Background Information
Market research is any organised effort to gather information about markets or customers. Social or policy research informs government or social policy or evaluates the effects of policies and other government actions.
When clients ask for research, they often request primary or secondary research, or a combination of the two. Primary research (also known as field research) involves the collection of data that does not already exist. Secondary research (also known as desk research) involves searching for and summarising existing information.
There are two main approaches to primary research: quantitative and qualitative.
As its name implies, quantitative research is about quantifying (counting or measuring) things often to generate percentages, for example 60% of people said they would vote on X Factor, compared with 40% of people who would vote in a general election. Quantitative research is generally conducted using questionnaires that collect responses from people (i.e. respondents) via a number of methods, such as postal surveys, online surveys or telephone surveys. Quantitative researchers use ‘closed’ questions to obtain information, such as:
- Are you going to vote in May’s general election? Yes or No
- How will you vote? (choose one of the following options) Local polling station/Postal vote
Quantitative surveys can also use scales, such as:
How likely are you to vote on X Factor:
1 (V. unlikely), 2, 3 (Neither likely/unlikely), 4, 5 (V. likely).
Qualitative research relates more to the analysis of people – their choices, their opinions and their ideas. So, qualitative research could find out why people vote on X Factor (such as ease of use, voting from their own home), which in turn could inform ways to encourage people to vote in a general election. Qualitative researchers use methods such as observation, focus groups (of 8 to 12 people) or one-to-one interviews (sometimes called ‘depth’ interviews. Sessions are often audio or video recorded, and then analysed for themes. Qualitative researchers use ‘open’ questions to obtain information such as:
- What makes you want to vote for an X Factor contestant?
- What would make you more likely to vote for an X Factor contestant in future?
Many projects use mixed-methods, where the results of qualitative research are used to inform quantitative research methods and findings, and vice versa.
Useful links on market research methods
http://www.marketresearchworld.net/index.php
Useful links on a career in social or policy research or market research.
http://www.mrs.org.uk/careers/career.htm