Do a Market Research Today

Do it yourself or Pay somebody to do it

Market researches are among the many researchers businessmen are spending huge sums of money on in order to get valuable information. Lets face it, the world is changing and we have to change with it because gone are the days when you just entered a business and started selling items which you understood little about. People these days dont just want to sell but would like to understand more about their market they operate in, the opportunities as well as the consumers and the list goes on.This post wont give you an academic definition of a market research but will just touch the surface leaving you to do the dirty work. You can do the research yourself or pay somebody to do it. Market researchers these days are plenty and if they are consultants and you are a business man they might just come knocking on your door. But what just is Market Research??

Defining Market Research so that you actually do one

Market research is a research undertaken to understand the market and also get an understanding of your customers. Imagine yourself as a businessman who has a brilliant idea of a certain kind of product you want to sell to the public. You have a passion for the product and personally invest a lot of resources to come up with this special product. However, you discover that when you launch the product into the market you discover that nobody even buys it, why? The reason is simple because they dont like it.....Sorry to be harsh but the truth is they may not find your product even relevent to their needs. Many businesses have suffered such a set back and many will continue to.

That's why its very important to perform a market research, a research that provides all the answers that you are looking for. When doing a market research you simply want to know what consumers are really looking for in a product and whether your product will actually do fabulously in the market. A market research can significantly improve your chances of making your product sell. When you are performing a market research you really want to delve into the consumers and ask yourself what is it consumers are really looking for. A good market research should tell you who really are your consumers at all. Are your consumers University Students or Construction Workers? As someone conducting a market research you are significantly trying to deliver the product that consumers really want. In fact some consumers may not even know what they are looking for but when the findings in the market research come out, you score As in all the way. Another thing market researches should do is bring out the opportunities for your product to sell and possibly even the legislation and possible challenges that the product may face competing. It is significantly important to know who your competitor are.......Very Important.

What next after a Market Research?

Congratulations you have done your Market Research and collected a whole lot of data from the Market...What Next??? Reporting, isn't that exciting. Putting the findings into a format that is really clear to understand can really boost ways of formulating better strategies to beat the market. As a researcher it would help alot to report your research and also provide recommendations that explains important aspects such as.

• Should a business take a chance or not on the product?
• How should a business package their product in terms of what consumers really want?
• How long will it take for the product to enter the market?

These are some of the important pointers but experts in research and marketing may have additional recipes to add  to this short list of recommendations. Why not try to undertake a market research yourself??? All the best!!

Read more ►

Enhancing your Report Writing Skills

Communicating your Research Findings effectively

Writing a report after conducting an important research is an art in itself because you want to make sure by all means that the findings of your research are communicated effectively. That is totally true no matter where you go or where you live, reporting findings of a research requires adequate skill. Some people these days mess up alot when it comes to communicating the findings because they haven't really got to know their audiences. However, reporting of information shouldn't be difficult for any researcher because as it is you know exactly what you want to communicate. Here are a few tips that can help you and others write an effective report. Follow me, Follow me!!!

The Narrative Part

When writing the narrative part of the report make sure you put yourself in the shoes of the person reading and don't always assume they know exactly what you are talking about. Reporting research findings is like telling a story. What are so popular about stories, well a good story should have nice beginning and a good ending. Always try to connect the introduction of your research report to the conclusion of your research report. For example, if you are writing about the research topic "Do candies cause tooth decay?" your research introduction will be as follows;

Introduction; Candies have been present for decades with both adult and especially the young enjoying it. However, until recently young children between the ages of 5-12 have  been experiencing rapid tooth decay which has been attributed by some local doctors to be the candy they eat. But according to critics its believed it may not be the candy but actually may be something else.

Conclusion; Candies are responsible for the recent rapid tooth decay in children.

See how incredibly easy it is to have an introduction end with a conclusion that connects well in the research report. You will be amazed that some people wont even waste too much time reading the whole research report but will just read your introduction and then run straight to the conclusion. Thats why when writing your narrative make sure your reporting connects well with the intro and conclusion.

Other tips to improving your narrative component will be to edit your grammar, number your headings and sub headings effectively. Use the right font size and spacing and most of all when reporting your research findings be live.

Graphical representations are cool!!

When it comes to reporting it is always recommended to include at least a few graphs because it makes your work look neat and your report easy to read and interpret. Again believe it or not, some people wont even want to read your narrative but will only run to the graphs because some if not most feel that it easier to understand the findings of a research by paying attention to the graphs. Excel software produces quit a number of interesting graphs but then you can also use SPSS. More on graphs will be talked about in future posts but until then See Ya!!

Read more ►

Research and Reporting, Killing two birds with one Stone

Writing a Report that Kills in Research

Whatever you do wherever you go, you cannot run away from reporting your research findings. Ofcourse some do it but they suffer serious consequences for that. However reporting ladies and gentlemen gives you an opportunity to significantly communicate your findings to a wide mass of different stakeholders and audiences, How fun can that be?? But the reality is that even professionals these days struggle so much in reporting their findings in research. Reporting can really kill a research so hard that the last word you hear from your superiors is "You better do the whole thing again." Now let us briefly understand why many researchers actually fail so hard in reporting their findings effectively. Please pay attention to this or be a victim yourselves.

Reporting Research Findings, Did you really do an Excellent Job?

Your Audience: Many researchers when communicating their research findings assume that there audience actually know what they are talking about. You wont believe it but some researchers are even tempted to include very academic language and terminologies to an audience that hasnt even tasted the University before. Rule number 1, you have to fine tune your reporting skills to a level which could be understood by everybody. Dont just assume things, make sure people understand what you are talking about. Make your reporting is easy to understand so that all your participants actually appreciate it.

Too lengthy: You know sometimes it is significantly not necessary to produce lengthy reports in your reporting of results. Why is that the case? Simple.....Most people don't actually have the time to read your reports. Trim it down a little, give your participants some breathing space. There are times however, when most of the information in your reporting is highly important, please maintain that information but dont make your participants sleep.

No creativity: When reporting your findings please be creative but at the same time maintain your level of professionalism. What does creativity really mean, well you figure it out. But the truth is in the world today there are many competitors and some of them have realized how vital it is to catch the attention of their participant in their reporting. So when somebody looks at your report, will they turn a blind eye to it or will they want to keep on reading. That's when you can tell whether you are creative. Be a dreamer sometimes.

Standards not followed; When reporting your findings please by all means follow the layed down standards. There is no universal standard when it comes to reporting but there are certain preferences out the you know. When reporting it is vital you know the right way to do it. Don't be afraid to ask whoever commissioned you to do the research. Keep on asking them then would you see significantly good results.

Drawing a Conclusion from your Findings

Some researchers are so bad in reporting the conclusion of their findings that you even ask yourself "Who is this Guy??????" You see whenever you are coming up with a conclusion, try to relate it to your objectives and problem statement. That's it!!! Now if you need help in doing this you can always consult other researchers work and see how they conclude a research. That is the definition of research.

Read more ►

Using Statistical Software in Research, Speak Out

SPSS or STATA can contribute to a good Analysis

Whenever you are done collecting all the necessary data you wanted from the field or from the sampled group, your next stage is how to start analyzing your data. Analysis is key to bringing out the right kind of information that you will be able to communicate at reporting. However, analysis can be a really hectic exercise for any researcher because at this stage of the process you already know that if you don't get it right at this stage, then what you communicate to your audience will be a major challenge. There are so many software's that aid to give a better kind analysis but most times researhers these days talk about either STATA or SPSS. But Excel can do a pretty good job as well you know, lets dive into these two softwares shall we.

Researchers who Use SPSS, there feel of the programme

SPSS means statistical package for social sciences and is used on a wide range of researchers out there. Most researchers have appreciated this software from market researchers, health practitioners,government employees and alot more. SPSS software has not been only successful to researchers in carrying out an effective analysis but has also been usefull in data management and data documentation. However, as every researcher should know you need to have a strong mathematical component if you are going to use its functions to the full and appreciate the software to the full. But that shouldnt worry you at all because SPSS has a wide range of tutorials on and off the internet that you can easily learn from. So, if you are comfortable using it you can try it out.

Advantages

• Those with strong mathematical skills and know SPSS well appreciate it very much
• Highly recommended for descriptive statistics
• You can enter loads of data and automatically generate analysis reports or graphs.  
• Easy installation

Disadvantages

• Costly to a common researcher
• Takes a hell of a time to learn
• If you just know the basics of analysis, you are better off using excel

STATA software, lets begin to learn it

Quit honestly the real gurus in mathematics would recommend this programme to people who know whats its really worth. Whenever you are doing an analysis then preparing yourself for reporting, you may wish to go in depth with the way you interpreted the data you just collected. The words STATA is a combination of the words statistics and data. Personally haven't used this programme at length, but the few times it was used it proved pretty helpful especially in linear regression and other in depth mathematical procedures. However, it wouldn't be recommended for descriptive analysis because the first thing is that data entry is just a hell difficult and it just takes time. However, I think its something I should begin to learn to use. Any further comments about this statistical software will be much appreciated. Enjoy your researching and reporting always!!!

Read more ►

Survey Questions, Using the Questionnaire at all Levels

Use the Questionnaire to ask the Right Questions

Whenever you are conducting a research most will feel tempted to use a questionnaire as a data collection tool for subsequently reporting.. Thats really were data collection should begin because a questionnaire can be a very usefull tool to collect data, at the same time it can be a very poor ally. Why is it that sometimes Research fails and subsequently failure on reporting? Well it all begins with the kind of data you are collecting in research which in turn begins with the kind of questionnaire you are using in research which in turn begins with the kind of questions you are asking. In short, you may create a fantastic super questionnaire for your research but if you are asking the wrong kind of questions and expecting the right kind of answers, then rethink your whole research methodology quickly friend. Lets understand what a questionnaire is shall we?

Questionnaire Definition, Make it work for reporting

The questionnaire must be the tool you use to ask questions and find the right answer....that's as easy as it gets when it comes to the questionnaire definition. You see people, don't complicate things. Many times you find researchers invest a lot of their valuable time developing a bulky questionnaire that is so bulky you wonder whether most of it is relevant. The challenge these days is that some researchers want to be reporting about even the most irrelevent things and at the end of the day you have no clue how to draw a conclusion. There is need to make sure you are asking the right questions, but how do you do that?

1. Read your Research Proposal; Assuming you wrote an award winning research proposal, read it again and understand the problem statement, the objectives and any other important things you may want to measure. Get into your Research Proposal so deep that you have mastered every piece of it so that at the end of the day you wont need to refer to the Research Proposal everywhere you go. In short, get to fully understand your mission.

2. Brainstorm; Keep thinking deeply about your ideas and make sure to put them together the right way. Some questions you may do well to ask yourself if you want to collect the right question and subsequently report well are 1) What exactly am I trying to measure????? 2) Why am I measuring it and why should this research matter to anybody? 3) How am I going to measure this? When you reach to the how stage then it is evident to start creating the right kind of questions.

3. Seek help through others; You don't necessarily have to always go to a researchers office and ask him to look at your work but you can make use of other researchers work that have been done related to your topic. Do not at all costs plagiarize anybodies work but make it your goal to just see how others have approached things. Usually at the back of the research report, you might be fortunate to find the kind of questionnaire they used when collecting the data they wanted.

 Reporting your Valuable Findings to a Valuable Audience.

When reporting your findings, always make sure to have your audience in mind. At the end of the day your goal is to communicate your research findings in a research friendly way. It is absolutely no use to load your audience with so much information that at the end of the day they dont seem to understand anything. When reporting your findings, make sure its done significantly only then would you have done a successful research. See YA!!

Read more ►

The definition of reseach in a world that hungers for knowledge

Gathering Knowledge through Research

The definition of research, Knowledge is power, it is certainly a phrase you do hear a lot don't you? but on an even brighter side you will discover that knowledge does play a very crucial role in shaping the world we have today. Just imagine the many break throughs in science and technology which would never had been achieved if there hadn't been efffective methods of doing research. Research is all about gathering data and information with the aim of adding to the stock of knowledge. Yes folks, that's plainly what research is all about......Knowledge!! You need knowledge, we need knowledge and the whole world needs knowledge and more knowledge. You have to understand the reality folks, without research what can you really talk about. To begin with lets briefly get to understand who really does research and see the reality of how this important activity affects each one of us. Remember that the definition of research is not far off.

Research and the World around Us

Many people look at research purely as an academic exercise which they should do in order to walk out of school with a piece of academic qualification in their hand. However, thats not how it should be really because as it is, the world is changing and we have to change with it. You cant imagine the millions of dollars that governments today invest in today just in research in order to add to the stock of knowledge. People of all walks of life are constantly asking questions and seeking answers to those complicated questions. To start with, we all know that if it hadnt been for research there wouldnt even have been cures to any of these diseases we have to face each and every day. But ofcourse you knew that already, perhaps the question you may be asking or may want to know is how can I write an award winning research proposal that can add more money to my pocket and get me nominated for the nobel peace prize. Well thats the hard part and to tell you the truth you have to prepare a really good research proposal that will really add to the stock of knowledge. RESEARCH ROCKS BROTHER!!! However, what are qualities of a good research?

Marketing a Research Paper, Qualities that Rock! 

If you are lucky to have found the woman or man of your dreams you will agree that there are certain qualities you like about them. It doesn't have to be too extraordinary but all that matters is that it should be something you are looking for in a person, whether its fair or not. Believe it or not that's exactly what the world is looking for these days..........Knowledge. In a Research people want to know what kind of knowledge your research will add to the world. Will this knowledge make the life of people better, will it add significantly to our learning of the world around us and the Universe? Those are just a few questions people may ask. But most of all the research should be new, fresh and relevant. Now depending on why someone is conducting a research he may realize that what is relevant for him may not exactly be relevant to the other. Therefore it is important to know your audience well and appreciate that there are looking for one thing,...A possible solution to their problems. So defining research isn't a hard thing after all, but that was just the easy part. As you read through many articles of this blog you will soon realize how interesting and yet challenging research can actually be. TA!! TA!!

Read more ►