Chapter 9 Reading Reflection

Businesses must use research in analyzing the past and making decisions for the future. The two types of research used by businesses are secondary and primary research.

We're all familiar with secondary research, which involves searching for information that has already been published. Every time we search something on Google, we're doing a kind of secondary research. In fact, the Internet makes this type of research much easier. As a member of  "Generation Y," I actually can't even imagine a world where one could not do secondary research on the Internet. When using the Internet, however, make sure that the author is credible, the site is reliable, and the information is legitimate and unbiased. As my teachers always said growing up, use Wikipedia and other similar sites with caution. If the Internet isn't the tool for you, there are always journals, magazines, and newspapers as well (yes, they still exist). When using secondary data, you must remember to avoid plagiarism and document your sources. These four steps will help you remember how to document your research:

• Introduce. Using your own words, signal that you are using outside research.
• Insert. Integrate the material into your writing, using quotes, paraphrases, or summaries. Then, either place the author and date in parentheses or use a superscript to reference the bibliography section.
• Interpret. Make a clear point about how the outside material relates to the topic and why it is relevant.
• Include. Create a bibliography (normally at the end of the document) with more detailed information on where you found the source and who wrote it.

Primary research is research that you do yourself. Obtaining original information is much more time-consuming and sometimes requires money as well. But you have the benefit of knowing that the information is accurate and relevant as long as you follow these steps:

1. Know what your objective is and create a research method to complete that objective. 
2. Identify who you will include in your study. Also, determine if you can contact the entire population or if a representative sample is necessary.
3. Create a questionnaire, log, or internet form to measure the research. Make sure this is clear, concise, and organized so that people can easily give their answers.
4. Gather the data.
5. Examine each response, making sure that the answer makes sense and that it can be used in the research. Any invalid data should be thrown out to avoid false results.
6. Analyze the data to complete your objective from the first step.

Primary and secondary research are key parts of having quality information in an organization. Following the steps above will ensure that both types of research are reliable and that secondary research is documented correctly.