Task 1 Types of Research

Research Types –

      Primary

Primary research is a typical but major method of research, this method is new research carried out to gather information that has not been collected before to answer specific question or issues.  

An example could be gathering information using questionnaires or interviews.

The following link shows a real life example in which Microsoft surveys PS4 owners. 

http://ps4daily.com/2014/11/microsoft-surveys-ps4-owners-wants-their-feedback/

It is basically a survey that brings head-to-head match-up between PS4 and XBOX One, users are are asked to rank the consoles in different categories.

Pros: 

• Addresses specific research issues as the researcher controls the search design 
• Great Control 
• The researcher can decide on such requirements as size of project, time frame and goal

Cons: 

• Compared to secondary, primary data may be very expensive in preparing and carrying out the research. 
• Some research projects, while potentially offering information that could prove quite valuable, may not be within the reach of a researcher. 
• By the time the research is complete it may be out of date 

Secondary 

Secondary research is another major type of research. The difference between Secondary and Primary is that instead of creating new research, secondary involves the summary, collation and/or synthesis of existing research. An example would be using the answers to surveys and questionnaires of a specific subject.

A real life example would be the using of the survey I have mentioned earlier (http://ps4daily.com/2014/11/microsoft-surveys-ps4-owners-wants-their-feedback/) to know what has a better reputation between consoles. Knowing that a shop would know what to invest more on.



Pros:

• It is easy to access 
• Quick to find 
• Sometimes is the only resource so it has to be done, an example is historical documents.

Cons:

• Might not have all of the information that you need
• The information that you have found may be out of date
• If the data that you found does not come from the main source or is not trustworthy at all, it may lead to incorrect data. 

Qualitative Research 

We could say that qualitative research is exploratory research. This type of research will be used to gain an understanding reasons, opinions and motivations. It is also used to uncover trends in thought and opinions, and dive deeper in the "problem". The methods used in qualitative research can vary, this means we can see Unstructured or Semi-unstructured techniques. Common methods include group discussions, interviews (Individual), and participation/observations.
The sample size can vary but is typically small, and the respondents are chosen to fulfill a given quota.

Quantitative Research 

Quantitative research is used to quantify the problem by way of generating numerical data or data that can be transformed into usable statistics. It basically used for quantify attitudes, opinions, behaviors, and other defined variables such as generalization of population samples (Large samples).
If we mention the methods used in quantitative research, Quantitative data collection methods are much more structured than Qualitative data collection methods. Quantitative data collection methods include various forms of surveys – online surveys, paper surveys, mobile surveys and kiosk surveys, face-to-face interviews, telephone interviews, longitudinal studies, website interceptors, online polls, and systematic observations.