Marketing Research Chapter 4 – Research Design

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design (step 4)

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
A research design – is a set of advanced decisions that makes up the master plan specifying the methods and procedures for collecting and analyzing the needed information

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
Research designs are classified into 3 traditional categories:
exploratory and conclusive (descriptive
and causal)
The choice of the most appropriate design depends largely
on the objectives of the research;
There are 3 objectives:
+
+
+
- and how much we already know about the problem and the research objectives.

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
The basic research objectives and research design

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
Research design should not be viewed as a step-by-step process. Research may begin with any one of the 3 types of research design.
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Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
Exploratory research
Exploratory research is most commonly unstructured, informal research that is undertaken to gain background information about the general nature of the research problem.

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
Uses of Exploratory Research
Gain background information
Define Terms “what is the bank image?”
Location loan availability friendliness of ….
employees

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
Clarify Problems and Hypotheses
Bank has 3 groups of clients:
retail commercial other
customers customers banks

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
4. Establish research priorities
Exploratory research can help a firm to prioritize research topics in order of importance.

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
Methods of conducting exploratory research
Second data analysis
Secondary data are data that have been collected for some other purposes.
Secondary data = the “core” of exploratory res.
2. Experience Surveys refer to gathering information from those thought to be knowledgeable on the issues relevant to the research problem.

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
3. Case analysis – is a review of available information about a former situation(s) that has some similarities to the present research problem.
4. Focus groups – are small group of people brought together and guided by a moderator through an unstructured, spontaneous discussion for the purpose of gaining information relevant to the research problem.

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
5. Projective techniques – seek to explore hidden consumer motives for buying goods and services by asking participants to project themselves in to a situation and then to respond to specific questions regarding the situation.
“Sentence completion test”
“My neighbor never buys frozen dinners for his family because………”

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
Descriptive Research
Descriptive research is undertaken to describe answers to questions:
Who
What
Where
When
How

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
Who = customer
What = product/service/brand
Where = places
When = time or frequency
How = way in which customers are using the product
No question Why?

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
Classification of description research studies
Cross-sectional studies – measure units from a sample of the population at only one point in time.
=
“snapshots” of the population

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
Sample surveys are cross-sectionals studies whose samples are drawn in such a way as to be representative of a specific problem.

Another example of use a cross-sectional study to design a new product.

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
2. Longitudinal studies repeatedly measure the same sample units of a population over a period of time.
=
“movies” of the population
Panels represent sample units who have agreed to answer questions at periodic intervals.

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
There are 2 types of panel:
Continuous panel – ask panel members the same questions on each panel measurement.
It can gain insights into changes in consumers’ purchases, attitudes and so on.
Discontinuous panel – vary questions from one panel measurement to the next.

The advantage of Longitudinal studies versus Cross-sectional studies
We compare longitudinal data taken form a continuous panel with data collected from 2 separate cross-sectional sample surveys

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
Discussion question:
What are the differences between longitudinal studies and cross-sectional studies?

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
Discussion question:
In what situations would a continuous panel be more suitable than a discontinuous panel?
In what situations would a discontinuous panel be more suitable than a continuous panel?
Give an examples.

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
Causal Research
If x, then y.
Yellow Pages ex.
Causal relationships are determined by use of experiments.

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
Experiments
An Experiment -
Independent variables -
Dependent variables –
Extraneous variables -
Sales
Market share
Level of consumer satisfaction
Level of adv.expenditure
Location of the display of a product in a supermarket

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
Sales of apples (dependent variable)
The effect of type of display (independent variable)
Could there be other extraneous variables that could have affected the sales of the apples?
What would happen with apple sales if the weather changed from rainy to fair?
If the apple industry began running ads on TV?
If the season changed from summer vocation to fall?

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
Experimental design
O -
X -
R -
E -
O1 O2
Pretest and posttest -

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
“True” experimental design – is one that truly isolates the effects of the independent variable on the dependent variable while controlling for effects of any extraneous variables.
Designs that do not properly control for the effects of extraneous variables on our dependent variable are known as quasi-experimental designs.

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
After-only design
X O1
2. One-group, before-after design
O1 X O2
3. Before-after with control group
Experimental group (R) O1 X O2
Control group (R) O3 O4
Where E = (O2 - O1) – (O4 - O3).
2 groups are equivalent in all aspects
R – we randomly divided our supermarkets
We may measure E

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
How valid are experiments?
2 forms of validity are used to assess the validity of an experiment:
Internal
Factors: extraneous f., changes in Subjects, Measure error
External
Factors:
How representative is the sample
Was the sample units correctly selected (sample plan)
The correctness of experiment setting itself

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
Types of Experiments
Laboratory experiments – is one in which an investigator creates a situation with the desired conditions and then manipulates some variables while controlling others.
“ + “ and “ – “
Blind taste test

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
Field experiments – is a research study in a realistic or natural situation, involves the manipulation of one or more independent variables under as carefully controlled conditions as the situation will permit.
“ + “ and “ – “
“Test marketing” – is the phrase commonly used to indicate an experiment, study or test that is conducted in a field setting.

Marketing research
Chapter 4 – Research Design
Types of test markets
Standard test market
Controlled test markets
Electronic test markets
Pros and Cons of test marketing