Marketing Research Tools Paper wk 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing Research Tools Paper wk 3 - Essay Example On the other hand, research areas having ample and reliable data available require use of information extracted from secondary sources. According to nature of sources and research methodology, different tools are selected and used by researchers. All these tools have their own use, advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it is important for researchers to ensure that research tools are selected that are suitable for the nature of research approach i.e. primary and secondary and research methodologies i.e. quantitative and qualitative. Primary research itself consists of data collection from original resources. Primary research can employ qualitative and quantitative research methodologies and there are various tools that can be used for this research approach. Usual tools used for this research includes surveys, interviews, direct observations, experimentations, and focus groups. These tools help in collecting data that is specific to the needs of researcher. Furthermore, researcher s can levy necessary controls on the research process to maintain the integrity of data collected and using it appropriately for the purpose of research (Baker, 2012). Hence, it is possible for researchers to ensure that data collected is valid and trustworthy along with being authentic and reliable. These research tools are usually time and cost consuming however due to direct relevance to the research purpose, it is preferred for areas of research that have not been explored earlier or to corroborate with existing studies (Onkvisit & Shaw, 2008). As far as secondary research is concerned, it is use of data that is already available from existing sources. The tools available for secondary research include information available on the internet, market research conducted by government and individual market research firms, data available on firms’ websites and stock exchange, information from public and private agencies, personal records and published print sources (peer-review ed papers, books and journals) (Baker, 2012). While using secondary data, it is important to ensure that the data is appropriate for the purpose of research. Relevance of data in terms of time period is another major issue that researchers need to take care of. However, sometimes use of secondary data is beneficial as it is readily available and relatively cheap (as the original research expenses have been already incurred). While performing primary and secondary research, quantitative and qualitative research methodologies can be used depending on the nature of research. While selecting a research methodology, the purpose of research and type of information required for the research is determined which further shapes the nature of research. In quantitative research, the usual tools used for primary research are surveys, financial figures produced by the entities themselves, experiments and numerical readings produced by them, statistical modeling and examination through stratificat ion and segmentation (Onkvisit & Shaw, 2008). These tools help in acquiring first hand information which is reliable, valid and objective yet expensive to acquire. For quantitative research to be performed through secondary sources, the tools used can be numeric modeling and statistical analysis. These tools are used to perform correlational analysis of data already available through print and electronic sources. Example of it can be examination of industry performance by performing statistical examination of market