There are several ways to categorize the various market research methods. The vast majority of techniques fit into one of six categories: (1) secondary research, (2) surveys, (3) focus groups, (4) interviews, (5) observation, or (6) experiments/field trials.
Market Research Methods: An Overview
Continue Reading the Six Market Research Methods…
The most enjoyable aspect of market research can be presenting your results. The Flowing Data blog has put together an awesome list of 15 data visualization projects of 2011.
My favorite one is this “light painting” project that mixes long exposure photography and data about wifi signal strength. Very cool!
On the other end of the data visualization spectrum is this chart from Fox News.
When it comes to statistic analysis, there are two classifications: descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. In a nutshell, descriptive statistics intend to describe a big hunk of data with summary charts and tables, but do not attempt to draw conclusions about the population from which the sample was taken. You are simply summarizing the data you have with pretty charts and graphs–kind of like telling someone the key points of a book (executive summary) as opposed to just handing them a thick book (raw data).
Conversely, with inferential statistics, you are testing a hypothesis and drawing conclusions about a population, based on your sample. In this case, you are going to run into fancy sounding concepts like ANOVA, T-Test, Chi-Squared, confidence interval, regression, etc., but we’ll save those for another day.
Source: Flickr User "unity_creative"
To understand the simple difference between descriptive and inferential statistics, all you need to remember is that descriptive statistics summarize your current dataset and inferential statistics aim to draw conclusions about an additional population outside of your dataset.
Perhaps these concepts are most easily explained with some examples…
Continue Reading About the Descriptive and Inferential Statistics
When it comes to survey design best practices, there are six key considerations, including relevance, objectivity, clarity, the look & feel, your question structure, and the survey flow. This article provides some tips and tricks related to each of these components, helping you construct effective survey questionnaires.
Survey Design Considerations
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When describing the “research” industry, I hear both terms “market research” and “marketing research” used…so what’s the difference? Can they be used interchangeably? Is one a subset of the other? Which one is more common?
Sticklers will say that there is a distinction between the two terms, but I don’t think it really matters. I’ve heard them each defined with so much overlap that either one can be comfortably used in practice. One person will describe market research as a subset of marketing research, while another will say just the opposite.
My View of Market Research vs Marketing Research
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Market research can be classified as either primary or secondary research. The difference is quite simple, yet there is often confusion around this topic.
Overview: Primary vs Secondary Market Research
In a nutshell, primary research is original research conducted by you (or someone you hire) to collect data specifically for your current objective. You might conduct a survey, run an interview or a focus group, observe behavior, or do an experiment. You are going to be the person who obtains this raw data directly and it will be collected specifically for your current research need. Conversely, secondary research involves searching for existing data that was originally collected by someone else. You might look in journals, libraries, or go to online sources like the US census. You will apply what you find to your personal research problem, but the data you are finding was not originally collected by you, nor was it obtained for the purpose you are using it for. I hope that makes sense. If not, read on for some examples and a little more detail.
Continue Reading about Primary and Secondary Market Research…
