2. Research Design, Data and Ethics
Choose and justify research methods, collect and analyse appropriate data, integrate literature and protect participants, confidentiality and personal data.
How to study the CPQ Professional stage
Build the independent research and business-report skills required for P1, then prepare the work-relevant tasks in the one P2–P10 pathway on your record.
Core concepts
Concept 1
Method choice follows the research question and may combine primary, secondary, qualitative and quantitative evidence.
Exam cue: Explain why each method answers a defined objective.
Concept 2
Validity, reliability, sampling, bias and data limitations affect the strength of findings.
Exam cue: Document source, sample, collection, analysis and limitation.
Concept 3
Consent, voluntary participation, withdrawal, anonymisation, secure storage and lawful data handling are mandatory safeguards.
Exam cue: Obtain required employer and participant permission before data collection.
Risk pitfalls and guardrails
Collecting convenient data without testing relevance or bias.
Guardrail: Do not study all nine pathways as mandatory, treat P1 as a timed exam, confuse passage with authorisation or rely on outdated law, tax, procedure or regulator guidance.
Treating a business report as opinion rather than research.
Guardrail: Do not study all nine pathways as mandatory, treat P1 as a timed exam, confuse passage with authorisation or rely on outdated law, tax, procedure or regulator guidance.
Submitting identifiable or commercially sensitive information without authority.
Guardrail: Do not study all nine pathways as mandatory, treat P1 as a timed exam, confuse passage with authorisation or rely on outdated law, tax, procedure or regulator guidance.
Memory anchors
Method fit
Question, source, sample, collection, analysis and limitation.
Research ethics
Inform, consent, minimise, protect, retain and dispose.
Evidence quality
Relevance, authority, validity, reliability and bias.
Checkpoint rule
Do the check-up only after you can summarize each concept in one sentence and identify one dangerous pitfall from memory.
Knowledge Check (after reading)
Short check-up to confirm understanding of this module.
Check-up Questions
A project asks why clients abandon an online form. Which design is most informative?
A manager offers a list containing only the team's most satisfied clients for interviews. What should the researcher do?
Answer all questions to submit.
Next step personalized recommendations
Continue learning
Move forward only after this module is stable.
What is Pass Harbor?
Completely free exam prep for 247 UK exams.
- Practice questions
- Flashcards
- Study guides
- Mock exams
- No registration
- No paywall
- Start instantly
“No more expensive exam prep. Quality study tools should be accessible to everyone.”