primary research interview advantages and disadvantages

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Interview in Research

Approaching the Respondent- according to the Interviewer’s Manual, the introductory tasks of the interviewer are: tell the interviewer is and whom he or she represents; telling him about what the study is, in a way to stimulate his interest. The interviewer has also ensured at this stage that his answers are confidential; tell the respondent how he was chosen; use letters and clippings of surveys in order to show the importance of the study to the respondent. The interviewer must be adaptable, friendly, responsive, and should make the interviewer feel at ease to say anything, even if it is irrelevant.

Dealing with Refusal- there can be plenty of reasons for refusing for an interview, for example, a respondent may feel that surveys are a waste of time, or may express anti-government feeling. It is the interviewer’s job to determine the reason for the refusal of the interview and attempt to overcome it.

Conducting the Interview- the questions should be asked as worded for all respondents in order to avoid misinterpretation of the question. Clarification of the question should also be avoided for the same reason. However, the questions can be repeated in case of misunderstanding. The questions should be asked in the same order as mentioned in the questionnaire, as a particular question might not make sense if the questions before they are skipped. The interviewers must be very careful to be neutral before starting the interview so as not to lead the respondent, hence minimizing bias.

listing out the advantages of interview studies, which are noted below:

• It provides flexibility to the interviewers
• The interview has a better response rate than mailed questions, and the people who cannot read and write can also answer the questions.
• The interviewer can judge the non-verbal behavior of the respondent.
• The interviewer can decide the place for an interview in a private and silent place, unlike the ones conducted through emails which can have a completely different environment.
• The interviewer can control over the order of the question, as in the questionnaire, and can judge the spontaneity of the respondent as well.

There are certain disadvantages of interview studies as well which are:

• Conducting interview studies can be very costly as well as very time-consuming.
• An interview can cause biases. For example, the respondent’s answers can be affected by his reaction to the interviewer’s race, class, age or physical appearance.
• Interview studies provide less anonymity, which is a big concern for many respondents.
• There is a lack of accessibility to respondents (unlike conducting mailed questionnaire study) since the respondents can be in around any corner of the world or country.

INTERVIEW AS SOCIAL INTERACTION

The interview subjects to the same rules and regulations of other instances of social interaction. It is believed that conducting interview studies has possibilities for all sorts of bias, inconsistency, and inaccuracies and hence many researchers are critical of the surveys and interviews. T.R. William says that in certain societies there may be patterns of people saying one thing, but doing another. He also believes that the responses should be interpreted in context and two social contexts should not be compared to each other. Derek L. Phillips says that the survey method itself can manipulate the data, and show the results that actually does not exist in the population in real. Social research becomes very difficult due to the variability in human behavior and attitude. Other errors that can be caused in social research include-

• deliberate lying, because the respondent does not want to give a socially undesirable answer;
• unconscious mistakes, which mostly occurs when the respondent has socially undesirable traits that he does not want to accept;
• when the respondent accidentally misunderstands the question and responds incorrectly;
• when the respondent is unable to remember certain details.

Apart from the errors caused by the responder, there are also certain errors made by the interviewers that may include-

• errors made by altering the questionnaire, through changing some words or omitting certain questions;
• biased, irrelevant, inadequate or unnecessary probing;
• recording errors, or consciously making errors in recording.

Bailey, K. (1994). Interview Studies in Methods of social research. Simonand Schuster, 4th ed. The Free Press, New York NY 10020.Ch8. Pp.173-213.

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What is Primary Research? Definitions, Methods, Sources, Examples, and More

Table of Contents

What is Primary Research? Primary Research Meaning

Primary research is a cornerstone of insightful, accurate, and effective decision-making in both academic and professional settings. At its core, primary research refers to the process of collecting data directly from sources rather than relying on previously gathered information, distinguishing it clearly from secondary research . 

The process of directly controlling the collection of the data is pivotal for ensuring the accuracy and relevance of the analysis, enabling researchers to tailor their investigations to specific research questions or problems put to them by stakeholders. This direct involvement contrasts with primary vs secondary research , where the latter often involves analyzing existing data.

Primary research serves as a vital component when seeking answers to your business objectives, filling gaps in existing knowledge and providing new data for analysis. Particularly coming into play when solving research problems with a high degree of specificity and relevance. 

By leveraging primary research, professionals can uncover unique insights, highly specific to their intended target market, tailored to their industry and unique to their product of interest. This level of tailoring is simply not possible through the use of secondary research.

When to Use Primary Research

Selecting the appropriate research method is a critical decision that hinges on the objectives of the study. Primary research is particularly beneficial in scenarios where recent, specific data is required to address a unique problem or question. This method is ideal for:

Academic Research

In the realm of academic research, primary research is indispensable when fresh insights or novel data are necessary to advance knowledge or contribute to scholarly debates. This type of research is crucial for:

• Exploring New Theories or Models : When a researcher aims to develop or validate a new theory, firsthand data collection is essential. For instance, a psychologist conducting experiments to test a new cognitive behavioral therapy model for anxiety would rely on primary research to gather data on the therapy's effectiveness directly from participants.
• Filling Knowledge Gaps : Primary research helps fill gaps in existing literature. If a historian is studying a less-documented cultural practice, interviews and observational studies can provide new insights that no secondary sources could offer.
• Improving Research Rigor : Utilizing primary data enhances the rigor of academic studies. By collecting and analyzing original data, researchers can draw conclusions with greater validity, offering substantial contributions to their fields.

Market Research

Market research utilizes primary research extensively to understand consumer behaviors, preferences, and trends. This method is particularly advantageous for:

• Product Development : Before launching a new product, companies often use surveys and focus groups to gather consumer feedback on the product concept, design, and functionality. For example, a beverage company considering a new flavor profile might conduct taste tests and focus groups to refine the product based on direct consumer feedback.
• Customer Satisfaction : To assess and enhance customer satisfaction, businesses frequently employ primary research methods such as customer satisfaction surveys and in-depth interviews. This allows companies to receive real-time feedback and quickly implement changes to improve customer service.
• Segmentation and Targeting : Through interviews and surveys, companies can identify customer segments and understand their specific needs and preferences. This segmentation enables more effective targeting of marketing efforts and product customization.

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Policy Formulation

Primary research is critical in policy formulation, particularly when policies need to be based on up-to-date and specific data regarding public opinion, needs, and conditions. Primary research methods such as public opinion polls and field observations are commonly used:

• Understanding Public Needs : Governments and organizations use primary research to gauge public opinion on various issues, from healthcare to urban development. For instance, before implementing a new public transport policy, a city council might conduct surveys to understand residents' preferences and concerns regarding transit options.
• Evaluating Policy Impact : After a policy is implemented, primary research is used to evaluate its effectiveness. This could involve collecting data on user satisfaction, policy usage, and public perception through direct feedback mechanisms like online polls or public forums.
• Refining Policies : Continuous primary research is necessary to refine and adjust policies based on direct stakeholder feedback. This dynamic approach ensures that policies remain relevant and effective over time.

In each of these contexts, primary research not only provides the specificity needed for tailored insights but also offers the flexibility to adapt to emerging data and trends, thereby enhancing the overall impact and effectiveness of the research efforts.

Types of Primary Research Methods with Examples

Primary research methods are diverse, each tailored to fit specific study objectives and research environments. These methods enable researchers to gather fresh, firsthand data directly related to their study's focus.

Surveys are structured questionnaires designed to collect data from a target audience. They are used widely due to their versatility in capturing a broad spectrum of information, ranging from customer preferences to behavioral patterns. Surveys can be administered online, in person, or via phone, making them adaptable to various research needs. For instance, a company aiming to gauge customer satisfaction might deploy an online survey to understand the factors influencing their product's user experience. This method allows for quick data collection from a large audience, providing valuable insights into customer sentiment. The volume of respondent data collected via this method also enables analysis via a range of statistical methods, allowing us to understand if the answers we receive are robust, or if there are any hidden patterns which emerge from the data.

One to One Interviews

Interviews involve direct, one-on-one conversations where detailed information is solicited from participants. They are particularly useful for gathering qualitative data, offering deep insights into participants' attitudes, experiences, and emotions. Interviews can be structured, semi-structured, or unstructured, giving researchers flexibility in their approach. Imagine a study exploring the impact of remote work on employee well-being. Conducting semi-structured interviews with employees would offer nuanced understandings of personal experiences, challenges faced, and the overall satisfaction with remote work arrangements. The depth of understanding and information gathered via this process is particularly useful when speaking to participants about difficult or challenging topics of conversation.

Focus Groups

Focus Groups are guided discussions with a small group of participants, typically used to explore new ideas or opinions about products, services, or concepts. This method is invaluable for generating rich, detailed data and for observing the dynamics of participants' interactions and consensus-forming processes. Consider a company developing a new smartphone app. Hosting a focus group session with potential users could unveil insights into user expectations, desired features, and usability concerns, directly influencing the app's development trajectory. Due to the small number of respondents involved in the groups, care must be taken to ensure that you are speaking to a representative sample of your intended audience.

Ethnographic Studies

Ethnographic Studies involve watching and recording the behavior of subjects in their natural environment without intervention. This method is critical for studies where interaction with the subject might alter the outcome. For example, a retailer interested in improving store layout might conduct an observational study to track customer navigation patterns, identifying areas of congestion or overlooked products. Ethnographic studies can uncover vital behaviours which respondents themselves may be unaware of, as researchers seek to identify the unconscious behaviors which may otherwise be hidden from other research methods.

Examples of Primary Sources in Research

Primary research data sources are the lifeblood of firsthand research, providing raw, unfiltered insights directly from the source. These include:

Customer Satisfaction Survey Results: Direct feedback from customers about their satisfaction with a product or service. This data is invaluable for identifying strengths to build on and areas for improvement and typically renews each month or quarter so that metrics can be tracked over time.

NPS Rating Scores from Customers: Net Promoter Score (NPS) provides a straightforward metric to gauge customer loyalty and satisfaction. This quantitative data can reveal much about customer sentiment and the likelihood of referrals.

Ad-hoc Surveys: Ad-hoc surveys can be about any topic which requires investigation, they are typically one-off surveys which zero in on one particular business objective. Ad-hoc projects are useful for situations such as investigating issues identified in other tracking surveys, new product development, ad testing, brand messaging, and many other kinds of projects.

A Field Researcher’s Notes: Detailed observations from fieldwork can offer nuanced insights into user behaviors, interactions, and environmental factors that influence those interactions. These notes are a goldmine for understanding the context and complexities of user experiences.

Recordings Made During Focus Groups: Audio or video recordings of focus group discussions capture the dynamics of conversation, including reactions, emotions, and the interplay of ideas. Analyzing these recordings can uncover nuanced consumer attitudes and perceptions that might not be evident in survey data alone.

Through these examples, it's clear that each primary research method and source serves a distinct purpose, providing unique insights that are crucial for informed decision-making and strategic planning in various contexts.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Primary Research

Primary research, characterized by its ability to gather firsthand information directly from the source, plays a crucial role in the landscape of research methodologies. Despite its invaluable contributions to the acquisition of new, tailored data, primary research comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Understanding these can help researchers and organizations make informed decisions when planning their research strategies.

Advantages of Primary Research

• Specificity and Relevance : Primary research allows for the collection of data specifically tailored to the research questions or objectives. This targeted approach ensures that the information gathered is highly relevant and directly applicable to the matter at hand, providing clear insights and facilitating informed decision-making.
• Control Over Data Quality : When conducting primary research, the researcher has complete control over the quality of data collected. This includes the design of the research method, the selection of participants, and the timing of data collection, all of which contribute to the reliability and validity of the research outcomes.
• Up-to-Date Information : One of the key strengths of primary research is its ability to produce the most current data possible. This is particularly important in fast-moving sectors where timely information can provide a competitive edge or in academic studies where recent data can lead to groundbreaking conclusions.
• Proprietary Information : The data collected through primary research is exclusive to the researcher or the commissioning organization. This proprietary nature of the data can offer a strategic advantage, especially in commercial contexts where unique insights can differentiate a company from its competitors.
• Flexibility : Primary research methods are highly flexible, allowing researchers to adjust their approach based on preliminary findings or to explore unexpected avenues. This adaptability can lead to more comprehensive and nuanced understandings of the research topic.

Disadvantages of Primary Research

• Cost : Conducting primary research is often expensive due to the costs associated with designing and implementing the study, recruiting participants, and collecting and analyzing data. These expenses can be prohibitive for some organizations or individual researchers.
• Time : Primary research can be time-consuming, from the initial planning stages through to data collection and data analysis . This extended timeline may not be suitable for projects with tight deadlines or where quick decisions are needed.
• Complexity : Designing and conducting primary research requires a certain level of expertise to ensure that the data collected is valid, reliable, and relevant. This complexity can pose challenges, particularly for those without extensive research experience.
• Sample Size and Representativeness : Achieving a sample size that is both large enough to be statistically significant and representative of the broader population can be challenging. Missteps in this area can lead to skewed data and potentially unreliable conclusions.
• Bias : Despite efforts to minimize bias in research design and implementation, primary research is vulnerable to biases introduced by the researcher, participants, or the research context itself. These biases can affect the objectivity and accuracy of the findings.

In conclusion, primary research is a valuable part of any researcher's toolkit, offering detailed, specific insights that are directly relevant to the research question. However, the decision to undertake primary research should be weighed against the potential costs, time requirements, and complexities involved.

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Interviews in Social Research: Advantages and Disadvantages

The strengths of unstructured interviews are that they are respondent led, flexible, allow empathy and can be empowering, the limitations are poor reliability due to interviewer characteristics and bias, time, and low representativeness.

Table of Contents

Last Updated on September 11, 2023 by Karl Thompson

An interview involves an interviewer asking questions verbally to a respondent. Interviews involve a more direct interaction between the researcher and the respondent than questionnaires. Interviews can either be conducted face to face, via phone, video link or social media.

This post has primarily been written for students studying the Research Methods aspect of A-level sociology, but it should also be useful for students studying methods for psychology, business studies and maybe other subjects too!

Types of interview

Structured or formal interviews are those in which the interviewer asks the interviewee the same questions in the same way to different respondents. This will typically involve reading out questions from a pre-written and pre-coded structured questionnaire, which forms the interview schedule. The most familiar form of this is with market research, where you may have been stopped on the street with a researcher ticking boxes based on your responses.

Unstructured or Informal interviews (also called discovery interviews) are more like a guided conversation. Here the interviewer has a list of topics they want the respondent to talk about, but the interviewer has complete freedom to vary the specific questions from respondent to respondent, so they can follow whatever lines of enquiry they think are most appropriated, depending on the responses given by each respondent.

Semi-Structured interviews are those in which respondents have a list of questions, but they are free to ask further, differentiated questions based on the responses given. This allows more flexibility that the structured interview yet more structure than the informal interview.

Group interviews – Interviews can be conducted either one to one (individual interviews) or in a a group, in which the interviewer interviews two or more respondents at a time. Group discussions among respondents may lead to deeper insight than just interviewing people along, as respondents ‘encourage’ each other.

Focus groups are a type of group interview in which respondents are asked to discuss certain topics.

Interviews: key terms

The Interview Schedule – A list of questions or topic areas the interviewer wishes to ask or cover in the course of the interview. The more structured the interview, the more rigid the interiew schedule will be. Before conducting an interview it is usual for the reseracher to know something about the topic area and the respondents themselves, and so they will have at least some idea of the questions they are likely to ask: even if they are doing ‘unstructred interviews’ an interviewer will have some kind of interview schedule, even if it is just a list of broad topic areas to discuss, or an opening question.

Transcription of interviews -Transcription is the process of writing down (or typing up) what respondents say in an interview. In order to be able to transcribe effectively interviews will need to be recorded.

The problem of Leading Questions – In Unstructured Interviews, the interviewer should aim to avoid asking leading questions.

The Strengths and Limitations of Unstructured Interviews 

The strengths of unstructured interviews

The key strength of unstructured interviews is good validity , but for this to happen questioning should be as open ended as possible to gain genuine, spontaneous information rather than ‘rehearsed responses’ and questioning needs to be sufficient enough to elicit in-depth answers rather than glib, easy answers.

Respondent led – unstructured interviews are ‘respondent led’ – this is because the researcher listens to what the respondent says and then asks further questions based on what the respondent says. This should allow respondents to express themselves and explain their views more fully than with structured interviews.

Flexibility – the researcher can change his or her mind about what the most important questions are as the interview develops. Unstructured Interviews thus avoid the imposition problem – respondents are less constrained than with structured interviews or questionnaires in which the questions are written in advance by the researcher. This is especially advantageous in group interviews, where interaction between respondents can spark conversations that the interviewer hadn’t thought would of happened in advance, which could then be probed further with an unstructured methodology.

Rapport and empathy – unstructured interviews encourage a good rapport between interviewee and interviewer. Because of their informal nature, like guided conversations, unstructured interviews are more likely to make respondents feel at ease than with the more formal setting of a structured questionnaire or experiment. This should encourage openness, trust and empathy.

Checking understanding – unstructured interviews also allow the interviewer to check understanding. If an interviewee doesn’t understand a question, the interviewer is free to rephrase it, or to ask follow up questions to clarify aspects of answers that were not clear in the first instance.

Unstructured interviews are good for sensitive topics because they are more likely to make respondents feel at ease with the interviewer. They also allow the interviewer to show more sympathy (if required) than with the colder more mechanical quantitative methods.

They are good for finding out why respondents do not do certain things . For example postal surveys asking why people do not claim benefits have very low response rates, but informal interviews are perfect for researching people who may have low literacy skills.

Empowerment for respondents – the researcher and respondents are on a more equal footing than with more quantitative methods. The researcher doesn’t assume they know best. This empowers the respondents. Feminists researchers in particular believe that the unstructured interview can neutralise the hierarchical, exploitative power relations that they believe to be inherent in the more traditional interview structure. They see the traditional interview as a site for the exploitation and subordination of women, with the interviewers potentially creating outcomes against their interviewees’ interests. In traditional interview formats the interviewer directs the questioning and takes ownership of the material; in the feminist (unstructured) interview method the woman would recount her experiences in her own words with the interviewer serving only as a guide to the account.

Practical advantages – there are few practical advantages with this method, but compared to full-blown participant observation, they are a relatively quick method for gaining in-depth data. They are also a good method to combine with overt participant observation in order to get respondents to further explain the meanings behind their actions. So in short, they are impractical, unless you’re in the middle of a year long Participant Observation study (it’s all relative!).

The Limitations of unstructured interviews

The main theoretical disadvantage is the lack of reliability – unstructured Interviews lack reliability because each interview is unique – a variety of different questions are asked and phrased in a variety of different ways to different respondents.

They are also difficult to repeat, because the s uccess of the interview depends on the bond of trust between the researcher and the respondent – another researcher who does not relate to the respondent may thus get different answers. Group interviews are especially difficult to repeat, given that the dynamics of the interview are influenced not just by the values of the researcher, but also by group dynamics. One person can change the dynamic of a group of three or four people enormously.

Validity can be undermined in several ways:

• respondents might prefer to give rational responses rather than fuller emotional ones (it’s harder to talk frankly about emotions with strangers)
• respondents may not reveal their true thoughts and feelings because they do not coincide with their own self-image, so they simply withhold information
• respondents may give answers they think the interviewer wants to hear, in attempt to please them!

We also need to keep in mind that interviews can only tap into what people SAY about their values, beliefs and actions, we don’t actually get to see these in action, like we would do with observational studies such as Participant Observation. This has been a particular problem with self-report studies of criminal behaviour. These have been tested using polygraphs, and follow up studies of school and criminal records and responses found to be lacking in validity, so much so that victim-surveys have become the standard method for measuring crime rather than self-report studies.

Interviewer bias might undermine the validity of unstructured interviews – this is where the values of the researcher interfere with the results. The researcher may give away whether they approve or disapprove of certain responses in their body language or tone of voice (or wording of probing questions) and this in turn might encourage or discourage respondents from being honest.

The characteristics of the interviewer might also bias the results and undermine the validity – how honest the respondent is in the course of an hour long interview might depend on the class, gender, or ethnicity of the interviewer.

Sudman and Bradburn (1974) conducted a review of literature and found that responses varied depending on the relative demographics of the interviewer and respondent. For example white interviewers received more socially acceptable responses from black respondents than they did from white respondents. Similar findings have been found with different ethnicities, age, social class and religion.

Unstructured interviews also lack representativeness – because they are time consuming, it is difficult to get a large enough sample to be representative of large populations.

It is difficult to quantify data , compare answers and find stats and trends because the data gained is qualitative.

Practical disadvantages – unstructured Interviews may take a relatively long time to conduct. Some interviews can take hours. They also need to be taped and transcribed, and in the analysis phase there may be a lot of information that is not directly relevant to one’s research topic that needs to be sifted through.

Interpersonal skills and training – A further practical problem is that some researchers may lack the interpersonal skills required to conduct informal unstructured interviews. Training might need to be more thorough for researchers undertaking unstructured interviews – to avoid the problem of interviewer bias.

Shapiro and Eberhart (1947) showed that interviewers who were more prepared to probe received fuller answers, and both response rate and extensiveness of response are greater for more experienced interviewers.

There are few ethical problems , assuming that informed consent is gained and confidentially ensured. Although having said this, the fact that the researcher is getting more in-depth data, more of an insight into who the person really is, does offer the potential for the information to do more harm to the respondent if it got into the wrong hands (but this in turn depends on the topics discussed and the exact content of the interviews.

Sociological perspectives on interviews

Interviews of any kind are not a preferred method for positivists because there is no guarantee that responses aren’t artefacts of the interview situation, rather than a reflection of underlying social reality.

If interviews must be used, Positivists prefer structured interviews that follow a standardised schedule, with each question asked to each respondent in the same way. Interviewers should be neutral, show no emotion, avoid suggesting replies, and not skip questions.

Fo r Interactionists , interviews are based on mutual participant observation. The context of the interview is intrinsic to understanding responses and no distinction between research interviews and other social interaction is recognised. Data are valid when mutual understanding between interviewer and respondent is agreed.

Interactionists prefer non-standardised interviews because they allow respondents to shape the interview according to their own world view.

Denzin (2009) goes as far as to argue that what positivists might perceive as problems with interviews are not problems, just part of the process and thus as valid as the data collected. Thus issues of self-presentation, the power relations between interviewer and respondent and opportunities for fabrication are all part of the context and part of the valid-reality that we are trying to get to.

Related Posts

For more posts on research methods please see my research methods page.

Examples of studies using interviews – Using Interviews to research education .

Participant Observation  –   A related qualitative research method – detailed class notes on overt and covert participant observation. 

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Recommended further reading: Gilbert and Stoneman (2016) Researching Social Life

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Advantages of Primary Research – Types & Advantages

Published by Jamie Walker at October 21st, 2021 , Revised On August 29, 2023

Are you confused between primary and secondary research ? Not sure whether primary research is the right choice for your research project? Don’t panic! This article provides the key advantages of primary research over secondary research so you can make an informed decision.

Primary research is a data collection method where the researcher gathers all the data him/herself without relying on data acquired in previous studies. That means the collected data can be used to investigate a specific problem or a relationship between different variables.

To carry out primary research, a profound analysis is required, which is one of the reasons why primary research tends to be so valuable.

There are many different types of primary research that can be performed, and it is essential to know the differences between them so you can be sure that you are choosing the right method for your research.

Some of the most common primary research methods include surveys, interviews, ethnographic research, and observations.

Primary research is a valuable research tool that allows researchers and academicians to improve the reliability and validity of their research. It not only facilitates your research work but also enables you to make a mark in your area of study. It is most commonly used when writing a dissertation, thesis, report, journal paper or business report.

Primary research provides researchers with a rich source of in-depth knowledge about a particular research topic. For example, a focus group asks specific questions about a topic. It guides the researcher in drafting their research questions and creating other tools for research.

This makes the material highly tailored to the needs of the primary researcher. Similarly, a survey will enable you to collect responses from the participants of the study against your research questions.

To read about the advantages of secondary research

To read about the disadvantages of secondary research

To read about the disadvantages of primary research .

Types of Primary Research

Primary research must be conducted where secondary data is irrelevant or insufficient and where real first hand data is required. There are four specific forms that researchers use for primary research.

• Interviews: Conduct the interview with the participants in small sitting using interview guide
• Focus group discussions:  Conduct small groups for discussion on a particular topic.
• Surveys: Using a brief questionnaire, participants were asked about their thoughts about the specific topic.
• Observations:  Observing and reckoning the surroundings, for example, people and other phenomena that can be observed.

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Advantages of Primary Research

• The data is drawn from first-hand sources and will be highly accurate and, perhaps that is the most significant advantage of primary research. The questions or experimental set-ups can be constructed as a unique method to achieve the research objectives.
• Doing so, ensures that the data you gather is related and relevant to the research you are conducting and is intended to address your research objectives.
• Primary research ought to be directed towards addressing the core problem or objective of the research study. In other words, there is a clearly defined problem and the design of the research, the data collection methods and the final data set can all be tailored to that problem.
• You can be sure that the collected data is aligned with your specific problem, improving the probability that the data will give you the desired responses. In other words, the data you will gather for your research will be concrete and unambiguous, and directly related to your research objectives.
• With primary data collection, you don’t need to modify the data collected (secondary data), by another researcher who may have a slightly different focus, because you are the owner of your own data.
• Maintaining this degree of scrutiny means that the data you collect from primary sources will be more pertinent and therefore more effective for your research. Since you will be in charge of the data, it is easier to regulate the time span, the scope and the volume of the dataset being used.

The main emphasis of primary research will be on the research topic . This research approach enables the researcher to address the problem and find the most appropriate responses. Moreover, this method is valid and has been tested thousands of times, which makes its use more reliable and increases the probability of obtaining valid data.

Once you understand the nature of primary research and what it entails, you can begin to understand the requirements of your own research project and discover how to locate the specific type of data that you need in order to address your research questions and prepare the best possible research work.

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If you are a student, a researcher, or a business looking to collect primary data for a report, a dissertation, an essay, or another type of project, feel free to get in touch with us. You can also read about our primary data collection service here . Our experts include highly qualified academicians, doctors, and researchers who are sure to collect authentic, reliable, up to date and relevant sources for your research study.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to perform primary research.

Performing primary research involves:

• Defining research goals.
• Choosing methods (surveys, interviews, etc.).
• Designing tools and questions.
• Collecting data from sources directly.
• Analyzing data for insights.
• Drawing conclusions based on findings.

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What is Primary Research and How do I get Started?

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Primary research is any type of research that you collect yourself. Examples include surveys, interviews, observations, and ethnographic research. A good researcher knows how to use both primary and secondary sources in their writing and to integrate them in a cohesive fashion.

Conducting primary research is a useful skill to acquire as it can greatly supplement your research in secondary sources, such as journals, magazines, or books. You can also use it as the focus of your writing project. Primary research is an excellent skill to learn as it can be useful in a variety of settings including business, personal, and academic.

But I’m not an expert!

With some careful planning, primary research can be done by anyone, even students new to writing at the university level. The information provided on this page will help you get started.

What types of projects or activities benefit from primary research?

When you are working on a local problem that may not have been addressed before and little research is there to back it up.

When you are working on writing about a specific group of people or a specific person.

When you are working on a topic that is relatively new or original and few publications exist on the subject.

You can also use primary research to confirm or dispute national results with local trends.

What types of primary research can be done?

Many types of primary research exist. This guide is designed to provide you with an overview of primary research that is often done in writing classes.

Interviews: Interviews are one-on-one or small group question and answer sessions. Interviews will provide a lot of information from a small number of people and are useful when you want to get an expert or knowledgeable opinion on a subject.

Surveys: Surveys are a form of questioning that is more rigid than interviews and that involve larger groups of people. Surveys will provide a limited amount of information from a large group of people and are useful when you want to learn what a larger population thinks.

Observations: Observations involve taking organized notes about occurrences in the world. Observations provide you insight about specific people, events, or locales and are useful when you want to learn more about an event without the biased viewpoint of an interview.

Analysis: Analysis involves collecting data and organizing it in some fashion based on criteria you develop. They are useful when you want to find some trend or pattern. A type of analysis would be to record commercials on three major television networks and analyze gender roles.

Where do I start?

Consider the following questions when beginning to think about conducting primary research:

• What do I want to discover?
• How do I plan on discovering it? (This is called your research methods or methodology)
• Who am I going to talk to/observe/survey? (These people are called your subjects or participants)
• How am I going to be able to gain access to these groups or individuals?
• What are my biases about this topic?
• How can I make sure my biases are not reflected in my research methods?
• What do I expect to discover?

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• Primary Research | Definition, Types, & Examples

Primary Research | Definition, Types, & Examples

Published on 15 January 2023 by Tegan George .

Primary research is a research method that relies on direct data collection , rather than relying on data that’s already been collected by someone else. In other words, primary research is any type of research that you undertake yourself, firsthand, while using data that has already been collected is called secondary research.

Primary research is often used in qualitative research , particularly in survey methodology, questionnaires, focus groups, and various types of interviews . While quantitative primary research does exist, it’s not as common.

Table of contents

When to use primary research, types of primary research, examples of primary research, advantages and disadvantages of primary research, frequently asked questions.

Primary research is any research that you conduct yourself. It can be as simple as a 2-question survey, or as in-depth as a years-long longitudinal study . The only key is that data must be collected firsthand by you.

Primary research is often used to supplement or strengthen existing secondary research. It is usually exploratory in nature, concerned with examining a research question where no preexisting knowledge exists. It is also sometimes called original research for this reason.

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Primary research can take many forms, but the most common types are:

• Surveys and questionnaire
• Observational studies
• Interviews and focus groups
• Surveys and questionnaires

Surveys and questionnaires collect information about a group of people by asking them questions and analyzing the results. They are a solid choice if your research topic seeks to investigate something about the characteristics, preferences, opinions, or beliefs of a group of people.

Surveys and questionnaires can take place online, in person, or through the mail. It is best to have a combination of open-ended and closed-ended questions, and how the questions are phrased matters. Be sure to avoid leading questions, and ask any related questions in groups, starting with the most basic ones first.

Observational studies are an easy and popular way to answer a research question based purely on what you, the researcher, observes. If there are practical or ethical concerns that prevent you from conducting a traditional experiment , observational studies are often a good stopgap.

There are three types of observational studies: cross-sectional studies , cohort studies, and case-control studies. If you decide to conduct observational research, you can choose the one that’s best for you. All three are quite straightforward and easy to design – just beware of confounding variables and observer bias creeping into your analysis.

Similarly to surveys and questionnaires, interviews and focus groups also rely on asking questions to collect information about a group of people. However, how this is done is slightly different. Instead of sending your questions out into the world, interviews and focus groups involve two or more people – one of whom is you, the interviewer, who asks the questions.

There are 3 main types of interviews:

• Structured interviews ask predetermined questions in a predetermined order.
• Unstructured interviews are more flexible and free-flowing, proceeding based on the interviewee’s previous answers.
• Semi-structured interviews fall in between, asking a mix of predetermined questions and off-the-cuff questions.

While interviews are a rich source of information, they can also be deceptively challenging to do well. Be careful of interviewer bias creeping into your process. This is best mitigated by avoiding double-barreled questions and paying close attention to your tone and delivery while asking questions.

Alternatively, a focus group is a group interview, led by a moderator. Focus groups can provide more nuanced interactions than individual interviews, but their small sample size means that external validity is low.

Primary research can often be quite simple to pursue yourself. Here are a few examples of different research methods you can use to explore different topics.

Primary research is a great choice for many research projects, but it has distinct advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages of primary research

Advantages include:

• The ability to conduct really tailored, thorough research, down to the ‘nitty-gritty’ of your topic . You decide what you want to study or observe and how to go about doing that.
• You maintain control over the quality of the data collected, and can ensure firsthand that it is objective, reliable , and valid .
• The ensuing results are yours, for you to disseminate as you see fit. You maintain proprietary control over what you find out, allowing you to share your findings with like-minded individuals or those conducting related research that interests you for replication or discussion purposes.

Disadvantages of primary research

Disadvantages include:

• In order to be done well, primary research can be very expensive and time consuming. If you are constrained in terms of time or funding, it can be very difficult to conduct your own high-quality primary research.
• Primary research is often insufficient as a standalone research method, requiring secondary research to bolster it.
• Primary research can be prone to various types of research bias . Bias can manifest on the part of the researcher as observer bias , Pygmalion effect , or demand characteristics . It can occur on the part of participants as a Hawthorne effect or social desirability bias .

The 3 main types of primary research are:

Exploratory research explores the main aspects of a new or barely researched question.

Explanatory research explains the causes and effects of an already widely researched question.

There are several methods you can use to decrease the impact of confounding variables on your research: restriction, matching, statistical control, and randomisation.

In restriction , you restrict your sample by only including certain subjects that have the same values of potential confounding variables.

In matching , you match each of the subjects in your treatment group with a counterpart in the comparison group. The matched subjects have the same values on any potential confounding variables, and only differ in the independent variable .

In statistical control , you include potential confounders as variables in your regression .

In randomisation , you randomly assign the treatment (or independent variable) in your study to a sufficiently large number of subjects, which allows you to control for all potential confounding variables.

A questionnaire is a data collection tool or instrument, while a survey is an overarching research method that involves collecting and analysing data from people using questionnaires.

When conducting research, collecting original data has significant advantages:

• You can tailor data collection to your specific research aims (e.g., understanding the needs of your consumers or user testing your website).
• You can control and standardise the process for high reliability and validity (e.g., choosing appropriate measurements and sampling methods ).

However, there are also some drawbacks: data collection can be time-consuming, labour-intensive, and expensive. In some cases, it’s more efficient to use secondary data that has already been collected by someone else, but the data might be less reliable.

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Primary Research: What It Is, Purpose & Methods + Examples

As we continue exploring the exciting research world, we’ll come across two primary and secondary data approaches. This article will focus on primary research – what it is, how it’s done, and why it’s essential. 

We’ll discuss the methods used to gather first-hand data and examples of how it’s applied in various fields. Get ready to discover how this research can be used to solve research problems , answer questions, and drive innovation.

What is Primary Research: Definition

Primary research is a methodology researchers use to collect data directly rather than depending on data collected from previously done research. Technically, they “own” the data. Primary research is solely carried out to address a certain problem, which requires in-depth analysis .

There are two forms of research:

• Primary Research
• Secondary Research

Businesses or organizations can conduct primary research or employ a third party to conduct research. One major advantage of primary research is this type of research is “pinpointed.” Research only focuses on a specific issue or problem and on obtaining related solutions.

For example, a brand is about to launch a new mobile phone model and wants to research the looks and features they will soon introduce. 

Organizations can select a qualified sample of respondents closely resembling the population and conduct primary research with them to know their opinions. Based on this research, the brand can now think of probable solutions to make necessary changes in the looks and features of the mobile phone.

Primary Research Methods with Examples

In this technology-driven world, meaningful data is more valuable than gold. Organizations or businesses need highly validated data to make informed decisions. This is the very reason why many companies are proactive in gathering their own data so that the authenticity of data is maintained and they get first-hand data without any alterations.

Here are some of the primary research methods organizations or businesses use to collect data:

1. Interviews (telephonic or face-to-face)

Conducting interviews is a qualitative research method to collect data and has been a popular method for ages. These interviews can be conducted in person (face-to-face) or over the telephone. Interviews are an open-ended method that involves dialogues or interaction between the interviewer (researcher) and the interviewee (respondent).

Conducting a face-to-face interview method is said to generate a better response from respondents as it is a more personal approach. However, the success of face-to-face interviews depends heavily on the researcher’s ability to ask questions and his/her experience related to conducting such interviews in the past. The types of questions that are used in this type of research are mostly open-ended questions . These questions help to gain in-depth insights into the opinions and perceptions of respondents.

Personal interviews usually last up to 30 minutes or even longer, depending on the subject of research. If a researcher is running short of time conducting telephonic interviews can also be helpful to collect data.

2. Online surveys

Once conducted with pen and paper, surveys have come a long way since then. Today, most researchers use online surveys to send to respondents to gather information from them. Online surveys are convenient and can be sent by email or can be filled out online. These can be accessed on handheld devices like smartphones, tablets, iPads, and similar devices.

Once a survey is deployed, a certain amount of stipulated time is given to respondents to answer survey questions and send them back to the researcher. In order to get maximum information from respondents, surveys should have a good mix of open-ended questions and close-ended questions . The survey should not be lengthy. Respondents lose interest and tend to leave it half-done.

It is a good practice to reward respondents for successfully filling out surveys for their time and efforts and valuable information. Most organizations or businesses usually give away gift cards from reputed brands that respondents can redeem later.

3. Focus groups

This popular research technique is used to collect data from a small group of people, usually restricted to 6-10. Focus group brings together people who are experts in the subject matter for which research is being conducted.

Focus group has a moderator who stimulates discussions among the members to get greater insights. Organizations and businesses can make use of this method, especially to identify niche markets to learn about a specific group of consumers.

4. Observations

In this primary research method, there is no direct interaction between the researcher and the person/consumer being observed. The researcher observes the reactions of a subject and makes notes.

Trained observers or cameras are used to record reactions. Observations are noted in a predetermined situation. For example, a bakery brand wants to know how people react to its new biscuits, observes notes on consumers’ first reactions, and evaluates collective data to draw inferences .

Primary Research vs Secondary Research – The Differences

Primary and secondary research are two distinct approaches to gathering information, each with its own characteristics and advantages. 

While primary research involves conducting surveys to gather firsthand data from potential customers, secondary market research is utilized to analyze existing industry reports and competitor data, providing valuable context and benchmarks for the survey findings.

Find out more details about the differences: 

1. Definition

• Primary Research: Involves the direct collection of original data specifically for the research project at hand. Examples include surveys, interviews, observations, and experiments.
• Secondary Research: Involves analyzing and interpreting existing data, literature, or information. This can include sources like books, articles, databases, and reports.

2. Data Source

• Primary Research: Data is collected directly from individuals, experiments, or observations.
• Secondary Research: Data is gathered from already existing sources.

3. Time and Cost

• Primary Research: Often time-consuming and can be costly due to the need for designing and implementing research instruments and collecting new data.
• Secondary Research: Generally more time and cost-effective, as it relies on readily available data.

4. Customization

• Primary Research: Provides tailored and specific information, allowing researchers to address unique research questions.
• Secondary Research: Offers information that is pre-existing and may not be as customized to the specific needs of the researcher.
• Primary Research: Researchers have control over the research process, including study design, data collection methods , and participant selection.
• Secondary Research: Limited control, as researchers rely on data collected by others.

6. Originality

• Primary Research: Generates original data that hasn’t been analyzed before.
• Secondary Research: Involves the analysis of data that has been previously collected and analyzed.

7. Relevance and Timeliness

• Primary Research: Often provides more up-to-date and relevant data or information.
• Secondary Research: This may involve data that is outdated, but it can still be valuable for historical context or broad trends.

Advantages of Primary Research

Primary research has several advantages over other research methods, making it an indispensable tool for anyone seeking to understand their target market, improve their products or services, and stay ahead of the competition. So let’s dive in and explore the many benefits of primary research.

• One of the most important advantages is data collected is first-hand and accurate. In other words, there is no dilution of data. Also, this research method can be customized to suit organizations’ or businesses’ personal requirements and needs .
• I t focuses mainly on the problem at hand, which means entire attention is directed to finding probable solutions to a pinpointed subject matter. Primary research allows researchers to go in-depth about a matter and study all foreseeable options.
• Data collected can be controlled. I T gives a means to control how data is collected and used. It’s up to the discretion of businesses or organizations who are collecting data how to best make use of data to get meaningful research insights.
• I t is a time-tested method, therefore, one can rely on the results that are obtained from conducting this type of research.

Disadvantages of Primary Research

While primary research is a powerful tool for gathering unique and firsthand data, it also has its limitations. As we explore the drawbacks, we’ll gain a deeper understanding of when primary research may not be the best option and how to work around its challenges.

• One of the major disadvantages of primary research is it can be quite expensive to conduct. One may be required to spend a huge sum of money depending on the setup or primary research method used. Not all businesses or organizations may be able to spend a considerable amount of money.
• This type of research can be time-consuming. Conducting interviews and sending and receiving online surveys can be quite an exhaustive process and require investing time and patience for the process to work. Moreover, evaluating results and applying the findings to improve a product or service will need additional time.
• Sometimes, just using one primary research method may not be enough. In such cases, the use of more than one method is required, and this might increase both the time required to conduct research and the cost associated with it.

Every research is conducted with a purpose. Primary research is conducted by organizations or businesses to stay informed of the ever-changing market conditions and consumer perception. Excellent customer satisfaction (CSAT) has become a key goal and objective of many organizations.

A customer-centric organization knows the importance of providing exceptional products and services to its customers to increase customer loyalty and decrease customer churn. Organizations collect data and analyze it by conducting primary research to draw highly evaluated results and conclusions. Using this information, organizations are able to make informed decisions based on real data-oriented insights.

QuestionPro is a comprehensive survey platform that can be used to conduct primary research. Users can create custom surveys and distribute them to their target audience , whether it be through email, social media, or a website.

QuestionPro also offers advanced features such as skip logic, branching, and data analysis tools, making collecting and analyzing data easier. With QuestionPro, you can gather valuable insights and make informed decisions based on the results of your primary research. Start today for free!

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The Guide to Interview Analysis

• What is Interview Analysis?

Introduction

Advantages of interviews over other data collection methods, advantages of different types of interviews, case studies with successful interviews.

• Disadvantages of Interviews in Research
• Ethical Considerations in Interviews
• Preparing a Research Interview
• Recruitment & Sampling for Research Interviews
• Interview Design
• How to Formulate Interview Questions
• Rapport in Interviews
• Social Desirability Bias
• Interviewer Effect
• Types of Research Interviews
• Face-to-Face Interviews
• Focus Group Interviews
• Email Interviews
• Telephone Interviews
• Stimulated Recall Interviews
• Interviews vs. Surveys
• Interviews vs Questionnaires
• Interviews and Interrogations
• How to Transcribe Interviews?
• Verbatim Transcription
• Clean Interview Transcriptions
• Manual Interview Transcription
• Automated Interview Transcription
• How to Annotate Research Interviews?
• Formatting and Anonymizing Interviews
• Analyzing Interviews
• Coding Interviews
• Reporting & Presenting Interview Findings

Advantages of Interviews in Research

Interviews are an essential part of the research process, whether used to gather data for a news article, explore a specific research topic, or understand the intricacies of someone's life story. Interviews provide unique insights into phenomena from the perspective of individuals, offering in-depth information that other methods for collecting primary data may not capture. In this article, we will go over the main advantages of interviews and examples showing why they are so important in qualitative research.

Whether it is a phone interview or a traditional in-person interview, the advantages of interviews lie in the richness of qualitative data they provide. Through in-person interviews, researchers gain access to firsthand experiences and personal perceptions of the phenomenon under study. This level of detail is difficult to achieve through other data collection methods like surveys , focus groups , or general literature reviews .

In-depth interviews allow researchers to dive deep into the information collected via interviewees' responses and body language. Unlike surveys, which may restrict responses to predetermined options, interviews encourage participants to elaborate on their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. This results in detailed data that can reveal new insights and spur the development of new theories.

Interviews can also give voice to populations that might otherwise remain unheard. For instance, the "man on the street" interviews, popularized in the 1930s by radio programs, are a classic example of interview methods used to capture the public's opinions. Today, these interview methods are still prevalent in journalism, particularly in news broadcasts and documentaries, to gauge public sentiment quickly.

In qualitative research, interviews hold great importance because they place the participant at the center of the research project, ensuring that their voice and perspectives are prioritized. Interviews are especially effective for capturing personal narratives, stories, and life histories. This makes them ideal for research focused on biography, identity, and personal development. Through interviews, researchers can document individual journeys, challenges, and transformations, providing a rich tapestry of human experience.

In qualitative research, interviews are a widely used method that provides deep, rich data that can uncover the complexities of human experience. Interviews allow researchers to explore issues that may not be fully understood or captured through other data collection methods such as surveys or focus groups. The interview process will enable researchers to thoroughly explore a participant’s feelings, thoughts, and experiences. Open-ended questions let participants express themselves freely, offering insights that might not emerge in other methods like surveys or focus groups. Open-ended questions enable participants to express themselves freely and let researchers to ask valuable follow-up questions that arise at the moment.

Participant-focused

Interviews place the participant at the center of the research process and give high importance to the participant's voice and perspective, which leads to more authentic and participant-driven research findings. This is particularly valuable in research that looks at marginalized or underrepresented groups.

Research interviews can be conducted in ways that are sensitive to the cultural and social contexts of participants. Researchers can tailor their questions to align with the participant's cultural background, language, and social norms, leading to qualitative data that is more reflective of the participant's lived reality.

The conversational nature of interviews enables participants to express their thoughts and experiences in their own words. This allows for the discovery of new themes or ideas that the researcher may not have anticipated. With in-person interviews, researchers can also attend to body language and other non-verbal communication that can give further information.

Flexible and personalized

The flexibility inherent in interviews is another advantage of this data collection method. Follow-up questions are vital for obtaining accurate and comprehensive research findings which can be completely missed in data collection methods using only multiple-choice questions. When the research interview is conducted in person, non-verbal cues such as body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice provide additional context and meaning to verbal responses. This is a significant advantage over methods like online interviews or phone interviews, where such cues may be absent or harder to interpret.

Personalization is also a crucial advantage of in-person interviews. Researchers can tailor the interview questions and adapt the interview process to accommodate the specific needs of the research topic. This is especially useful when dealing with complex or sensitive topics, where ethical considerations are paramount. Customization in interviews provides researchers with a unique approach to data collection. Whether using structured interviews, semi-structured interviews, or unstructured interviews , the method can be adapted to suit the research methods being employed. Customization also involves adapting to the interviewee's language, comfort levels, and other cultural sensitivities.

When conducted over time, interviews can provide longitudinal insights into how participants' views, experiences, or behaviours evolve. This is particularly valuable in research that seeks to understand changes over time, such as studies on personal growth, adaptation, or the impact of long-term interventions.

Potential for new theories

In qualitative research, interviews can be used to develop new theories or refine existing ones. By analyzing data collected from interviews, researchers can identify patterns, themes, and relationships that contribute to the development of theoretical frameworks . The open-ended nature of interview questions, coupled with the interviewer's possibility to adapt their questions according to the flow of the conversation, provides ample room for unanticipated ideas or insights to emerge.

Interviews are about obtaining detailed data and understanding how participants arrive at their answers. This focus on process allows researchers to comprehend how participants make sense of their experiences, how they construct meaning, and how they navigate complex issues. Such insights into cognitive and emotional processes are invaluable in qualitative research.

Dynamic interactions

Unlike other qualitative research methods, interviews allow for dynamic interaction between the interviewer and the participant. This interaction can lead to the co-construction of knowledge, where both parties contribute to shaping the data. This dynamic process can reveal insights that are more reflective of the participant's thoughts and feelings.

In qualitative research, interviews can be used alongside other methods such as focus groups, observations, or document analysis to triangulate insights. This helps to validate findings and ensures a more comprehensive understanding of the research question.

Ethical and confidential

Interviews allow researchers to approach sensitive topics ethically. Researchers can build trust with participants, ensure confidentiality, and provide support if difficult emotions or topics arise during the interview. This makes interviews particularly suitable for research on sensitive or traumatic experiences.

Interviews can uncover tacit knowledge—insights that participants may not even realize they possess or are difficult to articulate. Researchers can help participants express these deeply embedded insights through careful questioning and probing.

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Interviews and their different methods of delivery also have advantages of their own. This section will introduce the most common types of interviews and their advantages.

Focus groups

Focus group interviews can be advantageous because of the non-verbal communication they offer such as body language and facial expressions that come from interacting in groups. Focus groups give information through the interaction between participants. They produce rich perspectives as participants comment and build upon each other's answers. Focus groups also provide a safe space for those who feel more at ease expressing themselves in a group setting.

Face-to-face interviews

In-person interviews are particularly advantageous in qualitative research because they offer an additional layer of information as the researcher can see non-verbal communication such as gestures, and body expressions. This provides insight into the participant's feelings and reactions to questions or themes. This presents a great advantage compared to methods that use verbal communication solely because it adds complexity to the answers and emotions are more transparent. Face-to-face interviews also offer a faster establishment of rapport and trust and interviewers can adapt the interviews based on verbal responses.

Telephone interviews

When it comes to bridging distances, telephone interviews are among the best. They bridge distance and provide direct communication, which can sometimes impede if a person is far away from the interviewer or if access to the internet is scarce. It can also provide a safe space for those who do not feel comfortable sharing information in person due to sensitive issues. They are also cost-effective and scheduling and

Email interviews

Asynchronous communication is one of the key advantages of email interviews. They are also low-pressure for introverted participants who rather not do an interview face-to-face. In a similar way to telephone interviews, email interviews bridge distances and help diversify the pool of participants. They are also useful when the language is different from the interviewer as the use of translators can open communication doors.

Here are some real cases where the advantages of interviews played a crucial role in the success of qualitative research:

Gender construction research

In Becoming a Gendered Body: Practices of Preschools (Martin, 1998), data was collected through direct observations and semi-structured in-person interviews. Over 50 hours of observation were conducted in five preschool classrooms, where Martin documented daily activities, interactions, and routines, paying close attention to how gendered behaviours were enacted and encouraged by both teachers and students. She observed how children were expected to sit, play, and move differently based on their gender, revealing the subtle ways in which gender norms were reinforced in early childhood education.

To complement these observations, Martin conducted semi-structured interviews with preschool teachers, exploring their perspectives on gender and the practices they used in the classroom. These interviews provided rich qualitative data on how teachers understood their role in promoting or challenging gender norms. By combining observational data with interviews, Martin was able to offer a comprehensive analysis of how gender is socially constructed and reinforced in preschool settings.

The 'Up Series' documentary films

The Up series is a groundbreaking British documentary film project that follows the lives of fourteen individuals from different social backgrounds in the United Kingdom, beginning in 1964 when they were seven years old. The series was conceived by Granada Television and initially directed by Paul Almond, with subsequent installments directed by Michael Apted, who continued the project until he died in 2021. The premise of the series is rooted in the idea that social class and circumstances could predict the future of these children, encapsulated in the Jesuit saying, "Give me a child until he is seven, and I will show you the man."

Every seven years, a new installment of the series has been released, documenting the participants' lives as they navigate various stages of life—childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and middle age.

In the Up Series, data collection was done through a longitudinal documentary approach, where in-depth, semi-structured in-person interviews were conducted with the same group of participants every seven years. The series also collects visual and behavioural data by video-documenting the participants in their everyday environments, providing insights into their social and economic conditions.

Challenges faced by women in career progression

In 2020, Goriss-Hunter and White conducted a study using asynchronous email interviews to investigate the career experiences of women at an Australian regional university. The researchers gathered data from 21 participants, including both academic and professional staff, by asking open-ended questions about career barriers and enablers. The results indicated that participants faced significant challenges, particularly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Themes such as limited access to professional development, gendered workplace expectations, and work-life balance struggles were prominent. The flexibility of email interviews allowed participants to respond in their own time, facilitating in-depth reflections (Goriss-Hunter & White, 2020).

Interviews are a valuable data collection method in qualitative research due to their ability to provide deep, rich data. They allow for exploring complex issues, offer a participant-centred approach, and are sensitive to cultural and social contexts. Interviews facilitate the development of new theories and emphasize the process through which participants make sense of their experiences. They are also particularly effective for capturing personal narratives and offer flexibility in questioning, making them adaptable to the flow of conversation.

Interviews also allow for the triangulation of data when used alongside other methods and can provide longitudinal insights when conducted over time. They enable researchers to approach sensitive topics ethically, ensuring confidentiality and support for participants. Additionally, interviews can uncover tacit knowledge—insights that are deeply embedded in participants' experiences but not easily articulated. Overall, interviews are a versatile and powerful method for understanding complex human experiences and social phenomena.

• Martin, K. A. (1998). Becoming a gendered body: Practices of preschools. American Sociological Review, 63(4), 494–511. https://doi.org/10.2307/2657264
• Goriss-Hunter, A., White, K. Using email interviews to reflect on women’s careers at a regional university. Aust. Educ. Res. 51, 651–665 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-023-00617-9

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Everything you need to know about primary research

Last updated

28 February 2023

Reviewed by

Miroslav Damyanov

They might search existing research to find the data they need—a technique known as secondary research .

Alternatively, they might prefer to seek out the data they need independently. This is known as primary research.

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• What is primary research?

During primary research, the researcher collects the information and data for a specific sample directly.

Types of primary research

Primary research can take several forms, depending on the type of information studied. Here are the four main types of primary research:

Observations

Focus groups

When conducting primary research, you can collect qualitative or quantitative data (or both).

Qualitative primary data collection provides a vast array of feedback or information about products and services. However, it may need to be interpreted before it is used to make important business decisions.

Quantitative primary data collection , on the other hand, involves looking at the numbers related to a specific product or service.

• What types of projects can benefit from primary research?

Data obtained from primary research may be more accurate than if it were obtained from previous data samples.

Primary research may be used for

Salary guides

Industry benchmarks

Government reports

Any information based on the current state of the target, including statistics related to current information

Scientific studies

Current market research

Crafting user-friendly products

Primary research can also be used to capture any type of sentiment that cannot be represented statistically, verbally, or through transcription. This may include tone of voice, for example. The researcher might want to find out if the subject sounds hesitant, uncertain, or unhappy.

• Methods for conducting primary research

Your methods for conducting primary research may vary based on the information you’re looking for and how you prefer to interact with your target market.

Surveys are a method to obtain direct information and feedback from the target audience. Depending on the target market’s specific needs, they can be conducted over the phone, online, or face-to-face.

Observation

In some cases, primary research will involve watching the behaviors of consumers or members of the target audience.

Communication with members of the target audience who can share direct information and feedback about products and services.

Test marketing

Explore customer response to a product or marketing campaign before a wider release.

Competitor visits

Competitor visits allow you to check out what competitors have to offer to get a better feel for how they interact with their target markets. This approach can help you better understand what the market might be looking for.

This involves bringing a group of people together to discuss a specific product or need within the industry. This approach could help provide essential insights into the needs of that market.

Usability testing

Usability testing allows you to evaluate a product’s usability when you launch a live prototype. You might recruit representative users to perform tasks while you observe, ask questions, and take notes on how they use your product.

• When to conduct primary research

Primary research is needed when you want first-hand information about your product, service, or target market. There are several circumstances where primary research may be the best strategy for getting the information you need.

You might use it to:

Understand pricing information, including what price points customers are likely to purchase at. 

Get insight into your sales process. For example, you might look at screenshots of a sales demo, listen to audio recordings of the sales process, or evaluate key details and descriptions. 

Learn about problems your consumers might be having and how your business can solve them.

Gauge how a company feels about its competitors. For example, you might want to ask an e-tailer if they plan to offer free shipping to compete with Amazon, Walmart, and other major retailers.

• How to get started with primary research

Step one: Define the problem you’re trying to answer. Clearly identify what you want to know and why it’s important. Does the customer want you to perform the “usual?” This is often the case if they are new, inexperienced, or simply too busy and want to have the task taken care of.

Step two: Determine the best method for getting those answers. Do you need quantitative data , which can be measured in multiple-choice surveys? Or do you need more detailed qualitative data , which may require focus groups or interviews?

Step three: Select your target. Where will you conduct your primary research? You may already have a focus group available; for example, a social media group where people already gather to discuss your brand.

Step four: Compile your questions or define your method. Clearly set out what information you need and how you plan to gather it.

Step five: Research!

• Advantages of primary research

Primary research offers a number of potential advantages. Most importantly, it offers you information that you can’t get elsewhere.

It provides you with direct information from consumers who are already members of your target market or using your products.

You are able to get feedback directly from your target audience, which can allow you to immediately improve products or services and provide better support to your target market.

Primary data is current. Secondary sources may contain outdated data.

Primary data is reliable. You will know what methods you used and how the data relates to your research because you collected it yourself.

• Disadvantages of primary research

You might decide primary research isn’t the best option for your research project when you consider the disadvantages.

Primary research can be time-consuming. You will have to put in the time to collect data yourself, meaning the research may take longer to complete.

Primary research may be more expensive to conduct if it involves face-to-face interactions with your target audience, subscriptions for insight platforms, or participant remuneration.

The people you engage with for your research may feel disrupted by information-gathering methods, so you may not be able to use the same focus group every time you conduct that research.

It can be difficult to gather accurate information from a small group of people, especially if you deliberately select a focus group made up of existing customers. 

You may have a hard time accessing people who are not already members of your customer base.

Biased surveys can be a challenge. Researchers may, for example, inadvertently structure questions to encourage participants to respond in a particular way. Questions may also be too confusing or complex for participants to answer accurately.

Despite the researcher’s best efforts, participants don’t always take studies seriously. They may provide inaccurate or irrelevant answers to survey questions, significantly impacting any conclusions you reach. Therefore, researchers must take extra caution when examining results.

Conducting primary research can help you get a closer look at what is really going on with your target market and how they are using your product. That research can then inform your efforts to improve your services and products.

What is primary research, and why is it important?

Primary research is a research method that allows researchers to directly collect information for their use. It can provide more accurate insights into the target audience and market information companies really need.

What are primary research sources?

Primary research sources may include surveys, interviews, visits to competitors, or focus groups.

What is the best method of primary research?

The best method of primary research depends on the type of information you are gathering. If you need qualitative information, you may want to hold focus groups or interviews. On the other hand, if you need quantitative data, you may benefit from conducting surveys with your target audience.

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17 Big Advantages and Disadvantages of Focus Groups

Focus groups are small, demographically diverse gatherings of people that have individualized reactions studied for the purpose of market research. Political analysis is also possible with this approach. Moderators used guided questions, open discussions, or both to look at new products or ideas to determine what the potential reaction would be if the concept got introduced to the entire population.

That means focus groups are a form of qualitative research. This approach uses an interview where groups get asked about their beliefs, opinions, attitudes, and perceptions toward packaging, products, services, ideas, advertisements, and more. Participants are free to discuss thoughts with other group members during this process. Then the researchers choose members of each group carefully to determine responses.

Focus groups have been a part of research processes since the early days of World War II when Robert Merton used them to examine how effective propaganda efforts were.

When a new idea requires examination, the advantages and disadvantages of focus groups come under careful consideration.

List of the Advantages of Focus Groups

1. Focus groups can help researchers understand more about a specific population group. A focus group helps researchers understand the perspectives that a particular demographic has regarding a specific philosophy, belief, or awareness of products, ideas, or political concepts. This approach to gathering information removes the barriers that social dynamics and wealth can have within smaller groups, creating a fair set of characteristics that leads to useful information.

When participants enter into the room for the focus group, everyone is on equal ground. That benefit facilitates the conversations that will follow.

2. It allows a group to create an answer based on compromise. The purpose of a focus group is to help individuals provide information from their perspectives on specific subjects. One of the unique benefits of this approach is that it can also let researchers see how people in a population group can come to a compromise. Each answer that someone gives gets built on top of the previous ones, helping to facilitate the growth or evolution of thoughts or ideas.

When this dataset receives this advantage of focus groups, then the information provides a more complete perspective. That means each side receives value because of the growth of awareness that occurs.

3. Focus groups can include people from all over the world. The Internet revolutionized the idea of a focus group. It allows participants to be involved from all over the world. Technologies like web conferencing make it possible to create real-time interactions, while video calling enables face-to-face interactions. This benefit adds more diversity to the research process so that a complete dataset becomes possible to obtain for a population group.

4. Most participants find focus groups to be a lot of fun. Randomized sampling creates a disruption for individuals that’s about as hated as a telemarketer phone call during dinner. People dislike the idea of giving someone information without receiving something in return, and a contest entry isn’t usually valuable enough today. When someone participates in a focus group, then they are doing so because it is something they want to do. Some programs will even pay people for their participation in these discussions, reimburse travel expenses, or offer advanced access to the products or services under consideration.

5. A focus group allows people to be reasonably anonymous. Although in-person focus groups require identification and participation to offer useful information, the individual who participates likely doesn’t know the others who will be in the room with them. That means there is a level of anonymity available in this research method that isn’t available in other forms of qualitative research. When online opportunities are available, then this advantage of focus groups expands even further.

When people are with strangers or know that they can be anonymous, then there is a higher chance that they’ll share authentic information with the moderator. Some people don’t like being around a stranger, which means this benefit wouldn’t apply to them. When individuals feel like people are judging them, then it can alter the shared data.

6. Focus groups are an affordable way to collect information. A focus group is one of the most cost-effective ways to collect data from a qualitative viewpoint. There aren’t any free processes that researchers can use, but this approach typically needs to cover overhead costs only. That means the structure provides a predictable budget-line expense that facilitates the overall approach. It is one of the cheapest ways to obtain a variety of ideas from a single population group.

7. Moderators can change the questions to fit the needs of the group. A focus group will usually start with a scripted set of questions that a moderator will ask. Some approaches have the participants fill out their answers ahead of time to facilitate an in-depth discussion when the group gets together. This benefit of using this approach to gather information is that it allows the researchers to pursue unexpected answers or tangent trails to see what might be waiting for them at the end of the journey.

It requires a certain level of skill to use this advantage of focus groups. The moderator must know how to recognize the emotional changes in the individual to understand when pursuing a different line of thinking makes sense. When this benefit gets applied correctly, the results can be quite valuable.

8. Focus groups provide valuable information without a significant time investment. Focus groups offer researchers access to a condensed structure that facilitates information gathering. It is possible to gather a significant number of ideas and opinions in a short time when using this approach. Instead of preparing for multiple individualized interviews to collect the necessary datasets, this qualitative approach allows everyone to share and discuss the concepts that are getting studied.

This advantage is critical to the modern approach to business because marketplaces move quickly. Products under development today only have a few months to reach consumers before they become outdated. Focus groups provide the necessary speed to meet the demands of today’s customers.

9. A focus group can provide a rich variety of information. Questionnaires and surveys provide researchers with hard datasets to use when evaluating specific ideas, concepts, or processes. It creates a safe place where brainstorming and creativity get encourages so that new approaches can start forming. This advantage leads to a valuable variety of information that is usable when generalizing the findings achieved to the general population. It can result in better prototyping, shorter manufacturing cycles, or knowledge that an approach might be useful.

List of the Disadvantages of Focus Groups

1. The results from the focus group may not represent the larger population. Focus groups tend to provide a subsection of opinions, beliefs, or viewpoints from a larger population demographic. When moderators bring people together to share their ideas, the information collected is a direct reflection of that group only. If several different conversations all produce a similar result, then the outcomes can get generalized to the larger population group.

Even with a room of diverse people having a conversation, a single focus group doesn’t have the power to provide a greater perspective. The sampled data is still valuable, but it may not be accurate to the needs of the world.

2. Robust opinions can change the outcome of a focus group. Most groups defer to a leader who represents the overall thoughts and beliefs that get shared. When moderators work with people in this setting, the person who is a persuasive leader can convince others that their perspective is the best way to follow. Instead of receiving a wide range of thoughts and ideas, this approach can lead to single-mindedness.

The best way to avoid this disadvantage of focus groups is to have a skilled moderator who can encourage discussions while inviting everyone to share.

3. Some people may choose not to share their opinions. Although individuals sign up to participate in focus groups for a variety of reasons, that doesn’t mean there is a guarantee of participation. Some people choose to offer minimal feedback during this process because of shyness, their personality, or because they don’t want to offend anyone. Moderators can counter this disadvantage by encouraging responses to open-ended questions, but it is still a personal choice to get involved. Some people will stay quiet throughout the entire session.

4. Unconscious bias can enter into the conversation to impact the data. Everyone has conscious and unconscious biases that can impact their perspectives and beliefs. When you bring people together into a focus group, then you have a room full of these issues that can adversely impact the collected data. If like-minded individuals feed on these approaches, then it can justify their behavior. Moderators may have a difficult time trying to conduct interviews or complete surveys in this situation because of the resistance this disadvantage causes.

Moderators also have biases that can influence the results of a focus group. That’s why having an independent audit of the collected data is useful when trying to formulate a response or campaign for the information provided.

5. Focus groups can cause passions to spiral out of control. The organizers of focus groups attempt to put in structures and protocols that keep people safe when sharing opinions. There can be times when a person’s belief structures, perspectives, or ideas run counter to those shared by the rest of the group. It may be a xenophobic, racist, or targeted concept that gets offered to the moderator, causing the other participants to have an adverse reaction to the individual.

Most issues in a focus group with this disadvantage typically lead to shouting or name-calling. It can also lead to violence on rare occasions. Psychological screening and other review tools can work to prevent this disadvantage, but it may not be 100% eliminated.

6. A moderator can unintentionally impact the quality of the data collected. The facilitator of a focus group provides more than questions or surveys. These people provide every group of people their energy, perspective, and skill in offering follow up opportunities. It is their job to keep the conversations from wandering off on tangents. The quality of this skill can create incredible datasets that organizations can use for a variety of purposes. It can also make the collected information almost useless.

That’s why the vetting process must carefully look at the experience of the moderator just as much as the people who participate in the focus group process.

7. Focus groups work better with B2C approaches when compared to B2B structures. Most focus groups look at consumer concepts only because of the difficulties involved in bringing business representatives together in the same room. Organizational needs can vary widely even when two firms operate in the same industry, which means a concept or idea might apply to one company, but not the other. Most agencies already provide individualized support in this economic structure because of the logistical challenges involved.

8. People have less time to share their perspectives in focus groups. A focus group won’t provide an individual with the same amount of time they’d have to share a thought when compared to randomized sampling or personal interviews. This disadvantage can cause people to feel pressured to share a response as quickly as possible, disrupting the quality of the information that researchers gather. It can also cause hesitancy within the group because there is a desire to keep pressing forward.

This issue is another reason why the participants of a focus group have the tendency to agree with the loudest or strongest opinion in the room.

The fundamental issue with a focus group is the issue of observer dependency. This problem impacts all forms of qualitative research. The results obtained in this effort are directly influenced by the moderator, the research team, and the interpretation of the achieved results. It is a problem that can raise questions of validity because of the presence of the experimenter’s bias.

Focus groups can also be a way to encourage awareness about critical topics or to create better resources. The U.S. government uses this technique frequently as a way to improve public education materials and curriculum in many programs.

When evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of focus groups, it is imperative to look at the processes needed to create results. With the proper structure and moderator skill, this approach can be a useful way to generate data about a concept before its full introduction.

Telephone Interviews – Advantages and Disadvantages

Custom research  typically employs extensive or targeted primary research to go beyond what can be uncovered through secondary research. In-depth interviews are the most versatile form of primary research, and are appropriate when targeting detailed perceptions, opinions, and attitudes. In-depth interviews are particularly effective when the goal is to capture sensitive feedback. These interviews can be conducted in-person or over the telephone to gain deeper insight to specific objectives by probing for quality responses. This offers an advantage over self-completion methods, such as surveys, because the respondent is more likely to give their full attention and the interviewer can deduce the quality of each response.

In our previous blog we reviewed the advantages and disadvantages of face-to-face (F2F) interviews, and why they are a great tool in exploring critical topics more deeply than traditional surveys.  F2F interviews are a good way to deepen the understanding of a market, but telephone interviews are another useful form of primary research.  Similar to F2F interviews, it is important to have a “well-seasoned” telephone interviewer that can adapt with the conversation—as the discussion may not flow exactly in sync with the discussion guide or questionnaire. A good interviewer can tailor the discussion to objectives and sustain more control over the data received. The ability to conduct a complex or even technical interview is the ability to see how the little pieces fit together. An interview does not need to be an expert on the subject. In fact, being an expert and bringing your own bias to the table can hinder the ability to analyze the data objectively. However, an interviewer should do a fair amount of background research to hold an intelligent conversation on the subject matter.

Using telephones to conduct in-depth interviews is a faster, easier way to approach primary research.  Telephone is often the preferred method of interviewing in the B2B space, because it takes less time to schedule and conduct than a face-to-face interview.  However, just like a face-to-face interview, with a telephone interview, the interviewer can gain a deeper insight to specific answers by treating the questionnaire like a meaningful discussion and deducing the validity of each response.

As opposed to survey methodology conducted over the internet, through mailings, or in focus groups, telephone interviewing gives the interviewer and the respondent the chance to ask questions and inquire about topics and questions just like in F2F interviews but without the extensive time and costs. Telephone interviewing is ideal if the target respondents are spread out over a large geographic scope or if a large number of interviews are required to complete the project objectives.

Telephone interviewing is an in-between methodology serving as the median between F2F interviews and surveys/panels. As a means of collecting primary, qualitative data, telephone interviews are becoming the preferred method as they deliver high quality response with less timing and cost commitments of F2F interview.

Advantages of Telephone interviews

• Are more cost effective and easier to conduct than F2F interviews
• Can deliver similar quality data
• Multiple points of view can be gathered through multiple interviews
• Interviews can be conducted over a wider geographic scope, even globally
• Answers to questions are equally as valid as F2F interviews

Disadvantages to Telephone interviews

• Respondents have to actually answer the call and can hang up at any time
• Behavior and body language cannot be observed
• Interviews tend to be shorter than F2F interviews
• Cannot use any visual aids to assist in the interviewing

As discussed earlier, regardless of interview methodology (F2F or telephone), the most important aspect of in-depth interviewing is accessing the right people. When conducting B2B research, there may not be a directory or panel of target respondents, so potential interviewees may have to be identified through a detailed investigation. The challenge is identifying key decision-makers and accessing them without any pre-existing relationship. Although research firms may complete a number of projects in a common market or industry segment, the same contacts are rarely able to be re-interviewed for a new project, as each custom market research project is typically tailored to client specific needs.

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Primary Research vs Secondary Research: Pros & Cons | Types

Updated: Oct 16

In this post you will gain an understanding of the key differences between primary research vs secondary research, the pros and cons and how both primary research and secondary research can be applied.

There are a variety of market research methods available but they fall under two main types – primary research and secondary research.

Primary research is evidence collected by self-conducted research methods based on key objectives set , while secondary research are previously sourced pieces of information often used at the beginning of research.

Secondary research is also known as desk research and can be sourced for free but you are also likely to pay for these resources as well.

Table of contents:

What Are The Key Differences Between Primary And Secondary Research?

Advantages of primary research, disadvantages of primary research, advantages of secondary research, disadvantages of secondary research.

Examples of primary and secondary research

Main primary research methods

Main secondary research methods.

[Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, meaning we get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through these links at no additional cost to you.]

The key difference between primary and secondary research is primary research is more for exploratory purposes and target specific towards research objectives , while secondary research gives more of a feel and a broader picture at the matter at hand to help guide businesses to establish points to investigate further.

Primary research is more valuable in providing insights to help businesses or organisations decide on what strategies to take and tackling problems for a specific situation but there is a place for secondary research as well. Secondary research should be a starting point to access available information straight away to get some idea of what lies ahead before carrying out primary research to help fill in the gaps.

The table above illustrates the advantages and disadvantages of using primary research and secondary research.

The 4 key advantages of primary research are:

1. Relevant to the set of objectives

Is relevant to the set of objectives and will fill in the gaps from any desk research you have done. It can uncover the attitudes, views and opinions of a brand or website amongst both customers and potential customers.

2. Up to date and more accurate

Is up to date and more accurate to the given situation or place unlike secondary research. However, the research needs to be done properly otherwise the research is redundant.

3. Better interpretation of data

The interpretation of the data collected in primary research is much better as this is with your objectives in mind rather than that of someone else who has no connection to your business, which you get with secondary research.

4. Privacy of data

As primary research is carried out by you or on your behalf, then you don’t need to share this information with other companies, so you have an edge over your competitors who are relying on secondary information.

Although primary research is hugely beneficial for your business or website, it does come with some limitations that you need to be mindful of.

1. Time consuming

It can be a time-consuming exercise in comparison to secondary research, where for a duration of time needs to be taken to research accurately.

2. Can be expensive

Can be costly when carrying out large international studies or on a continuous basis as it’s been developed for a customised purpose. However, online surveys are relatively inexpensive especially DIY online surveys.

3. Amount of resources required

More resources maybe required in terms of manpower and material dependent on the size of the research project such as a large multi-country continuous survey that runs every quarter. This is in terms of survey setup and data collection.

The 3 key advantages of secondary research are:

1. Accessibility

Capability to access things straight away as they are available and are likely to be accessible via the internet.

2. Free sources of information

Many of the secondary sources are free but they tend to be broader, so if you are looking for things that are a lot more specific such as market reports or social media monitoring then you will have to pay for these resources and tools.

3. Guidance for further research

Helps to guide further research that may need to be taken (primary research) without wasting time or money going down the wrong path as secondary research may have covered this as a dead end. So, helps to diagnose the research problem and develop an approach to the issue. This is often used in exploratory research for such purposes.

Although secondary research provides key benefits, it does not come without its limitations, which are:

1. Relevancy to the research

The relevancy of the research to the problem at hand as secondary research was carried out for a different purpose and is limited in the insights it can provide.

2. Lack of accuracy

Lack of accuracy due to the objectives, nature and methods used to collect the data may not be appropriate for your given situation.

3. Out of date information

Research may be out of date, so trends, views, technology and the market climate are likely to have changed since the research was done. Therefore, research carried out in the last year or two is usually taken more into account than something that is over 5 years old.

4. The scale of information available

The sheer size of information available can be overwhelming, so it’s best to keep to the task you set out to do instead of going on a tangent and stick with the sources that are most relevant and up to date.

Examples of Primary and Secondary research

Example of primary research.

An example of primary research could be through development of research material such as questionnaires, interviewing or observation of target audience, data analysis and interpretation of results for conclusions and recommendations to be made.

Examples of secondary research

Examples of secondary research could be reports done by research agencies or financial data made available by companies. This is normally treated as an initial step in research and helps to build up your knowledge base of the topic of interest, where secondary sources of information can be a goldmine especially with Google search as information is more freely available.

Usually secondary research is a good starting point to set you on your way using the information that is readily available and sets the parameters for more customised research later on. Primary research will fill in the gaps left behind by secondary research as it’s specific to your goals and will give you more of an end product for any money you may invested in this.

Primary research is divided into two forms of research - quantitative and qualitative research .

Qualitative research

Qualitative research is exploring the in-depth behaviour, attitudes and opinions of a small group of individuals in a more open manner instead of strictly following a set of questions. These tend to be face to face in-depth interviews or focus groups, where people can discuss the subject at hand openly with guidance from the interviewer. Also, observational techniques like mystery shopping can be used as well.

The three main tools of qualitative research are:

Ethnography and observation

This is more fly on the wall way of observing and listening to these people in certain situations, where people are examined in a specific environment to understand their behaviour. By doing it this way will allow you to go beyond answers given by individuals through observing their real behaviour. This can be at home or in a special environment, so after a period of time as these people are conscious of prying eyes their true selves will eventually emerge.

Depth interviews

These are likely to be direct face to face interviews, where the interviewer can talk at length with individuals at suitable private locations or at their homes. Alternatively, this can be done online using applications like Skype, Zoom or over the telephone. These environments allow individuals to be comfortable in talking openly especially about sensitive subjects and helps gain further insights this way. To help support these interviews a discussion guide will be needed with a relatively unstructured list of topics to follow.

Focus groups

This is where people have been specifically chosen based on a set of conditions like those who watch scary films at the cinema or who bought a specific brand of smartphone in the last 6 months to take part in group discussions consisting of 5 to 10 people led by a person moderating the group. These discussions take place at a special location with viewing facilities or an online portal.

Quantitative research

Quantitative research is where results can be measured by numbers, which is straight forward to understand and pick up for those making the decisions. These quantified results are collected by interviewing a large group of people (from 50 running into the 1000s) that is a reflection of the whole population. Hence with a larger sample size, statistical analysis can be applied to provide better insights such as key drivers of buyers’ decisions, optimal price levels and predicted behaviour.

The following are 3 main methods of quantitative research:

Online surveys

Online surveys are the main method used for consumer research because of its speed and low cost especially if you are using DIY research platforms like PickFu . This type of research method can be managed swiftly and efficiently within minutes to be received on mobiles , tablets and computers in providing data in real time.

If you are looking to run a survey check out - 5 Best Survey Maker Platforms To Consider Using

Telephone interviews

Telephone interviewing is now primarily used for business to business research but can be conducted in less developed countries for consumer research. Telephone interviews tends to last for 15 to 30 minutes and enables the interviewer to probe fully or clarify their answers in a few open-ended questions that may be included in the survey.

Face to face interviews

Not as popular as the other two quantitative methods due to technology, is more costly, time consuming and more of a security risk for interviewers. However, they are conducted in certain situations such as exhibitions, shopping malls and even on the high street.

The key types of secondary research sources tend to be the following examples that you can use:

Online search engines like Google is the most obvious place many people start with, as it’s readily available to answer any search queries.

Online reports (free or paid) and articles that cover a wide range of topics from market forecasts to the latest trends on Instagram. Mintel is a good example for paid market reports as it covers research on all industries and sectors.

If you have a company that has been up and running for a while then it’s best to first utilise the company records you have. However, this is dependent on the research goals you are looking to achieve. From these company records you can tell how many customers you have, where they are located, how much was purchased, what was bought, the average price they paid, the number of visitors to your website. With a more sophisticated database you will be able to dive deeper into the data you have.

Trade and business press are another key source that you could explore. Background material to specialised supplements on industries and markets will be included in the news they cover.

Get in touch with industry experts, which is another great source you could try. They have a wealth of knowledge and experience in their area of expertise that you could tap into and will help to answer some of the questions you have.

Trade and industry bodies

Lists and directories

Government sources like the country’s census data are good for solid statistical data. Other government sources you may find useful are the US department of commerce for industry data (www.commerce.gov), UN Comtrade (https://comtrade.un.org/) for imports and exports and Eurostat - European office of statistics.

The National Intelligence Survey’s online Factbook is great if you want to research different markets worldwide as it covers business information for over 250 countries in providing individual country summaries of the population, geography, the economy, government, communications etc.

Databases containing company information such as www.sec.gov, Hoovers or Companies House for financial data will enable you to benchmark competitors.

Using social listening tools you can tap into social media to see people’s views and opinions of brands. These social listening tools will help to identify topics of interest and analyse the related posts such as examining the number of brand mentions and what people are saying about the product. Social media analytics can also track the number of likes, shares, impressions and link clicks.

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Advantages and disadvantages of interviews

This comprehensive article aims to assess the advantages and disadvantages of interviews in research and recruitment. There is no doubt that interview is often used by both researchers and recruiters for data collection and assessing suitable job applicants. It is indeed a very effective tool for applicant selection and data collection.

Definition of Interviews

According to Soanes (2002) an interview is a spoken examination of an applicant for a job or college place. According to Kahn and Cannell 1957, cited in Saunders et al. (2007) an interview is a purposeful discussion between two or more people. It involves two or more people exchanging information in the form of questions and answers.

The purpose of an interview for employers is to evaluate the skills, and experience of job applicants. It is also a chance for the applicants to learn more about the job and the organisation. In research, the purpose of an interview is to collect primary data from research respondents.

Types of interviews

Both researchers and HR professionals use different types of interviews e.g. fully structured interviews, unstructured interviews, and semi-structured interviews.

In a structured interview, the interviewer presents each respondent with the same questions in the same order. On the other hand, semi structured interviews consist of both close-ended and open-ended questions.

Unstructured interviews are called in-depth interview. In this type of interview, the researchers may have a checklist of topics to cover in questioning, but they are free to word such questions as the wish.

Advantages and disadvantages of interviews in research

The use of interviews can help researchers collect valid and reliable data that are relevant to their research aims and objectives. However, interviews are not without some limitations.

Advantages of interviews in research

Interview is one of the most widely used methods of collecting primary data in qualitative research. By using it, researchers can collect qualitative and in-depth data. As many people say, the easiest way to get information from someone is simply to ask them!

Interview helps researchers understand the body language and facial expressions of the research respondents. It can also be very useful to understand their personal opinions, beliefs, and values.

Researchers can establish good rapport with research participants. This can make the latter feel comfortable and engaged in the process which should eventually generate very good responses.

Disadvantages of interviews in research

Interviews are time consuming. Each interview may consume a considerable amount of time. In addition, researchers need to collect responses, code and organise them, and finally analyse them for the final reporting purpose.

Interviews can produce biased responses. Interviewers and their view of the world may affect the responses of the interviewees. This can impact on the outcome positively  or negatively.

Interviews can be expensive as well. For instance, to get the best responses from the participants, the researchers need to be skilful in conducting interviews. However, this may not be the case with many new researchers. Therefore, they may need to have some kind of training on how to conduct interviews. And training often costs a lot of money!

Advantages and disadvantages of interviews in recruitment

Hiring the right people for a business is a challenging task. Therefore, HR professionals often use a variety of techniques to attract and select the most suitable candidates. Interview is indeed one of those techniques.

HR professionals use different types of interviews. However, this article explores some of the advantages and disadvantages of interviews in general.

Advantages of interviews in recruitment

There are a number of advantages of interviews from the perspectives of both an applicant and a hiring organisation. For example:

Interviews allow job applicants to demonstrate practical evidence of their attributes. They can speak freely and describe their special skills that make them a good fit for the advertised position. They can also ask the interviewers questions about the job and the organisation. And finally, they can decide if they should take up the job.

On the other hand, interviews help employers assess an applicant’s abilities to do a job.  Employers can provide applicants with more details pertaining to the job and the associated responsibilities. It is also an opportunity for them to give a positive impression of the company to the applicants (CIPD, 2023). 

Disadvantages of interviews in recruitment

There are a number of disadvantages of interviews from the perspectives of both an applicant and an organisation. For example:

Interviews are sometimes difficult for some people. They may feel very uncomfortable and anxious which may lead to a poor performance in the interview. They may also be disappointed when they face irrelevant questions from the interviewers.

On the other hand, organisations face certain challenges too. For example, an interview alone may not be effective enough to select the best candidates. Likewise, organisations also need to spend a lot of time for the preparations of the interview. Interviews are generally expensive and there is a possibility that the interviewers may be biased in their assessment of the applicants. 

Summary of the advantages and disadvantages of interviews

Interviews can be daunting for job applicants, researchers, and research participants. However, with the right preparation and practice, they can easily get the best out of it.

We hope the article on the ‘Advantages and disadvantages of interviews’ has been helpful which has addressed interviews in two contexts i.e. ‘advantages and disadvantages of interviews in research’ and ‘advantages and disadvantages of interviews in recruitment’.

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Last update: 13 January 2023

References:

CIPD (2023) Recruitment: an overview, Available from http://www.cipd.co.uk/hrresources/factsheets (Accessed 13 January 2023)

Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2007) Research Methods for Business Students, 4 th edition, UK: Pearson Education Limited

Soanes, K. (2002) Pocket Oxford English Dictionary, 9 th edition, New York: OUP

Author: M Rahman

M Rahman writes extensively online and offline with an emphasis on business management, marketing, and tourism. He is a lecturer in Management and Marketing. He holds an MSc in Tourism & Hospitality from the University of Sunderland. Also, graduated from Leeds Metropolitan University with a BA in Business & Management Studies and completed a DTLLS (Diploma in Teaching in the Life-Long Learning Sector) from London South Bank University.

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