Compare and Contrast Research Methods Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Compare and Contrast Methods - Research Paper Example As there are various research methods for carrying out different types of research in all areas such as psychology, public affairs, marketing, business administration and etc., it is important to make wise decision among all available options so that the results can be used in a productive manner (Hopper et al., 2007; Lee, Benoit-Bryan & Johnson, 2010). Since questionnaire-based survey was discussed in detail in the last assignment, five other research methods will be compared with this method to understand their applicability in the real world. The following table is a brief snapshot of the similarities, differences and applications of questionnaire-based surveys after doing comparison with in-depth interviews, focus groups, projective techniques, experimental methods and observation: In-depth interviews and questionnaire-based surveys require the professionals to develop a questionnaire so that they can ask the questions to the respondents in a structured way and any queries regarding the questions can be clarified during the research (Brugger, 2010; Kotnik et al., 2010). As compared to the questionnaire-based surveys, in-depth interviews are time-consuming, interviewee might record the answer according to his/her perception and experts need to learn the skills of conducting the interviews (Milena, 2008; Yaoxiang, & Lihai, 2008). These interviews are ideal for gathering information about the perceptions, attitudes, preferences and behaviors of the consumers. In-depth interview method is frequently used in the fields of psychology, marketing and business administration (Harris & Brown, 2010). Focus groups comprise of eight to twelve respondents and it has a lot of similarity to the questionnaire-based survey such as a questionnaire is developed and tested before carrying out the research, respondents are provided leverage of answering