With the leaves changing color and footballs flying through the air, it’s clear that autumn is here. Fall also means back-to-school time. If you or someone you know could use a little refresher course on the basics of research, you may want to check out three new books in the U.K.-based Market Research Society’s “Market Research In Practice” series.

In the first, Market Research In Practice - a Guide to the Basics, authors Paul Hague, Nick Hague and Carol-Ann Morgan do a nice job of explaining the whole process of research, from the initial inkling of the need to do research through reporting the results. The main chapters cover secondary research (here referred to as desk research), focus groups, depth interviewing, observation, face-to-face interviewing, telephone research and online research. These chapters are broad in scope but still give a marketer unfamiliar with the various research techniques a good overview of their strengths and weaknesses and when and how to use them.

Both new and more experienced researchers will likely benefit from Martin Callingham’s Market Intelligence - How and Why Organizations Use Market Research. One strength of his approach is that he acknowledges the pressures facing internal researchers - the power struggles, the internal politics - and therefore presents a realistic view of the process by touching on issues that other research texts either sidestep or ignore. He also gives a clear overview of the roles of research within companies, and spends some quality time exploring the differences between qualitative and quantitative information. Industry veterans will no doubt be familiar with much that is here but they may find the book a good resource for educating junior employees on important issues surrounding the research practice - particularly the chapters on the buyer-supplier relationship and managing the research process from within the company.

In The Effective Use of Market Research - How to Drive and Focus Better Business Decisions , Robin J. Birn has compiled a comprehensive and readable handbook to guide a company’s data-gathering processes. Everything from setting up an information system to dealing with research companies is examined. With so much ground to cover, Birn touches lightly on a number of topics, but he certainly dispenses solid, practical advice. And his well-informed brevity means that this book, like the other two mentioned, deserves a spot in any new researcher’s library as a handy quick-reference.

References

Market Research In Practice - a Guide to the Basics (244 pages; $32.50), by Paul Hague, Nick Hague and Carol-Ann Morgan; Market Intelligence - How and Why Organizations Use Market Research (224 pages; $32.50), by Martin Callingham; and The Effective Use of Market Research - How to Drive and Focus Better Business Decisions (226 pages; $32.50), by Robin J. Birn, are published by Kogan Page (www.kogan-page.com ).