Research Data Collection Methods

Market research is the most important tool at your disposal for figuring out what your customers need, how your competitors stack up, and what opportunities are available. Companies that engage in all types of market research are going to have the upper hand against their competition, because they’ll be able to make data driven decisions that will see measurable results. But how you collect the data matters. The following are some of the most common methods of data collection in the market research world.

Focus Groups: Focus groups are very common, especially in larger businesses. They involve gathering a group of people and discussing some topic in depth in order to gain insight about how others view a particular product, ad, etc. Focus groups suffer from small sample size issues, as well as biases introduced by having someone ask people questions in person.

Paper Surveys: After focus groups, surveys are the most common form of market research. But there are also different types of surveys available. Paper surveys are useful, except that they involve a significant amount of work on the recipient and few people open their mail anymore when it’s not from someone they know.

Even fewer are willing to take the time to mail it back. Phone Surveys: Phone surveys are another popular option, and more effective than paper surveys.

But they involve both a considerable cost (you have to hire someone to ask questions, and train them on how to do so effectively), and they can be more difficult for a respondent to follow. Some people also find it hard to be honest when someone asks them something in person. Online Surveys: Online surveys are a newer option, but a very effective one.

They’re low cost, they allow the anonymity that survey respondents prefer, they make it easy for respondents to fill them out, and they put all the data into easy-to-analyze databases. They’re the ideal option, with their only downside being that people have grown a bit too accustomed to being sent an online survey. Data Mining: Finally, there is market research in data mining.

This is when you take a large database (say, of economic data) and use tools to try to discover pieces of information that could be useful for your business. Overall, there is no such thing as a “bad” market research strategy, but there are many advantages of online surveys . That’s why if you’re interested in getting started with online surveys, sign up with SurveyMethods today.