Disadvantages
- not very flexible
- take longer to complete
- the response rate is very low
- the researcher often has little control over the mail questionnaire sample.
Telephone interviewing is the one of the best methods for gathering information quickly, and it provides greater flexibility than mail questionnaires.
Interviewers can explain difficult questions.
Response rates are higher than with mail questionnaires.
Disadvantages
- cost per respondent is higher than with mail questionnaires
- people may not want to discuss personal questions with an interviewer
- introduces interviewers may interpret and record responses differently
- increasingly high rates of hang-ups
Personal interviewing takes two forms – individual and group interviewing
- individual interviewing involves talking with people one-on-one
- group interviewing (focus group interviewing) consists of inviting six to ten people to meet with a trained moderator to talk about a product, service or organization
online marketing research. Increasingly, researchers are collecting primary data through online marketing research.
The internet is especially well suited for quantitative research.
More than ¾ of American now have access to the web.
Web-based research offers many advantage over more traditional approaches:
- speed
- low costs
- more interactive and engaging
- easier to complete
- less intrusive
sample size has little impact on cost.