Primary Research

Secondary research, we learned, was pulling information from extant sources. Primary research, by contrast, is collecting data that that did not exist previously. Primary research can be quantitative or qualitative. Some methods typically typically used to collect primary data are telephone surveys, mailed questionnaires, focus groups, one-on-one interviews such as mall-intercepts, and variouis forms of observational research. Some reserachers use videotaping.

Now that the internet is in full bore, there are a number of tools that can be used economically and efficiently over the internet. When I was working as a market research these were quite novel and we didn't quite know what to make of them. I still have not seen any studies, but they seem to be close at hand and easy to use.

Entrepreneurs should carefully consider whether to conduct primary research. It can be expensive and can take a long time, running the risk that when he or she gets the information back it will be out of date. Also, for it to be useful it has to be well designed and well executed. A profesionnal survey researcher should be retained, and that can run into some money.

Nonetheless, read the Wikipedia article on it, it's very short, but has some links that may be useful to you. Plus, there are terabytes of information on survey research and quantitative methods. They give you a rich set of analytical tools which you can use to study your own enterprise and with which you ought to be familiar in case there's a study you want to read.

What do you think? I'd like to know. So post a comment.

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. For entrepreneurial real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com./blog and for entrepreneurial writing to www.kearneymusicschool.blogspot.com.

Secondary Research

Secondary research is the answering of questions from existing sources. Some sources of secondary research often used are census data, health data, industry studies, research reports of various kinds.

You should look for all the secondary research you can find. The internet is an excellent source of exising data, but with every other source, data from the internet needs to be analyzed critically.

Using existing data may be tricky. Sources may be old or out of date. The research may be not specific to the area you're interested in studying or to the questions you are asking. You may not be able to tell how the data were collected, what methodology was used, and so on. You may not know how well the study was carried out. The research may be too time-consuming or expensive to analyze. But before you go doing your own research, check out what's available until you've satisfied yourself that what's out there won't serve you at least initially.

What do you think? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. For entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com and for entrepreneurial writing to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com

Market Research

Research is the asking and systematic answering of questions. Finding out whether you should take an umbrella with you is not conducting research. Asking and looking into the question, what factors are associated with precipitation is. The key is systematic, though looking out the window in the morning to see what you should wear is not a bad idea. It's just not research.

Market research is research related to marketing questions. From Wikipedia, the free, on-line encyclopedia, we have:

Market research is the process of systematically gathering, recording and analyzing data and information about customers, competitors and the market. Its uses include to help create a business plan, launch a new product or service, fine tune existing products and services, and expand into new markets. Market research can be used to determine which portion of the population will purchase a product/service, based on variables like age, gender, location and income level.

If you're interested in this, read the whole article and follow the links. There have also been hundreds of market research textbooks written on the subject, though the recent paradigm shift in the economics of information may have made moot a lot of the information out there. So whatever you read has to be filtered through an ever more recent lens of what society is like now.

I don't recommend that entrepreneurs commission market research studies. Such studies take money, require investment in time, and may not be helpful at the end of the study because society changed while the study was being done. Gathering all the information an entreprendur can find on consumer habits and preferences and so forth is key, though. Not just commissioned market research. I'll explain in subsequent postings.

What do you think? I want to know. Post a comment.

Entrepreneurship informs all my professional activities. For entrepreneurial real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for entrepreneurial writing, to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Market Research

Entrepreneurs need to know about market research. Wikipedia describes market research way:

Market research is the process of systematically gathering, recording and analyzing data and information about customers, competitors and the market. Its uses include to help create a business plan, launch a new product or service, fine tune existing products and services, and expand into new markets. Market research can be used to determine which portion of the population will purchase a product/service, based on variables like age, gender, location and income level...Market research [helps you discover] what people want, need, or believe. It can also involve discovering how they act. Once that research is complete it can be used to determine how to market your specific product.

There is much more to be told. This excerpt is barely a fingernail of all there is. Anyone interested should start with the Wikipedia article, than dig deeper. But don't go and dump a bunch of money into it before you find out more about it and which kinds are best suited for your needs. Would you use a tea spoon to take down a wire fence?

If this grabs you, post a comment here.

All my professional activities are entrepreneurial. For real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for writing 2.0 go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.