primary research plan meaning

• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar
• Skip to footer
• QuestionPro

• Solutions Industries Gaming Automotive Sports and events Education Government Travel & Hospitality Financial Services Healthcare Cannabis Technology Use Case NPS+ Communities Audience Contactless surveys Mobile LivePolls Member Experience GDPR Positive People Science 360 Feedback Surveys
• Resources Blog eBooks Survey Templates Case Studies Training Help center

Home Market Research

Primary Research: What It Is, Purpose & Methods + Examples

As we continue exploring the exciting research world, we’ll come across two primary and secondary data approaches. This article will focus on primary research – what it is, how it’s done, and why it’s essential. 

We’ll discuss the methods used to gather first-hand data and examples of how it’s applied in various fields. Get ready to discover how this research can be used to solve research problems , answer questions, and drive innovation.

What is Primary Research: Definition

Primary research is a methodology researchers use to collect data directly rather than depending on data collected from previously done research. Technically, they “own” the data. Primary research is solely carried out to address a certain problem, which requires in-depth analysis .

There are two forms of research:

• Primary Research
• Secondary Research

Businesses or organizations can conduct primary research or employ a third party to conduct research. One major advantage of primary research is this type of research is “pinpointed.” Research only focuses on a specific issue or problem and on obtaining related solutions.

For example, a brand is about to launch a new mobile phone model and wants to research the looks and features they will soon introduce. 

Organizations can select a qualified sample of respondents closely resembling the population and conduct primary research with them to know their opinions. Based on this research, the brand can now think of probable solutions to make necessary changes in the looks and features of the mobile phone.

Primary Research Methods with Examples

In this technology-driven world, meaningful data is more valuable than gold. Organizations or businesses need highly validated data to make informed decisions. This is the very reason why many companies are proactive in gathering their own data so that the authenticity of data is maintained and they get first-hand data without any alterations.

Here are some of the primary research methods organizations or businesses use to collect data:

1. Interviews (telephonic or face-to-face)

Conducting interviews is a qualitative research method to collect data and has been a popular method for ages. These interviews can be conducted in person (face-to-face) or over the telephone. Interviews are an open-ended method that involves dialogues or interaction between the interviewer (researcher) and the interviewee (respondent).

Conducting a face-to-face interview method is said to generate a better response from respondents as it is a more personal approach. However, the success of face-to-face interviews depends heavily on the researcher’s ability to ask questions and his/her experience related to conducting such interviews in the past. The types of questions that are used in this type of research are mostly open-ended questions . These questions help to gain in-depth insights into the opinions and perceptions of respondents.

Personal interviews usually last up to 30 minutes or even longer, depending on the subject of research. If a researcher is running short of time conducting telephonic interviews can also be helpful to collect data.

2. Online surveys

Once conducted with pen and paper, surveys have come a long way since then. Today, most researchers use online surveys to send to respondents to gather information from them. Online surveys are convenient and can be sent by email or can be filled out online. These can be accessed on handheld devices like smartphones, tablets, iPads, and similar devices.

Once a survey is deployed, a certain amount of stipulated time is given to respondents to answer survey questions and send them back to the researcher. In order to get maximum information from respondents, surveys should have a good mix of open-ended questions and close-ended questions . The survey should not be lengthy. Respondents lose interest and tend to leave it half-done.

It is a good practice to reward respondents for successfully filling out surveys for their time and efforts and valuable information. Most organizations or businesses usually give away gift cards from reputed brands that respondents can redeem later.

3. Focus groups

This popular research technique is used to collect data from a small group of people, usually restricted to 6-10. Focus group brings together people who are experts in the subject matter for which research is being conducted.

Focus group has a moderator who stimulates discussions among the members to get greater insights. Organizations and businesses can make use of this method, especially to identify niche markets to learn about a specific group of consumers.

4. Observations

In this primary research method, there is no direct interaction between the researcher and the person/consumer being observed. The researcher observes the reactions of a subject and makes notes.

Trained observers or cameras are used to record reactions. Observations are noted in a predetermined situation. For example, a bakery brand wants to know how people react to its new biscuits, observes notes on consumers’ first reactions, and evaluates collective data to draw inferences .

Primary Research vs Secondary Research – The Differences

Primary and secondary research are two distinct approaches to gathering information, each with its own characteristics and advantages. 

While primary research involves conducting surveys to gather firsthand data from potential customers, secondary market research is utilized to analyze existing industry reports and competitor data, providing valuable context and benchmarks for the survey findings.

Find out more details about the differences: 

1. Definition

• Primary Research: Involves the direct collection of original data specifically for the research project at hand. Examples include surveys, interviews, observations, and experiments.
• Secondary Research: Involves analyzing and interpreting existing data, literature, or information. This can include sources like books, articles, databases, and reports.

2. Data Source

• Primary Research: Data is collected directly from individuals, experiments, or observations.
• Secondary Research: Data is gathered from already existing sources.

3. Time and Cost

• Primary Research: Often time-consuming and can be costly due to the need for designing and implementing research instruments and collecting new data.
• Secondary Research: Generally more time and cost-effective, as it relies on readily available data.

4. Customization

• Primary Research: Provides tailored and specific information, allowing researchers to address unique research questions.
• Secondary Research: Offers information that is pre-existing and may not be as customized to the specific needs of the researcher.
• Primary Research: Researchers have control over the research process, including study design, data collection methods , and participant selection.
• Secondary Research: Limited control, as researchers rely on data collected by others.

6. Originality

• Primary Research: Generates original data that hasn’t been analyzed before.
• Secondary Research: Involves the analysis of data that has been previously collected and analyzed.

7. Relevance and Timeliness

• Primary Research: Often provides more up-to-date and relevant data or information.
• Secondary Research: This may involve data that is outdated, but it can still be valuable for historical context or broad trends.

Advantages of Primary Research

Primary research has several advantages over other research methods, making it an indispensable tool for anyone seeking to understand their target market, improve their products or services, and stay ahead of the competition. So let’s dive in and explore the many benefits of primary research.

• One of the most important advantages is data collected is first-hand and accurate. In other words, there is no dilution of data. Also, this research method can be customized to suit organizations’ or businesses’ personal requirements and needs .
• I t focuses mainly on the problem at hand, which means entire attention is directed to finding probable solutions to a pinpointed subject matter. Primary research allows researchers to go in-depth about a matter and study all foreseeable options.
• Data collected can be controlled. I T gives a means to control how data is collected and used. It’s up to the discretion of businesses or organizations who are collecting data how to best make use of data to get meaningful research insights.
• I t is a time-tested method, therefore, one can rely on the results that are obtained from conducting this type of research.

Disadvantages of Primary Research

While primary research is a powerful tool for gathering unique and firsthand data, it also has its limitations. As we explore the drawbacks, we’ll gain a deeper understanding of when primary research may not be the best option and how to work around its challenges.

• One of the major disadvantages of primary research is it can be quite expensive to conduct. One may be required to spend a huge sum of money depending on the setup or primary research method used. Not all businesses or organizations may be able to spend a considerable amount of money.
• This type of research can be time-consuming. Conducting interviews and sending and receiving online surveys can be quite an exhaustive process and require investing time and patience for the process to work. Moreover, evaluating results and applying the findings to improve a product or service will need additional time.
• Sometimes, just using one primary research method may not be enough. In such cases, the use of more than one method is required, and this might increase both the time required to conduct research and the cost associated with it.

Every research is conducted with a purpose. Primary research is conducted by organizations or businesses to stay informed of the ever-changing market conditions and consumer perception. Excellent customer satisfaction (CSAT) has become a key goal and objective of many organizations.

A customer-centric organization knows the importance of providing exceptional products and services to its customers to increase customer loyalty and decrease customer churn. Organizations collect data and analyze it by conducting primary research to draw highly evaluated results and conclusions. Using this information, organizations are able to make informed decisions based on real data-oriented insights.

QuestionPro is a comprehensive survey platform that can be used to conduct primary research. Users can create custom surveys and distribute them to their target audience , whether it be through email, social media, or a website.

QuestionPro also offers advanced features such as skip logic, branching, and data analysis tools, making collecting and analyzing data easier. With QuestionPro, you can gather valuable insights and make informed decisions based on the results of your primary research. Start today for free!

LEARN MORE         FREE TRIAL

MORE LIKE THIS

NPS Survey Platform: Types, Tips, 11 Best Platforms & Tools

Apr 26, 2024

User Journey vs User Flow: Differences and Similarities

Best 7 Gap Analysis Tools to Empower Your Business

Apr 25, 2024

12 Best Employee Survey Tools for Organizational Excellence

Other categories.

• Academic Research
• Artificial Intelligence
• Assessments
• Brand Awareness
• Case Studies
• Communities
• Consumer Insights
• Customer effort score
• Customer Engagement
• Customer Experience
• Customer Loyalty
• Customer Research
• Customer Satisfaction
• Employee Benefits
• Employee Engagement
• Employee Retention
• Friday Five
• General Data Protection Regulation
• Insights Hub
• Life@QuestionPro
• Market Research
• Mobile diaries
• Mobile Surveys
• New Features
• Online Communities
• Question Types
• Questionnaire
• QuestionPro Products
• Release Notes
• Research Tools and Apps
• Revenue at Risk
• Survey Templates
• Training Tips
• Uncategorized
• Video Learning Series
• What’s Coming Up
• Workforce Intelligence

Primary Research: Methods and Best Practices

Introduction

What is the definition of primary research, what are examples of primary research, primary vs. secondary research, types of primary research, when to use primary research.

Conducting research involves two types of data: primary data and secondary data . While secondary research deals with existing data, primary research collects new data . Ultimately, the most appropriate type of research depends on which method is best suited to your research question .

While this article discusses the difference between primary and secondary research, the main focus is on primary research, the types of data collected through primary research, and considerations for researchers who conduct primary research.

Simply put, researchers conduct primary research to gather new information. When existing data cannot address the research inquiry at hand, the researcher usually needs to collect new data to meet their research objectives.

How do you identify primary research?

Primary research uses collected data that hasn't been previously documented. Primary research typically means collecting data straight from the source (e.g., interviewing a research participant, observing a cultural practice or phenomenon firsthand).

Note that other divides that you should also consider include that of collecting quantitative or qualitative data , and of conducting basic or applied research . Each of these dimensions informs and is informed by your research inquiry.

What are the advantages of primary research?

New data, particularly that which addresses a research gap, can contribute to a novel inquiry and prove compelling to the research audience. When a researcher conducts a literature review and generates a problem statement for their research, they can identify what new data needs to be collected and what primary research method can be used to collect it.

Primary research studies ultimately contribute to theoretical developments and novel insights that an analysis of existing data might not have identified. Research publications in some fields may place a premium on primary research for its potential to generate new scientific knowledge as a result.

What are the disadvantages of primary research?

Primary research is time-consuming and potentially expensive to conduct, considering the equipment and resources needed to collect new data as well as the time required to engage with the field and collect data.

Moreover, primary research relies on new data that has yet to be documented elsewhere, meaning that the research audience is less familiar with the primary data being presented. This might raise issues of transparency and research rigor (e.g., how does the audience know that the data they are shown is trustworthy?).

Primary research is common in various fields of research. Let's look at some typical examples of primary research in three different areas.

Education research

Teaching and learning is a field that relies on evidence-based data to make policy recommendations affecting teachers, learning materials, and even classroom requirements. As a result, there are countless methods for collecting relevant data on the various aspects of education.

Observations , interviews , and assessments are just some of the primary research methods that are employed when studying education contexts. Education research acknowledges the full variety of situated differences found in the diversity of learners and their schooling contexts. This makes collecting data that is relevant to the given context and research inquiry crucial to understanding teaching and learning.

Market research

Businesses often rely on primary research to understand the target market for their products and services. Since competing businesses tend not to share research on customer insights with each other, primary research collecting original data can be a necessity.

Focus groups , surveys , and user research are typical research tools employed by businesses. Within market research, the goal is typically to understand customers' preferences and use cases for specific products and services.

Cultural studies

Fields such as anthropology and sociology count on primary research for understanding cultures and communities. Ethnographic research acknowledges that thick description of cultures and phenomena is more meaningful than only generating universal theories, making the collection of primary data essential to understanding the full diversity of the social world.

Researchers examining culture often collect data through interviews, observations, and photovoice, among other research methods. These methods look at the social world through the eyes of the research participants to generate an immersive view of cultures and groups with which audiences may not be familiar.

Insights from data are at your fingertips with ATLAS.ti

See how our powerful data analysis interface can help you make sense of data. Start with a free trial.

Primary research data stands in contrast to secondary research data, which is any data that has been previously collected and documented. In some situations, existing data may be abundant and available, making secondary research a more feasible approach to generating theory and identifying key insights.

Secondary research methods are employed in all fields of research. Market researchers conduct secondary research when there is already existing data about a target market. In particular, secondary market research might look at previous trends in the popularity of products to make predictions about the demand for new products.

Scholarly researchers can use secondary sources such as corpora, news articles, and online videos to make assertions about language and culture. Analytical approaches such as discourse analysis and content analysis can be well suited to analyzing data collected through secondary research methods.

Ultimately, primary and secondary research go hand in hand. The main function of research in building knowledge does not necessarily depend on the use of primary data collection . Rather, it is a matter of whether data needs to be collected in order to address your research inquiry, or relevant data already exists and you can access it.

There are many research methods used to collect data for primary research. The research method that works best for you depends on what you are looking to do with your research project.

This section lists some of the common primary data collection methods that researchers rely on.

One-on-one interviews are useful for capturing perspectives from research participants. Direct interactions can tell researchers what perspectives their research participants have and the thinking behind those perspectives.

Interview research is a complex and detailed methodology that includes several types of interviews to suit various research inquiries. Researchers can choose between structured interviews , semi-structured interviews , and unstructured interviews , depending on the nature of interaction they are looking to establish.

Focus groups

Focus groups are discussions that involve multiple research participants and are led by a moderator. Similar to interviews, the primary goal is to gather information about people's perspectives. Yet focus groups are distinct, because they can capture how people interact and build meaning when discussing a particular topic.

Market researchers may consider conducting a focus group discussion when they want to know more about how a particular group feels about a product or service. Researchers in linguistics and anthropology might be interested in observing how a group of people construct meaning with each other.

Observations

In research involving naturalistic inquiry and the social world, the researcher can gather information directly from the field through observational research methods . Primary data takes the form of field notes , audio and video recordings , their resulting transcripts , and even images of objects of interest.

For quantitative research inquiries, observation entails measuring the amount of activity or the frequency of particular phenomena. Qualitative observations look for patterns in cultural or social practices and document significant events in the field.

When the objective is to capture perspectives from large numbers of people, surveys are a good research method for collecting novel data. In-person questionnaires and online surveys can be used to quickly collect data at scale.

Surveys are used for conducting primary research in both quantitative and qualitative research . The structure of survey questions provide data that can be measured quantitatively, while open-ended survey responses require qualitative data analysis .

Experiments

While the above methods emphasize or are involved with naturalistic inquiry, experiments are a different form of primary research that is far more controlled. When you want to understand the relationship between various elements in a certain context (e.g., the effect of water and fertilizer on plant growth), a controlled experiment is a typical research approach to empirically establish scientific knowledge.

Experiments focus on a specific set of factors from the research phenomenon to understand causal relationships between variables. Experiments are a common primary research method in physical sciences, but they are also extensively used in psychology, education, and political science, among other areas.

The decision to conduct a primary or secondary study is a question of whether existing data is sufficient to satisfy the research inquiry at hand. Where data does not exist, primary research should be conducted.

Consider an example research study regarding ideal teaching methods in elementary school contexts in a developing country in Asia. Just because there is abundant data on the same topic in elementary schools in Western countries does not preclude the possibility of novel theoretical developments in schools in Asia. This becomes particularly important if insights based on existing data from other contexts may not be applicable to the present context.

Note that this does not mean that a secondary research study is any less novel than a primary study. Indeed, many fields and methodologies rely extensively on analyzing existing data. For example, studies that employ discourse analysis and content analysis typically (though not always) rely on existing sources of data to facilitate understanding of language use in real-world situations.

As a result, the choice between primary and secondary research can be seen as more of a practical consideration than a matter of a study's potential contribution to scientific knowledge. Novelty in research is as much about the data collection as it is about the resulting analysis. If you require data for your study where none exists, then data from primary research is your best option.

Powerful data analysis at your fingertips with ATLAS.ti

Download a free trial to start making the most of your qualitative data.

• What is Primary Research? + [Methods & Examples]

Nothing says “do it yourself” like primary research. When carrying out a systematic investigation, a researcher may choose to gather data solely by themselves or to rely on already existing data as necessitated by different factors such as the budget and timeframe for the research. 

In the case of the former, this is known as primary research and it is important for every researcher to know how it differs from other research designs. In this article, we will share the features of primary research and show you how to conduct this type of systematic investigation using Formplus. 

What is Primary Research?

Primary research is a type of research design in which the researcher is directly involved in the data collection process . In other words, the researcher gathers relevant data samples directly instead of depending on already existing data with regards to the research context. 

Primary research is fundamentally tailored towards gathering context-specific data that can solve a particular problem. In addition, it allows the researcher to gather first-hand information which can be considered to be more valid and authentic in a research environment. 

With this research approach, the researcher has full control over the data because he or she owns the data. For example, a brand that wants to obtain feedback about customer satisfaction will employ primary research methods to gather relevant data to inform practical product improvement decisions. 

Primary research is also known as field research because it involves a hands-on experience with the data gathering process. Think of this as a type of research that requires the research

What are Primary Research Methods?

There are numerous primary research methods employed by researchers to collect first-hand data from research subjects depending on the context of the research and research objectives. These include interviews, surveys, focus groups, and observation techniques, and these methods would be discussed under the subsequent subheadings. 

An interview is a type of qualitative data collection method that involves engaging in a virtual or face-to-face conversation with the research subject(s) in order to gather valid information. Typically, interviews are made up of open-ended questions that allow the respondent to share his or her thoughts without any restrictions. 

An interview may be structured , unstructured and semi-structured in nature. A structured interview utilizes a premeditated interrogation sequence unlike a structured interview ; while a semi-structured interview has a question sequence which the interviewer can freely deviate from to obtain more information.

The duration of an interview is influenced by the number of respondents, research objectives, time frame for the research amidst other factors. When conducting an interview, the researcher uses different tools to collect data including audio recorders, camcorders, and digital cameras. 

You can also carry out your interview online using d ata-gathering platforms like Formplus . Formplus provides different interview templates such as the interview consent form which allows you to collect formal authorization from respondents before going on with your research. 

Conducting an interview as part of primary research allows the researcher to gather in-depth information about the research subjects. This allows the researcher to gather more authentic research samples that improve the overall outcome of the systematic investigation. 

 A survey is a common method of data collection that is used to gather relevant information from specific groups or individuals in line with the context of the research. It usually involves administering a questionnaire containing standardized close-ended questions and open-ended questions in order to gain insight into the research subjects. 

In some way, a survey can be considered as a means of opinion sampling since it involves gathering diverse opinions in the form of responses to research questions. This data gathering method also allows for data aggregation that can inform research outcomes. 

Survey types are classified based on data gathering methods, frequency and industry; thus we have online and offline surveys, longitudinal and cross-sectional surveys and, different industry-based surveys like employee surveys. Surveys can also be classified as biased or unbiased based on the question types. 

With technological developments, online surveys have become common and interestingly, there are different data-gathering tools that you can use to create and administer this type of survey. For instance, in the Formplus builder, you can add different question-types to your survey and you can also share your survey form with respondents using the available multiple sharing options. 

• Observation

Observation is a type of qualitative research method in which the researcher closely examines the research subjects as they interact with their environment for a stipulated period of time. The primary aim of this method is to allow the researcher to gather useful information about their features and behaviors in line with the research context. 

Popular sociologist, Raymond Gold, identifies 4 types of observation which are complete observer method, complete participant method, participant as observer method and observer as participant method. Observation can also be structured or unstructured depending on whether the researcher makes use of predetermined data collection processes or not.  

Usually, the researcher makes use of different tools in order to faithfully record the experiences of the research subjects. This is important because it is nearly impossible to accurately commit all that is seen to memory and it further helps to prevent subjectivity that can significantly alter research outcomes.

• Data Analysis

Research data analysis is the process of sifting through large samples of data, identifying valid data and evaluating these data groups in order to arrive at objective research findings. Here, the researcher interprets data samples in order to establish a logical pattern that confirms or negates the hypothesis. 

Data analysis is important because it allows the researcher to select the most important data that can suggest useful insights during the research process.   While this is a time-consuming process, it is necessary to create structure, sequence, and meaning to the research data. 

To objectively carry out data analysis, the researcher must follow 3 essential steps. First, he or she must organize the data samples then summarise and categorize the data in line with stated parameters after which the researcher evaluates data categories to arrive at specific outcomes. 

• Focus Groups

 A focus group is a qualitative research method in which the researcher poses a number of open-ended questions to a group of research subjects consisting of 6-10 participants. This method is more cost-efficient when compared to other data-gathering methods such as face-to-face interviews. 

Usually, this method is employed for marketing research to gain diverse user feedback about a product. Since it makes use of open-ended questions , focus groups allow respondents to freely communicate their opinions without the restrictions posed by close-ended questions . 

Participants in a focus group are at liberty to interact with one another and freely influence the other’s decisions.  This enables the researcher to collate multiple perspectives which allow for more objective research considerations, better data analysis, and more valid research findings. 

Types of Primary Research  

Exploratory research.

Exploratory research is a type of primary research design that investigates a subject matter in order to gather more insight into it. This research design helps the researcher to understand an existing problem while highlighting different dimensions of the problem that would require further investigation in the future. 

Usually, this type of research is carried out during the early stages of a systematic investigation and it is also known as the grounded theory approach or interpretation research. When carrying out exploratory research, the researcher must first identify the problem, create a hypothesis then goes ahead to carry out a descriptive investigation to gain better insight into the subject. 

Although exploratory research is flexible in nature and cost-effective, it is very susceptible to bias and it can only be used for small chunks of data. Exploratory research is important because it pays the foundation for further research and it also helps the researcher to channel his or her energy towards valid and researchable contexts. 

Experimental Research

Experimental research is a quantitative research design in which the researcher triggers a change in the independent variable and measures the effect of this change on the dependent variable. This effect is usually observed and recorded over a period of time in order to arrive as unprejudiced conclusions. 

Experimental research is used in different fields of study such as medicine, education, and business. In medicine, it is used to treat different ailments and in business, it helps organizations test new products before releasing it to the market on a full-scale. 

Regardless of its many advantages, experimental research is extremely predisposed to human error plus it is expensive and time-consuming. Pre-experimental, quasi-experimental, and true experimental research are common t ypes of experimental research. 

Ethnographic Research

Ethnographic research is a type of research design that requires the researcher to monitor research variables as they interact with their natural environment. The data gathered during the period of observation is analyzed in order to arrive at valid conclusions. 

Ethnographic research is used in various fields hence, we can speak of business ethnographic research, medical ethnographic research and the like. This research design is extremely useful in complex contexts such as market and customer settings plus preliminary stages of user-focused research. 

When Do We Conduct Primary Research? 

Primary research is typically used when individuals and organizations need to gather feedback directly from target markets instead of relying on already existing data. Primary research gives the organization more control over the research process and results in more objective research findings. 

Questions to ask before conducting primary research

Before conducting primary research, it is important for you to clearly delineate the research process by considering a number of things. For example, you need to clearly define your research objective, data collection methods , expected research outcomes, and understand your research biases . 

Here are a few questions you should consider before proceeding with primary research: 

• What is my research aim? It is important for you to clearly define the purpose of your research, that is, what you have set out to achieve. This makes it easy for you to track your progress. 
• What is my research methodology? As there are different methods in primary research, you must outline which methods you will be adopting; that is if you would be conducting an interview or administering a survey. 
• Who are my research subjects? Identify your research participants as this would help you plan your research process accordingly. 
• How easy is it to access my research subjects? 
• How would I access my research subjects?
• Do I have any research biases? Knowing your research biases is pertinent because it would help you plan to avoid them. 
• How do I ensure that my biases do not affect my research outcomes?
• What are my expected research outcomes? 

Advantages of Primary Research

• Data Accuracy

The most obvious advantage of primary research is research data accuracy. Because the researcher is directly involved in the data gathering process, he or she can ascertain the authenticity of the data samples. 

• Data Recency

Usually, primary research is tailored towards a specific issue and the data is gathered in the wake of the moment. This leads to more objective research findings. 

• Valid Data Interpretation

The data gathered in primary research is examined and interpreted based on the needs of the organization. Hence, there are little or no generalizations that may not reflect the research situation. 

 Primary research gives the researcher total ownership and control of the research data. This gives such an organization an edge over competitors relying on secondary data. 

Disadvantages of Primary Research  

Primary research is expensive. It often requires huge investments which may not be readily available as not all individuals and organizations have such amounts of money at their disposal. 

• Time-consuming

This type of research is also time-consuming and can be quite exhaustive in nature. Data gathering methods in primary research often span over long periods of time hence, this research approach is not suitable for addressing pressing issues. 

• Feasibility

In many cases, primary research is not feasible and can be impractical. For instance, it is impossible to gather feedback from every member of your target market by conducting an interview in order to obtain first-hand information. 

• Research Bias

 In primary research, the data gathering process is absolute and this can affect research findings; especially when there is a mistake. Because the data is gathered first-hand, there are no available comparisons that can serve as some sort of checks and balances. 

How to Conduct Online Surveys with Formplus 

You can use Formplus to create and administer online surveys for primary research. In the form builder, there are many features that make creating and conducting a survey with Formplus easy and seamless. 

Follow this guide to conduct online surveys for primary research with Formplus: 

• Sign into Formplus

To access the Formplus form builder, you need to create a Formplus account . In the form builder, you can seamlessly create different types of surveys for primary research by dragging and dropping your preferred form fields into your survey form. 

Once you create your account, sign in and click on “Create Form ” to begin. 

• Edit Form Title

Click on the field provided to input your form title, for example, “Primary Research Survey”.

• Click on the edit button to edit the form.
• Add Fields: Drag and drop preferred form fields into your form in the Formplus builder inputs column. There are several field input options for surveys in the Formplus builder. 
• Edit fields: You can modify your form fields to be hidden or read-only. 
• Click on “Save”
• Preview form. 

• Form Customization

Form customization allows you to easily change the outlook of your form and make it more unique and personalized. Formplus has different customization features that can be used to change your form theme, add background images and even change the font according to your needs. 

• Multiple Sharing Options

Formplus offers multiple form sharing options which enables you to easily share your survey with respondents. You can use the direct social media sharing buttons to share your form link to your organization’s social media pages. 

Formplus also allows you to send out your survey form as email invitations to your research subjects. In addition, you can share your form’s QR code or embed it on your organization’s website for easy access. 

Primary research is extremely important for businesses or organizations because it helps them to gather first-hand information about the needs of the market. The findings from primary research provide great insights and they usually inform product development and similar changes in organizational policies. 

There are different tools that you can use when gathering data in primary research including surveys, observation methods, and interviews. An online survey is one of the most common tools used in primary research because it simplifies the data-gathering process; especially when you make use of Formplus . 

Connect to Formplus, Get Started Now - It's Free!

• accuracy surveys
• focus groups
• primary data collection
• primary research
• primary research examples
• primary research method
• busayo.longe

You may also like:

Formal Assessment: Definition, Types Examples & Benefits

In this article, we will discuss different types and examples of formal evaluation, and show you how to use Formplus for online assessments.

Self Administered Survey: Types, Uses + [Questionnaire Examples]

In this article, we will look at some of the most common types of self-administered questionnaires and how they help you as a researcher.

Target Market: Definitions, Examples + [Audience Identification]

Without knowledge of your target market, your entire product conception and marketing process is flawed. This article covers practical...

15 Reasons to Choose Quantitative over Qualitative Research

This guide tells you everything you need to know about qualitative and quantitative research, it differences,types, when to use it, how...

Formplus - For Seamless Data Collection

Collect data the right way with a versatile data collection tool. try formplus and transform your work productivity today..

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Primary Research

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Note:  This page offers a brief primer on primary research. For more information, see our dedicated set of pages on this topic .

Research isn't limited to finding published material on the Internet or at the library. Many topics you choose to write on may not already have been covered by an abundance of sources and hence may require a different kind of approach to conducting research. This approach involves collecting information directly from the world around you and can include interviews, observations, surveys, and experiments. These strategies are collectively called  primary research.

For example, if you are writing about a problem specific to your school or local community, you may need to conduct primary research. You may be able to find  secondary sources  (such as those found at the library or online) on the more general topic you are pursuing, but may not find specifics on your school or town. To supplement this lack of sources, you can collect data on your own.

For example, Briel wants to research a proposed smoking ban in public establishments in Lafayette, Indiana. Briel begins by going to the library and then searching online. She finds information related to smoking bans in other cities around the United States, but only a few limited articles from the local newspaper on the ban proposed in Lafayette. To supplement this information, she decides to survey twenty local residents to learn what they think of the proposed smoking ban. She also decides to interview two local business owners to learn how they think the ban may affect their businesses. Finally, Briel attends and observes a town hall meeting where the potential ban is discussed.

Many different types of primary research exist. Some common types used in writing classes and beyond include:

• Interviews:  A conversation between two or more people in which one person (the interviewer) asks a series of questions to another person or persons (the interviewee). See also our page on interviewing .
• Surveys and questionnaires:  A process of gathering specific information from people in a systematic way with a set series of questions. Survey questions usually have pre-specified or short responses. See also our introduction to writing surveys .
• Observations:  Careful viewing and documenting of the world around you. See also our page on performing observations .

What Is Primary Research? Types, Methods, Examples

Appinio Research · 18.09.2023 · 11min read

Have you ever wondered how businesses and researchers gather those fresh insights that drive innovation and decision-making? That's where primary research steps in. In a world where information is gold, primary research acts as a direct channel to tap into the thoughts, behaviors, and preferences of people. Whether you're exploring new market trends, fine-tuning a product, or understanding human behavior, primary research is your compass for navigating the sea of possibilities.

What is Primary Research?

Primary research is the systematic process of gathering original data directly from individuals , sources, or phenomena to address specific research questions or objectives. This firsthand approach involves designing and conducting research methods such as surveys and interviews to generate unique insights and information tailored to the researcher's specific area of inquiry. Primary research enables researchers to collect relevant, accurate, and directly applicable data to their research goals, providing a foundation for deeper understanding and informed decision-making.

Benefits of Primary Research

Primary research offers many advantages that contribute to its effectiveness and relevance. Here are the key benefits that make primary research a powerful tool for generating insights:

• Tailored to Your Objectives: Primary research is custom-designed to address your specific research questions and objectives.
• Fresh and Current Data: Data collected is up-to-date and reflects the current context, ensuring relevance.
• Control over Methodology: You fully control the research design , methods, and data collection process .
• In-depth Exploration: Primary research allows for a thorough investigation of complex topics, uncovering deeper insights.
• Unique Insights: You gain direct access to unique insights, viewpoints, and behaviors from participants.
• Customizable Approach: You can adapt your research approach as new insights emerge, enhancing flexibility.
• High Data Quality: With careful planning and execution, primary research yields accurate, high-quality data.
• Personal Engagement: Engaging directly with participants enables a unique understanding of their experiences.

Primary vs. Secondary Research

While primary research involves collecting new data, secondary research involves analyzing existing data gathered by others. Secondary research is useful for building context, identifying trends, and gaining insights from previous studies. However, primary research provides you with unique insights and a firsthand understanding of your subject.

How to Plan Your Primary Research?

Before embarking on your primary research journey, thorough planning is essential to ensure its success.

1. Define Research Objectives and Questions

Clearly defining your research objectives and questions is the foundation of effective primary research. Ask yourself:

• What information do you seek to uncover?
• What are your goals and expectations from this research?

2. Choose the Research Method

Select a method that aligns with your research objectives. Common methods include surveys, interviews, observations, experiments, case studies, and focus groups, each with strengths and limitations.

3. Select the Target Audience and Participants

Identify the individuals, groups, or subjects you want to study. Your target audience will determine the relevance of your findings. Ensure your sample size is representative of your target population.

Types of Primary Research Methods

Primary research offers a diverse range of methods to gather data directly from sources, enabling you to gain unique insights and answers to your research questions. Each method has its strengths, and the choice of method depends on your research objectives, the nature of your subject, and the available resources.

Surveys and Questionnaires

Surveys and questionnaires are widely used methods to collect data from a large number of participants. You present a series of structured questions, which participants respond to by selecting predefined choices or providing open-ended answers.

Surveys are efficient for obtaining quantitative data and are suitable for studying opinions, preferences, behaviors, and demographics. Online platforms, such as Appinio and Google Forms, facilitate easy distribution and data collection.

Interviews involve direct conversations between the researcher and participants. Interviews can be structured, semi-structured, or unstructured.

• Structured interviews follow a predetermined set of questions, allowing for standardized data collection.
• Semi-structured interviews have a flexible format, allowing for a deeper exploration of responses.
• Unstructured interviews encourage open discussions and follow the natural flow of conversation.

Interviews are valuable for gathering rich qualitative data and insights into participants' experiences, thoughts, and emotions.

Observational Research

Observational research involves systematically observing and recording behaviors, interactions, and occurrences in natural settings. Researchers can be either active participants or passive observers. This method is ideal for studying behavior patterns, social interactions, and environmental influences.

Observational research provides a window into real-world behaviors without the potential bias that can arise from self-reporting. It requires careful planning to ensure data collection is consistent and objective.

Experiments and A/B Testing

Experiments involve manipulating variables to study cause-and-effect relationships. Researchers create controlled environments to test hypotheses and assess how changes in one variable impact another.

In contrast, A/B testing is a specific form of experimentation used in marketing and product development. It compares two versions (A and B) of a variable, such as a website layout or email subject line, to determine which performs better.

Experiments and A/B testing are powerful for establishing causal relationships and measuring the impact of interventions.

Case Studies and In-depth Analysis

Case studies involve an in-depth examination of a single subject, context, or phenomenon.

Researchers gather and analyze various data sources, such as interviews, documents, and observations, to provide a holistic understanding.

Case studies are valuable for exploring complex issues in detail and generating nuanced insights. While they lack generalizability due to their focus on specific instances, case studies contribute rich contextual information to the research landscape.

Focus Groups and Group Discussions

Focus groups gather a small group of participants to discuss specific topics guided by a moderator. These discussions encourage participants to share their opinions, perceptions, and experiences, fostering interaction and generating qualitative data.

Focus groups are valuable for exploring collective perspectives, identifying shared trends, and uncovering diverse viewpoints. The dynamic nature of group interactions can lead to the emergence of unexpected insights.

When selecting a primary research method, consider factors such as the nature of your research question, the level of detail you require, the resources available, and the preferences of your target audience. Combining multiple methods or triangulating data from different sources often enhances the validity and depth of your findings.

By choosing the suitable primary research method for your project, you can gather meaningful insights that contribute to your understanding of the subject at hand.

Primary Research Examples

To better understand how primary research is applied in various fields, let's explore some real-world examples that showcase the diversity and effectiveness of different primary research methods:

Example 1: Consumer Preferences Survey

• Research Objective: A cosmetics company wants to introduce a new skincare product line and wants to understand consumer preferences and needs.
• Method: The company designs an online survey targeting a wide demographic of potential customers. The survey includes questions about preferred skincare ingredients, product formats, packaging design, and price range.
• Outcome: By analyzing the survey responses, the company identifies that a majority of participants prioritize natural ingredients and prefer sustainable packaging. This insight guides the company's product development strategy and marketing messaging.

Example 2: Product Usability Experiment

• Research Objective: A software company wants to improve the user interface of its mobile app to increase user satisfaction and engagement.
• Method: The company conducts an experiment where users are randomly assigned to two groups: one uses the existing app interface (Group A), and the other uses a redesigned interface (Group B). User interactions, time spent on the app, and user feedback are measured.
• Outcome: The experiment reveals that Group B users spend more time on the app, complete tasks faster, and provide more positive feedback. This indicates that the redesigned interface enhances user experience, prompting the company to implement the changes for all users.

Example 3: New Product Concept Exploration

• Research Objective: An electronics company wants to develop a new wearable device and seeks input from potential users.
• Method: Researchers organize focus group sessions with participants who fit the target demographic for the wearable device. Participants are encouraged to share their thoughts, expectations, and concerns regarding the device's features and usability.
• Outcome: Focus group discussions reveal that participants are interested in a device with health monitoring capabilities but are concerned about data privacy. This feedback guides the company in refining the product concept to address user needs and alleviate concerns.

Primary Research Limitations

While primary research offers numerous benefits, it also comes with inherent limitations. Being aware of these limitations is essential for conducting rigorous and well-rounded research:

• Resource Intensity: Primary research can be time-consuming and require significant resources in terms of manpower, budget, and time.
• Cost: The costs associated with participant recruitment, data collection tools, and analysis can be substantial.
• Subjectivity: Researchers' biases can unintentionally influence data collection, analysis, and interpretation.
• Limited Generalization: Findings from primary research might not be easily generalized to larger populations due to sample size limitations.
• Data Collection Challenges: Collecting accurate data can be challenging, particularly in sensitive topics or hard-to-reach populations.
• Potential for Error: Mistakes in survey design, data entry, or analysis can introduce errors in the research findings.
• Ethical Considerations: Ensuring ethical treatment of participants, informed consent, and privacy protection is vital but can be complex.
• Validity and Reliability Concerns: Ensuring the validity and reliability of data requires careful planning and execution.

Primary research is your direct line to understanding your customers, improving products, and making smarter decisions. It's like having a conversation with your audience, getting insights straight from the source. Whether you're asking them questions, watching their behaviors, or testing new ideas, primary research gives you the real-deal information you need to stay competitive and relevant.

Remember, primary research isn't just for big corporations – even small businesses can tap into its power. By listening to your customers and adapting based on their input, you're not only meeting their needs but also building a stronger, customer-focused brand.

How to Conduct Primary Research in Minutes?

At Appinio , we're not just a market research platform but your partner in propelling your business forward. Imagine having the power to harness real-time consumer insights effortlessly, enabling you to make swift, data-driven decisions that fuel your success.

• Real-Time Insights: Instantly tap into a wealth of real-time consumer insights that propel your strategies forward.
• Seamless Integration: Appinio seamlessly merges into your decision-making processes, ensuring research is a natural part of your business rhythm.
• Intuitive Interface: Our platform is designed to be intuitive, making the world of market research accessible to everyone.

Join the loop 💌

Be the first to hear about new updates, product news, and data insights. We'll send it all straight to your inbox.

Get the latest market research news straight to your inbox! 💌

Wait, there's more

25.04.2024 | 37min read

Targeted Advertising: Definition, Benefits, Examples

17.04.2024 | 25min read

Quota Sampling: Definition, Types, Methods, Examples

15.04.2024 | 34min read

What is Market Share? Definition, Formula, Examples

• Writing Center
• Current Students
• Online Only Students
• Faculty & Staff
• Parents & Family
• Alumni & Friends
• Community & Business
• Student Life
• Video Introduction
• Become a Writing Assistant
• All Writers
• Graduate Students
• ELL Students
• Campus and Community
• Testimonials
• Encouraging Writing Center Use
• Incentives and Requirements
• Open Educational Resources
• How We Help
• Get to Know Us
• Conversation Partners Program
• Workshop Series
• Professors Talk Writing
• Computer Lab
• Starting a Writing Center
• A Note to Instructors
• Annotated Bibliography
• Literature Review
• Research Proposal
• Argument Essay
• Rhetorical Analysis

Introduction to Primary Research: Observations, Surveys, and Interviews

Primary Research: Definitions and Overview

   How research is defined varies widely from field to field, and as you progress through your college career, your coursework will teach you much more about what it means to be a researcher within your field.* For example, engineers, who focus on applying scientific knowledge to develop designs, processes, and objects, conduct research using simulations, mathematical models, and a variety of tests to see how well their designs work. Sociologists conduct research using surveys, interviews, observations, and statistical analysis to better understand people, societies, and cultures. Graphic designers conduct research through locating images for reference for their artwork and engaging in background research on clients and companies to best serve their needs. Historians conduct research by examining archival materials—newspapers, journals, letters, and other surviving texts—and through conducting oral history interviews. Research is not limited to what has already been written or found at the library, also known as secondary research. Rather, individuals conducting research are producing the articles and reports found in a library database or in a book. Primary research, the focus of this essay, is research that is collected firsthand rather than found in a book, database, or journal.

   Primary research is often based on principles of the scientific method, a theory of investigation first developed by John Stuart Mill in the nineteenth century in his book Philosophy of the Scientific Method .  Although the application of the scientific method varies from field to field, the general principles of the scientific method allow researchers to learn more about the world and observable phenomena. Using the scientific method, researchers develop research questions or hypotheses and collect data on events, objects, or people that is measurable, observable, and replicable. The ultimate goal in conducting primary research is to learn about something new that can be confirmed by others and to eliminate our own biases in the process.

Essay Overview and Student Examples

     The essay begins by providing an overview of ethical considerations when conducting primary research, and then covers the stages that you will go through in your primary research: planning, collecting, analyzing, and writing. After the four stages comes an introduction to three common ways of conducting primary research in first year writing classes:

Observations . Observing and measuring the world around you, including observations of people and other measurable events.

Interviews . Asking participants questions in a one-on-one or small group setting.

Surveys . Asking participants about their opinions and behaviors through a short questionnaire.

In addition, we will be examining two student projects that used substantial portions of primary research:

    Derek Laan, a nutrition major at Purdue University, wanted to learn more about student eating habits on campus. His primary re-search included observations of the campus food courts, student behavior while in the food courts, and a survey of students’ daily food intake. His secondary research included looking at national student eating trends on college campuses, information from the United States Food and Drug Administration, and books on healthy eating.

    Jared Schwab, an agricultural and biological engineering major at Purdue, was interested in learning more about how writing and communication took place in his field. His primary research included interviewing a professional engineer and a student who was a senior majoring in engineering. His secondary research included examining journals, books, professional organizations, and writing guides within the field of engineering.

Ethics of Primary Research

   Both projects listed above included primary research on human participants; therefore, Derek and Jared both had to consider research ethics throughout their primary research process. As Earl Babbie writes in The Practice of Social Research , throughout the early and middle parts of the twentieth century researchers took advantage of participants and treated them unethically. During World War II, Nazi doctors performed heinous experiments on prisoners without their consent, while in the U.S., a number of medical and psychological experiments on caused patients undue mental and physical trauma and, in some cases, death. Because of these and other similar events, many nations have established ethical laws and guidelines for researchers who work with human participants. In the United States, the guidelines for the ethical treatment of human research participants are described in The Belmont Report , released in 1979. Today, universities have Institutional Review Boards (or IRBs) that oversee research. Students conducting research as part of a class may not need permission from the university’s IRB, although they still need to ensure that they follow ethical guidelines in research. The following provides a brief overview of ethical considerations:

• Voluntary participation . The Belmont Report suggests that, in most cases, you need to get permission from people before you involve them in any primary research you are conducting. If you are doing a survey or interview, your participants must first agree to fill out your survey or to be interviewed. Consent for observations can be more complicated, and is dis-cussed later in the essay.

Confidentiality and anonymity . Your participants may reveal embarrassing or potentially damaging information such as racist comments or unconventional behavior. In these cases, you should keep your participants’ identities anonymous when writing your results. An easy way to do this is to create a “pseudonym” (or false name) for them so that their identity is protected.

Researcher bias . There is little point in collecting data and learning about something if you already think you know the answer! Bias might be present in the way you ask questions, the way you take notes, or the conclusions you draw from the data you collect.

   The above are only three of many considerations when involving human participants in your primary research. For a complete under-standing of ethical considerations please refer to The Belmont Report .

   Now that we have considered the ethical implications of research, we will examine how to formulate research questions and plan your primary research project.

Planning Your Primary Research Project

   The primary research process is quite similar to the writing process, and you can draw upon your knowledge of the writing process to understand the steps involved in a primary research project. Just like in the writing process, a successful primary research project begins with careful planning and background research. This section first describes how to create a research timeline to help plan your research. It then walks you through the planning stages by examining when primary research is useful or appropriate for your first year composition course, narrowing down a topic, and developing research questions.

The Research Timeline

   When you begin to conduct any kind of primary research, creating a timeline will help keep you on task. Because students conducting primary research usually focus on the collection of data itself, they often overlook the equally important areas of planning (invention), analyzing data, and writing. To help manage your time, you should create a research timeline, such as the sample timeline presented here.

When Primary Research Is Useful or Appropriate

   In Evaluating Scientific Research: Separating Fact from Fiction , Fred Leavitt explains that primary research is useful for questions that can be answered through asking others and direct observation. For first year writing courses, primary research is particularly useful when you want to learn about a problem that does not have a wealth of published information. This may be because the problem is a recent event or it is something not commonly studied. For example, if you are writing a paper on a new political issue, such as changes in tax laws or healthcare, you might not be able to find a wealth of peer-reviewed research because the issue is only several weeks old. You may find it necessary to collect some of your own data on the issue to supplement what you found at the library. Primary research is also useful when you are studying a local problem or learning how a larger issue plays out at the local level. Although you might be able to find information on national statistics for healthy eating, whether or not those statistics are representative of your college campus is something that you can learn through primary research.

   However, not all research questions and topics are appropriate for primary research. As Fred Leavitt writes, questions of an ethical, philosophical, or metaphysical nature are not appropriate because these questions are not testable or observable. For example, the question “Does an afterlife exist?” is not a question that can be answered with primary research. However, the question “How many people in my community believe in an afterlife?” is something that primary research can answer.

Narrowing Your Topic

   Just like the writing process, you should start your primary research process with secondary (library) research to learn more about what is already known and what gaps you need to fill with your own data. As you learn more about the topic, you can narrow down your interest area and eventually develop a research question or hypothesis, just as you would with a secondary research paper.

Developing Research Questions or Hypotheses

   As John Stuart Mill describes, primary research can use both inductive and deductive approaches, and the type approach is usually based on the field of inquiry. Some fields use deductive reasoning , where researchers start with a hypothesis or general conclusion and then collect specific data to support or refute their hypothesis. Other fields use inductive reasoning , where researchers start with a question and collect information that eventually leads to a conclusion.

   Once you have spent some time reviewing the secondary research on your topic, you are ready to write a primary research question or hypothesis. A research question or hypothesis should be something that is specific, narrow, and discoverable through primary research methods. Just like a thesis statement for a paper, if your research question or hypothesis is too broad, your research will be unfocused and your data will be difficult to analyze and write about. Here is a set of sample research questions:

Poor Research Question : What do college students think of politics and the economy?

Revised Research Question : What do students at Purdue University believe about the current economic crisis in terms of economic recoverability?

   The poor research question is unspecific as to what group of students the researcher is interested in—i.e. students in the U.S.? In a particular state? At their university? The poor research question was also too broad; terms like “politics” and the “economy” cover too much ground for a single project. The revised question narrows down the topic to students at a particular university and focuses on a specific issue related to the economy: economic recoverability. The research question could also be rephrased as a testable hypothesis using deductive reasoning: “Purdue University college students are well informed about economic recoverability plans.” Because they were approaching their projects in an exploratory, inductive manner, both Derek and Jared chose to ask research questions:

Derek: Are students’ eating habits at Purdue University healthy or unhealthy? What are the causes of students’ eating behavior?

Jared: What are the major features of writing and communication in agricultural and biological engineering? What are the major controversies? 

   A final step in working with a research question or hypothesis is determining what key terms you are using and how you will define them. Before conducting his research, Derek had to define the terms “healthy” and “unhealthy”; for this, he used the USDA’s Food Pyramid as a guide. Similarly, part of what Jared focused on in his interviews was learning more about how agricultural and biological engineers defined terms like “writing” and “communication.” Derek and Jared thought carefully about the terms within their research questions and how these terms might be measured. 

Choosing a Data Collection Method 

    Once you have formulated a research question or hypothesis, you will need to make decisions about what kind of data you can collect that will best address your research topic. Derek chose to examine eating habits by observing both what students ate at lunch and surveying students about eating behavior. Jared decided that in-depth interviews with experienced individuals in his field would provide him with the best information.

   To choose a data collection method for your research question, read through the next sections on observations, interviews, and surveys.

Observations

   Observations have lead to some of the most important scientific discoveries in human history. Charles Darwin used observations of the animal and marine life at the Galapagos Islands to help him formulate his theory of evolution that he describes in On the Origin of Species . Today, social scientists, natural scientists, engineers, computer scientists, educational researchers, and many others use observations as a primary research method.

   Observations can be conducted on nearly any subject matter, and the kinds of observations you will do depend on your research question. You might observe traffic or parking patterns on campus to get a sense of what improvements could be made. You might observe clouds, plants, or other natural phenomena. If you choose to observe people, you will have several additional considerations including the manner in which you will observe them and gain their consent.

   If you are observing people, you can choose between two common ways to observe: participant observation and unobtrusive observation. Participant observation is a common method within ethnographic research in sociology and anthropology. In this kind of observation, a researcher may interact with participants and become part of their community. Margaret Mead, a famous anthropologist, spent extended periods of time living in, and interacting with, communities that she studied. Conversely, in unobtrusive observation, you do not interact with participants but rather simply record their behavior. Although in most circumstances people must volunteer to be participants in research, in some cases it is acceptable to not let participants know you are observing them. In places that people perceive as public, such as a campus food court or a shopping mall, people do not expect privacy, and so it is generally acceptable to observe without participant consent. In places that people perceive as private, which can include a church, home, classroom, or even an intimate conversation at a restaurant, participant consent should be sought. 

   The second issue about participant consent in terms of unobtrusive observation is whether or not getting consent is feasible for the study. If you are observing people in a busy airport, bus station, or campus food court, getting participant consent may be next to impossible. In Derek’s study of student eating habits on campus, he went to the campus food courts during meal times and observed students purchasing food. Obtaining participant consent for his observations would have been next to impossible because hundreds of students were coming through the food court during meal times. Since Derek’s research was in a place that participants would perceive as public, it was not practical to get their consent, and since his data was anonymous, he did not violate their privacy.

Eliminating Bias in Your Observation Notes

The ethical concern of being unbiased is important in recording your observations. You need to be aware of the difference between an observation (recording exactly what you see) and an interpretation (making assumptions and judgments about what you see). When you observe, you should focus first on only the events that are directly observable. Consider the following two example entries in an observation log:

• The student sitting in the dining hall enjoys his greasy, oil-soaked pizza. He is clearly oblivious of the calorie content and damage it may do to his body.
• The student sits in the dining hall. As he eats his piece of pizza, which drips oil, he says to a friend, “This pizza is good.”

The first entry is biased and demonstrates judgment about the event. First, the observer makes assumptions about the internal state of the student when she writes “enjoys” and “clearly oblivious to the calorie content.” From an observer’s standpoint, there is no way of ascertaining what the student may or may not know about pizza’s nutritional value nor how much the student enjoys the pizza. The second entry provides only the details and facts that are observable.

   To avoid bias in your observations, you can use something called a “double-entry notebook.” This is a type of observation log that encourages you to separate your observations (the facts) from your feelings and judgments about the facts.

• Observations Thoughts
• The student sits in the dining hall. As he eats his piece of pizza, which drips oil, he says to a friend, "this pizza is good."  It seems like the student really enjoys the high-calorie-content pizza. 
• I observed cash register #1 for 15 minutes. During that time, 22 students paid for meals. Of those 22 students, 15 grabbed a candy bar or granola bar. 3 of the 22 students had a piece of fruit on their plate Fruit is less accessible than candy bars (it is further back in the dining court). Is this why more students are reaching for candy bars?

Figure 3: Two sample entries from a double-entry notebook.

   Observations are only one strategy in collecting primary research. You may also want to ask people directly about their behaviors, beliefs, or attitudes—and for this you will need to use surveys or interviews.

Surveys and Interviews: Question Creation

Sometimes it is very difficult for a researcher to gain all of the necessary information through observations alone. Along with his observations of the dining halls, Derek wanted to know what students ate in a typical day, and so he used a survey to have them keep track of their eating habits. Likewise, Jared wanted to learn about writing and communication in engineering and decided to draw upon expert knowledge by asking experienced individuals within the field.

   Interviews and surveys are two ways that you can gather information about people’s beliefs or behaviors. With these methods, the information you collect is not first-hand (like an observation) but rather “self-reported” data, or data collected in an indirect manner. William Shadish, Thomas Cook, and Donald Campbell argued that people are inherently biased about how they see the world and may report their own actions in a more favorable way than they may actually behave. Despite the issues in self-reported data, surveys and interviews are an excellent way to gather data for your primary research project.

Survey or Interview? 

How do you choose between conducting a survey or an interview? It depends on what kind of information you are looking for. You should use surveys if you want to learn about a general trend in people’s opinions, experiences, and behavior. Surveys are particularly useful to find small amounts of information from a wider selection of people in the hopes of making a general claim. Interviews are best used when you want to learn detailed information from a few specific people. Interviews are also particularly useful if you want to interview experts about their opinions, as Jared did. In sum, use interviews to gain de-tails from a few people, and surveys to learn general patterns from many people.

Writing Good Questions

One of the greatest challenges in conducting surveys and interviews is writing good questions. As a researcher, you are always trying to eliminate bias, and the questions you ask need to be unbiased and clear. Here are some suggestions on writing good questions:

Ask about One Thing at a Time

A poorly written question can contain multiple questions, which can confuse participants or lead them to answer only part of the question you are asking. This is called a “double-barreled question” in journalism. The following questions are taken from Jared’s research:

Poor question: What kinds of problems are being faced in the field today and where do you see the search for solutions to these problems going?

Revised question #1: What kinds of problems are being faced in the field today?

Revised question #2: Where do you see the search for solutions to these problems going?

Avoid Leading Questions

A leading question is one where you prompt the participant to respond in a particular way, which can create bias in the answers given:

Leading question: The economy is clearly in a crisis, wouldn’t you agree?

Revised question: Do you believe the economy is currently in a crisis? Why or why not?

Understand When to Use Open and Closed Questions

Closed questions, or questions that have yes/no or other limited responses, should be used in surveys. However, avoid these kinds of questions in interviews because they discourage the interviewee from going into depth. The question sample above, “Do you believe the economy currently is in a crisis?” could be answered with a simple yes or no, which could keep a participant from talking more about the issue. The “why or why not?” portion of the question asks the participant to elaborate. On a survey, the question “Do you believe the economy currently is in a crisis?” is a useful question because you can easily count the number of yes and no answers and make a general claim about participant responses.

Write Clear Questions

When you write questions, make sure they are clear, concise, and to the point. Questions that are too long, use unfamiliar vocabulary, or are unclear may confuse participants and you will not get quality responses.

Now that question creation has been addressed, we will next examine specific considerations for interviews and surveys.

Interviews, or question and answer sessions with one or more people, are an excellent way to learn in-depth information from a person for your primary research project. This section presents information on how to conduct a successful interview, including choosing the right person, ways of interviewing, recording your interview, interview locations, and transcribing your interview.

Choosing the Right Person

One of the keys to a successful interview is choosing the right person to interview. Think about whom you would like to interview and whom you might know. Do not be afraid to ask people you do not know for interviews. When asking, simply tell them what the interview will be about, what the interview is for, and how much time it will take. Jared used his Purdue University connection to locate both of the individuals that he ended up interviewing—an advanced Purdue student and a Purdue alum working in an Engineering firm.

Face-to-Face and Virtual Interviews

When interviewing, you have a choice of conducting a traditional, face-to-face interview or an interview using technology over the Internet. Face-to-face interviews have the strength that you can ask follow-up questions and use non-verbal communication to your advantage. Individuals are able to say much more in a face-to-face interview than in an email, so you will get more information from a face-to-face interview. However, the Internet provides a host of new possibilities when it comes to interviewing people at a distance. You may choose to do an email interview, where you send questions and ask the person to respond. You may also choose to use a video or audio conferencing program to talk with the person virtually. If you are choosing any Internet-based option, make sure you have a way of recording the interview. You may also use a chat or instant messaging program to interview your participant—the benefit of this is that you can ask follow-up questions during the interview and the interview is already transcribed for you. Because one of his interviewees lived several hours away, Jared chose to interview the Purdue student face-to-face and the Purdue alum via email.

Finding a Suitable Location

If you are conducting an in-person interview, it is essential that you find a quiet place for your interview. Many universities have quiet study rooms that can be reserved (often found in the university library). Do not try to interview someone in a coffee shop, dining hall, or other loud area, as it is difficult to focus and get a clear recording.

Recording Interviews

One way of eliminating bias in your research is to record your interviews rather than rely on your memory. Recording interviews allows you to directly quote the individual and re-read the interview when you are writing. It is recommended that you have two recording devices for the interview in case one recording device fails. Most computers, MP3 players, and even cell phones come with recording equipment built in. Many universities also offer equipment that students can check out and use, including computers and recorders. Before you record any interview, be sure that you have permission from your participant.

Transcribing Your Interview

Once your interview is over, you will need to transcribe your interview to prepare it for analysis. The term transcribing means creating a written record that is exactly what was said—i.e. typing up your interviews. If you have conducted an email or chat interview, you already have a transcription and can move on to your analysis stage.

Other than the fact that they both involve asking people questions, interviews and surveys are quite different data collection methods. Creating a survey may seem easy at first, but developing a quality survey can be quite challenging. When conducting a survey, you need to focus on the following areas: survey creation, survey testing, survey sampling, and distributing your survey.

Survey Creation: Length and Types of Questions

One of the keys to creating a successful survey is to keep your survey short and focused. Participants are unlikely to fill out a survey that is lengthy, and you’ll have a more difficult time during your analysis if your survey contains too many questions. In most cases, you want your survey to be something that can be filled out within a few minutes. The target length of the survey also depends on how you will distribute the survey. If you are giving your survey to other students in your dorm or classes, they will have more time to complete the survey. Therefore, five to ten minutes to complete the survey is reasonable. If you are asking students as they are walking to class to fill out your survey, keep it limited to several questions that can be answered in thirty seconds or less. Derek’s survey took about ten minutes and asked students to describe what they ate for a day, along with some demographic information like class level and gender.

   Use closed questions to your advantage when creating your survey. A closed question is any set of questions that gives a limited amount of choices (yes/no, a 1–5 scale, choose the statement that best describes you). When creating closed questions, be sure that you are accounting for all reasonable answers in your question creation. For example, asking someone “Do you believe you eat healthy?” and providing them only “yes” and “no” options means that a “neutral” or “undecided” option does not exist, even though the survey respondent may not feel strongly either way. Therefore, on closed questions you may find it helpful to include an “other” category where participants can fill in an answer. It is also a good idea to have a few open-ended questions where participants can elaborate on certain points or earlier responses. How-ever, open-ended questions take much longer to fill out than closed questions. 

Survey Creation: Testing Your Survey

To make sure your survey is an appropriate length and that your questions are clear, you can “pilot test” your survey. Prior to administering your survey on a larger scale, ask several classmates or friends to fill it out and give you feedback on the survey. Keep track of how long the survey takes to complete. Ask them if the questions are clear and make sense. Look at their answers to see if the answers match what you wanted to learn. You can revise your survey questions and the length of your survey as necessary.

Sampling and Access to Survey Populations

“Sampling” is a term used within survey research to describe the subset of people that are included in your study. Derek’s first research question was: “Are students’ eating habits at Purdue University healthy or unhealthy?” Because it was impossible for Derek to survey all 38,000 students on Purdue’s campus, he had to choose a representative sample of students. Derek chose to survey students who lived in the dorms because of the wide variety of student class levels and majors in the dorms and his easy access to this group. By making this choice, however, he did not account for commuter students, graduate students, or those who live off campus. As Derek’s case demonstrates, it is very challenging to get a truly representative sample.

   Part of the reason that sampling is a challenge is that you may find difficulty in finding enough people to take your survey. In thinking about how get people to take your survey, consider both your everyday surroundings and also technological solutions. Derek had access to many students in the dorms, but he also considered surveying students in his classes in order to reach as many people as possible. Another possibility is to conduct an online survey. Online surveys greatly increase your access to different kinds of people from across the globe, but may decrease your chances of having a high survey response rate. An email or private message survey request is more likely to be ignored due to the impersonal quality and high volume of emails most people receive.

Analyzing and Writing About Primary Research

Once you collect primary research data, you will need to analyze what you have found so that you can write about it. The purpose of analyzing your data is to look at what you collected (survey responses, interview answers to questions, observations) and to create a cohesive, systematic interpretation to help answer your research question or examine the validity of your hypothesis.

   When you are analyzing and presenting your findings, remember to work to eliminate bias by being truthful and as accurate as possible about what you found, even if it differs from what you expected to find. You should see your data as sources of information, just like sources you find in the library, and you should work to represent them accurately.

The following are suggestions for analyzing different types of data.

If you’ve counted anything you were observing, you can simply add up what you counted and report the results. If you’ve collected descriptions using a double-entry notebook, you might work to write thick descriptions of what you observed into your writing. This could include descriptions of the scene, behaviors you observed, and your overall conclusions about events. Be sure that your readers are clear on what were your actual observations versus your thoughts or interpretations of those observations.

If you’ve interviewed one or two people, then you can use your summary, paraphrasing, and quotation skills to help you accurately describe what was said in the interview. Just like in secondary research when working with sources, you should introduce your interviewees and choose clear and relevant quotes from the interviews to use in your writing. An easy way to find the important information in an interview is to print out your transcription and take a highlighter and mark the important parts that you might use in your paper. If you have conducted a large number of interviews, it will be helpful for you to create a spreadsheet of responses to each question and compare the responses, choosing representative answers for each area you want to describe.

Surveys can contain quantitative (numerical) and qualitative (written answers/descriptions) data. Quantitative data can be analyzed using a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel to calculate the mean (average) answer or to calculate the percentage of people who responded in a certain way. You can display this information in a chart or a graph and also describe it in writing in your paper. If you have qualitative responses, you might choose to group them into categories and/or you may choose to quote several representative responses.

Writing about Primary Research

In formal research writing in a variety of fields, it is common for research to be presented in the following format: introduction/background; methods; results; discussions; conclusion. Not all first year writing classes will require such an organizational structure, although it is likely that you will be required to present many of these elements in your paper. Because of this, the next section examines each of these in depth.

Introduction (Review of Literature)

The purpose of an introduction and review of literature in a research paper is to provide readers with information that helps them under-stand the context, purpose, and relevancy of your research. The introduction is where you provide most of your background (library) research that you did earlier in the process. You can include articles, statistics, research studies, and quotes that are pertinent to the issues at hand. A second purpose in an introduction is to establish your own credibility (ethos) as a writer by showing that you have researched your topic thoroughly. This kind of background discussion is required in nearly every field of inquiry when presenting research in oral or written formats.

   Derek provided information from the Food and Drug Administration on healthy eating and national statistics about eating habits as part of his background information. He also made the case for healthy eating on campus to show relevancy:

Currently Americans are more overweight than ever. This is coming at a huge cost to the economy and government. If current trends in increasing rates of overweight and obesity continue it is likely that this generation will be the first one to live shorter lives than their parents did. Looking at the habits of university students is a good way to see how a new generation behaves when they are living out on their own for the first time.

Describing What You Did (Methods)

When writing, you need to provide enough information to your readers about your primary research process for them to understand what you collected and how you collected it. In formal research papers, this is often called a methods section. Providing information on your study methods also adds to your credibility as a writer. For surveys, your methods would include describing who you surveyed, how many surveys you collected, decisions you made about your survey sample, and relevant demographic information about your participants (age, class level, major). For interviews, introduce whom you interviewed and any other relevant information about interviewees such as their career or expertise area. For observations, list the locations and times you observed and how you recorded your observations (i.e. double-entry notebook). For all data types, you should describe how you analyzed your data.

The following is a sample from Jared about his participants:

In order to gain a better understanding of the discourse community in environmental and resource engineering, I interviewed Anne Dare, a senior in environmental and natural resource engineering, and Alyson Keaton an alumnus of Purdue University. Alyson is a current employee of the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), which is a division of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Here is a sample from Derek’s methods section:

I conducted a survey so that I could find out what students at Purdue actually eat on a typical day. I handed out surveys asking students to record what they ate for a day . . . I received 29 back and averaged the results based on average number of servings from each food group on the old food guide pyramid. The group included students from the freshman to the graduate level and had 8 women and 21 men respond.

Describing Your Study Findings (Results)

In a formal research paper, the results section is where you describe what you found. The results section can include charts, graphs, lists, direct quotes, and overviews of findings. Readers find it helpful if you are able to provide the information in different formats. For example, if you have any kind of numbers or percentages, you can talk about them in your written description and then present a graph or chart showing them visually. You should provide specific details as supporting evidence to back up your findings. These details can be in the form of direct quotations, numbers, or observations.

Jared describes some of his interview results:

Alyson also mentioned the need for phone conversation. She stated, “The phone is a large part of my job. I am communicating with other NRCS offices daily to find out the status of our jobs.” She needs to be in constant contact in order to insure that everything is running smoothly. This is common with those overseeing projects. In these cases, the wait for a response to an email or a memo can be too long to be effective.

Interpreting What You Learned (Discussion)

In formal research papers, the discussion section presents your own interpretation of your results. This may include what you think the results mean or how they are useful to your larger argument. If you are making a proposal for change or a call to action, this is where you make it. For example, in Derek’s project about healthy eating on campus, Derek used his primary research on students’ unhealthy eating and observations of the food courts to argue that the campus food courts needed serious changes. Derek writes, “Make healthy food options the most accessible in every dining hall while making unhealthy foods the least. Put nutrition facts for everything that is served in the dining halls near the food so that students can make more informed decisions on what to eat.”

   Jared used the individuals he interviewed as informants that helped him learn more about writing in agricultural and biological engineering. He integrated the interviews he conducted with secondary research to form a complete picture of writing and communication in agricultural and biological engineering. He concludes:

Writing takes so many forms, and it is important to know about all these forms in one way or another. The more forms of writing you can achieve, the more flexible you can be. This ability to be flexible can make all the difference in writing when you are dealing with a field as complex as engineering.

Primary Research and Works Cited or References Pages

The last part of presenting your primary research project is a works cited or references page. In general, since you are working with data you collected yourself, there is no source to cite an external source. Your methods section should describe in detail to the readers how and where the data presented was obtained. However, if you are working with interviews, you can cite these as “personal communication.” The MLA and APA handbooks both provide clear listings of how to cite personal communication in a works cited/references page.

This essay has presented an overview to three commonly used methods of primary research in first year writing courses: observations, interviews, and surveys. By using these methods, you can learn more about the world around you and craft meaningful written discussions of your findings.

• Primary research techniques show up in more places than just first year writing courses. Where else might interviews, surveys, or observations be used? Where have you seen them used?
• The chapter provides a brief discussion of the ethical considerations of research. Can you think of any additional ethical considerations when conducting primary research? Can you think of ethical considerations unique to your own research project?
• Primary research is most useful for first year writing students if it is based in your local community or campus. What are some current issues on your campus or in your community that could be investigated using primary research methods?
• In groups or as a class, make a list of potential primary research topics. After each topic on the list, consider what method of inquiry (observation, interview, or survey) you would use to study the topic and answer why that method is a good choice.

Suggested Resources

For more information on the primary methods of inquiry described here, please see the following sources:

Works Cited

This essay was written by Dana Lynn Driscoll and was published as a chapter in Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing , Volume 2, a peer-reviewed open textbook series for the writing classroom. This work is licensed under the Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) . Please keep this information on this material if you use, adapt, and/or share it.  

Contact Info

Kennesaw Campus 1000 Chastain Road Kennesaw, GA 30144

Marietta Campus 1100 South Marietta Pkwy Marietta, GA 30060

Campus Maps

Phone 470-KSU-INFO (470-578-4636)

kennesaw.edu/info

Media Resources

Resources For

Related Links

• Financial Aid
• Degrees, Majors & Programs
• Job Opportunities
• Campus Security
• Global Education
• Sustainability
• Accessibility

470-KSU-INFO (470-578-4636)

© 2024 Kennesaw State University. All Rights Reserved.

• Privacy Statement
• Accreditation
• Emergency Information
• Report a Concern
• Open Records
• Human Trafficking Notice

• U.S. Locations
• UMGC Europe
• Learn Online
• Find Answers
• 855-655-8682
• Current Students

UMGC Effective Writing Center Primary Research and the Research Process

Explore more of umgc.

• Writing Resources

The Role of Primary Research

Primary vs. Secondary Research

First, let’s distinguish between secondary and primary research:

• Secondary research is information that has been published.
• Primary research is new information gathered by you. 

The most common example of primary research is your direct observation and reporting. Primary research also includes interviews (face-to-face, phone, email), questionnaires (surveys), and experiments—all of which would be accompanied by your analysis, which is also a part of primary research.

Why Is Primary Research Important?

Primary research provides information that is more directly related to what or whom you are studying than secondary research. For example, if you are writing about the prevalence of concussions on your community’s youth football teams, you would conduct primary research because

• First, you’re unlikely to find previously published (secondary research) reports about concussions on your particular community's teams, so you have to generate the information yourself.
• Second, the best way to learn about this specific issue is to talk directly to the team’s coaches, parents, and players—not through a third party. In doing primary research, you often function like a newspaper reporter who goes out and gets the story firsthand.
• Third, you can compare what you discover about your local teams (your primary research) to what has been published in other studies (secondary research).

Most workplace research projects contain a combination of secondary and primary research.

Examples of Primary Research for Specific Topics

Regardless of your topic, your writing will almost always benefit by the addition of primary research, unless the assignment or task specifies otherwise. In the work place, primary research is often the focus of what you write. Here are some typical topics for the work place or community with suggestions for the role primary research could play.

Topic: Alternatives to Email

Today most everyone suffers from email overload. Let's say you have found an application that provides a more efficient way to communicate. You want to purchase and implement it in your work place. Your first task will be to establish the extent to which email is a problem and then to demonstrate how the other application could help.

Primary research opportunities:

• number of emails received/sent in your office daily or weekly
• surveys of employees to determine their time spent dealing with email
• screen captures of alternative applications and how they would help the situation

Topic: Paperless Office

If you were to propose to your office manager a transition to a paperless office, you would first need to show why the status quo (dependence on hard-copy documents) is a problem. Then you would present the benefits of transition to paperless.

• number of hard-copy documents, the cost and maintenance of machines that produce them
• photos of clutter caused by hard-copy documents and photos of the spaces needed to store them
• survey of employees on the time they spend making hard copies and filing them
• survey of employees on their preferences—paperless or hard copy.

Topic: Community Playground

As a parent, you've had it. Your townhouse community needs to renovate its shabby, unsafe playground. Before any plans are drawn up or equipment purchased, your first task is to convincingly document the need for the renovation:

• photos of the current playground, highlighting its negative features
• interviews with residents and their children
• photos of well-done playgrounds at other townhouse communities
• telephone survey of contractors and their estimates for renovation

Topic: Office Recycling

It's embarrassing in this day and age that your small town is not recycling, not to mention failing in its civic responsibilities. You are determined to institute a recycling program. First, you would document the mess and waste caused by not recycling, then you would show the benefits of recycling and examples of clean, efficient recycling facilities in towns similar to yours.

• interviews with citizens about their attitudes toward recycling
• photos of recyclable materials in landfills
• collection of data on amount of recyclable waste thrown out in one day at your town's landfill
• photos of recycling stations at other towns

How to Choose and Filter Research Topics

An ancient Chinese proverb tells us, the longest journey begins with the first step. Never has that saying been more true than when it comes to writing a research paper.

Your first step in writing a paper is to choose and filter your topic. This critical first step will determine how long it will take you to reach your goal of a polished paper. A bad step at this point could send you over a cliff. That's why it's best to follow a series of steps as you focus and narrow a research topic that will let you produce your best writing.

Ethics and Primary Research

To conduct some forms of primary research, professional researchers, including college teachers, must normally receive permission from an institutional review board. These boards often evaluate research proposals on the basis of principles originally set out in the Belmont Report of 1979.

You may be surprised to learn that, even though you are conducting primary research for a class project, you still must abide by certain ethical guidelines. These imply that you:

Get Permission. Receiving "informed consent" to study someone includes ensuring that the subject knows the risks and benefits of participating and gives consent legally and voluntarily. Permission is not required for materials publically available.

Agree on Anonymity. This is important when using data from interviews, surveys and observations, unless agreed otherwise. "Confidentiality" means that, unless agreed otherwise, an individual's identify cannot be determined using the details you publish.

Do No Harm. As an ethical researcher you are bound to consider any potential negative effects on the individual of what you publish. These effects can range from embarrassment, to job loss, to physical endangerment.

Seek Approval. It's always wiser and more ethical to receive permission than to apologize for not doing so, whether that permission comes from a boss, company public affairs or human resources department, or an individual.

Dan Connelly has a  short and informative YouTube video  on this topic.

Use of Primary Research

Whenever you focus on a specific issue in a specific work place or community, some form of primary research will be needed to establish and document the status quo and, most likely, will also be helpful in the presentation of recommendations and solutions. Most of all, primary research shows your direct, active involvement and provides a level of authenticity to your writing that is not possible when relying solely on secondary research.

Why So Much #$%! Research?

Actually, that’s an intelligent question. It's another way of asking why so much importance is placed on the ability to use research materials when writing in college. The answer is simple: because an adult professional conducts some form of research and analysis of research virtually every work day.

You may be asked to:

• evaluate a new inventory program for possible purchase
• determine the relationship between an employee's case load and client outcome
• compare your company’s price structure to a competitor’s
• find the best location for opening a new satellite office
• select the best cell phone service for your staff or family

As you prepare your research writing assignments, get feedback for each step of this process--from your teacher, coworkers, or classmates. Your goal is to carefully complete each step so that one of the most important truths about writing is revealed to you:

Each step builds upon the one before it. One misstep can compromise the end product.

However, the flip side of that coin is much shinier: The writer who works methodically through the five steps of the process—and especially the writer who solicits feedback from places like the  Effective Writing Center —is much more likely to have an outstanding outcome.

Great Links:

• The Research Process - Online Guide to Writing and Research
• Secrets of My Research Success

Primary Research Methods May Include:

• Questionnaires
• Focus Groups
• Telephone Surveys
• Test Marketing

Our helpful admissions advisors can help you choose an academic program to fit your career goals, estimate your transfer credits, and develop a plan for your education costs that fits your budget. If you’re a current UMGC student, please visit the Help Center .

Personal Information

Contact information, additional information.

By submitting this form, you acknowledge that you intend to sign this form electronically and that your electronic signature is the equivalent of a handwritten signature, with all the same legal and binding effect. You are giving your express written consent without obligation for UMGC to contact you regarding our educational programs and services using e-mail, phone, or text, including automated technology for calls and/or texts to the mobile number(s) provided. For more details, including how to opt out, read our privacy policy or contact an admissions advisor .

Please wait, your form is being submitted.

By using our website you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more about how we use cookies by reading our  Privacy Policy .

Root out friction in every digital experience, super-charge conversion rates, and optimize digital self-service

Uncover insights from any interaction, deliver AI-powered agent coaching, and reduce cost to serve

Increase revenue and loyalty with real-time insights and recommendations delivered to teams on the ground

Know how your people feel and empower managers to improve employee engagement, productivity, and retention

Take action in the moments that matter most along the employee journey and drive bottom line growth

Whatever they’re are saying, wherever they’re saying it, know exactly what’s going on with your people

Get faster, richer insights with qual and quant tools that make powerful market research available to everyone

Run concept tests, pricing studies, prototyping + more with fast, powerful studies designed by UX research experts

Track your brand performance 24/7 and act quickly to respond to opportunities and challenges in your market

Explore the platform powering Experience Management

• Free Account
• For Digital
• For Customer Care
• For Human Resources
• For Researchers
• Financial Services
• All Industries

Popular Use Cases

• Customer Experience
• Employee Experience
• Employee Exit Interviews
• Net Promoter Score
• Voice of Customer
• Customer Success Hub
• Product Documentation
• Training & Certification
• XM Institute
• Popular Resources
• Customer Stories

Market Research

• Artificial Intelligence
• Partnerships
• Marketplace

The annual gathering of the experience leaders at the world’s iconic brands building breakthrough business results, live in Salt Lake City.

• English/AU & NZ
• Español/Europa
• Español/América Latina
• Português Brasileiro
• REQUEST DEMO
• Experience Management
• Primary Research

Try Qualtrics for free

Primary research: everything you need to know.

19 min read If you want to produce high-quality research, you need to understand what primary research is and how it can benefit your business. Find out how you can use primary research and its various methods to acquire the data you need and create valuable, insightful reports that aid you and your audience.

Market research has quickly become the star player for brands and businesses around the globe, netting them the insights they need, right when they need them.

From understanding industry challenges and future trends to customer satisfaction and product performance, market research is paving the way for organizations and empowering them to create content, products, services, and offers that truly resonate.

And it all starts with one thing: primary research. A research methodology that enables researchers to uncover and answer specific questions about issues, challenges, trends, or otherwise.

In this guide, we’re going to cover everything you need to know about primary research and how you can use it to benefit your business.

What is primary research?

Put simply, primary research is any type of research you collect yourself or commission on your behalf. This could be anything from surveys and interviews to observations and ethnographic research (studying participants in their real-life environment).

Most researchers will use primary research to supplement data from secondary sources, such as journals, magazines, website articles, and books. By using primary research methods alongside secondary research , researchers can validate and support their findings with additional, new data.

You don’t have to be an expert to conduct primary research or collect data from it — chances are you’ve done some of it already. Think back to when you may have been asked to carry out a project at school. If you did the research (or asked mom or dad), e.g. interviewing experts, and using data from journals, you’ve collected and used both primary and secondary data .

That example might be a little simplistic, but the concept still applies. There are, of course, plenty of methods to choose from, so understanding what they are and how they work will help you execute research campaigns.

Now, when you conduct primary research, you typically gather two basic types of information:

• Exploratory.  This research is general and open-ended . It typically involves lengthy interviews with individuals or a specific group.
• Specific . This research is more precise and problem-oriented. It involves structured, formal interviews.

Then there’s the question of qualitative research and quantitative research ; what kind of data do you want to capture? Do you want to understand the emotions and behaviors behind people’s actions or to put precise figures against certain issues? Another thing to consider.

In the next section, we’re going to go through the types of primary research methods, the advantages of primary research, and then how you can do it for your brand or business .

What are the types of primary research methods?

There are lots of different ways to carry out primary research, more notable methods are interviews and surveys — but what about observations, analyses, and focus groups ?

We’re all familiar with interviews. This research method usually involves one-on-one or small group sessions, conducted over the phone or in a face-to-face environment. Interviews are great for collecting large amounts of data from a small sample of subjects, or when specific information needs to be extracted from experts.

For example, for a piece on developing more sustainable energy sources, a journalist would choose to interview a subject matter expert to extract the primary research they need. Not only is the information more authoritative and accurate, but it’s also more compelling.

Be aware though, direct interaction can alter people’s opinions. For interviews and focus groups, it’s best to get an expert to manage and read the room to avoid skewing results.

Another industry staple. Though much more rigid compared to interviews (with predefined questions and themes), surveys are a great way to reach a target market and collect relevant data at scale. Surveys will typically provide a limited amount of information from a large group of people (as there are only so many questions you can ask before respondents get bored).

To get the most value out of surveys, it’s worth defining your audience and questions well in advance. Try to think of key themes that you want to explore and what you want to get out of the data collected.

For example, a supermarket might send out a survey to their customers on customer satisfactio n, asking questions about the overall in-store experience, the online experience, what customers would like to see, and more. Because it’s issued at scale, the supermarket can get a good understanding of what their larger customer base thinks.

Worried about your questions? Here’s how you can write great ones .

Transform your research and gain deeper insight with best-practice surveys

If you want to run world-class research or need help with research questions, look no further than Qualtrics CoreXM .

Designed to eliminate historic research inefficiencies, CoreXM is a single platform designed to get you breakthrough insights faster and more cost-effectively.

It empowers market researchers to centralize insights, leverage advanced analytics and automation to improve research quality, and scale effectiveness with a flexible management model (Research Services).

We can even help you to produce survey templates for free, no matter the type of research. Just check out our library.

Observations

While it might be the most arduous form of field research, observation is arguably the most impartial as there’s no interaction between the researcher and the subject. As such, this approach removes or reduces bias that could be encountered during an interview or survey, as the subject’s actions are not influenced by other factors.

For instance, a sports car manufacturer might want to see how their vehicles are used in real-world scenarios and if there are any limitations on the customer. This could be a case of visiting a race track or car showroom to see how customers use the vehicles.

Focus groups

This method is great for gathering data on particular topic areas. Sitting between interviews and surveys, focus groups allow you to engage a small group of people, e.g. subject matter experts.

More informal than interviews but more professional than surveys, they’re a great way to gain insight and valuable information on customers, pain points, and other areas of interest in your industry.

For example, a technology manufacturer might put together a focus group to discuss technology adoption amongst 24-36-year-olds ahead of a new product launch . Through this focus group, they can learn more about how 24-36-year-olds purchase and engage with new tech solutions .

Research services

While the process of gathering data is relatively straightforward, making sense of it (and having the right skills to turn it into insight) can be tough.

This is precisely why so many brands and businesses turn to research services. According to our data, 97% of market research is outsourced. This allows brands and businesses to gain access to relevant information for truly original research.

Though a more modern form (and approach) to primary research, research services enable brands and businesses to collect data and analyze it very quickly. But the main benefit? Expertise.

With research services you get a team of experts who know exactly what research questions to ask and how to turn survey responses into actionable insight. They know how to get the right respondents and the ideal sample sizes, as well as leverage primary research and secondary research data to build comprehensive, revealing reports.

At Qualtrics, we have a team of experts who can streamline your research process for both primary and secondary research, helping to uncover insights in days, not weeks. L.

What are the advantages of primary research?

Now you know about the main ways to collect data, what are the benefits of these primary research methods?

First and foremost, and perhaps most importantly, primary research delivers accurate, relevant, and up-to-date information, enabling you to identify emerging trends in customer behavior , discover unmet needs, and close gaps across the experience journey . There’s real value in being able to identify what comes next — and only primary research can give you a real-time view of what your prospects and customers need as the world changes around them.

Also, as you have full control of the approach, data collection and analysis, it can be far more efficient and cost-effective than others.

Lastly, the information belongs to you or your organization. You may choose to release the information to enhance your position in your market or industry or keep it private to avoid giving competitors an advantage .

Create better experiences

From a customer perspective, it offers many advantages and provides detailed information on how you can improve products, services, and experiences. By taking their market surveys in-house and using the Qualtrics XM Platform™ , Samsung collects, analyzes, and acts on insights gathered at every touchpoint. The team at Samsung can get studies up and running in an hour and quickly implement findings to transform their product, service, and customer experiences.

Develop engaging content

From a content perspective, this kind of first-hand data offers a plethora of opportunities. You can begin to create trend reports, answer the most pertinent prospect and customer questions, highlight key issues, and much more. Every voice matters and ensuring your research is inclusive is vital.

What are the disadvantages of primary research?

Costs can potentially spiral out of control if you feel that your results are inconclusive or that you want to change the data gathering method.

It can also be time-consuming, especially if you require a large sample size or don’t have the in-house expertise for the analysis. Data gathering is one thing — drawing insights and formulating conclusions is another. The time required to effectively plan, carry out, and scrutinize the data is often greater than the time it takes to conduct secondary research.

Lastly, accuracy. You have to account for potential bias — skewing the results — and poorly worded questions . There are ways to eliminate bias from your surveys, such as:

• including more open-ended questions
• making respondents feel comfortable
• using both qualitative and quantitative techniques
• using an impartial way to gather data

Primary vs secondary market research

The key difference between them is that you collect primary research first hand (often for a specific purpose, e.g. a trends report), while secondary research comes from pre-existing studies, materials, websites, or articles.

Secondary research methods are more about desk research. You scour reputable journals, articles, websites, and studies to find the information you need to either support a point or build your project around.

Most market research will start with secondary research to understand what the issues are or what prospects and customers are searching for online. This could be using Google Analytics to identify the key issues and trends in 2021 and then using primary research to get more information and delve deeper into them.

We would urge you to look at the primary vs secondary research debate a different way: both can be used in conjunction to support and validate points. Incorporating high-quality secondary research data into your reports can provide wider perspectives and show readers that your thoughts don’t exist in a vacuum.

Find out more about the differences between primary and secondary research.

How can businesses use primary research?

Competitor analysis . Trend reporting . Customer satisfaction. There’s no limit to the uses of primary research for businesses, particularly now as it becomes more difficult to gather information from prospects and customers.

One of the most effective ways to use primary research is for industry analysis and content campaigns. Let’s say you produce a report on current trends in automotive. From the data, you find that the key concerns for automotive manufacturers are:

• The skills gap and need for new technologies to support production
• Sustainability and shifting operations rapidly
• Supply chain efficiency and utilizing a dual supply chain (local and global)
• Customer demand and expectations of new-age vehicles

Now not only do these concerns make for great headlines, but you can also build entire campaigns around the data you find. Suddenly, rather than just one report sharing information and not making real use of the insight, you can create blogs, ebooks, webinars, opinion articles, commentary, and much more.

Primary research is the gift that keeps on giving — and that’s precisely why more and more organizations are creating annual reports on the state of their industry or market.

As well as providing unique insight and content campaign opportunities, primary research establishes credibility… and very quickly. If you produce an annual report and none of your competitors are doing the same (or their reports lack the granularity and focus your prospects and customers require), you demonstrate expertise and become the go-to for real insight.

How can primary research support marketing?

As the gift that keeps on giving, primary research lays a foundation for marketing campaigns and long-term strategy.

Most research is top-of-the-funnel (TOFU) — or at least designed to be as such. Market research reports are inherently about raising awareness of an issue or problem — that’s where businesses can extract the most value.

For your marketing team, the issues raised in the report can become the headlines for blogs and commentary. They can then create content to help readers solve those issues, referencing what your business does in the process (but only if it’s relevant). Finally, marketing can steer readers of the report content towards other assets of interest, gradually nurturing readers to a point that they’re sales-ready.

Here are just a few things you can get out of primary research reports:

• Opinion articles
• Sales collateral
• Infographics
• Executive summary reports per industry

Conducting primary research

Getting started with primary research is simple thanks to the tools and software available today, and most of the time it starts with a simple online survey.

No matter what research you want to conduct, there are survey solutions and templates to meet your needs.

But before we go into the technicalities, let’s focus on the fundamentals of conducting research:

• Have a subject in mind. What issues do you want to cover?
• Validate that subject based on secondary research. What are people searching for or need answers to?
• Draft a research question (or problem statement) and revise as necessary. What will be your main question or the purpose of the study?
• Agree on the goals and objectives of the project. What do you hope to achieve?
• Create a timeline and set deadlines. Is everyone aligned?
• Choose your research methods and tools (e.g. face-to-face interviews or online surveys). What’s the best way to get the information you need?
• Work out your ideal sample size (smaller or larger population?). If you need help working out your ideal sample size, check out our calculator!
• Think qualitative or quantitative (a mixture of both generally works well). Do you want to know the reason behind responses or just get conclusive numerical data?
• Develop a questionnaire and have it peer-reviewed. Are your questions as good as they can be and do they support your problem statement?
• Test your questionnaire. What better way to ensure that it works and delivers the right insight?
• Select a delivery method. How do you want to distribute your questionnaire? Online? Offline?
• Analyze the results. Do you have the right tools, skills, and resources to glean insights from the data you receive?

This is certainly a condensed structure for conducting primary research, but it should work nonetheless. The main thing is starting the right way — have the right subject in mind and validate it.

Recent research trumps everything else

When you have the means to conduct research frequently and at scale, the more recent or ‘fresh’ it is, the more valuable the insights.

Of course, not every brand or business is in a position to undertake primary or even secondary market research every year. This could be due to budgetary constraints, poor insights from previous research, or a lack of in-house expertise.

But regardless of the issue, the power of primary research is well-documented and apparent, and it gives you the means to create profound and compelling content for your target audience.

Start your next research project the right way

If any of the above issues sound familiar, we can help. At Qualtrics, we specialize in market research and gleaning insights from data to create breakthrough experiences. From designing your study and finding respondents, to fielding it and reporting the results — we can help you every step of the way.

As well as that, we know how you can get more ROI from your market research and have put together a simple guide to show you.  

In this guide, discover how you can:

• Improve ROI through speed, agility, and consolidation of your research functions
• Get insights faster without sacrificing data quality
• Adjust how you conduct research to be more nimble

Download your copy for free using the button below.

Free eBook: Maximize ROI from your market research with our guide

Related resources

Market intelligence 10 min read, marketing insights 11 min read, ethnographic research 11 min read, qualitative vs quantitative research 13 min read, qualitative research questions 11 min read, qualitative research design 12 min read, primary vs secondary research 14 min read, request demo.

Ready to learn more about Qualtrics?

How to write a research plan: Step-by-step guide

Last updated

30 January 2024

Reviewed by

Today’s businesses and institutions rely on data and analytics to inform their product and service decisions. These metrics influence how organizations stay competitive and inspire innovation. However, gathering data and insights requires carefully constructed research, and every research project needs a roadmap. This is where a research plan comes into play.

There’s general research planning; then there’s an official, well-executed research plan. Whatever data-driven research project you’re gearing up for, the research plan will be your framework for execution. The plan should also be detailed and thorough, with a diligent set of criteria to formulate your research efforts. Not including these key elements in your plan can be just as harmful as having no plan at all.

Read this step-by-step guide for writing a detailed research plan that can apply to any project, whether it’s scientific, educational, or business-related.

• What is a research plan?

A research plan is a documented overview of a project in its entirety, from end to end. It details the research efforts, participants, and methods needed, along with any anticipated results. It also outlines the project’s goals and mission, creating layers of steps to achieve those goals within a specified timeline.

Without a research plan, you and your team are flying blind, potentially wasting time and resources to pursue research without structured guidance.

The principal investigator, or PI, is responsible for facilitating the research oversight. They will create the research plan and inform team members and stakeholders of every detail relating to the project. The PI will also use the research plan to inform decision-making throughout the project.

• Why do you need a research plan?

Create a research plan before starting any official research to maximize every effort in pursuing and collecting the research data. Crucially, the plan will model the activities needed at each phase of the research project.

Like any roadmap, a research plan serves as a valuable tool providing direction for those involved in the project—both internally and externally. It will keep you and your immediate team organized and task-focused while also providing necessary definitions and timelines so you can execute your project initiatives with full understanding and transparency.

External stakeholders appreciate a working research plan because it’s a great communication tool, documenting progress and changing dynamics as they arise. Any participants of your planned research sessions will be informed about the purpose of your study, while the exercises will be based on the key messaging outlined in the official plan.

Here are some of the benefits of creating a research plan document for every project:

Project organization and structure

Well-informed participants

All stakeholders and teams align in support of the project

Clearly defined project definitions and purposes

Distractions are eliminated, prioritizing task focus

Timely management of individual task schedules and roles

Costly reworks are avoided

• What should a research plan include?

The different aspects of your research plan will depend on the nature of the project. However, most official research plan documents will include the core elements below. Each aims to define the problem statement, devising an official plan for seeking a solution.

Specific project goals and individual objectives

Ideal strategies or methods for reaching those goals

Required resources

Descriptions of the target audience, sample sizes, demographics, and scopes

Key performance indicators (KPIs)

Project background

Research and testing support

Preliminary studies and progress reporting mechanisms

Cost estimates and change order processes

Depending on the research project’s size and scope, your research plan could be brief—perhaps only a few pages of documented plans. Alternatively, it could be a fully comprehensive report. Either way, it’s an essential first step in dictating your project’s facilitation in the most efficient and effective way.

• How to write a research plan for your project

When you start writing your research plan, aim to be detailed about each step, requirement, and idea. The more time you spend curating your research plan, the more precise your research execution efforts will be.

Account for every potential scenario, and be sure to address each and every aspect of the research.

Consider following this flow to develop a great research plan for your project:

Define your project’s purpose

Start by defining your project’s purpose. Identify what your project aims to accomplish and what you are researching. Remember to use clear language.

Thinking about the project’s purpose will help you set realistic goals and inform how you divide tasks and assign responsibilities. These individual tasks will be your stepping stones to reach your overarching goal.

Additionally, you’ll want to identify the specific problem, the usability metrics needed, and the intended solutions.

Know the following three things about your project’s purpose before you outline anything else:

What you’re doing

Why you’re doing it

What you expect from it

Identify individual objectives

With your overarching project objectives in place, you can identify any individual goals or steps needed to reach those objectives. Break them down into phases or steps. You can work backward from the project goal and identify every process required to facilitate it.

Be mindful to identify each unique task so that you can assign responsibilities to various team members. At this point in your research plan development, you’ll also want to assign priority to those smaller, more manageable steps and phases that require more immediate or dedicated attention.

Select research methods

Research methods might include any of the following:

User interviews: this is a qualitative research method where researchers engage with participants in one-on-one or group conversations. The aim is to gather insights into their experiences, preferences, and opinions to uncover patterns, trends, and data.

Field studies: this approach allows for a contextual understanding of behaviors, interactions, and processes in real-world settings. It involves the researcher immersing themselves in the field, conducting observations, interviews, or experiments to gather in-depth insights.

Card sorting: participants categorize information by sorting content cards into groups based on their perceived similarities. You might use this process to gain insights into participants’ mental models and preferences when navigating or organizing information on websites, apps, or other systems.

Focus groups: use organized discussions among select groups of participants to provide relevant views and experiences about a particular topic.

Diary studies: ask participants to record their experiences, thoughts, and activities in a diary over a specified period. This method provides a deeper understanding of user experiences, uncovers patterns, and identifies areas for improvement.

Five-second testing: participants are shown a design, such as a web page or interface, for just five seconds. They then answer questions about their initial impressions and recall, allowing you to evaluate the design’s effectiveness.

Surveys: get feedback from participant groups with structured surveys. You can use online forms, telephone interviews, or paper questionnaires to reveal trends, patterns, and correlations.

Tree testing: tree testing involves researching web assets through the lens of findability and navigability. Participants are given a textual representation of the site’s hierarchy (the “tree”) and asked to locate specific information or complete tasks by selecting paths.

Usability testing: ask participants to interact with a product, website, or application to evaluate its ease of use. This method enables you to uncover areas for improvement in digital key feature functionality by observing participants using the product.

Live website testing: research and collect analytics that outlines the design, usability, and performance efficiencies of a website in real time.

There are no limits to the number of research methods you could use within your project. Just make sure your research methods help you determine the following:

What do you plan to do with the research findings?

What decisions will this research inform? How can your stakeholders leverage the research data and results?

Recruit participants and allocate tasks

Next, identify the participants needed to complete the research and the resources required to complete the tasks. Different people will be proficient at different tasks, and having a task allocation plan will allow everything to run smoothly.

Prepare a thorough project summary

Every well-designed research plan will feature a project summary. This official summary will guide your research alongside its communications or messaging. You’ll use the summary while recruiting participants and during stakeholder meetings. It can also be useful when conducting field studies.

Ensure this summary includes all the elements of your research project. Separate the steps into an easily explainable piece of text that includes the following:

An introduction: the message you’ll deliver to participants about the interview, pre-planned questioning, and testing tasks.

Interview questions: prepare questions you intend to ask participants as part of your research study, guiding the sessions from start to finish.

An exit message: draft messaging your teams will use to conclude testing or survey sessions. These should include the next steps and express gratitude for the participant’s time.

Create a realistic timeline

While your project might already have a deadline or a results timeline in place, you’ll need to consider the time needed to execute it effectively.

Realistically outline the time needed to properly execute each supporting phase of research and implementation. And, as you evaluate the necessary schedules, be sure to include additional time for achieving each milestone in case any changes or unexpected delays arise.

For this part of your research plan, you might find it helpful to create visuals to ensure your research team and stakeholders fully understand the information.

Determine how to present your results

A research plan must also describe how you intend to present your results. Depending on the nature of your project and its goals, you might dedicate one team member (the PI) or assume responsibility for communicating the findings yourself.

In this part of the research plan, you’ll articulate how you’ll share the results. Detail any materials you’ll use, such as:

Presentations and slides

A project report booklet

A project findings pamphlet

Documents with key takeaways and statistics

Graphic visuals to support your findings

• Format your research plan

As you create your research plan, you can enjoy a little creative freedom. A plan can assume many forms, so format it how you see fit. Determine the best layout based on your specific project, intended communications, and the preferences of your teams and stakeholders.

Find format inspiration among the following layouts:

Written outlines

Narrative storytelling

Visual mapping

Graphic timelines

Remember, the research plan format you choose will be subject to change and adaptation as your research and findings unfold. However, your final format should ideally outline questions, problems, opportunities, and expectations.

• Research plan example

Imagine you’ve been tasked with finding out how to get more customers to order takeout from an online food delivery platform. The goal is to improve satisfaction and retain existing customers. You set out to discover why more people aren’t ordering and what it is they do want to order or experience. 

You identify the need for a research project that helps you understand what drives customer loyalty. But before you jump in and start calling past customers, you need to develop a research plan—the roadmap that provides focus, clarity, and realistic details to the project.

Here’s an example outline of a research plan you might put together:

Project title

Project members involved in the research plan

Purpose of the project (provide a summary of the research plan’s intent)

Objective 1 (provide a short description for each objective)

Objective 2

Objective 3

Proposed timeline

Audience (detail the group you want to research, such as customers or non-customers)

Budget (how much you think it might cost to do the research)

Risk factors/contingencies (any potential risk factors that may impact the project’s success)

Remember, your research plan doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel—it just needs to fit your project’s unique needs and aims.

Customizing a research plan template

Some companies offer research plan templates to help get you started. However, it may make more sense to develop your own customized plan template. Be sure to include the core elements of a great research plan with your template layout, including the following:

Introductions to participants and stakeholders

Background problems and needs statement

Significance, ethics, and purpose

Research methods, questions, and designs

Preliminary beliefs and expectations

Implications and intended outcomes

Realistic timelines for each phase

Conclusion and presentations

How many pages should a research plan be?

Generally, a research plan can vary in length between 500 to 1,500 words. This is roughly three pages of content. More substantial projects will be 2,000 to 3,500 words, taking up four to seven pages of planning documents.

What is the difference between a research plan and a research proposal?

A research plan is a roadmap to success for research teams. A research proposal, on the other hand, is a dissertation aimed at convincing or earning the support of others. Both are relevant in creating a guide to follow to complete a project goal.

What are the seven steps to developing a research plan?

While each research project is different, it’s best to follow these seven general steps to create your research plan:

Defining the problem

Identifying goals

Choosing research methods

Recruiting participants

Preparing the brief or summary

Establishing task timelines

Defining how you will present the findings

Get started today

Go from raw data to valuable insights with a flexible research platform

Editor’s picks

Last updated: 21 December 2023

Last updated: 16 December 2023

Last updated: 6 October 2023

Last updated: 25 November 2023

Last updated: 12 May 2023

Last updated: 15 February 2024

Last updated: 11 March 2024

Last updated: 12 December 2023

Last updated: 18 May 2023

Last updated: 6 March 2024

Last updated: 10 April 2023

Last updated: 20 December 2023

Latest articles

Related topics, log in or sign up.

Get started for free

Main Navigation Menu

Peer-review and primary research.

• Getting Started With Peer-Reviewed Literature

Primary Research

Identifying a primary research article.

• Finding Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
• Finding Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs)
• Evaluating Scholarly Articles
• Google Scholar
• Tips for Reading Journal Articles

STEM Librarian

Primary research or a primary study refers to a research article that is an author’s original research that is almost always published in a peer-reviewed journal. A primary study reports on the details, methods and results of a research study. These articles often have a standard structure of a format called IMRAD, referring to sections of an article: Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion. Primary research studies will start with a review of the previous literature, however, the rest of the article will focus on the authors’ original research. Literature reviews can be published in peer-reviewed journals, however, they are not primary research.

Primary studies are part of primary sources but should not be mistaken for primary documents. Primary documents are usually original sources such as a letter, a diary, a speech or an autobiography. They are a first person view of an event or a period. Typically, if you are a Humanities major, you will be asked to find primary documents for your paper however, if you are in Social Sciences or the Sciences you are most likely going to be asked to find primary research studies. If you are unsure, ask your professor or a librarian for help.

A primary research or study is an empirical research that is published in peer-reviewed journals. Some ways of recognizing whether an article is a primary research article when searching a database:

1. The abstract includes a research question or a hypothesis,  methods and results.

2. Studies can have tables and charts representing data findings.

3. The article includes a section for "methods” or “methodology” and "results".

4. Discussion section indicates findings and discusses limitations of the research study, and suggests further research.

5. Check the reference section because it will refer you to the studies and works that were consulted. You can use this section to find other studies on that particular topic.

The following are not to be confused with primary research articles:

- Literature reviews

- Meta-analyses or systematic reviews (these studies make conclusions based on research on many other studies)

• << Previous: Getting Started With Peer-Reviewed Literature
• Next: Finding Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles >>
• Last Updated: Feb 15, 2024 2:45 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.ucmo.edu/peerreview

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• v.43(5); 2014 Sep

Maximizing Legacy and Impact of Primary Research: A Call for Better Reporting of Results

Neal r. haddaway.

Centre for Evidence-Based Conservation, School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, Bangor University, Bangor, LL57 2UW UK

Much of the scientific literature in existence today is based on model systems and case studies, which help to split research into manageable blocks. The impact of this research can be greatly increased in meta-analyses that combine individual studies published over time to identify patterns across studies; patterns that may go undetected by smaller studies and that may not be the main subject of investigation. However, many potentially useful studies fail to provide sufficient data (typically means, true sample sizes, and measures of variability) to permit meta-analysis. Authors of primary research studies should provide these summary statistics as a minimum, and editors should require them to do so. By putting policies in place that require these summary statistics to be included, or even those that require raw data, editors and authors can maximize the legacy and impact of the research they publish beyond that of their initial target audience.

Introduction

Some 8323 scientific journals were listed in Journal Citation Reports in 2013, with tens of thousands more journals unlisted. The vast majority of these journals have been given impact factors in the lower end of the spectrum, giving a classic Poisson distribution with a median of approximately 0.5 and 1.0 (Thomson Reuters 2013 ). Thus, the majority of journals are typically more applied (i.e., focused on more practical subjects) than their counterparts at the far end of the spectrum, publishing research that targets specific audiences. Much of the research in these publications uses model species and habitats or case studies to simplify more complex systems (e.g., Rantalainen et al. 2008 ). While these studies are often quite specific, they can inform wider analyses if, for example, used in a meta-analysis and systematic reviews (SRs) (Pullin and Knight 2001 ).

Meta-analyses are statistical methods that combine like studies to create a single study of far greater effective sample size than any of its constituent parts (Glass 1976 ). These analyses are used where individual studies disagree, or where individual studies are thought to be of insufficient power to identify significant effects. Meta-analyses are powerful tools to increase the value and impact of research. Meta-analysis has been widely used in recent decades in medicine to identify significant patterns in the evidence that may go undetected in individual studies (O’Rourke 2007 ). Analyzed together, the evidence provided by individual studies is more powerful than the sum of its individual analyses. Furthermore, meta-analyses allow us to examine the effect of modifying factors that may not have been considered in the original research. For example, while individual studies on the effect of drainage on greenhouse gas emissions from peatlands may each have been undertaken in sites with a specific mean annual rainfall and temperature, when studies are combined in a meta-analysis the effect of meteorology on the relationship between land management and emissions can be examined (also referred to as sources of heterogeneity and effect modifiers ) (Haddaway et al. 2014 ).

Meta-analyses in the health sciences have identified significant positive effects of potentially life-saving therapies where individual studies have failed to find an effect. One example of the potential influence of meta-analyses on policy is demonstrated by the review of the use of streptokinase in the treatment of myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). A meta-analysis that arranged and analyzed studies cumulatively through time over a 30-year period identified a statistically significant reduction in mortality resulting from the therapeutic use of streptokinase following myocardial infarction. This significant effect was clear in the cumulative meta-analysis after only 14 years of research, but streptokinase was not widely recommended until more than a decade later when two large-scale trials (mega trials) identified a significant effect (Lau et al. 1992 ). This striking example demonstrates the potentially preventable loss of life that results from missing patterns in the evidence identified through pooling studies.

Meta-analyses in medicine, and more recently in environmental management and conservation (Gurevitch et al. 1992 ), have been developed even further by the establishment of systematic review methodology (Pullin and Stewart 2006 ; Higgins and Green 2011 ). Systematic reviews aim to identify all available evidence for a specific question using a detailed, pre-defined methodology. This methodology aims to minimize various biases, such as publication bias and selection bias that may affect traditional reviews.

The power and utility of meta-analyses, however, is reduced significantly when primary research does not report sufficient data to allow full quantitative analyses. These studies with missing data must be excluded from the analysis despite being relevant and providing some informative results. Broadly speaking, primary research articles should report three key measures to facilitate their inclusion in a meta-analysis: mean effect size , sample size , and measure of variability (typically standard deviation, standard error, or confidence intervals). Effect sizes are summary statistics that estimate the magnitude of effect of a specific intervention (e.g., application of a pesticide) or exposure (e.g., soil water content). One form of effect sizes where studies report their results in the same units would be the raw mean difference, the control sample mean subtracted from the intervention sample mean, which represents the direct additional effect of the intervention in meaningful units. Other examples of effect sizes include correlation coefficients, risk ratios, and specific effect sizes designed for meta-analysis such as Hedges g . Different effect size types are suitable for different outcome measures and data types (Borenstein et al. 2011 ). Measures of variability indicate the uncertainty of effect size estimates and are used in meta-analyses to weight studies according to the variability in the data around the sample means, in order to give more weight to more precise studies. A range of possible variability measures can be used in meta-analyses as these are interchangeable. Sample sizes relate to the true sample size of the study and should not include pseudoreplicates. True replicates are those samples that are measured at the same level as that at which the intervention is experienced: if treatments are delivered at the field level, then replicates are fields and NOT plots within fields.

Where quantitative data for the key measures described above are not presented in the text or tables of relevant studies, this information can often be extracted from figures of summary metrics or raw data (e.g., Tummers 2006 ). In some cases other data can be included in a meta-analysis. For example, meta-analysis can be performed on p values (Fisher 1932 ), but such analyses do not consider the magnitude or the direction of effect, and cannot investigate sources of heterogeneity, so should be restricted to use when other options for meta-analysis are exhausted (Jones 1995 ).

Where data on key measures are missing from some studies, for example variability measures, it may be appropriate to impute these values (see Harris et al. 2009 ). Imputing involves replacing a missing value with an appropriate substitute. It enables the inclusion of studies that would otherwise be excluded due to the lack of reported data, and thus mitigating the potential impact this would have on the power and bias of the pooled effect (Wiebe et al. 2006 ; Burgess et al. 2013 ). This may be generated, for example for variability measures, in one of a number of ways: it may be based on an understanding of the population being studied; from a mean variability identified from other studies included in the meta-analysis; or from the largest variance reported in other included studies in order to be more conservative. One final option is to perform multiple imputation using several methods and substituting some form of average where the data are missing. Imputing is often appropriate in medicine, where meta-analyses involve large numbers of studies and imputing of a small number of studies’ variability is less influential on the overall analysis. Meta-analysis in environmental sciences, however, rarely involves large samples sizes, and large proportions of the evidence base may be missing data. Three recent systematic reviews highlight this problem. A recent systematic review of the impact of terrestrial protected areas on human well-being identified 281 outcome measures across 49 studies, but 82 percent of these studies reported measures with no variability (Pullin et al. 2013 ). Another review of the impact of land management on lowland peatland carbon greenhouse gas flux identified 33 of 111 studies that lacked measures of variability, precluding their inclusion in meta-analysis (Haddaway et al. 2014 ). In a systematic review of the impact of reindeer grazing on arctic and alpine vegetation, currently underway, 30 percent of the included articles were unable to be included in meta-analysis due to a lack of either variability (10 of 53 studies) or true sample size (6 of 53 studies) (Bernes et al. 2013 ). Despite the availability and use of imputing methods in the health care discipline, these are not always feasible in the environment setting, and therefore there are even more imperative primary studies to report the variance data. Studied human populations are typically far less variable and more predictable than the range of studied populations included in meta-analyses in the environmental sciences (Haddaway et al. 2014 ). As a result, imputing in environmental sciences meta-analyses is rarely likely to be appropriate.

One other solution to the problem of missing values is to contact the authors of relevant studies with a request for supplemental data. Such requests are more successful with recently published manuscripts (Vines et al. 2014 ), where email addresses are supplied and are still functional. Email requests for data in meta-analyses typically have low success rates (e.g., Gibson et al. 2006 ), with only a small minority of contacted authors responding with usable data. The process should be encouraged where resources allow, since the increase in usable data is often valuable. For older research, however, such contact is often not feasible. This latter point raises concerns about a possible bias resulting from the presence of more usable data in meta-analyses from more recent research. Such bias should not be ignored, but little can be done to account for it.

In systematic reviews, study results can often still be synthesized narratively in the form of textual descriptions, tabulation, and the production of figures despite being lost from meta-analyses. However, such narrative syntheses are not as powerful as meta-analyses, which should be the main aim of a quantitative (aggregative) systematic review. Furthermore, if some studies are missing effect sizes and statistical results, little use can be made of their results.

Those with experience in meta-analysis and systematic review understand the value of well-reported summary data in primary research articles, and failing this, the provision of raw data. To ensure the legacy of primary research and maximize its value, however, it should be the priority of journal editors and manuscript authors to ensure that all primary researches report quantitative data either in summary or raw form. Summary data should be provided with measures of variability to ensure that it can be included in meta-analyses. Maximizing the use of existing evidence in meta-analyses may also potentially conserve resources that would otherwise be used for additional primary research, where answers already exist in the literature. This policy follows the recommendations made in the CONSORT Statement (BMJ 2010a , b ) in medicine that call for better reporting of clinical trials.

Some journals have recently begun to demand the publication of raw data alongside manuscripts. The Public Library of Sciences (PLoS), for example, amended their data policy in December 2013 to state that “PLOS journals require authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction.” Such a policy is a bold move in a competitive publishing market; the majority of other journals, particularly those that are not fully turning to Open Access, may find such a move difficult to implement. Summary data for treatment and control groups in the form of means, sample sizes, and variability measures are a far simpler, yet just as effective, requisite that will maximize the legacy and usability of primary research.

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses include research from a range of time periods, not solely more recent publications. As the publishing world advances and reporting of raw and summary data improve, the historic research that lacks sufficient data to permit meta-analysis could be made useful with the establishment of a universal database for the deposition of raw and summary data. Such a database could mirror the advances in independent post-publication peer review such as www.PubPeer.com . This project would require a significant effort to establish, maintain, and advertise.

Acknowledgments

I thank Claes Bernes, Ruth Lewis, and two anonymous reviewers for their comments on a draft version of the manuscript.

is a Postdoctoral Research Officer at the Centre for Evidence-Based Conservation, School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, Bangor University, Bangor, LL57 2UW, UK.

• Bernes C, Bråthen KA, Forbes BC, Hofgaard A, Moen J, Speed JD. What are the impacts of reindeer/caribou ( Rangifer tarandus L.) on arctic and alpine vegetation? A systematic review protocol. Environmental Evidence. 2013; 2 :6. doi: 10.1186/2047-2382-2-6. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• BMJ CONSORT 2010 statement: Updated guidelines for reporting parallel group randomised trials. BMJ. 2010; 340 :332. doi: 10.1136/bmj.c332. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• BMJ The new CONSORT statement. BMJ. 2010; 340 :c1432. doi: 10.1136/bmj.c1432. [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Borenstein M, Hedges LV, Higgins JP, Rothstein HR. Introduction to meta-analysis. Chichester: Wiley; 2011. [ Google Scholar ]
• Burgess S, White IR, Resch-Rigon M, Wood AM. Combining multiple imputation and meta-analysis with individual participant data. Statistics in Medicine. 2013; 32 (26):4499–4514. doi: 10.1002/sim.5844. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Fisher RA. Statistical methods for research workers. London: Oliver & Boyd; 1932. [ Google Scholar ]
• Gibson CA, Bailey BW, Carper MJ, LeCheminant JD, Kirk EP, Huang G, Drowatzky DuBose K, Donnelly JE. Author contacts for retrieval of data for a meta-analysis on exercise and diet restriction. International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care. 2006; 22 (02):267–270. doi: 10.1017/S0266462306051105. [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Glass GV. Primary, secondary, and meta-analysis of research. Educational Researcher. 1976; 5 (10):3–8. doi: 10.3102/0013189X005010003. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Gurevitch J, Morrow LL, Wallace A, Walsh JS. A meta-analysis of competition in field experiments. The American Naturalist. 1992; 140 (4):539–572. doi: 10.1086/285428. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Haddaway NR, Burden A, Evans CD, Healey JR, Jones DL, Dalrymple SE, Pullin AS. Evaluating effects of land management on greenhouse gas fluxes and carbon balances in boreo-temperate lowland peatland systems. Environmental Evidence. 2014; 3 :5. doi: 10.1186/2047-2382-3-5. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Harris C, Hedges LV, Valentine JC. Handbook of research synthesis and meta-analysis. New York: Russell Sage Foundation; 2009. [ Google Scholar ]
• Higgins, J.P.T., and S. Green. 2011. Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions Version 5.1.0. Updated March 2011. Retrieved March 1, 2014, from www.cochrane-handbook.org .
• Jones D. Meta-analysis: weighing the evidence. Statistics in Medicine. 1995; 14 :137–149. doi: 10.1002/sim.4780140206. [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Lau J, Antman EM, Jimenez-Silva J, Kupelnick B, Mosteller F, Chalmers TC. Cumulative meta-analysis of therapeutic trials for myocardial infarction. New England Journal of Medicine. 1992; 327 (4):248–254. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199207233270406. [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• O’Rourke K. An historical perspective on meta-analysis: dealing quantitatively with varying study results. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 2007; 100 (12):579–582. doi: 10.1258/jrsm.100.12.579. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Pullin AS, Knight TM. Effectiveness in conservation practice: Pointers from medicine and public health. Conservation Biology. 2001; 15 (1):50–54. doi: 10.1046/j.1523-1739.2001.99499.x. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Pullin AS, Stewart GB. Guidelines for systematic review in conservation and environmental management. Conservation Biology. 2006; 20 (6):1647–1656. doi: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2006.00485.x. [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Pullin AS, Bangpan M, Dalrymple S, Dickson K, Haddaway NR, Healey JR, Hauari H, Hockley N, et al. Human well-being impacts of terrestrial protected areas. Environmental Evidence. 2013; 2 :19. doi: 10.1186/2047-2382-2-19. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Rantalainen ML, Haimi J, Fritze H, Pennanen T, Setala H. Soil decomposer community as a model system in studying the effects of habitat fragmentation and habitat corridors. Soil Biology & Biochemistry. 2008; 40 (4):853–863. doi: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2007.11.008. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Thomson Reuters. 2013. 2012 Journal Citation Reports ® Science Edition. Accessed October, 2013.
• Tummers, B. 2006. DataThief III. Retrieved March 1, 2014, from http://datathief.org .
• Vines TH, Albert AYK, Andrew RL, Débarre F, Bock DG, Franklin MT, Gilbert KJ, Moore J-S, et al. The availability of research data declines rapidly with article age. Current Biology. 2014; 24 :94–97. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2013.11.014. [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Wiebe N, Vandermeer B, Platt RW, Klassen TP, Moher D, Barrowman NJ. A systematic review identifies a lack of standardization in methods for handling missing variance data. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. 2006; 59 :342–353. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2005.08.017. [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock A locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

JavaScript appears to be disabled on this computer. Please click here to see any active alerts .

Office of Research and Development Strategic Plan

EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) released Strategic Plan guides its mission and ensures that the Agency and our partners have the scientific knowledge, data, and tools needed to protect people and the planet from the most complex and challenging environmental issues of our time.

• ORD Mission
• EPA Foundational Principles
• ORD Principles
• ORD Strategic Goals

ORD Mission 

Providing the best available environmental science and technology to inform and support human health and environmental decision making for federal, state, Tribal, local, and community partners, addressing critical environmental challenges and anticipating future needs through leading-edge research.

Leading the world in environmental science, technology, and research, developing breakthrough solutions that enable EPA, federal agencies, states, Tribes, and communities to protect human health and the environment.

EPA Foundational Principles 

E PA’s foundational principles form the basis of the Agency’s culture and guide its operations and decision making now and into the future. They are:

• Follow the Science
• Follow the Law
• Be Transparent
• Advance Justice & Equity

ORD Principles 

In conducting the critical research that informs and enables the safeguarding of our nation’s health and environment, ORD staff are guided by the following principles:

• We are environmental stewards. I take action to care for and ensure a healthy and thriving environment now and in the future.
• We are an organization of scientific excellence that informs environmental decisions. I diligently use all my talents to contribute significantly to our goals and to fulfilling our mission.
• We actively seek out partnerships that advance the quality, relevance, and impact of ORD’s solutions-driven research. I actively look beyond my own areas of expertise to see how my contributions combine with those of others to fulfill ORD’s mission.
• We exhibit leadership and ownership. I am responsible for developing and exhibiting my leadership.
• We trust each other and are worthy of each other’s trust. I am mindful of others’ trust in me, and I always behave with integrity.
• We communicate honestly, openly, and clearly. I seek the information I need and provide the information that others need in support of a culture of open communication.
• We enable decisions at the most local level possible. I am responsible for actively seeking opportunities to engage others in decision making.
• We value the talents, skills, and experiences of our diverse workforce. I seek to understand, appreciate, and engage others’ unique talents, perspectives, and contributions.
• We are accountable to others for our actions. Forever mindful that our work serves a public trust, I am dedicated to fulfilling our commitments and making the most of our resources.
• We recognize and celebrate our accomplishments. I always recognize and celebrate others for a job well done.

ORD Strategic Goals 

ORD has identified four overarching goals to guide its work. The goals are:

• Goal 1: Advance Science and Technology Improve protection of human health and the environment through scientific advancements, innovative research, and technology development using systems-level approaches.  
• Goal 2: Support Decision Making Deliver the scientific and technical information our partners need to inform their decisions to protect human health and the environment.  
• Goal 3: Build a Healthy Workforce and Organization Strengthen and sustain a workforce and organization that have the skills and expertise necessary to anticipate and respond to current and future challenges to human health and the environment and that value inclusivity.
• Goal 4:  Be a Trusted Scientific Source Serve as a trusted source of scientific information for the Agency, the nation, and the world.  

Learn More about ORD's Goals and Objectives

ORD has articulated clear and achievable objectives to guide, measure, and meet the four goals outlined above. Learn more about ORD's Goals and Objectives .

• EPA Research Home
• Research Topics
• Publications
• Funding & Career Opportunities
• Stay Connected
• EPA Research Events
• About Our Research
• Science Models and Research Tools (SMaRT) Search
• Strategic Research Action Plans Fiscal Years 2023-2026

Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Read our research on:

Full Topic List

Regions & Countries

• Publications
• Our Methods
• Short Reads
• Tools & Resources

Read Our Research On:

5 facts about Hispanic Americans and health care

Hispanic Americans have long faced health care challenges in the United States, including lower health insurance coverage rates and less access to preventative care.

Language and cultural barriers, as well as higher levels of poverty, are among the social and economic factors contributing to disparate health outcomes for Hispanic Americans. These disparities were apparent during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic , when Hispanics were far more likely than White Americans to have died from the virus .

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to highlight Hispanic Americans’ attitudes about and experiences with health care. We surveyed U.S. adults from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12, 2021, including 3,716 Hispanic adults (inclusive of those who identify as any race). A total of 14,497 U.S. adults completed the survey.

The survey was conducted on the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP) and included an oversample of Black and Hispanic adults from the Ipsos KnowledgePanel. Respondents on both panels are recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the  ATP’s methodology .

Here are the survey  questions used for this analysis , along with responses, and its methodology .

This study was informed by a group of advisers with expertise related to Black and Hispanic Americans’ attitudes and experiences in science, health, STEM education and other areas. Pew Research Center remains solely responsible for all aspects of the research, including any errors associated with its products and findings.

This analysis includes additional information from sources including KFF and the U.S. Census Bureau. Further information about these sources can be found through the links in the text.

Here are five key facts about Hispanic Americans and health care, based on a 2021 Pew Research Center survey of Hispanic adults and other sources:

Hispanic adults are less likely than other Americans to have seen a health care provider recently and to have a primary care provider. Seven-in-ten say they’ve seen a doctor or other health care provider in the past year, compared with 82% among Americans overall. Hispanics are also slightly less likely than Americans overall to say they have a primary care provider (68% vs. 76%).

Health care access among Hispanic immigrants differs markedly based on how long they have lived in the U.S. More recent arrivals are less likely than those who have been in the country longer to have seen a doctor recently and to have a primary care provider. For example, 48% of Hispanic immigrants who have been in the U.S. for a decade or less report having a primary care provider, compared with 79% among those who have been in the U.S. for more than two decades.

Recent arrivals make up a declining share of Hispanic immigrants in the U.S. And more broadly, immigrants account for a declining share of the overall U.S. Hispanic population . In 2021, they made up 32% of all Hispanic Americans, down from 37% in 2010.

Hispanic Americans are less likely than people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds to have health insurance. As of 2021, the uninsured rate among Hispanics under age 65 was 19%, according to KFF, formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation . That was higher than the share among Black (11%), White (7%) and Asian Americans (6%). (These figures include rates among children as well as adults.)

While comparatively high, the uninsured rate among Hispanic Americans under age 65 in 2021 was down from 33% in 2010, before the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, according to KFF.

Lower rates of health insurance coverage play a major role in Hispanic Americans’ less frequent interactions with health care providers.

The relative youth of the U.S. Hispanic population may be another factor at play. The median age of Hispanic Americans was 30 as of 2020, compared with 41 for non-Hispanic Americans, according to the U.S. Census Bureau . Among both Hispanic and non-Hispanic Americans, younger people are less likely than their elders to have seen a health care provider recently and to have a primary care provider.

Many Hispanic Americans say worse health outcomes for Hispanics are tied to occupational and structural factors. Some 53% of Hispanic adults say a major reason why Hispanic people generally have worse health outcomes is that they’re more likely to work in jobs that put them at risk for health problems. About half (48%) say a major reason is that Hispanic people have less access to quality medical care where they live.

At least four-in-ten Hispanic adults also point to communication problems arising from language or cultural differences (44%) and preexisting health conditions (40%) as major reasons. (Majorities view all of these factors as at least minor reasons for disparate health outcomes among Hispanic adults.)

The coronavirus outbreak took an especially heavy toll on Hispanic Americans when compared with White Americans. Hispanics also face higher rates of certain diseases like diabetes than some other Americans.

When it comes to progress in health outcomes for Hispanic people, 51% of Hispanic adults say health outcomes have gotten a lot or a little better over the past two decades, compared with 13% who say they’ve gotten a lot or a little worse; 34% say they’ve stayed about the same.

About a third of Hispanic Americans – including 58% of Hispanic immigrants – say they prefer to see a Spanish-speaking health care provider. Overall, 35% of Hispanic adults strongly or somewhat prefer seeing a Spanish-speaking doctor or other health care provider for routine care. A larger share (51%) say it makes no difference whether the doctor they see speaks Spanish or not. And 13% say they would rather not see a Spanish-speaking doctor.

Attitudes are broadly similar when it comes to seeing a Hispanic doctor or health care provider. A third of Hispanic adults say they would prefer to see a Hispanic doctor for routine care, while 59% say it makes no difference and 7% would rather not.

Among Hispanic adults, immigrants are much more likely than those born in the U.S. to prefer seeing a Spanish-speaking doctor (58% vs. 12%) and to prefer seeing a Hispanic doctor (47% vs. 20%). About half of Hispanic immigrants in the U.S. mostly speak and read in Spanish.

Hispanic Americans account for 19% of the U.S. population . But only 9% of the nation’s health care practitioners and technicians are Hispanic, according to a 2021 Pew Research Center analysis of federal government data . And just 7% of all U.S. physicians and surgeons and 7% of registered nurses are Hispanic.

Black Hispanic adults are more likely to report negative health care experiences than other Hispanic adults. Overall, about half of Hispanic adults (52%) say they’ve had at least one of six negative health care experiences asked about in the Center’s 2021 survey, including feeling rushed or having to speak up to get the proper care. This is similar to the share of all U.S. adults who report having at least one of these types of negative experiences.

However, there are notable differences among Hispanics by race. Hispanic Americans who identify as Black are much more likely than White Hispanic adults to have faced negative health care experiences. For instance, 52% of Black Hispanic adults say they’ve had to speak up to get proper care, compared with 31% of White Hispanic adults. And Black Hispanic adults are 15 percentage points more likely than White Hispanic adults to say they’ve received lower-quality care (37% vs. 22%).

While negative health care experiences are fairly common, most Hispanic adults have generally positive opinions about their latest health care interaction. A 56% majority say the quality of care they most recently received from doctors or other health care providers was excellent or very good, while another 28% say it was good. Fewer (14%) say the care they received was only fair or poor. Black and White Hispanic adults are about equally likely to give positive ratings of their most recent health care experience.

Note: Here are the survey  questions used for this analysis , along with responses, and its methodology .

• Health Care
• Hispanics/Latinos
• Medicine & Health

Alec Tyson is an associate director of research at Pew Research Center

Mark Hugo Lopez is director of race and ethnicity research at Pew Research Center

9 facts about Americans and marijuana

5 facts about black americans and health care , 8 facts about americans with disabilities, inflation, health costs, partisan cooperation among the nation’s top problems, by more than two-to-one, americans say medication abortion should be legal in their state, most popular.

1615 L St. NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20036 USA (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax (+1) 202-419-4372 |  Media Inquiries

Research Topics

• Age & Generations
• Coronavirus (COVID-19)
• Economy & Work
• Family & Relationships
• Gender & LGBTQ
• Immigration & Migration
• International Affairs
• Internet & Technology
• Methodological Research
• News Habits & Media
• Non-U.S. Governments
• Other Topics
• Politics & Policy
• Race & Ethnicity
• Email Newsletters

ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER  Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of  The Pew Charitable Trusts .

Copyright 2024 Pew Research Center

Terms & Conditions

Privacy Policy

Cookie Settings

Reprints, Permissions & Use Policy