BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Business Maftah Mohamed
Unit 10 – Market Research in Business
Assignment 1- Types of Market
Research
Introduction:
This assignment which is the first section of Unit 10, will describe different types of market research,
whilst explaining how different market research methods have been used to make marketing
decision within a selected situation or business. It will also explain with examples how different
market research methods are appropriate to assist different marketing situations.
Describe different types of market research {P1}
This section is going to describe different types of market research, therefore to begin with;
according to {Investopedia 2020, by Alexandra} market research is “the process of determining the
viability of a new service or product through research conducted directly with potential customers.”
As a result, nearly all modern businesses/companies tend to carry out market research and the main
reason being:
Gathering information upon certain markets
Monitoring performance
Testing out business ideas
To help create new products or campaigns
{Newmr 2012, by Ray}
Secondly, when it comes to market research it has been divided depending on the manner that you
carry out the market research; the types of market research available are:
Primary Research- According to {Formpl, 2020} primary research is “a type of research
design in which the researcher is directly involved in the data collection process.” This
method is mostly used when a business/foundation is trying to acquire new information
which is going to widely contribute in giving a firm an upper hand compared to others.
Primary research methods:
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, BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Business Maftah Mohamed
Interviews- According to {Content.wisestep, ND} an interview is “a gentle conversation
between two people or more where questions are asked to a person to get the required
responses or answers.”
Surveys- According to {Questionpro, ND} a survey is “a research method used for
collecting data from a predefined group of respondents to gain information and insights
into various topics of interest.”
Data analysis- According to {Guru99, ND} data analysis is “a process of cleaning,
transforming, and modeling data to discover useful information for business decision-
making.”
Focus groups- According to {Economictimes,2021} focus groups are “a small set of six to
ten people who usually share common characteristics such as age, background,
geography, etc. The set comes together to discuss a predetermined topic.”
Observation- According to {Lexico.com, ND} observation is “the action or process of
closely observing or monitoring something or someone.”
Advantages Disadvantages
Primary research can be quite beneficial as it Primary research could also have certain
mainly contributes in generating original and up consequences as it could take up a lot of time
to data information at a specific required and be quite costly at the same time.
standard. {Toxplanet, 2019}
Secondary Research- According to {Formpl, 2020} secondary research is “a systematic
investigation in which the researcher depends solely on existing data in the course of the
research process.”
Secondary research methods:
Online information gathering- According to {Collinsdictionary,ND} information gathering
is “the process of collecting information about something.” Therefore, online
information gathering means it’s the process of gathering information online.
Published data (News, articles, books etc.)
Public records such as Financial statements- According to {wikiaccounting, ND} financial
statements are “reports that provide the detail of the entity’s financial information
including assets, liabilities, equities, incomes and expenses, shareholders’ contribution,
cash flow, and other related information during the period of time.”
Advantages Disadvantages
Provides quick access of information Creates difficulties upon the researcher to find
throughout certain research, whilst being less specific information according to his/her needs.
expensive than primary research. (Questionpro, (Toxplanet, 2019)
ND)
Furthermore, when market research extends it usually goes beyond Primary and Secondary research
in terms of categories; whereby, research carried out can fall under qualitative and quantitative
research.
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