One of the most common activities within Market Research is the analysis of data and information. Accomplishing this task can sometimes represent a challenge for more than one analyst. However, thanks to the technologies that we have at our disposal today, the execution of these functions can be simplified to spend the recovered time on higher value activities.
For the purposes of this blog entry, we will consider two alternatives to carry out the analysis of the databases. The first of these possibilities is the software; whether office or specialized. Some of the programs are closed source since they were thought to be manipulated by users without much computer knowledge and usually require a cost for their use. Others are open source and cost is free or voluntary.
The second alternative is programming languages. Through them it is possible to write personalized programs that tell the computer all the tasks that we want it to do without the limits that packaged software often have. In the same program we can configure the execution of the analyses, the elaboration of graphs and maps, and the writing of reports of findings. However, in order to take advantage of them, users with training in this matter are needed.
For this reason, today we list some reasons that we must take into account when choosing if we are going to use software or program in a language to cover our analysis needs.
Goals. Knowing what we want to answer is a good starting point to be able to choose which path we should take in order to fulfill our research projects. If we only need to answer very basic questions that can be answered with descriptive statistics such as frequencies and standard variations, no more resources will be needed than most office packages available to the vast majority of analysts. Otherwise, if we are going to develop very complex analyzes of very large databases, it will be necessary to resort to more sophisticated programs and even to program custom codes for our requirements.
Budget. It dictates the limits of what we can do. There are times when only office packages will be available to meet our research objectives since many of these programs are already part of business packages. Another option within this path are open source packages that allow some flexibility of adaptation for intermediate users. In another scenario, if the resources are sufficient, we can resort to more sophisticated solutions such as those of direct programming and that have access to tasks based on artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT and much more specialized programs for analysis and resolution of findings.
Hardware. If we are already clear about the two previous points, a third one to take into account is what equipment we have at our disposal. In this area, the collaborators of the systems area will be able to help us solve this question, since depending on the computers and their technical specifications such as RAM memory, capacity of solid state hard drives and processors, we will be able to access such computer solutions to solve the questions defined in the objectives of our investigations.
Staff. This point can be decisive despite having covered those already listed above. The experience and training of analysts is relevant because although we can have access to good equipment and powerful programs and languages, without the necessary training of collaborators for their maximum use, little can be generated with them. In recent years, schools and universities have made great efforts to include more and better content in their curricula that covers this aspect. In other situations, analysts will continue their training on their own or through education provided by their workplaces.
These reasons that we have just described are essential for making decisions when investing in the area of operations and logistics of our companies. The objective of this reflection exercise is to choose the best elements within our reach to offer the most relevant services to our potential clients.
At Acertiva we work every day to be at the forefront of the most recent innovations in both software and programming languages applied to Market Research. We put at your disposal our 20 years of experience in LATAM. Tell us today via email what your needs are and we’ll get back to you telling you how together we can write your next success story.
Short Link: