The Research Process Chapter 3 Cooper Schindler The

The Research Process Chapter 3 Cooper & Schindler

The Research Process Management question/problem Research question (Question answered) Exploration Report proposal Revision of research and investigative questions Design Sampling plan Budget and value Stop assessment

Pilot testing Revision of measurement questions and procedures Project planning Data collection Data gathering Analysis and interpretation Analysis, interpretation, and reporting Report results

The Question Hierarchy Management question Research question(s) Investigative questions Measurement questions

Management Question • Management question represents a decision that a manager must make • Management question is the problem prompting the research • Example – Center City Bank and Research Consultant • Erosion of the bank’s profitability • How can we improve our profit picture? – The problem of low deposit growth was linked to concerns of a competitive nature – While lowered deposits directly affected profit, another part of the profit weakness was associated with negative factors within the organization

Research Question • A fact-oriented, information-gathering question • A research question is the single question or hypothesis that best states the objective of the research study 1. What are the major factors contributing to the bank’s failure to achieve a stronger growth rate in deposits? 2. How well is the bank doing regarding a. Quality of its work climate? b. Efficiency of operations compared to industry norms? c. Financial condition compared to industry norms?

Investigative Questions • Investigative questions are those the researcher must answer to satisfactorily respond to the general research question 1. What is the public’s position regarding financial services and their use? a. What specific financial services are used? b. How attractive are various services c. What factors influence a person’s use of a particular service? 2. What is the bank’s competitive position? a. What are the geographic patterns of our customers and of our competitors’ customers? b. What is shown by demographic differences among our customers and those of our competitors c. How aware is the public of the bank’s promotional efforts? d. What opinions does the public hold of the bank and our

Measurement Questions • Some studies lend themselves to readily available measurement devices – Measurement questions have been formulated and tested by previous researchers and are recorded in the literature • More often, the measurement questions should be devised and tailored to parallel the investigative questions – The resources for this task will be collective insights from all stages completed to this point but particularly from exploration and pilot testing