BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Business
Unit 10: Market Research in Business
D1: evaluate the market research method used by a selected organization.
Introduction
This assignment focuses on the evaluation of the different methods used by Barclays Bank in
comparison to the research methods used in this unit to collect the data. Furthermore,
recommendations on how the limitations from these methods can be overcome will be suggested
and justified.
Research Methods
These are methods/techniques used by organizations, in this case, Barclays Bank, in order to
collect data which will be used to better understand the preferences of customers and further be
able to accommodate to these changes by making changes and adjustments to adapt to this.
Research Methods used by Barclays Bank include; surveys, questionnaires, interviews, focus
groups, online panels and observation, etc. The methods used in this research were
questionnaires and the internet. Barclays Bank has more use of research methods to use than the
ones used in this research.
Surveys and Questionnaires
These are a list of questions that focus on collecting information on a specific topic. This method
was chosen because it allowed the asking of multiple questions on different situations in relation
to the different services/banking methods. This method is also convenient because it can be
answered at any time since it was done online. It is also not time consuming because not all
question need an in-depth answer. Questions in a survey and questionnaire can be different such
as open, closed, multiple choice, multiple options, yes/no, ranking and scoring, etc. By combining
the different types of questions you can keep the focus on certain questions and keep the rest
simple so that persons do not get irritated because it’s become time consuming.
In this questionnaire that was used to research the preferred types of banking, a combination of
all these types of questions were used. Multiple choice questions were used for questions that
only needed one answer such as age, occupation, method of banking preferred, how often do you
visit the bank/use online banking. Instead of having an open question in which persons can give
multiple and different answers, by keeping it simple, not only does it save time but when
analyzing the data, it will be easier to gather, group, present and draw conclusions. Multiple
options are the same, but one can select multiple answers that relate to them. Yes/no questions
are also very simple questions that asks the respondents to agree or disagree with the question
being asked. These questions are also easier to answer and quick.
Ranking and scoring questions, gives respondents the chance to rate something on a scale. They
were used for questions that asked persons who rate/score the in person and online banking
experience and customer service. This gave respondents the opportunity to select how good or
how bad something is by assigning numbers to help determine this. One can then determine from