Marketing Research Report

Introduction:

The following is an individual report about the different methods of doing a research project. Any research is categorized into two major methods:

1. Secondary Research

2. Primary Research.

This report explains the concepts making use of a number of references and analyses the information gathered through those sources.

Value and Weakness of Secondary Research:

“Secondary research (or desk research) gathers existing information through available information sources” (Government of Queensland). Secondary research is the collection of data that already exist in the form of articles, essays, figures etc. through many sources available. Any research is begun with secondary data because it is immediately available and is easy to gather.

Secondary research is gathered from most commonly available sources such as newspapers, journal articles, media information, internet articles, essays, annual reports of companies, research papers, reports and other publications. These are normally produced by some third party to use for their own purpose and are published or are made available. This information is normally gathered, compiled and researched to form an analysis.

It is important for any researcher to track the source of secondary data to verify, if the data is genuine and correct. It is normally advised to procure data from relevant organisations so that the data is reliable and these organisations can be Government, Educational, Corporates etc. The availability of data is so common that most tend to take the inappropriate source of data that is readily available. Whereas to form a conclusive research, the data availed must be valid, correct and reliable.

A researcher should examine the source of the data in order to ascertain the quality of the data. Most internet articles that are anonymous are nor reliable for academic research and these are widely available from Wikipedia, blogs, social networking websites etc. These kinds of data are personal opinions and do not form a standard approach to any hypothesis.

Advantages and disadvantages of secondary Research:

There are normally a number of advantages and disadvantages in using secondary research. “While secondary research is less targeted than primary research, it can yield valuable information and answer some questions that are not practical to address through primary research (such as assessing macro-economic conditions) or questions that may make customers uncomfortable if asked directly (such as questions on age and income levels)” (Guide to Market Research and analysis). Most often the data is abstract because the intent behind producing such data is not the same as that of the research.

Secondary