PRIMARY DATA COLLECTION

Questioning the respondent

vs Observation
 SOURSES OF SECONDARY DATA

INTERNAL & PROPRIETORY DATA: Internal data from finance ,

sales & marketing and other departments of the organisation.

EXTERNAL SOURCES ( partial list):

- Books & periodicals
- Internet
- Media sources ( newspapers and magazines of the concerned
sectors)
- Data released by various Govt Depts ( Census , RBI , Planning
commission
- Stock Exchange
- concerned industry bodies (FICCI etc)
- Specific conferences, seminars
 Comparison between Questioning &
Observation to Collect primary data
QUESTIONING
- Very versatile in types of data
collection
- This method provides opportunity
to the respondents for seeking
clarifications
- The the response to the questions
can be sought though Personal
interviews , Ordinary Mail or
Electronic communication
- Time and cooperation is required
from the respondent
OBSERVATION
- Data collection is constrained only
what can be observed or heard.
Any kind of attitude/ feelings
survey is not possible
- The observation can be done
mechanically ( video tapes ) or
through human interface
- This method is best for
conducting surveys on infants /
children who cannot speak
- In this technique no extra effort is
needed from the respondent
- Not affected by the presence of
the interviewer
 TYPES OF OBSERVATIONS

NATURAL VS CONTRIVED OBSERVATION :In natural observation , the customer

reactions are observed as they occur naturally in real life situations. In contrived
observation , an environment is artificially set up set up by the researcher ( audience
are shown an advertisement about a product and then taken to a mall where they are
free to choose any brand without any suggestion by the researcher. It is assumed
that effectiveness of the advertisement can be assessed by this way)

DISGUISED vs NONDISGUISED OBSERVATION: In disguised observation , the

respondents are unaware that they are being observed. Mystery shopping in the
malls is a good example of disguised observation (observers enter the mall, shop
and interact like an ordinary customer).

HUMAN vs MECHANICAL OBSERVATION: Human observation involves people taking

observations. Mechanical observation involves machines and devices taking
observations.

WEB BASED OBSERVATIONS: Web based tracking of the consumers. This is an

emerging field but is limited only to those consumers who use internet