What are the types and methods of business
research?
There are two main methods of business research, each with several specific types:
Qualitative research methods
Qualitative research involves getting relevant data through open-ended
communication. Businesses generally use this method to discover the exact
motivations behind the public's actions, with the purpose of increasing interest in
the goods and services they sell. Some popular types of qualitative business
research are:
Focus groups: This type of business research involves selecting a
specific group of people and assessing their behavior and feedback
regarding certain products or services. Companies typically choose
people who fit the characteristics of their target audience to
participate in focus groups and ask them open questions to
determine how they can improve customer satisfaction.
Interviews: This kind of research generally involves a smaller
number of subjects than focus groups. The subjects also receive
open-ended questions regarding a company's goods and services,
with the main difference being that interviews are more
conversational than focus groups.
Case study research: This type of business research aims to assess
customer satisfaction by discovering the main challenges that
customers face when buying or using a specific product or service.
Their purpose is to help company stakeholders gain a better
understanding of the respective issues so they can provide effective
solutions.
Ethnographic research: This involves the researcher attempting to
understand the target audience's culture and behavior toward the
company's products and services by adapting to their environment.
It's typically challenging and time-consuming but can help an
organization's stakeholders understand their customers' thought
processes.
Website visitor profiling: This type of business research is
relatively new and involves using surveys to collect data from
people visiting the company's website. It can help a business
understand their target audience's interaction with their website
and assess their online presence.
Related: A Guide to Consumer Research (Plus Tips for Conducting It)
Quantitative research methods
Quantitative business research methods are those that rely on large amounts of
data and use various statistical and mathematical techniques to draw relevant
conclusions from it. They usually involve a data collection phase and a data
analysis phase. Some common types of quantitative business research are:
Surveys: This type of business research involves asking a specific
set of questions to a large number of potential and existing
customers. Companies conduct surveys both online and offline and
use the resulting data to improve their decision-making processes.
Causal-comparative: This kind of research involves comparing two
situations to analyze how distinct variables can influence their
outcome. It usually requires an independent variable and a
dependent variable, with the research aiming to assess how the
former influences the latter.
Correlational: This type of business research uses mathematical
analysis techniques to analyze how two separate entities influence
each other. Companies generally use it to understand how some of
their actions influence their business outcome.
Experimental: This involves conducting experimental research with
the purpose of proving or disproving a certain theory. Companies
use it to assess various hypotheses regarding ways to improve their
profits by carrying out experiments and observing their results.
Online and literature: This type of business research involves
gathering information from online and offline publications with the
purpose of gaining in-depth knowledge regarding a specific subject.
Companies generally use it to understand specific markets or
customer behaviors.
