized when creating primary and secondary research. By working to review the differences between primary and secondary research, it will be possible to determine the best marketing research tools for each, and whether or not those research tools are best utilized when working with quantitative or qualitative data.
Research may be described as either primary or secondary. Primary research is research that is generated by the researcher directly through the process of “asking questions, conducting trials, and collating results,” and may be either quantitative or qualitative (Primary and Secondary Research, 2014). Secondary research, on the other hand, utilizes information gathered from the reports written on research done by others, gathering the materials, reviewing the findings, and working to create an all new piece of research based on the results they have presented (Primary and Secondary Research, 2014). Primary and secondary research is able to be either quantitative or qualitative. Quantitative data works to deal with measurable data, while qualitative data deals with more abstract data, descriptions, observations, and other immeasurable qualities (Roberts, 2012).
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There are a wide variety of different tools that may be utilized for the completion of primary or secondary research projects. Surveys, questionnaires, and interviews all may be utilized in the completion of primary research, regardless of whether the researcher is attempting to obtain quantitative or qualitative data. This type of tool would not be utilized in secondary research, as it works to place the researcher in charge of the generation of data, instead of utilizing preexisting data for the completion of the project (Primary and Secondary Research, 2014).
Statistical analysis utilizes preexisting information, working to determine the specific statistics in regard to a given question that may be found through the analysis or data. This type of tool may be utilized in either primary or secondary research, as either the researcher may gather the initial data themselves, or the researcher may utilize preexisting data, such as data obtained from the Census Bureau, for the purpose of completing their analysis (Primary and Secondary Research, 2014).
Information research utilizes preexisting information found within all forms of text, online or in traditional print format, in order to be able to gather data on a given subject, working to utilize the gathered information for the purposes of presenting a specific point or correlation. This type of research is typically utilized in secondary research only; however it may be present within a literature review found in primary research, serving as a means of providing background on the given topic before the researcher gets into the completion of the experiment itself.
Tests and experiments are the strict domain of primary research, as they work to allow the researcher to not only setup their own experiment, but to collect their own data for the purposes of answering the question that they have set forth to answer. The data that is gathered may either be quantitative, such as would be utilized in a question of “which bouncy ball goes higher?” or it may be qualitative, as in an experiment designed to answer the question “what do people prefer most, Coke or Pepsi?”
The type of research the individual is completing works to determine, in a large way, the type of market research tools that the individual will utilize in the course of completing their research project; in being aware of the different types of marketing tools available, it is possible to work to ensure that the project will be a successful one.
- Roberts, D. (2012). Qualitative vs Quantitative Data. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.regentsprep.org/
- University, C. (2014). HSC Online – Primary and secondary research. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.hsc.csu.edu.au
