Primary Research

Primary Research

Primary research is a form of analysing which consists of several various methods. Such as observation, interviews, surveys, questionnaires, etc. As within all forms of research, primary research has advantages and disadvantages. 

• Obervation
• Interviews
• Surveys
• Questionnaires

Observation is a form of primary research which can give the researcher a first person account on the events and strategies that were used. (For example, a spectator that watches a sports game would get a point of view from his or her perspective.) This can be used as an advantage to a researcher because they are getting their own viewpoint on a speciation. A disadvantage could be that their vision or memory could be obscured.

An interview can also be used as another form of primary research. An advantage of an interview can give the researcher a chance to use open questions and ask the interviewee to expand and elaborate on their answers. Many interviewers such as “Louis Theroux” and “Michael Moore” use a semi-structured format, this method can achieve a more opinionated answer. A disadvantage of an interview could be that the interviewee can give   unnecessary information. Interviewers such as “Jeremy Paxman” use aggressive and abrasive interrogation techniques to their advantage when these events occur. This effect can be used as form of structured interviewing.

A survey is a form of primary research which can give the researcher a quantity sample of numbers, percentages, facts and statistics. This can be used as an advantage to the researcher because the information is from an evidential source. A disadvantage can be that no reasons or explanations are given to any answer.

Questionnaires can be used as a form of primary research. Their purpose is to gather information from an audience or respondent. An advantage of a questionnaire is that the researcher can control the audience, by doing this a researcher can achieve a closed “yes/no” answer from the responder. A disadvantage of this would be that they are no explanations or expansions for the answers.

These are all several methods of primary research. These examples contain several elements of quantitative and qualitative research. Qualitative research is opinion based and can mean interviews and observations. Quantitative research relies on facts and satistics which are used in surveys and questionnaires.

By: James Fletcher