Traditional Research Methods	Details
Focus groups	Focus groups are a frorm of qualitative research which explores the respondents responses to the topic at hand.  Although focus groups are traditionally run as mini groups with 4-6 respondents and full groups with 8 - 12 respondents, there is room for innovation in the projective techniques used, and as such, a smaller or larger group may be recommended.
Telephonic Interviews	Telephonic interviews are used a method of collecting quantitative data.  Telephonic collection is one of the quicker ways of collecting data in South Africa.
Face to face Interviews	With face to face interviews, our experienced interviews will contact respondents and conduct interviews in person.  These interviews can take place in almost any location from the respondents own home, business or meeting place, to intercepting people on the streets, in parking lots or taxi ranks. This methodology is appropriate when the interviewer is required to show the respondents something that they need to comment on.
In Depth Interviews / Personal Interviews	In depth, personal interviews are usually conducted with business to business respondents.  Interviewers will phone and set up an appointment with the respondent to either meet them or call them at a preset date and time.  The interview is then conducted using a discussion guide and the interviewer will collect exploratory information from the respondent.
Mystery Shopping	When one wishes to investigate a service from the customers' point of view, mystery shopping can be used as a very effective tool to gather data.  Here, an experienced research person will act as if they are a customer and exerience the service themselves.  They will then report back on their experiences.  This type of research will be conducted at different times of the day and month to ensure that a holistic view of the service is obtained.
Desk Research	Nearly always, some desk research is required.  This involves gathering information which already exists either on the internet, in newspapers, articles, etc.  It can also involve talking to people within your organisation. In most cases, the desk research that is conducted is done for the researcher to undestand their client better so as to deliver useful research findings.  Sometimes though, desk research is required as part of the research project.
Observations	One of the oldest forms of data collection is observation.  Many business owners use this form of research without even realising it.  It is simply observing how things happen and analysing these activities. Observation is often used in conjunction with one of the other research techniques.  An example is the observation of people's faces in a focus group situation when a new concept is introduced.
On-Line Data Collection	On-line research is becoming more popular in South Africa as it is a relatively cheap form of data collection and reporting can be done in real time.  It is important to realise though that only certain research projects can be conducted using on-line data collection as the incidence of internet connections in South Africa is still very low.