Chapter 3 Secondary Data Literature Reviews and Hypotheses

Chapter 3 Secondary Data, Literature Reviews, and Hypotheses Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2013 by The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Learning Objectives • Understand the nature and role of secondary data • Describe how to conduct a literature review • Identify sources of internal and external secondary data • Discuss conceptualization and its role in model development • Understand hypotheses and independent and dependent variables 3 -2

Nature, Scope, and Role of Secondary Data • Secondary data: Data not gathered for the immediate study at hand but for some other purpose – Internal secondary data: Data collected by the individual company for accounting purposes or marketing activity reports – External secondary data: Data collected by outside agencies such as the federal government, trade associations, or periodicals 3 -3

Nature, Scope, and Role of Secondary Data • Secondary data research has gained substantial importance in marketing research with: – Increased emphasis on business and competitive intelligence – Ever-increasing availability of information from online sources • Used to examine marketing problems because of relative speed and cost-effectiveness of obtaining the data 3 -4

What is a Literature Review? • It is a comprehensive examination of available information that is related to. your research topic – Can help clarify and define the research problem and research questions – Can suggest research hypotheses to investigate – Can identify scales to measure variables and research methodologies that have been used successfully to study similar topics 3 -5

Criteria Used to Evaluate Secondary Data Sources • • • Purpose Accuracy Consistency Credibility Methodology Bias 3 -6

Exhibit 3. 1 - Key Descriptive Variables Sought in Secondary Data Search 3 -7

Exhibit 3. 2 - Common Sources of Internal Secondary Data 3 -8

Exhibit 3. 3 - Additional Sources of Secondary Data 3 -9

External Sources of Secondary Data • Primary sources of external secondary data: – Popular sources – Scholarly sources – Government sources – North American Industry Classification System (NAICS): A system that codes numerical industrial listings designed to promote uniformity in data reporting procedures for the U. S. government 3 -10

Exhibit 3. 5 - Common Government Documents Used as Secondary Data Sources 3 -11

External Sources of Secondary Data – Commercial sources • • Syndicated (or commercial) data Consumer panels Media panels Store audits 3 -12

Synthesizing Secondary Research for the Literature Review • Divergent perspectives and findings need to be included – Differences between findings of studies include estimates of descriptive data • Three major causes of discrepancies in online retail estimates – Inclusion (or not) of travel spending – Methodological differences – Some degree of sampling error 3 -13

Developing a Conceptual Model • Literature reviews can help conceptualize a model that summarizes the relationships you hope to predict • Elements required to conceptualize and test a model: – Variables – Constructs – Relationships 3 -14

Variable • An observable item that is used as a measure on a questionnaire Construct • An unobservable concept that is measured by a group of related variables Relationships • Associations between two or more variables Independent Variable • The variable or construct that predicts or explains the outcome variable of interest Dependent Variable • The variable or construct researchers are seeking to explain 3 -15

Developing Hypotheses and Drawing Conceptual Models • Two types of hypotheses: – Descriptive hypotheses – Causal hypotheses 3 -16

Descriptive Hypotheses • Possible answers to a specific applied research problem • Its development involves: – Reviewing the research problem or opportunity – Writing down the questions that flow from the research problem or opportunity – Brainstorming possible answers to the research questions 3 -17

Causal Hypotheses • Theoretical statements about relationships between variables • Two hypotheses can formally be stated: – Hypothesis 1: Higher spending on advertising leads to higher sales – Hypothesis 2: Higher prices lead to lower sales 3 -18

Causal Hypotheses • Positive relationship: An association between two variables in which they increase or decrease together • Negative relationship: An association between two variables in which one increases while the other decreases 3 -19

Characteristics of Good Hypotheses • Follow from research questions • Written clearly and simply • Must be testable 3 -20

Conceptualization • Development of a model that shows variables and hypothesized or proposed relationships between variables • Involves: – Identifying the variables for your research – Specifying hypotheses and relationships – Preparing a diagram (conceptual model) that visually represents the relationships you will study 3 -21

Process of Conceptualization • Identify variables for research • Specify hypotheses and relationships • Prepare a diagram that represents the relationships visually 3 -22

Exhibit 3. 8 - A Model of New Technology Adoption 3 -23

Hypothesis Testing • Hypothesis: An empirically testable though yet unproven statement developed in order to explain phenomena – Null hypothesis: A statistical hypothesis that is tested for possible rejection under the assumption that it is true – Alternative hypothesis: The hypothesis contrary to the null hypothesis, it usually suggests that two variables are related 3 -24

Hypothesis Testing • A null hypothesis refers to a population parameter, not a sample statistic – Parameter: The true value of a variable – Sample statistic: The value of a variable that is estimated from a sample 3 -25

Marketing Research in Action: The Santa Fe Grill Mexican Restaurant • Should the owners of the Santa Fe Grill Mexican restaurant go back and restate their questions? – If “no, ” why not? If “yes, ” why? – Suggest how the research questions could be restated. 3 -26

Marketing Research in Action: The Santa Fe Grill Mexican Restaurant • Regarding the owners’ desire to understand the interrelationships between customer satisfaction, restaurant store image, and customer loyalty, develop a set of hypotheses that might be used to investigate these interrelationships. 3 -27