Section 3: Research Methods

Section 3: Research Methods > Subsection 1: Introduction > 3.3.1.1. Introduction to Effective Research
Section 3: Research Methods > Subsection 3: Secondary Research > 3.3.3.4. Secondary Research: Best Practices
Section 3: Research Methods > Subsection 3: Secondary Research > 3.3.3.6. Using Research to Understand Your Audience
Section 3: Research Methods > Subsection 4: Primary Research > 3.3.4.1. Primary Research: Common Uses and Sources
Section 3: Research Methods > Subsection 5: Conclusion > 3.3.5.2. Revisiting Research Methods

Research is all around us and a seamless part of our everyday lives.
Whether it’s researching vacation destinations, understanding customers’ needs, or sourcing market data to determine revenue potential, effective research plays a critical role in enabling us to make better decisions.
By the end of the section, you’ll be ready to tackle any type of problem with your expertise! Remember – your insights are only as good as your data and research.

The more profound and challenging your insight, the more scrutiny your research will have to withstand.
Your professional work will reflect your ability to skillfully perform secondary research.
Plan your research by 1) identifying key questions, 2) data needs, and 3) hypothesis sources before you start.
You should be able to confidently address the question: “How do you know it is true?” about any elements in your research.
Identify the source of the information and evaluate their purpose in creating the content.
You may be fortunate find the answer to your question in a single source.
Your argument will be much stronger if you utilize multiple, reliable sources.
If your sources disagree, you may need to refine your argument or reframe the question.
It’s important to give appropriate credit to sources.
Keep track of data sources through easily referenced source notes.

How can research help you design a plan to connect with the right audience? You’ll want to understand what your audience cares about and how they behave.
User Engagement information helps you to understand how users are participating with your marketing materials and other media.
User engagement data will help you to: develop content for the devices on which your audience tends to use most, understand what time of day your audience tends to engage with your content, and understand what sort of content your audience tends to engage with most.
Think about your target age group and come up with pointed questions about your audience, such as: What time of day is ideal for viewership with the target age group? What are the marketing strategies utilized by similar programs? Focusing on key metrics to understand your audience’s interests and behaviors will increase your ability to strategize, plan, develop, and engage in a meaningful and productive way.

Organizations often conduct primary research when they want information directly from the source.
Primary research is the optimal way to capture the true “Voice of the customer.” Market researchers typically use interviews, focus groups, or surveys to gather consumer insights.
Interviews usually take the form of a conversation between one researcher and one or more participants.
Surveys can gather large volumes of individual responses, enabling researches to achieve statistically significant findings and results.
The greatest challenge in survey research is ensuring precise design of the survey itself.
Researchers also must select and screen their respondent pool carefully to avoid sample bias.
Primary research is more labor-intensive than secondary research, but delivers targeted results and the opportunity for compelling stories and insights that can only be achieved by going straight to the source.

You also have what it takes to back up your findings with primary and secondary research.
It will empower you to become a go-to person in your organization.
Take a second to congratulate yourself, then start preparing for the final assessment.
Once you feel like you’ve thoroughly reviewed the course content, get ready to start applying your new knowledge and skills!