Research methods table: jjd
- 1. RESEARCH METHOD DESCRIPTION TYPE OF DATA (qualitative/quantitative /primary/secondary) ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES INTERVIEW An interview is a conversation between two or more people where questions are asked by the interviewer to cause facts or statements from the interviewee. Interviews are primarily qualitative data and are a source of primary research because you are gathering it yourself. However they can be used to gather quantitative data. In an interview you can develop a relationship with interviewee, this will cause them to open up more and there answers will be better quality and be more personal which is better for your research. This is why interview are particular good for gathering qualitative data. In an interview you can get more detailed and personal answers that will benefit your research. Theoretically there isn’t a limit to how many people you can interview. When I conducted my interview it was extremely beneficial because I got more unique answers that were specific to the individual and my research. Compared to a questionnaire, in an interview Interviews are more time consuming. People sometimes feel uncomfortable during interviews. Not only is the interview time consuming, gathering a good amount of people will take a lot of time, much quicker than say a questionnaire. When leading my interview it raised a question that I maybe could have got more conclusive data if I got triple the amount of people to fill out a questionnaire in the same amount of time. Furthermore, the majority of people I asked said they didn’t have enough time to partake. QUESTIONNAIRE A questionnaire is a type of research consisting of a series of questions and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from respondents. Questionnaires are qualitative data and quantitative data. They also are a source of primary research because you are gathering it yourself. Questionnaires are quick and easy to gather a lot of information. If you’re looking for short and snappy answers, for example closed questions, questionnaires will be the best way to go. In addition questionnaires would be ideal if you wanted to get a vast The answers you get won’t be very detailed and they will all be the same. Furthermore, questionnaires, like many evaluation methods occur after the event, so participants may forget important issues. If the questionnaire takes too
- 2. amount of opinions in a short amount of time, the more data you have the more conclusive it will be. However it won’t be as detailed as an interview would be. long, the person might be superficial with their answers. When I did my questionnaire, I asked the people if they took their time and answered honestly, a few of them said they had just ticked the boxes without giving it any thought. This problem wouldn’t occur with a interview. FOCUS GROUP 1. a group of people assembled to participate in a discussion about a product or subject. Focus groups are qualitative data and quantitative data. They also are a source of primary research because you are gathering it yourself from a group of people With focus groups you can get a whole group opinion at one time. Additionally in a group people tend to carry on with the convocation, leading to more detail. You can also ask a lot of questions because there in a lot of people, normally 10+. When directing my own focus group I found people tended to elaborate on other opinion and give counter arguments that helped my research Compared with surveys and questionnaires, focus groups are much more expensive to execute. Usually, each participant will have to be compensated. Compared with surveys and questionnaires, focus groups are much more expensive to execute. Usually, each participant will have to be compensated in cash or in kind. It might be harder for someone to express their views in a group dynamic. Focus groups can be moderator bias, this means that when exchanging view, someone could change them onion. SURVEY A survey is a data collection tool used to gather information about individuals. Surveys are primary research, you collect both types of research, Qualitative and quantitative. Relatively easy to put together Compared to other research methods, it takes up a fairly small amount of time. Surveys are cost- The people taking the survey may not feel encouraged to provide accurate, honest answers. Surveys with close
- 3. effective.Can be administered remotely via online, mobile devices, mail, email or telephone. Loads of question can be asked about a subject, this can helps with your analysis. A broad range of data can be collected (e.g., attitudes, opinions, beliefs, values, behavior, factual). A lot of data can be collected very quickly for example in the census. questions have a lower validity rate. INTERNET RESEARCH Research that is gathered from the internet. Internet research is secondary data, because you are getting your information from somewhere else. The internet is so big it is simple to get both quantitative data and qualitative date. The internet is so simple to gather data from. Furthermore it is always up to date with everything so even if the topic your researching is extremely new, you will still be able to find something on the internet about it. This is the opposite for library research, where they might not have book for your topic. The internet has different variety’s at hand. Finally it isn’t hard to use. Near enough anyone can use it. When collecting my research I found internet research to be the easiest and fastest way to collect data. It was also accurate and of good quality. Data could be false of can be wrongly modified, for example anyone with a wiki account can change Wikipedia’s information. A lot of information is recycled, as opposed to newspapers or magazines. The internet requires an internet connection. Although a lot of places might have an internet connection some might not. Finally, plagiarism is a disadvantage because you are copying someone research. LIBRARY RESEARCH Research that is gathered in libraries. Library research is more qualitative because they tend to be more detailed and almost always accurate. It is also secondary research, because Compared with online research, libraries have much more primary research. Libraries often have experience researchers to help you. Collecting information at libraries is much longer that the quick searches you can do online. Libraries may have missing materials from their
- 4. you are gathering someone else’s primary research shelves so you will have to dig around separate libraries to find your specific research.