RESEARCH APPROACHES Marketers collect primary data in five main ways: through
observation, focus groups, surveys, behavioral data, and experiments.
Observational Research Researchers can gather fresh data by observing the relevant actors and
settings unobtrusively as they shop or consume products.12 Sometimes they equip consumers with
pagers and instruct them to write down what they’re doing whenever prompted, or they hold informal
interview sessions at a café or bar. Photographs can also provide a wealth of detailed information