3.2 Market Research | IGCSE Business

Success criteria - by the end of this topic you can:

explain why businesses use market research
compare primary and secondary methods
explain sampling and the accuracy of research
analyse simple research data

Why research? To find out what customers want, how much they will pay, who the competitors are, and whether a new product is likely to succeed - reducing the risk of decisions.

Key terms
Primary research - collecting new information first-hand for a specific purpose (field research).
Secondary research - using information that has already been collected by someone else (desk research).
Sample - a group of people selected to represent the whole target market.

Method	Advantages	Disadvantages
Questionnaires / surveys	Many people; easy to analyse	Poorly designed questions give biased results; low response rates
Interviews	Detailed answers; can explain questions	Time-consuming and expensive; interviewer bias
Focus groups	In-depth views and discussion	Expensive; one person may dominate; small group
Observation	Shows real behaviour	Does not explain why people behave that way

🔒 Also in the full notes

Accuracy of research
Exam tips and analysis chains
Check your understanding questions

Join to unlock the full notes Already a member? Log in

📝 Practise this topic

Case Study 1 (Paper 1 style, 20 marks): Questions · Mark scheme 🔒 · A* answers 🔒

Case Study 2 (Paper 2 style, 20 marks): Questions · Mark scheme 🔒 · A* answers 🔒