CONSULTANCY METHODS

Consultancy Methods

Consultancy Methods

Introduction

Consultancy is a term that has increased over time and is now becoming one of the most preferred forms of business. What started as an extension of other industries is now becoming an industry in itself in which people are becoming self made entrepreneurs and consultants. Previously, it needed a lot of experience and expertise to enter the field of consultancy but now it is not the case. To enter the consultancy business, a person needs to think and act like an entrepreneur, have the flare for business, be a great communicator and be able to analyze market trends and conditions properly (Gillham, 2008, 212). For instance, consultancy for students is on the rise because of the fact that students who finish high school do not have much idea of where they see themselves in the future. This is when they approach a consultancy firm and the firm guides the students on a right path using market trends analysis and research.

Discussion

With your Consultancy Project in mind, select two or three data collection methods and explain why they are the best choices for addressing your project.

Data collection is the practice of collecting data which would be relevant to a research and then using the findings from that data to reach valid conclusions. Data collection has many different methods, all depending on the type of data that would be most suitable for a research. Data collection could be qualitative or quantitative in nature and each form of data has its own purposes, pros as well as cons (Denzin & Yvonna, 2005, 103). In the following section, we discuss the importance of primary and secondary data and then discuss the three most common tools of data collection:

Questionnaires

Interviews

Focus Groups

Primary Research

This is the most common form of data collection and analysis. Primary data refers to the data that is collected specifically for the research that is being conducted. There are a number of tools that can be used to collect primary data, depending on the nature of the data and research. The two most common forms of data collection are interviews and questionnaires (Creswell, 2003, 91).

Secondary Research

For most researches, secondary research is coupled with primary research to yield more accurate results. In certain cases, secondary research becomes the main source of data. The good thing about secondary data is that it saves time, it is mostly credible and depending on the source, ...