Methods of Research: Primary and Secondary

Primary Research

One of the methods of research is Primary Research. Primary research is defined as a form of 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', http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/food-standards-agency/market-research-and-consumer-protection/primary-and-secondary-research.html. I would definitely add to this research that it is usually done by oneself therefore not obtained by Third Parties therefore an independent source. An advantage of the use of Primary research is that it enables the person who conducts the research(researcher) to be able to understand new ideas as well as grasp concepts for themselves.This being said, through carrying out their own research, media organisations or companies are able to tailor and understand specific situations in terms of their own products as often, Secondary research focus on a more general study whereas through Primary research, a media group is able to pilot their own study and identify what would be suitable and not suitable for their own individual product.
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A further advantage of Primary research is that the are key in enable 'Greater control' of your research - in terms of what you choose to study, which method you use to study as well as the information which is most valuable to you finding out and would be more necessary in your department. Through having greater control, Media organisations would be at great advantage as they are able to further develop their product as they are able to get exactly the information which they need to know exactly what is required for their product to be successful.

On the other hand, A disadvantage of Primary Research is are based upon time and costs. In considering time, carrying out research effectively often requires time which often may not be of essence especially considering the type of content which is produced by media organisations for instance, Music Videos which may need to be released by a particular date or even products which are on demand which therefore means that this could potentially be very time consuming. In terms of costs, Carrying out primary research independently would require various resources as well as professionals who may be able to help in understand the research and a great deal of preparation in terms of sources and how the research can be conducted which may be a downfall especially in the use of media organisations as the data has to be collected independently therefore the cost will be much more higher than that of a Secondary source. 

Secondary Research

A further method of research opposing Primary research is Secondary Research. 'Secondary research

makes use of information previously researched for other purposes and publicly available. This is also known as 'desk research'. Secondary research includes published research reports in a library, surveys or the Internet.' http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/food-standards-agency/market-research-and-consumer-protection/primary-and-secondary-research.html. In relation to media organisations, this would enable organisations to collect information such as their competitors, where the gap in the market is and how their product would fit so and also information collected beforehand about the audience and previous products of the same sort.

A common advantage of this form of research would be that it is easy to obtain - This form of research is already available to view and ready to be interpreted however need fit which therefore not only makes the research easier as time is not consumed by actually needing to go out and carry out such research but however, media organisations would already be exposed to this research which would enable them to draw comparisons between these findings and their own products as well as being reliable as due to who secondary research is conducted by, it is much more likely to be valid therefore giving a better representation.

However an opposing view of Secondary research would argue that it may often lack indepedence therefore making it more likely to be influenced by biased opinions thus making them less likely to be accurate as those who carry out the research possess their own ideas which may influence the way research is conducted as well as the fact that unlike Primary research, it fails to enable the option of being tailored to specific content which may be a downfall for media companies as to find a piece of research relative to their product may be very difficult and general whilst also not answering specific questions which may be required to further develop a product or determine success of a product for instance Music videos.