Marketing Research for Managers, 3rd Edition

6	How are the data collected?

6.1	Introduction
6.2	Interview methods
6.3	Postal or self-completion research
6.4	Internet and e-mail research
6.5	Diary panels
6.6	Telephone research
6.7	Observation research
6.8	Summary

6.1 Introduction

This chapter reviews the main methods of data collection for primary research. Interview methods are the most widely used, and there are several ways in which interviews can be conducted. These methods involve personal, face-to-face contact between the interviewer and the respondent, and can therefore be both expensive and time-consuming. The non-personal contact research methods attempt to overcome these problems, but in doing so, other problems arise. The major non-personal contact ...