Data Collection in Marketing Research is a detailed process in which a planned search for all relevant data is made by researcher.

Types of Data

1. Primary Data- Primary data is the data which is collected first hand specially for the purpose of study. It is collected for addressing the problem at hand. Thus, primary data is original data collected by researcher first hand.

2. Secondary data- Secondary data is the data that have been already collected by and readily available from other sources. Such data are cheaper and more quickly obtainable than the primary data and also may be available when primary data can not be obtained at all.

Data Collection Methods

1. Qualitative Research- Qualitative Research is generally undertaken to develop an initial understanding of the problem. It is non statistical in nature. It uses an inductive method, that is, data relevant to some topics are collected and grouped into appropriate meaningful categories. It is used in exploratory research design and descriptive research also.

   Qualitative data comes into a variety of forms like interview transcripts; documents, diaries and notes made while observing. There are two main methods for collecting Qualitative data

   1. Direct Collection Method-When the data is collected directly, it makes use of disguised method. Purpose of data collection is not known. This method makes use of-
      1. Focus Groups
      2. Depth Interview
      3. Case Study
   2. Indirect Collection-Method
      1. Projective Techniques

2. Quantitative Research- Quantitative Research quantifies the data and generalizes the results from the sample to the population.

   In Quantitative Research, data can be colleted by two methods:

   1. Survey Method
   2. Observation Method