Primary Research

Please find below a summary of the main points of different types of primary research.

Research method Advantages Disadvantages

Interviews May be conducted face to face or over the
telephone. Interviewer can ask follow-up
questions. Useful for obtaining in-depth or
qualitative information.
Questionnaires Can be used in conjunction with interviews or
sent through the post. Standard questions are
easier to analyse and compare. Can avoid
questioner bias.
Observation Suitable for surveying people’s behavior
Experiments Suitable for testing public opinion or trying a
new product
Focus Group Can be used for obtaining valuable feedback
on a business’s products and customer
service. Usually inexpensive.
May be expensive. Open to
researcher bias. Unless standard
questions are asked it is difficult
to analyse or compare responses.
Postal questionnaires are cheap
but may get low response.
Can be expensive. Open to bias if
the observation is carried out at
an unrepresentative time.
Expensive. Experiment must be
carried out on a sample
representative of the target
population
Panel may not be representative
of all target consumers.

The following products require some primary research. Decide which type of research would be the
most appropriate to use and why.

a) The possible success of a new chocolate bar

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b) Whether to introduce a new style of watch which uses fashionable bright colours

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c) Whether to extend an existing taxi service to cover a new town

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