Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Secondary Data
Secondary (or historical) data is data which has been acquired through a research or any other effort in the past and for another purpose Depending on the secondary data needed, there may be numerous sources for acquiring this secondary
data
Pool of already existing data Cost-effective vis--vis primary data Quick availability No need for designing and undertaking a research study Collecting primary data may not be feasible (privacy issues) Many different sources are available
Relevance for researcher Does data apply to target population? Time-frame consistent with researchers requirement? (outdatedness) Variation in terms of definition of terms Different units of measurement (data conversion) Verification of datas accuracy (inherent biases due to vested interests) Reputation of the data-collecting organization and research design used may not be good
No!
(Next Slide!)
No!
No
Yes No
Fact Finding Fact finding is about collecting secondary (or descriptive) data with a view to obtaining insights which can assist in decision-making Some examples: (1) Macroeconomic Data (2) Global Oil price trends (3) FDI in China over the period 2000-2005 (4) Indo-Pakistan trade statistics
Model Building
Model building is about specifying relationships between two or more variables Models can range from very simple ones, involving only two interrelated variables to complex ones involving several interrelated variables (multivariate statistical forecasting models)
Internal Sources (data already existing within an organization, for example, data collected and stored by various departments such as accounting and finance, marketing) Sometimes one unit in an organization is unaware that other units may be maintaining data which may be relevant for it and undertakes unnecessary and costly data collection
External Sources (data generated or provided by individuals and entities other than the researcher or his/her organization) There are many types of external sources of secondary data:
Books and Professional Journals Federal Government sources Regional / Provincial Publications Electronic and Print Media Sources Commercial Sources Internet, CDs
As economies and business becomes increasingly global in outlook, so does the need for secondary data from other regions and countries Potential Problems:
Unavailability of data in some countries Accuracy of data may be questionable Definitions and measurements of data may vary Comparability of data may be difficult
Surveys
A Survey is a research technique in which data is collected from a sample of people using an interview or questionnaire Surveys are a crucial tool of business research methods Surveys are undertaken using verbal or written means to obtain primary data for the research project
The advantages are only evident when surveys are properly conducted!
Respondent Error
Surveys depend on individuals responding to the questions asked of them in written or verbal form. Respondents must thereby fulfill two preconditions:
Be cooperative Be truthful
If these two preconditions are not fulfilled, the survey is unlikely to achieve its goal. Two major problems resulting from the non-fulfillment of these two preconditions by respondents are:
Non-response Error Response Bias
There are many reasons for not responding to surveys, for example, lack of time and preoccupation with routine work, absence from home, lack of interest in the survey, cultural factors (e.g. Middle East)
Response Bias
A response bias occurs when survey respondents tend to answer the questions posed to them in a certain direction, thereby consciously or unconsciously, or intentionally and inadvertently, misrepresenting the truth Response bias has been found to depend on factors such as the income or social class of respondents and their ethnic background. Example: Mayoral and gubernatorial elections in the USA (white respondents and their supposed choice of candidates)
Examples: Survey about shopping habits (respondent has forgotten expenses paid and does not want to admit this; employees are asked to give their opinion about their employers and give false answers because they fear adverse consequences; respondents wants to please the interviewer and give answers they think will bring this about; survey respondents want to appear average so that they dont stand out too much)
International surveys are particularly susceptible to unconscious misrepresentation by survey respondents due to cultural and communicational differences
Extremity Bias Tendency of survey respondents to use extremes when responding to questions, unlike other respondents who may adopt a neutral stance Interviewer Bias Tendency of survey respondents to give untrue answers because of the presence or influence of interviewers on them and their interest in appearing intelligent, more affluent or just willing to please
Data Processing Error Sample Selection Error Interviewer Error Interviewer Cheating
Administrative Error
Four major types of administrative errors are data-processing errors, sample selection errors, interviewer errors and interviewer cheating
Interviewer Cheating occurs when an interviewer falsifies questionnaires or fills in the answers himself or herself to selected questions or skips questions to avoid asking sensitive questions
Personal Interviews
A personal interview is a form of direct communication in which an interviewer asks respondents in a face-to-face conversational situation Personal interviews can take place in various locations, often at the respondents place of residence or in their workplaces (door-to-door interviews), in shopping malls and in supermarkets (mall intercept interviews) and in other high-traffic areas (this has the advantage of lower cost but, on the downside, it has a higher refusal rate due to the respondents time limitation and there may be sampling issues to consider) Personal interviews have a number of advantages and disadvantages for business researchers
Length of Interview If the questionnaire is very lengthy, the personal interview is the best technique for getting respondents to cooperate, without overtaxing their patience
Telephone Interviews
In telephone interviews, respondents are contacted by telephone in order to collect data for surveys Telephone interviewing has been used for decades and, in some ways, has advantages over other methods of undertaking surveys With improvements in the IT-field, computers can be used to assist in telephone interviewing, and answers given by respondents can be entered by interviewers directly into the computer, saving effort, time and cost
Representative Samples Using the telephone directory as the basis for sampling can be problematic in the sense that many persons are unlisted or do not have telephones, but whose opinions are nevertheless important
Global Considerations In many countries, people are reluctant to divulge information over the telephone
Self-Administered Questionnaires
Self-Administered Questionnaires
Printed Questionnaires
Electronic Questionnaires
In-Person Drop-Off
Inserts Fax
Internet Website
Interactive Kiosk