Research
This is an image from Syria during the civil war. There is a family stranded on the streets, which is covered in debris. Their home has been destroyed, leaving them homeless. They have lost their jobs as well as their belongings. This was all due to the war that had broke out. The kids probably have no idea why their home and country was destroyed. They will have to grow up witnessing the tragedy that has gone on and definitely be scarred for life.
The civil war started due to the public complaining about the high unemployment, widespread corruption and a lack of political freedom. This was during President Bashar al-Assad, who succeeded his father, Hafez, in 2000.
Primary Research:
Primary research is used by gathering a variety of data, that has not yet been collected. This data can be collected by using surveys, questionnaires and interviews etc. This is effective as the information you gather is pin pointed to your specific question. For example, primary research is more open ended. This means you are not aiming for specific data. The data collected will be a wide range of data. This is effective as you have a larger set of data to narrow down. Another pro for using primary research is the data being recent. Usually the data in secondary research will be out dated, and not specific to your time. Using primary research means your data will be useful for your needs. This is because it’s through your specific questions.
On the other hand, a disadvantage for using primary research it’s time consuming. Having to go and collect feedback through surveys, questionnaires takes time. This is not effective as if you were to use secondary research then the information would already be gathered. Furthermore, feedback collected can be inaccurate. This is because the people can be biased or give feedbacks for the sake of it. Another disadvantage for using primary research is the human resources required. To carry out a survey or questionnaire in large quantities will require a lot of material such as, paper, pens etc. This is also going to cost a good amount of money. Another disadvantage would be if the researcher were to make a mistake, then they will not have anything to make a comparison with.
Secondary Research:
Secondary research is used by researching data that has already been collected by other people. For example, you would go to a library or museum etc. One advantage for using secondary research, the data is easily accessible through the internet or library. This will save you a lot of time as you do not have to go to various groups of people and collect data. Another advantage for secondary research is the cost to access the information. You will not have to spend any money as you have the resources for free on the internet. This is beneficial as you save your money, where as in primary research you will have to spend money on resources.
However, a disadvantage for secondary research is the information from websites/books can be outdated. This is a problem because the data you are trying to gather may have changed over the time. If you were to use the information, which was outdated then your research will be inaccurate. Another disadvantage is the information not being specific towards your question. This means that you will not get the in depth information, which will help get the most relevant information for your research. Also another disadvantage is using information that may be copyrighted. This an lead to many legal complications, if you use their information. Furthermore, if you were to use secondary research then the information could be biased. This is because the original researcher could have been biased to his research. Therefore, the information may not suit your research needs.
Yaseen 