What does each and every research project need to get results? Data – or information – to help answer questions, understand a specific issue or test a hypothesis. Show
Researchers in the health and social sciences can obtain their data by getting it directly from the subjects they’re interested in. This data they collect is called primary data. Another type of data that may help researchers is the data that has already been gathered by someone else. This is called secondary data. What are the advantages of using these two types of data? Which tends to take longer to process and which is more expensive? This column will help to explain the differences between primary and secondary data. Primary dataAn advantage of using primary data is that researchers are collecting information for the specific purposes of their study. In essence, the questions the researchers ask are tailored to elicit the data that will help them with their study. Researchers collect the data themselves, using surveys, interviews and direct observations. In the field of workplace health research, for example, direct observations may involve a researcher watching people at work. The researcher could count and code the number of times she sees practices or behaviours relevant to her interest; e.g. instances of improper lifting posture or the number of hostile or disrespectful interactions workers engage in with clients and customers over a period of time. To take another example, let’s say a research team wants to find out about workers’ experiences in return to work after a work-related injury. Part of the research may involve interviewing workers by telephone about how long they were off work and about their experiences with the return-to-work process. The workers’ answers–considered primary data–will provide the researchers with specific information about the return-to-work process; e.g. they may learn about the frequency of work accommodation offers, and the reasons some workers refused such offers. Secondary dataThere are several types of secondary data. They can include information from the national population census and other government information collected by Statistics Canada. One type of secondary data that’s used increasingly is administrative data. This term refers to data that is collected routinely as part of the day-to-day operations of an organization, institution or agency. There are any number of examples: motor vehicle registrations, hospital intake and discharge records, workers’ compensation claims records, and more. Compared to primary data, secondary data tends to be readily available and inexpensive to obtain. In addition, administrative data tends to have large samples, because the data collection is comprehensive and routine. What’s more, administrative data (and many types of secondary data) are collected over a long period. That allows researchers to detect change over time. Going back to the return-to-work study mentioned above, the researchers could also examine secondary data in addition to the information provided by their primary data (i.e. survey results). They could look at workers’ compensation lost-time claims data to determine the amount of time workers were receiving wage replacement benefits. With a combination of these two data sources, the researchers may be able to determine which factors predict a shorter work absence among injured workers. This information could then help improve return to work for other injured workers. The type of data researchers choose can depend on many things including the research question, their budget, their skills and available resources. Based on these and other factors, they may choose to use primary data, secondary data–or both. Source: At Work, Issue 82, Fall 2015: Institute for Work & Health, Toronto [This column updates a previous column describing the same term, originally published in 2008.] Exploratory research is defined as a research used to investigate a problem which is not clearly defined. It is conducted to have a better understanding of the existing problem, but will not provide conclusive results. For such a research, a researcher starts with a general idea and uses this research as a medium to identify issues, that can be the focus for future research. An important aspect here is that the researcher should be willing to change
his/her direction subject to the revelation of new data or insight. Such a research is usually carried out when the problem is at a preliminary stage. It is often referred to as grounded theory approach or interpretive research as it used to answer questions like what, why and how. For example: Consider a scenario where a juice bar owner feels that increasing the variety of juices will enable increase in customers, however he is not sure and needs more information. The owner
intends to carry out an exploratory research to find out and hence decides to do an exploratory research to find out if expanding their juices selection will enable him to get more customers of if there is a better idea. Another example of exploratory research is a podcast survey template that can be used to collect feedback about the podcast
consumption metrics both from existing listeners as well as other podcast listeners that are currently not subscribed to this channel. This helps the author of the podcast create curated content that will gain a larger audience. While it may sound a little difficult to research something that has very little information about it, there are several methods which
can help a researcher figure out the best research design, data collection methods and choice of subjects. There are two ways in which research can be conducted namely primary and secondary.. Under these two types, there are multiple methods which can used by a researcher. The data gathered from these research can
be qualitative or quantitative. Some of the most widely used research designs include the following: Primary research is information gathered directly from the subject. It can be through a group of people or even an individual. Such a research can be carried out directly by the researcher himself or can employ a third party to conduct it on their behalf. Primary research is specifically carried out to explore a certain problem which requires an in-depth
study. For example: A survey is sent to a given set of audience to understand their opinions about the size of mobile phones when they purchase one. Based on such information organization can dig deeper into the topic and make business related decision.
For example: An interview with an employee can give you more insights to find out the degree of job satisfaction, or an interview with a subject matter expert of quantum theory can give you in-depth information on that topic.
For example: A focus group helps a research identify the opinions of consumers if they were to buy a phone. Such a research can help the researcher understand what the consumer value while buying a phone. It may be screen size, brand value or even the dimensions. Based on which the organization can understand what are consumer buying attitudes, consumer opinions, etc.
For example: An FMCG company wants to know how it’s consumer react to the new shape of their product. The researcher observes the customers first reaction and collects the data, which is then used to draw inferences from the collective information. Secondary research methodsSecondary research is gathering information from previously published primary research. In such a research you gather information from sources likes case studies, magazines, newspapers, books, etc.
For example: A researcher needs to find out what is the percentage of people that prefer a specific brand phone. The researcher just enters the information he needs in a search engine and gets multiple links with related information and statistics.
However, a few things have to be kept in mind while researching from these sources. Government agencies have authentic information but sometimes may come with a nominal cost. Also, research from educational institutions is generally overlooked, but in fact educational institutions carry out more number of research than any other entities. Furthermore, commercial sources provide information on major topics like political agendas, demographics, financial information, market trends and information, etc. For example: A company has low sales. It can be easily explored from available statistics and market literature if the problem is market related or organization related or if the topic being studied is regarding financial situation of the country, then research data can be accessed through government documents or commercial sources.
For example: A particular orthopedic surgeon has the highest success rate for performing knee surgeries. A lot of other hospitals or doctors have taken up this case to understand and benchmark the method in which this surgeon does the procedure to increase their success rate. Exploratory research: Steps to conduct a research
Characteristics of Exploratory research
Advantages of Exploratory research
Disadvantages of Exploratory research
Importance of Exploratory researchExploratory research is carried out when a topic needs to be understood in depth, especially if it hasn’t been done before. The goal of such a research is to explore the problem and around it and not actually derive a conclusion from it. Such kind of research will enable a researcher to set a strong foundation for exploring his ideas, choosing the right research design and finding variables that actually are important for the analysis. Most importantly, such a research can help organizations or researchers save up a lot of time and resources, as it will enable the researcher to know if it worth pursuing. Learn more: VoIP Survey Questions + Sample Questionnaire Template What is secondary research quizlet?Secondary Research. ANALYZING the summary, collation/and or synthesis of existing data (uses existing info to answer the Q. Secondary research (Advantages) -inexpensive. -multiple studies.
Which example is a type of primary research?Examples of primary research are: Interviews (telephone or face-to-face) Surveys (online or mail) Questionnaires (online or mail)
Which of the following is an example of a secondary research resource?Common examples of secondary sources include academic books, journal articles, reviews, essays, and textbooks. Anything that summarizes, evaluates or interprets primary sources can be a secondary source.
What is the general purpose of research quizlet?1. To discover new facts about known phenomena. 2. To find answers to problems which are only partially solver by existing methods and information.
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