The Advantages and Disadvantages of using Primary Research

The Advantages and Disadvantages of using Primary Research:

What is primary research? 
- Primary research is new research, carried out to answer specific issues or questions. It can involve questionnaires, surveys or interviews with individuals or small groups.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Primary Research

Advantages:

Penna has stated four advantages of using primary research. These are: targeted issues are addressed, data interpretation is better, recency of data and proprietary issues (2012).

Targeted Issues refers to the notion of using focused topics on your research area as oppose to finding a semi related piece of research online. Penna claims Data Interpretation is better because you are analysing information that has been collected by yourself so you know the size of your respondents and where they were taken from.  Penultimately, the data is up to date meaning the responses will be more informed by the current contextual issues in society that could impact their answers. Finally, with the proprietary issues it is an advantage due to the fact that the collector of the primary research does not have to share the information gathered with companies or competitors.

Disadvantages: 

Penna has stated four disadvantages of using primary research. These are high cost, time consuming, inaccurate Feed-backs and More number of resources are required (2012).

High costs, Penna mentions that getting primary research is costly proposition as a marketer throughout and has to be in charge with designing everything. She continues to say that gathering primary research is time consuming, whereas secondary research would save time, but not as reliable. Then continues mentioning how inaccurate feed-backs is a disadvantage as you could be given inaccurate data this means that all the time spent on research would have been a waste of time and money. Finally, she proceeds to mention that with primary research more number of resources are required, would cost time as well as money. Other resources which are required is human resources and materials too are needed but in larger quantities to be able to do surveys and data collection.  

References:

"Define Primary Research - Google Search". Google.co.uk. Web. 21 Dec. 2015.
https://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en-GB&source=hp&biw=&bih=&q=define+primary+research&gbv=2&oq=define+primary+research&gs_l=heirloom-hp.3..0l5j0i22i30l5.649.3495.0.3585.23.18.0.3.3.0.136.1512.11j7.18.0....0...1ac.1.34.heirloom-hp..2.21.1530.CYfQUPVD8pc

Sparrow, Penna. "Primary Research Advantages And Disadvantages". Ianswer4u.com. N.p., 2012. Web. 21 Dec. 2015.
http://www.ianswer4u.com/2012/02/primary-research-advantages-and.html