Market research generally involves two different types of research: primary and secondary.

Four common types of market research techniques include surveys, interviews, focus groups, and customer observation.

The 3 main types of market research

• Exploratory research. The beginning of a project is often marked by many doubts. There is a lack of basic information that will guide the next steps and help set the road for success.
• Descriptive research. Descriptive research is more palpable in relation to exploratory research.
• Causal research.

Perhaps the most common type of primary research today, surveys have become a fixture of the modern online experience. In professional services, surveys are widely used for client satisfaction studies. If you want to get more in-depth insights, though, you need to consider other types of market research.

Methods of Primary Research

• Surveys. Asking participants about their opinions and behaviors through a short questionnaire.
• Interviews. Asking participants questions in a one-on-one or small group setting.
• Observations. Observing and measuring the world around you, including observations of people and other measurable events.

As a reminder, the 6 steps of the Market Research Process are:

• Define the Objective & Problem.
• Determine Research Design.
• Design & Prepare Research Instrument.
• Sampling & Data Collection.
• Analyze Data.
• Visualize & Communicate Results.

Basic Steps in the Research Process

1. Step 1: Identify and develop your topic. Selecting a topic can be the most challenging part of a research assignment.
2. Step 2 : Do a preliminary search for information.
3. Step 3: Locate materials.
4. Step 4: Evaluate your sources.
5. Step 5: Make notes.
6. Step 6: Write your paper.
7. Step 7: Cite your sources properly.
8. Step 8: Proofread.

The Seven Steps of the Research Process

• Step 1: Identify and Develop Your Topic.
• Step 2: Find Background Information.
• Step 3: Use Catalogs to Find Books and Media.
• Step 4: Use Databases to Find Journal Articles.
• Step 5: Find Internet Resources.
• Step 6: Evaluate What You Find.
• Step 7: Cite What You Find Using a Standard Format.

Developing tools Before using tool, researcher needs to discusses whether tool is developed by researcher oneself, or it is developed by someone else. If tool is borrowed from others, researcher needs to discuss sources and construct validity and reliability.

Qualitative Research Questions: Usually start with ‘what’ or ‘how’ (avoid beginning qualitative questions with ‘why’ as this implies cause and effect). Identify the central phenomenon you plan to explore (tell in your question what you are going to describe, explore, generate, discover, understand).

Good qualitative research should include sufficient detail about how the data were collected such as a description of the context and how and why there were changes in tech- niques or focus.