Importance of validity, reliability, appropriateness, currency, cost
It’s important that businesses can trust the data they collect and therefore it’s important that it has certain properties. You can see these below. Click on the words to find out more:
Authenticity
Authenticity focuses on the accuracy of a set of research measures.
This means, does the research measure what it was supposed to measure and is it a fair reflection of the real situation.
When using secondary data, it’s necessary to ensure that the information is valid by checking the sources of the data and using more than one piece of information in order to confirm the conclusions.
Reliability
Reliability is about ensuring that the way the data is collected leads to consistent results. Could the results be repeated?
Appropriateness
The research needs to be appropriate to the information needed. There is little point in going to secondary research data to try and find out if people like the taste of your product – the answer will not be available as the source is not appropriate.
In the same way, there is no need to do primary research to answer questions that can be answered by research that already exists. For example, if a business wanted to know how many people speak Welsh in Wales, it would be much more appropriate to refer to data that already exists rather than trying to do its own primary research.
Businesses also need to ensure that the research has been collected in an appropriate manner. For example, data protection laws must be kept in mind when using people's personal data.
Currency
The world of business changes rapidly so it’s important that any research carried out is up to date – that is done in a period of time that is suitable. This is particularly important when major events affect the market or in a fast-moving market such as information technology, sustainable technology etc. In general, the more current the data, the better, but older data can also be useful to show trends or changes over time.
Charge
There is cost involved in carrying out research or collecting research. As already mentioned, primary research can be more expensive but secondary data can also be expensive to buy and is not always specific enough for its purpose. Whatever type of data is used, there is a cost associated with the time it takes to collect, analyse, and present it. A business has to weigh up the cost of using a particular research method compared to another before reaching a decision about which one to use.