BUSINESS RESEARCH

DATA COLLECTION

TYPES OF DATA

Data

Numerical(Quantitati

ve)

Categorical(Qualitative

)

WHY DO WE NEED DATA?

• To provide input to survey• To provide input to study• To measure performance of service or

production process• To evaluate conformance to standards• To assist in formulating alternative courses

of action• To satisfy curiosity

METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION

Data Sources

Secondary

Methods

Internal External

Primary Methods

Fully Processed

Need Further Analysis

Published Syndicate Sources

Electronic Database

Observation SurveyExperime

ntation

PRIMARY DATA

• Primary data – data you collect•Data never gathered before• Advantage: find data you need to suit

your purpose• Disadvantage: usually more costly and

time consuming than collecting secondary data• Collected after secondary data is collected

PRIMARY DATA

• Interview (face to face interview, telephone interview, computer assigned interview, interviews through electronic media) • Questionnaire• Observation• Schedules• Other methods (warranty cards, distributors

audits, pantry audits, consumer panels, mechanical devices, projective techniques, depth interviews, content analysis.)

PRIMARY DATA

• Interview method• Interview method of collecting data

involves presentation of oral-stimuli and reply in terms of oral- verbal responses. • Personal interviews • - direct personal investigation or indirect

oral investigation• - structured or unstructured interviews• - focused interview, clinical interview and

non- directive interview

PRIMARY DATA

• Advantages of Personal Interview• More information and greater depth• Overcome resistance• Greater flexibility in restructuring questions• Observation method can be well applied to

recording verbal answers• Personal information can be obtained• Samples can be controlled as non response

generally remains low

PRIMARY DATA

• Disadvantages of Personal Interview• Expensive method if large and wide spread of

geographical sample is taken• Possibility of bias• Certain respondents may prove to be

unapproachable• Time consuming

PRIMARY DATA

• Pre-requisite for Interviews• Interviewers should be carefully selected, trained

and briefed. • Should be honest, sincere, hardworking,

impartial. Must possess technical competence and practical experience• Interviewer must ask questions properly and

intelligently and must record responses accurately and completely

PRIMARY DATA

• Telephonic Interviews: Merits• Flexible in comparison• Faster than other methods• Cheaper than personal interviewing method• No field staff is required• Representative and wider distribution of sample is

possible

PRIMARY DATA

• Telephonic Interviews: Demerits• Little time is given to respondents for considered

answer• Restricted to respondents having telephone

facility• Extensive geographical coverage may get

restricted by cost consideration• Possibility of bias of interviewer is relatively more• Questions have to short and to the point

PRIMARY DATA

• Questionnaire Methods• A questionnaire is a series of written questions a

researcher supplies to subjects, requesting their response. • A set of questions on a topic or group of topics

designed to be answered by a respondent.

PRIMARY DATA

• Questionnaire Methods• Mail questionnaires• Advantages: (1) Low cost of data collection, (2)

avoidance of interviewer bias, and (3) ability to reach respondents who live far away.• Disadvantages: (1) low response rates, (2) no

opportunity to correct misunderstanding, and (3) no check on incomplete sentences.

PRIMARY DATA

• Questionnaire Methods• Self-administered questionnaires• Group-administered questionnaires

PRIMARY DATA

• Questionnaire: Advantages• Questionnaires are one of the most efficient ways

to collect data.• They contain fixed-response questions about

various features of an organization.• These on-line or paper-and pencil measures can

be administered to large numbers of people simultaneously.

PRIMARY DATA

• Questionnaire: Advantages• They can be analyzed quickly.• They can be easily be fed back to employees.• Questionnaires can be standard based on

common research or they can be customized to meet the specific data gathering need.

PRIMARY DATA

• Questionnaire: Disadvantages• Responses are limited to the questions asked in

the instrument.• They provide little opportunity to probe for

additional data or ask for points of clarification.• They tend to be impersonal.• Often elicit response biases – tend to answer in a

socially acceptable manner.

PRIMARY DATA

• Observation method• Observing organizational behaviors in their

functional settings is one of the most direct ways to collect data.• Observation can range from complete participant

observation, where the OD practitioner becomes a member of the group under study to a more detached observation using a casually observing and noting occurrences of specific kinds of behaviors.

PRIMARY DATA

• Observation method: Advantages• They are free of the biases inherent in the self-

report data.• They put the practitioner directly in touch with

the behaviors in question.• They involved real-time data, describing behavior

occurring in the present rather than the past.• They are adapting in that they can be modified

depending on what is being observed.

PRIMARY DATA

• Observation method: Disadvantages• Difficulties interpreting the meaning underlying

the observations.• Observers must decide which people to observe;

choose time periods, territory and events• Failure to attend to these sampling issues can

result in a biased sample of data.

PRIMARY DATA

• Schedule method• Much like collection of data through questionnaire• Schedules are filled in by enumerators appointed

specially for this purpose • This method requires appointment of

enumerators for filling up schedules or assisting respondents to fill up schedules

PRIMARY DATA

• Schedule method• Enumerators are to be trained • Enumerators should be intelligent and posses s

the capacity of cross questioning• Enumerators should be honest, sincere,

hardworking and have patience and perseverance.

PRIMARY DATA

• Limitations:• Do you have the time and money for:• Designing your collection instrument?• Selecting your population or sample?• Pretesting/piloting the instrument to work out

sources of bias?• Administration of the instrument?• Entry/collation of data?

PRIMARY DATA

• Uniqueness• May not be able to compare to other

populations• Researcher error• Sample bias• Other confounding factors

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY DATA

• Primary Data• This is the original, problem or project specific

data which is collected for serving a particular purpose.• The authenticity and the relevance is

reasonably high• Secondary Data• This is not topical or research specific. It can be

economically and quickly collected by the decision maker in a short span of time.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY DATA

Basis Primary SecondaryCollection purpose

For the problem at hand

For other problems.

Collection process

Very involved Rapid and easy

Collection cost High Relatively lowCollection time Long Short

SECONDARY DATA

• Advantages and Uses:• Secondary data are easily accessible, relatively

inexpensive and quickly obtained.• Available on topics where it would not be

feasible for a firm to collect primary data.• Secondary data can help :• Identify the problem.

SECONDARY DATA

• Advantages and Uses:• Better define the problem.• Develop an approach to the problem.• Formulate an appropriate research design.• Answer certain research questions and test

some hypotheses.• Interpret primary data more insightfully.

SECONDARY DATA

• Disadvantages:• Because secondary data have been collected

for purposes other than the problem at hand, their usefulness to the current problem may be limited in several important ways, including relevance and accuracy.• The objectives, nature and methods used to

collect the secondary data may not be appropriate to the present situation.• Secondary data may be lacking in accuracy, or

they may not be completely current or dependable.

CLASSIFICATION OF SECONDARY DATA

• Internal data are those generated within the organization for which the research is being conducted.• This information may be available in a ready-to-

use format, such as information routinely supplied by the management decision support system.

CLASSIFICATION OF SECONDARY DATA

• On the other hand, these data may exist within the organization but may require considerable processing before they are useful to the researcher. For e.g. A variety of information can be found on sales invoices. Yet this information may not be easily accessible; further processing may be required to extract it.• External data are those generated by sources

outside the organization. These are mainly published materials, computerized databases and syndicated services.

SOURCES OF SECONDARY DATA

Published Secondary Data

Government Sources

Census Data

Other Governme

nt Publicatio

ns

General Business Sources

Guides Directories

Statistical Data

Indexes

SOURCES OF PUBLISHED SECONDARY DATA

• General Business Data• Guides – • Excellent source of standard or recurring

information. A guide may help identify other important sources such as directories, trade associations and trade publications.

• Directories – • Helpful for identifying individuals or

organizations that collect specific data. E.g. Research Services Directory.

SOURCES OF PUBLISHED SECONDARY DATA

• General Business Data• Indexes –• It is possible to locate information on a

particular topic in several different publications by using an index. Indexes can, therefore, increase the efficiency of the search process. E.g. Business Periodical Index.

• Statistical Data –• Published statistical data are of great interest to

researchers. Graphic and statistical analyses can be performed on these data to draw important insights. E.g. A Guide to Consumer Markets.

SOURCES OF PUBLISHED SECONDARY DATA

• Government Sources• Census Data –• Provides detailed view of the human population,

their income and education level. The quality of census data is high and the data are often extremely detailed. Important census data include Census of Housing, Census of Manufacturers, Census of Population, Census of Retail Trade, Census of Service Industries and Census of Wholesale Trade.

SOURCES OF PUBLISHED SECONDARY DATA

• Government Sources• Other Government Publications –• In addition to the census, the government

collects and publishes a great deal of statistical data. The more useful publications are Business Conditions Digest and Survey of Current Business.

SECONDARY DATABASE

Computerized Databases

Online Internet Offline

Bibliographic

Database

Numeric Database

s

Full-Text Database

s

Directory Database

s

Special-Purpose

Database

SECONDARY DATABASE

• Computerized Database• Online Databases- Databases, stored in

computers, which require a telecommunications network to access.• Internet Databases – Internet databases can be

accessed, searched and analyzed on the internet. It is also possible to download data from the internet and store them in the computer or an auxiliary storage device.• Offline Databases – Databases that are

available on diskette or CD-ROM.

SECONDARY DATABASE

• Computerized Database• Bibliographic Databases –Databases composed

of citations to articles in journals, magazines, newspapers, marketing research studies, technical reports, government documents and the like. They often provide summaries or abstracts of the material cited.• Numeric Databases – Contain numerical and

statistical information that may be important sources of secondary data.

SECONDARY DATABASE

• Computerized Database• Full-Text Databases –Databases containing the

complete text of secondary source documents comprising the database.• Directory Databases –Provide information on

individuals, organizations and services. E.g. National Electronic Yellow Pages.• Special-purpose Databases – Contain

information of a specific nature, e.g. data on a specialized industry.

SECONDARY DATABASE

• Syndicate Sources• Also referred to as syndicated services, are

companies that collect and sell common pools of data of known commercial value, designed to serve information needs shared by a number of clients.• These data are not collected for the purpose of

marketing research problems specific to individual clients, but the data and reports supplied to client companies can be personalized to fit particular needs.

SECONDARY DATABASE

• Syndicate Sources• Surveys – Involve interviews with a large number

of respondents using a predesigned questionnaire.• Psychographics and Lifestyles – Psychographics

refer to the psychological profiles of individuals and to psychologically based measures of lifestyle. Lifestyles refer to the distinctive modes of living of a society or some of its segments.

SECONDARY DATABASE

• Syndicate Sources• Surveys – Involve interviews with a large number of

respondents using a predesigned questionnaire.• General surveys – Surveys conducted for a variety

of other purposes, including examination of purchase and consumption behavior.

• Advertising Evaluation – The purpose of advertising evaluation surveys is to assess the effectiveness of advertising using print and broadcast media.

SECONDARY DATABASE

• Syndicate Sources• Purchase and Media Panels – Panels are samples of

respondents who provide specified information at regular intervals over an extended period of time. These respondents may be organizations, households or individuals, although household panels are most common. The distinguishing feature of purchase and media panels is that the respondents record specific behaviors in an electronic diary as they occur.• Purchase Panel – Respondents record their purchases

of a variety of different products.• Media Panel – Electronic devices automatically record

viewing behavior, thus supplementing a diary or an online panel.

SECONDARY DATABASE

• Syndicate Sources• Electronic Scanner Services – Scanner data reflect

some of the latest technological developments in the marketing research industry. Scanner data are collected by passing merchandise over a laser scanner, which optically reads the barcoded description printed on the merchandize.• Volume Tracking Data – Provide information on

purchases by brand, size, price and flavor or formulation, based on sales data collected from the checkout scanner tapes.

SECONDARY DATABASE

• Syndicate Sources• Retailer and Wholesaler Audits – A data collection

process derived from physical records or performing inventory analysis.• Data are collected personally by the researcher or

by representatives of the researcher, and the data are based upon counts usually of physical objects other than people.• Retailers and wholesalers who participate in the

audit receive basic reports and cash payments from the audit service.

SECONDARY DATABASE

• Syndicate Sources• Industry Services – Provide syndicated data about

industrial firms, businesses and other institutions. • Financial, operating and employment data are

also collected by these syndicated research services. • These data are collected by making direct

inquiries, from clipping services that monitor newspapers, the trade press and broadcasts; and from corporate reports.

SUMMARY

• Primary data are those which are collected afresh and for first time and thus happen to be original in character.• Secondary data are those which have

been collected by someone else and which have already been passed through the statistical process.• It must be remembered that each method

of data collection has its own uses and none is superior in all situations.