Overview of Research Designs The Marketing Research Process

Overview of Research Designs

The Marketing Research Process Step 1: Defining the Problem Step 2: Developing an Approach to the Problem Step 3: Formulating a Research Design Step 4: Doing Field Work or Collecting Data Step 5: Preparing and Analyzing Data Step 6: Preparing and Presenting the Report

Research Design • A master plan that specifies the methods and procedures for collecting and analyzing needed information.

Tasks Involved In a Research Design Define the Information Needed Design the Exploratory, Descriptive, and/or Causal Phases of the Research Specify the Measurement and Scaling Procedures Construct a Questionnaire Specify the Sampling Process and the Sample Size Develop a Plan of Data Analysis Today’s Topic

A Classification of Market Research Designs Research Design Exploratory Research Secondary Data Experience Surveys Conclusive Research Pilot Studies Case Studies See next slide

A Classification of Market Research Designs Research Design Exploratory Research Conclusive Research See previous slide Cross-sectional Study Longitudinal Study Descriptive Design Causal Design Experiment Secondary Data Study Survey Observation

Exploratory Research • Usually conducted during the initial stage of the research process • Purposes – To narrow the scope of the research topic, and – To transform ambiguous problems into well-defined ones

Exploratory Research Techniques • Secondary Data Analysis – Secondary data are data previously collected & assembled for some project other than the one at hand • Pilot Studies – A collective term for any small-scale exploratory research technique that uses sampling but does not apply rigorous standards – Includes • Focus Group Interviews – Unstructured, free-flowing interview with a small group of people • Projective Techniques – Indirect means of questioning that enables a respondent to project beliefs and feelings onto a third party or an inanimate object – Word association tests, sentence completion tests, role playing

Exploratory Research Techniques • Case Studies – Intensively investigate one or a few situations similar to the problem situation • Experience Surveys – Individuals who are knowledge about a particular research problem are questioned

Conclusive Research • Provide specific information that aids the decision maker in evaluating alternative courses of action • Sound statistical methods & formal research methodologies are used to increase the reliability of the information • Data sought tends to be specific & decisive • Also more structured & formal than exploratory data

Types of Conclusive Research • Descriptive Research – Describes attitudes, perceptions, characteristics, activities and situations. – Examines who, what, when, where, why, & how questions • Causal Research – Provides evidence that a cause-and-effect relationship exists or does not exist. – Premise is that something (and independent variable) directly influences the behavior of something else (the dependent variable).

Common Characteristics of Descriptive Studies • Build on previous information • Show relationships between variables • Representative samples required • Structured research plans • Require substantial resources • Conclusive findings

Major Types of Descriptive Studies Sales Studies • Market Potential • Market Share • Sales Analysis Consumer Perception And Behavior Studies Market Characteristic Studies • Image • Distribution • Product Usage • Competitive Analysis • Advertising • Pricing

Cross Sectional vs. Longitudinal Designs Cross Sectional Design Longitudinal Design Time Sample Surveyed at T 1 T 1 Same Sample also Surveyed at T 2

Cross-Sectional vs. Longitudinal Designs Cross-Sectional Longitudinal Detecting change Worse Better Amount of data collected Worse Better Accuracy Worse Better Representativeness Better Worse Response bias Better Worse

Some Alternative Research Designs (a) Exploratory Research • Secondary Data Analysis • Focus Groups (b) Conclusive Research • Descriptive/Causal (c) Conclusive Research • Descriptive/Causal Exploratory Research • Secondary Data Analysis • Focus Groups

Common Characteristics of Causal Studies • Logical Time Sequence – For causality to exist, the cause must either precede or occur simultaneously with the effect • Concomitant Variation – Extent to which the cause and effect vary together as hypothesized • Control for Other Possible Causal Factors

How Descriptive & Causal Designs Differ • Relationship between the variables – Descriptive designs determine degree of association – Causal designs infer whether one or more variables influence another variable • Degree of environmental control – Descriptive designs enjoy lesser degrees of control • Order of the variables – In descriptive designs, variables are not logically ordered

Comparison of Research Designs Exploratory Descriptive Causal Purpose ID problems, gain insights Describe things Determine causeand-effect relationships Assumed background knowledge Minimal Considerable Degree of structure Very little High Flexibility High Some Little Sample Nonrepresentative Representative Research environment Relaxed Formal Highly controlled Cost Low Medium High Findings Preliminary Conclusive

Basic Research Methods • Secondary Data Analysis – Historical analysis • Surveys – Asking; self-reported • Experiments – Testing in controlled environments • Observation – Watching & recording

Which is the “Best” Research Design & Method? • “You cannot put the same shoe on every foot. ” – Publilius Syrus • It depends on the – – problem of interest, level of information needed, resources, researcher’s experience, etc.