Understanding The Role of Defining Target Population In A Market Research

by Mark Thomas Business

For successful market research, a business has to implement several steps. It starts with a clear definition of the target population before you plan your sample design. It is a key factor that drives the sampling methodology, sample size, and feasibility.

In this article, we will look at the importance of the target population and the essential components involved in the market research.

OvationMR is a leading company that helps market researchers in defining a target population for effective data analysis. The right identification of the target population helps a business drive sampling methodology, sample size, and feasibility, and generate a more credible research report

What is the target population?

No matter what technology a business adopts, it is virtually impossible to survey the entire population. Due to this reason, a business chooses to examine a specific group of people whose opinion matters to the business the most.

The target population displays the specific fragment of the population for which a study has to be performed. These comprise of existing and potential customers associated with your the business. Defining the target population is also called the theoretical population.

What Is The Need Of Developing A Sampling Technique?

Once the target population is determined, the business then selects the suitable sampling technique to develop a sample frame. This frame will generate the sample size you need with the least non-response bias and sampling error from the data.

The right selection of the sampling technique is also beneficial to avoid any form of ambiguity at the time of determining the target population.

What Are The Benefits Of The Target Population?

Here are the benefits of the target population:

· It clearly states the objective and scope of the data types, and research

· It describes the distinguishing variables of all qualified participants of the survey

· It provides the scope of the target population to determine the sample size

Why is a sampling method important in online market survey research?

The market researcher will identify those sampling methods that will generate data with minimal bias. In the case of a quantitative survey, the researcher will form observations and draw statistical conclusions from the data. On the other hand, if the study is qualitative, then the researcher will generalize the conclusions.

To choose between non-probability and probability sampling methods online, a business should consider a few factors such as:

· The market research panel provider firm,

· Their knowledge of sampling, and

· The panel resources provided by them

Based on the selected sampling methods, a business will develop a sample frame. Based on the selection process mentioned in the sampling frame, the business executes a plan to reach every set of people from the target population.

What are the considerations for the target population in online research?

All data gathering methodologies inherit certain form of weaknesses and strengths. These are expressed in the following terms:

· Data Collection Time

· Data Collection Costs

· Response Rate

· Selection Bias

· Non-Response Bias

· Data Processing Time that includes Cleaning, Validating, and Coding

Conclusion

If you want your survey to provide you valuable insights then you will need to clearly and precisely define the target population. It will serve as the master plan for your sample. A properly defined target population will define variable characteristics or sets of all items that will qualify for the study.