When researching Research Methods I discovered that there are two categories of research in which the information can be divided into. These are primary and secondary.

Primary research is the collection of original and primary data. It is often used after the person collecting the date has learnt information about the situation by analyzing the secondary research. There are various ways of collecting primary research.These include;

■ Questionnaires■ Interviews (telephone/direct)■ Experiments■ Observing people■ Letters and emails■ Social network groups such as Facebook and twitter.

The Advantages of primary research:

■ It addresses the issue that the researcher wants and goes straight to the point.■ They have full control of the research being taken.■ Fits the needs of the person taking the research.■ The information will always be accurate and focused for the time it was taken. ■ Allows generalisation to a larger population.

The Disadvantages:

■ Primary research needs a lot of planning in order to gain the correct results.■ Although up to date when taken, when seen by others the research could become out of date and

unhelpful. ■ People are not always guaranteed to take part so it could therefore be taken from a small group of

people.■ Could cost a lot of money e.g. handing out surveys and phoning people.■ Closed questions narrows down the importance of the question.

An example of primary research is the council handing out questionnaires to people to gain an insight as to whether they are pleased with what they are doing or not. Secondary research is the putting together of existing research and summarising it. It is most common in medical and market research. Secondary research is often used in the preliminary stages of research to certify what is known already, what new data is required or to inform research design. Examples include;■ Looking something up in published texts (online/book)■ Learning from another source such as a teacher or friend■ Published statistics e.g. social security data■ Media such as documentaries.■ Personal documents such as the diary of someone.

Using one book from the library and one internet source research RESEARCH METHODS.

When presenting the findings there are two ways of doing so:1. Quantitative Data2. Qualitative Data

1. Quantitative data generates numerical date or date that can be converted into numbers. This can lead to statistical reviews usually based on surveys or questionnaires. The questions asked will will be closed questions, however, they will have been developed and will measure other important factors such as satisfaction and feelings. they will all be measured on numerical scales. The information will often conclude in a final course of action.

Examples of Quantitative data are:■ Paper surveys■ Online surveys■ Telephone surveys■ Panel research

Advantages:■ The information obtained can be transformed into graphs and statistics.■ Much easier to comprehend.■ Good way to prove or disprove a hypothesis.■ Same structure has been used for centuries and so is universal.■ Filters out external factors, meaning that the results will be unbiased genuine.

Disadvantages:■ Difficult and expensive.■ Require a lot of time.■ Generates only proved or unproven results, no room for uncertainty. This is a main problem

in fields such as science as not many scientific theories can possibly require solid answers.

2. Qualitative data is used to explore the attitudes, behavior and beliefs of people. It generates descriptive information as opposed to numerical information. it is the oldest of all scientific techniques dating back to Ancient Greek philosophers. Qualitative research would be used to asses the habits of the consumers to see if the product was commercially viable and then Quantitative research would be used to see if the product would be popular. It is flexible and designed carefully.

Advantages: ■ Useful when the hypothesis needs more depth than a yes/no answer. ■ Much easier to carry out.■ Does not waste time as Quantitative research could do as they don’t require closed answers.■ Can use a small group of people and still produce useful results.

Disadvantages: ■ Require careful thought and planning to ensure that accurate results are obtained.■ Cannot be analyzed mathematically therefore only general guides. ■ The answers are unique and cannot be recreated the same.

The advantages of secondary research are:■ Cheap to find.■ Easy to access.■ Could possibly be the only resource if the information needed is dated.■ Enables us to research on a large scale.

The disadvantages are: ■ The information could be inconsistent.■ Biased results could be obtained.■ Could raise questions that would be difficult to answer.■ Could be unspecific to the researchers needs.