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Markets Research Guide

The basics

Markets versus industries

  • Markets refer to customers (e.g., fast food customers). Industries are sectors of the economy (e.g., fast food industry).   

Census versus survey

  • Census counts all the people and tend to be more accurate than surveys that are based on sampling.  

Margin of error

  • Look for information about survey methodology and margin of error numbers. Lack of both or either raises questions about accuracy.

Free vs fee

  • A few online market research resources provided limited free information. 

Primary research

  • Market information may not be readily available in the area you're researching. You may need to develop, conduct your own primary research.