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Need quick data from many people? Use ___
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All Flashcards in Topic 4.4
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4.4.125 cards
Need quick data from many people? Use ___
Online survey — fast, cheap, reaches large numbers.
Online survey
Primary research = ___ data collected by ___
New, first-hand data collected by the business itself.
New + first-hand
Name five methods of primary research
Surveys/questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, observations, test marketing.
S-I-F-O-T
What is primary market research?
Collecting new, first-hand data that didn't exist before — gathered directly from customers or potential customers.
New data, straight from source
Two advantages of primary research?
Specific to business needs; current and up to date; exclusive; targets the right people.
Specific + current + exclusive
Need detailed opinions? Use ___
Interviews or focus groups — allow in-depth exploration of views.
Interviews / focus groups
Two disadvantages of primary research?
Expensive; time-consuming to collect/analyse; small samples can mislead; respondent bias.
Costly + slow + bias risk
Name two advantages of primary research
Tailored to the business's exact needs; up to date; exclusive (competitors can't access it); relevant.
Tailored + current + exclusive
Five primary methods?
Surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, test marketing.
S-I-F-O-T
What are focus groups?
Small group discussions led by a moderator — great for exploring opinions and testing ideas in depth.
Small group + moderator
Why can small sample sizes give misleading results?
A small group may not represent the whole market — their views could be unusual.
Not representative
Why is primary data 'exclusive'?
Because the business collected it themselves — competitors don't have access to the same findings.
You collected it, they didn't
What is test marketing?
Launching a product in a small area first to test demand before a full launch.
Small area trial
Want to see real behaviour? Use ___
Observation — watch what customers actually do, not what they say they do.
Observation
Primary: ✅ specific, current, exclusive. ❌ ___
Expensive, slow, possible bias, small sample risk.
Costly + slow + bias
Choose method based on ___
Business need, budget and time available.
Need + budget + time
Primary research collects ___ data; secondary uses ___ data
Primary = new, first-hand data. Secondary = existing data collected by others.
New vs existing
Testing a new product? Use ___
Test marketing — launch in a small area first to gauge demand.
Test marketing
What is respondent bias?
When people don't answer honestly — they may say what they think researchers want to hear.
Not honest answers
What is observation as a research method?
Watching how customers actually behave (e.g. in a store) — shows real behaviour, not what people say they do.
Watching real behaviour
Primary research is expensive because ___
Surveys, interviewers and focus groups all cost money to design, run and analyse.
Design + run + analyse = cost
No single 'best' method — always match to ___
The business situation, budget and what they need to find out.
Situation + budget + need
Why is primary research 'up to date'?
It's collected right now — not months or years ago like some secondary sources.
Collected now
Quick: Primary = new data. Secondary = ___
Existing data collected by others.
Existing
Surveys are best for ___ samples; interviews for ___
Surveys = large samples (breadth). Interviews = detailed opinions (depth).
Breadth vs depth
4.4.220 cards
Two advantages of secondary research?
Cheap/free; quick to access; large-scale data; good starting point before doing primary research.
Cheap + fast + large-scale
What is secondary market research?
Using data that already exists — collected by someone else for a different purpose.
Existing, second-hand data
Which should you start with: primary or secondary research?
Secondary — it's cheaper and faster for background understanding. Then use primary to fill gaps.
Secondary first, primary to fill gaps
Secondary research = using ___ data collected by ___
Existing data collected by others for a different purpose.
Existing + others
Two disadvantages of secondary research?
May be outdated; not tailored to specific needs; available to competitors; may be inaccurate.
Old + generic + shared
Name four sources of secondary research
Government statistics, industry reports, competitor websites/annual reports, internal sales records.
Gov + industry + competitors + internal
Most businesses use ___ types of research
Both — secondary for background, primary for specific answers. Best results come from combining them.
Both together
Sources: government stats, industry reports, ___
Competitor data, internal records (own sales/customer databases).
Competitors + internal
What counts as 'internal' secondary data?
The business's own past sales records, customer databases, financial reports — data it already has.
Own past data
✅ cheap, fast, large-scale. ❌ ___
Outdated, not specific, available to competitors, may be unreliable.
Old + generic + shared
Why is secondary data 'not exclusive'?
It's publicly available — competitors can access the same information.
Everyone can see it
Small budget — lean on ___. Bigger budget — add ___
Small = secondary research. Bigger = invest in primary too.
Secondary → add primary
Best approach: secondary first, then ___ to fill gaps
Primary research — get specific answers to your unique questions.
Primary
Secondary = second-hand (exists). Primary = ___
Original data you collect fresh yourself.
Original + fresh
Why is secondary research a good 'starting point'?
It helps understand the market cheaply before investing in expensive primary research.
Understand first, then invest
Give two examples of external secondary sources
Government census data, trade journals, newspapers, academic studies, market research firm reports.
Gov + publications
Secondary research = borrowing information rather than ___
Creating it from scratch — using what's already available.
Borrowing, not creating
Exam classic: Explain one advantage and one disadvantage of secondary research — tip?
Always contextualise to the business in the case study, not just generic points.
Apply to the case study
Best research approach combines secondary (background) + primary (___)?
Specific answers to unique questions the secondary data couldn't answer.
Fill the gaps
Quick: Secondary = existing. Primary = ___
New, original data collected by the business.
New
4.4.320 cards
What is sampling?
Selecting a small group of people to represent the whole market — you can't ask everyone.
Small group = whole market
Four sampling methods?
Convenience (easy), Random (equal chance), Quota (set numbers), Stratified (subgroups + random).
C-R-Q-S
Low budget, quick results needed — which sampling?
Convenience sampling — fast and cheap, though less representative.
Convenience
What is convenience sampling?
Choosing whoever is easiest to reach (e.g. people walking past). ✅ Fast/cheap. ❌ Not representative.
Easiest to reach
Need fair, unbiased representation — which sampling?
Random sampling — everyone has equal chance, reducing bias.
Random
Why do businesses use samples instead of surveying everyone?
Researching the entire market would be too expensive and time-consuming.
Cost + time
What is random sampling?
Everyone has an equal chance of being selected. ✅ Reduces bias. ❌ Expensive to organise.
Equal chance for all
Convenience: easy but ___. Random: fair but ___
Convenience = biased. Random = costly.
Biased vs costly
Bigger, more representative samples give ___
More reliable results that better reflect the whole market.
Reliable results
Want specific groups represented — which sampling?
Quota or stratified — both ensure key demographic groups are included.
Quota or stratified
What makes a good sample?
Bigger and more representative = better, more reliable data.
Big + representative
What is quota sampling?
Researcher sets quotas for specific groups (e.g. 50 men, 50 women). ✅ Key groups represented. ❌ Selection within groups may be biased.
Set numbers per group
A well-chosen sample gives ___ results
Reliable results that reflect the views of the whole market.
Reliable
What is stratified sampling?
Population divided into subgroups, then random samples taken from each. ✅ Very representative. ❌ Needs detailed population data.
Subgroups + random from each
When discussing sampling in exams, always explain ___
WHY that method suits the specific business — don't just describe it.
Why it suits THIS business
Always match sampling method to ___
Business situation and budget — there's no single best method.
Situation + budget
Which sampling method is most representative?
Stratified — reflects the actual market structure by sampling proportionally from each subgroup.
Stratified
The bigger the sample, the ___ the data
More reliable — large samples are more likely to represent the whole market accurately.
More reliable
Quick: Most representative method?
Stratified sampling — proportional random selection from each subgroup.
Stratified
Small niche market — which sampling might be enough?
Convenience — in a small market, easily reachable people may already be representative.
Convenience
4.4.415 cards
What is qualitative research?
Collects opinions, feelings and reasons — the 'why' behind customer behaviour. Methods: interviews, focus groups.
WHY — words + opinions
Qualitative = WHY (words). Quantitative = ___
HOW MANY (numbers/statistics/measurements).
How many
When to use qualitative research?
When you need to understand WHY customers feel a certain way — explore motivations and opinions.
Understand WHY
When to use quantitative research?
When you need hard numbers to support a decision — measure demand, compare options.
Hard numbers for decisions
What is quantitative research?
Collects numerical data — the 'how many' or 'how much'. Methods: surveys with closed questions, sales data.
HOW MANY — numbers + stats
Qualitative methods: interviews, focus groups. Quantitative: ___
Surveys with closed questions, sales data, statistical analysis.
Surveys + data
Launching a new product — which research first?
Start qualitative (explore ideas with focus groups), then quantitative (survey to test demand at scale).
Qual first → quant to confirm
Qualitative = quality of ___. Quantitative = quantity of ___
Qualitative = opinions (words). Quantitative = numbers (stats).
Words vs numbers
Most businesses use ___ for a complete picture
Both qualitative AND quantitative research together.
Both
Why is qualitative data hard to analyse statistically?
It's words, opinions and feelings — subjective and varied, not easily turned into graphs or charts.
Subjective + varied
Match the research type to ___
The question you need to answer — WHY (qual) or HOW MANY (quant).
The question
Writing a business plan — which type convinces investors?
Quantitative — investors want hard numbers, statistics and market size data.
Numbers convince investors
If a question asks about research methods, mention ___
Both types — explain which suits the situation better and why.
Both + explain preference
Qualitative uses ___ samples with ___ depth
Smaller samples with more depth — fewer people, richer insights.
Small + deep
Quick: Qual = words + depth. Quant = ___
Numbers + breadth.
Numbers + breadth
Topic 4.4 study notes
Full notes & explanations for Market research
BM exam skills
Paper structures, command terms & tips
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