Choose primary research and a sample
Select surveys, interviews, focus groups or observation and use sampling to collect relevant evidence.
Section 3 · Marketing
Exam scope and assessment notes
Cambridge IGCSE (9–1) Business Studies 0986, 2026 syllabus, Version 2. This is the separate 9–1 legacy route; 0774 replaces it for first assessment June 2027. Candidates are not assessed on constructing income statements or statements of financial position, nor on price-elasticity or exchange-rate calculations. Simple cash-flow forecast construction is assessed. Written practice is self-checked, not an official Cambridge grade; timed-paper evidence and human subject-teacher review remain outstanding.
Before you begin
- No previous marketing study is assumed. Identify the customer group, the business objective and the evidence in each situation before choosing a response.
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
What is a sample in market research?
What you will learn
- Explain why businesses conduct research
- Describe primary methods
- Explain sampling and its limits
Primary research collects new data
Primary research is collected first-hand for the business's current question. Methods include questionnaires or surveys, interviews, focus groups and observation.
Research can help estimate demand, test product ideas, understand customer preferences or compare responses. A sample is a subset of a wider population; sampling makes research more manageable than asking every potential customer.
Method and sample affect usefulness
Surveys can collect comparable answers from many people but may have low response rates or unclear questions. Interviews can explore reasons in depth but take time. Focus groups can reveal discussion but may be influenced by dominant voices. Observation records behaviour but may not reveal motives.
A convenient sample may not represent the target market. Consider who was asked, where, when and how, and whether question wording influences answers.
Pause and explain
Why might a business use a sample rather than ask everyone?
Worked example
A cinema wants to know why weekend customers choose a particular film. Which primary method could reveal reasons in depth?
Show the worked solution
- The business needs explanations, not only counts.
- An interview can ask follow-up questions.
- A small number of interviews may not represent every customer.
Answer Interviews could reveal customers' reasons in depth, although the cinema would need a broader sample before treating a few responses as representative.
Try a topic test
Choose Easy, Normal or Difficult. Save your answers and open worked review after finishing.
Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
A school canteen wants to test a new lunch item. Choose a primary method and a suitable sample, then state one limitation.
Give me a hint
Ask likely customers and think about when different students can respond.
Compare my reasoning
- A short survey can gather comparable preferences.
- Include students from different year groups and lunch days.
- Survey answers may differ from actual purchases.
The canteen could survey a sample of students across year groups and lunch days, then trial the item. The survey may not predict purchases accurately, so a small sales test would add evidence.
Look for these in your work
- Method is primary
- Sample covers relevant groups
- Limitation and follow-up included
A company interviews only customers leaving its flagship store about a national online service. Explain two sampling weaknesses.
Give me a hint
Compare the selected people with the intended market.
Compare my reasoning
- The sample contains current flagship-store customers.
- Online customers elsewhere may differ by location or buying habits.
- People not currently using the brand are missing.
The sample may overrepresent existing flagship-store customers and exclude online users in other regions or potential new customers. It may therefore fail to represent the national target market.
Look for these in your work
- Selection method examined
- Missing groups identified
- Representativeness conclusion
A firm wants to know whether customers would use a new delivery option. Compare observation with a questionnaire for this question.
Give me a hint
Observation records behaviour but the service does not yet exist; a questionnaire can ask stated intentions.
Compare my reasoning
- Observation could record current delivery behaviour.
- A questionnaire can ask about likely use of the proposed option.
- Stated intention may differ from later behaviour.
A questionnaire can directly ask customers about the proposed delivery option, while observation can show current ordering behaviour. Stated intentions are uncertain, so the firm should trial the service and measure actual use.
Look for these in your work
- Methods differentiated
- Question matched
- Evidence limit considered
Common mistakes
- Calling a new online survey secondary research
- Assuming a large sample is representative by itself
- Ignoring the wording or setting of a survey
What can you explain now?
What is a sample in market research?
Compare with the explanation
A subset of the population being studied
A sample is part of the wider target population.
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
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Make it stick
How can a business judge whether a sample represents its target market?
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.