Availability of Resources Though the need for resources to be available may appear to be obvious, in several instances managers have

called for marketing research without properly understanding the amount of resources available-including both financial and human resources. Lack of funds can result in improper and inefficient execution of a marketing research project. The results of such research often will be inaccurate. Again, if the funds are available to conduct proper research but the insufficient to implement the results of the research, the marketing research is made useless. Also, the availability of a talent pool is a critical issue in deciding whether or not to conduct extensive marketing research. This is particularly so when the research is being conducted by an external source. When poorly qualified researches are hired. The weaknesses in their training and lack of insight produce unimpressive and often inapplicable result.

Cost-Benefit Analysis Before conducting marketing research, a prudent manager should perform a cost-benefit analysis to determine the value of the information sought through the research. Willingness to acquire additional decision-making information by conducting marketing research depend on a managers perception of the incremental quality and value of the information vis--vis its cost and the time it would take to conduct the research. Hence, before conducting marketing research, it is necessary to have some estimate of the value of the information being sought. Such an estimate

will help determine how much, if anything, should be spent on the research.

2. Secondary data can be used by researchers in many ways. Explain carefully. 1. Secondary data may actually provide enough information to resolve the problem being investigated. Suppose a marketing researcher needs to know the income of households in a particular market area: all he or she has to do is to look into the appropriate Census Bureau report. 2. Secondary data can be valuable source of new ideas that can be explored later through primary research. 3. Examining available secondary data is a prerequisite to collecting primary data. It helps to define the problem and formulate hypotheses about its solution. It will almost always provide a better understanding of the problem, and its context frequently will suggest solutions not considered previously. 4. Secondary data is of use in the collection of primary data. Examining the methodology and techniques employed by other investigators in similar studies may be useful in planning the present one. It may also suggest better methods. 5. Secondary data also helps to define the population, select the sample in primary information collection, and defined the parameters of primary research. 6. Secondary data can also serve as a reference base against which to compare the validity or accuracy of primary data. It may also be of value in establishing classifications that are compatible with past studies so that trends may be more readily analyzed.

3. Before such a judgment can be made, the researcher should have answers some questions. Explain carefully. 1. Who? This question applies especially to the reputation of the collecting agency for honest and thorough work and the character of the sponsoring organization, which may influence the interpretation and reporting of the data. A related question is whether either organization has adequate resources to do a proper job. The problems do not end here, for the original data source( which provided the count, estimate, or other basis for the reported result) may have its own motives for biasing what it reports. A company that is pressed by a trade association, chamber of commerce, or government agency may be unwilling to report the true state of affairs or to take the time to collect the data, which may result in biased guess.