PRIMARY DATA COLLECTION

Questioning the respondent vs Observation

SOURSES OF SECONDARY DATA

INTERNAL & PROPRIETORY DATA: Internal data from finance , sales & marketing and other departments of the organisation.

EXTERNAL SOURCES ( partial list): - Books & periodicals - Internet - Media sources ( newspapers and magazines of the concerned

sectors) - Data released by various Govt Depts ( Census , RBI , Planning

commission - Stock Exchange - concerned industry bodies (FICCI etc) - Specific conferences, seminars

Comparison between Questioning & Observation to Collect primary data

QUESTIONING- Very versatile in types of data

collection- This method provides opportunity

to the respondents for seeking clarifications

- The the response to the questions can be sought though Personal interviews , Ordinary Mail or Electronic communication

- Time and cooperation is required from the respondent

OBSERVATION- Data collection is constrained only

what can be observed or heard. Any kind of attitude/ feelings survey is not possible

- The observation can be done mechanically ( video tapes ) or through human interface

- This method is best for conducting surveys on infants / children who cannot speak

- In this technique no extra effort is needed from the respondent

- Not affected by the presence of the interviewer

TYPES OF OBSERVATIONS

NATURAL VS CONTRIVED OBSERVATION :In natural observation , the customer reactions are observed as they occur naturally in real life situations. In contrived observation , an environment is artificially set up set up by the researcher ( audience are shown an advertisement about a product and then taken to a mall where they are free to choose any brand without any suggestion by the researcher. It is assumed that effectiveness of the advertisement can be assessed by this way)

DISGUISED vs NONDISGUISED OBSERVATION: In disguised observation , the respondents are unaware that they are being observed. Mystery shopping in the malls is a good example of disguised observation (observers enter the mall, shop and interact like an ordinary customer).

HUMAN vs MECHANICAL OBSERVATION: Human observation involves people taking observations. Mechanical observation involves machines and devices taking observations.

WEB BASED OBSERVATIONS: Web based tracking of the consumers. This is an emerging field but is limited only to those consumers who use internet