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- 🎉The FIKIA's Frontier: Mastery and Workshop Wednesday
Welcome to the World of Desk Research!
Quotation of the day:
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do." - Steve Jobs” 😀
Topic of the day:
Desktop Research
What is Desk Research?
Desk research, also known as secondary research, is a type of market research that leverages existing data to support or validate outcomes and conclusions. This cost-effective approach allows you to tap into a wealth of information from a variety of sources, all without leaving your desk.
Sources of Internal Information
If you're wondering where to start with desk research, look no further than your own organization's resources. Here are some key sources of internal information:
1. Historical Campaign and Sales Analysis: Your own analytics platform provides a treasure trove of data, from website traffic and conversions to sales figures.
2. Website and Mobile Application Data: Gain insights into user behavior by analyzing data from your own platforms. Are most of your users on mobile or desktop?
3. Existing Customer Information: Understand your audience better by delving into demographics, product usage, and the efficiency of your services.
4. Previous Research Conducted by Other Analysts: Sometimes, seemingly unrelated research may hold clues and insights that could be valuable to your current research.
How to Choose the Best Type of Desk Research
With the abundance of freely available online sources for desk-based research, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. To stay on the right track, keep these questions in mind:
- What are you hoping to learn from your research?
- Why is this data relevant?
- Is there an action you can take from this information?
- How up-to-date is the data you are using?
Always keep your research questions in focus to make the best use of your time and resources.
How to Do Desk Research in Five Steps
Here's a step-by-step guide to conducting desk research:
1. Clearly Define Your Research Topic: Start by identifying your research topic and its purpose. List any relevant attributes you want to explore.
2. Select Appropriate Resources: Create a list of sources that can provide information relevant to your research topic.
3. Look for Existing Data: After gathering your research sources, scour both internal and external data that aligns with your research objectives. Ensure that your sources are reliable.
4. Collate, Compare & Assemble: Organize and consolidate the data you've collected, removing any duplicates. This step transforms the raw information into a format you can work with.
5. Data Analysis: The final step involves analyzing the data. By this point, you should have answers to your research questions. If any queries remain unanswered, consider revisiting step 2 to explore alternative resources for more insights.
Workshop Time! Desktop Research and Chocolate
How do you research chocolate?
Delicious question! To unravel the secrets of chocolate, let's explore the chocolate research process.
You can also follow our 4-step guide below:
1. Start with a Tasty Topic: Begin with a broad topic like "artisanal chocolate." Dive into existing literature about chocolate to identify gaps in the knowledge that your research can fill.
2. Specify Your Sweet Research Topic: Once you've spotted the gap, define your research topic. In our chocolate example, you might specify it as, "What are the emerging trends in artisanal chocolate production?"
3. Uncover Delectable Secondary Data: If there's existing data related to your topic, identify and gather it. This step is especially valuable for desk research.
4. Savor the Secondary Data: Review the secondary data, considering:
- The objectives of the previous study
- The authors or organizations behind the study
- The research methods used
- The timeframe in which the research was conducted
Once you've completed your chocolate exploration, feel free to share your findings with fellow chocolate enthusiasts! Send your discoveries to Fikia's email for more interactions, discussions, and shared love for all things chocolate. FIKIA’s email: [email protected]
Meme of the Day: (Have Fun!)
Don't forget to save this newsletter to practice your skills, and look forward to exploring more opportunities related to desk research on Opportunity Fridays!
Work Cited:
Warm regards,
Jessica Yao
Editor-in-Chief, The FIKIA’s Frontier
Media & Content @ FIKIA
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