DEFINITION 2 SOURCES Strengths of this Method Weaknesses of the Method

TERM IN YOUR OWN WORDS (WEB LINKS, BOOKS)

QUALITATIVE Research where a person would give A-Z Media and The strengths of qualitative research The weakness of qualitative
RESEARCH there thought and opinions. Communication are that it allows you to get a more research is that it is a study for
in-depth of peoples thought and local, small scale thoughts and
This type of research is conducted
http://marketing.about. opinions. opinions.
through ‘in-depth’ investigation; its
com/od/marketingglos
purpose is to discover more about the
sary/g/qualitatedef.htm
meanings attributed to events by
individuals rather than to record the
number of quantity of events
themselves.
A method of advertising research that
emphasizes the quality of meaning in
consumer perceptions and attitudes; for
example, in-depth interviews and focus
groups.

QUANTITATIVE Research which is collected through A-Z Media and The strengths of quantitative The weaknesses of quantitative
RESEARCH numerical data. Communication research are that it is large scale research are that it is collected in
A form of research suited to large scale surveys so you will get a good numerical data and you don’t get
enquires which uses surveys to provide http://www.encycloped amount of feedback. any ones opinions.
information about broad social trends ia.com/doc/1O62-
and simple preferences. quantitativeresearch.ht
research based on traditional scientific ml
methods, which generates numerical
data and usually seeks to establish
causal relationships between two or
more variables, using statistical
methods to test the strength and
significance of the relationships

PRIMARY Information that you personally will go AS/A-Level media The strengths of primary research The weaknesses of primary
RESEARCH and find out by making a questionnaire studies are that it will be your own research research are that it will take time
or having an interview. http://www.teachmefin which allows you to find out the to produce the questionnaire and
 Research that is undertaken through ance.com/Financial_T certain information that you need. collect the data that is needed.
direct interview with a source or by erms/primary_researc
direct access to original, unmediated h.html
documents or images.
Information collected by interview or
questionnaire designed for a specific
need.

SECONDARY When you would use another person’s
research
RESEARCH Investigation of sources already in
existence (i.e. that data which is linked
to, but not generated by, any specific
enquiry).
Examining or reading about someone
else's research (either primary or
secondary), such as in a library.
A-Z Media and The strengths of secondary research The weaknesses of secondary
Communication are that you don’t need to research research are that as you are
anything you will be using someone using someone else’s research it
http://www.investorwor else’s research. may not be correct.
ds.com/4425/secondar
y_research.html

INTERVIEWS A discussion between two sets of A-Z Media and The strengths of interview is that you The weaknesses of interviews is
people where questions are asked to Communication can ask people everything that you that question can become biased.
find out information about the people need to know.
they are interviewing. http://www.businessdi
A research method which tries to obtain ctionary.com/definition
primary data through structured and /interview.html
unstructured interaction between a
researcher and an individual.
A somewhat formal discussion between
two parties in which information is
exchanged. For a business looking to fill
an open job position, an employee
might interview potential candidates to
gain a better understanding of their
backgrounds, qualifications and skills.

QUESTIONNAIRES A set question designed to find out http://www.businessdi The strengths of questionnaires is The weaknesses of questionnaire
general Information. ctionary.com/definition that you can use different types of if the questionnaire includes a lot
 A set designed to aid research by /questionnaire.html question like ratings tick boxes or of tick boxes then people just tick
producing general information about the writing questions. boxes randomly.
issue under study A-Z Media and
List of a research or survey questions Communication
asked to respondents, and designed to
extract specific information. It serves
four basic purposes: to (1) collect the
appropriate data, (2) make data
comparable and amenable to analysis,

FOCUS GROUPS A group of people that talk about ABC of The strengths of focus groups are The weakness of focus group is
something that a company produces. Communication that it allows you to collect useful that you will not get a big variety
Studies information about their attributes. of answer as your only getting a
Groups of typical voters in marginal
small number of responses.
constituencies are gathered together to
http://www.businessdi
react to presentations of party policy.
ctionary.com/definition
Market research: Small number of /focus-group.html
people (usually between 4 and 15, but
typically 8) brought together with a
moderator to focus on a specific product
or topic. Focus groups aim at a
discussion instead of on individual
responses to formal questions, and
produce qualitative data (preferences
and beliefs) that may or may not be
representative of the general population.