Chapter Three

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Chapter Three Research Design
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Chapter Outline

• 1) Overview
• 2) Research Design Definition
• 3) Research Design Classification
• 4) Exploratory Research
• 5) Descriptive Research
• Cross-Sectional Design
• Longitudinal Design
• Advantages and Disadvantages of Longitudinal and
  Cross-Sectional Designs
• 6) Causal Research
• 7) Relationships Among Exploratory, Descriptive,
• and Causal Research

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Chapter Outline

• 8) Potential Sources of Error
• Random Sampling Error
• Non-sampling Error
• Non-response Error
• Response Error
• 9) Budgeting and Scheduling
• 10) Marketing Research Proposal
• 11) International Marketing Research
• 12) Ethics in Marketing Research
• 13) Summary

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Research Design Definition

• A research design is a framework or blueprint for
  conducting the marketing research project. It
  details the procedures necessary for obtaining
  the information needed to structure or solve
  marketing research problems.

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Components of a Research Design

• Define the information needed (Chapter 2)
• Design the exploratory, descriptive, and/or
  causal phases of the research (Chapters 3 - 7)
• Specify the measurement and scaling procedures
  (Chapters 8 and 9)
• Construct and pretest a questionnaire
  (interviewing form) or an appropriate form for
  data collection (Chapter 10)
• Specify the sampling process and sample size
  (Chapters 11 and 12)
• Develop a plan of data analysis (Chapter 14)

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A Classification of Marketing Research Designs
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Exploratory Conclusive Research Differences
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A Comparison of Basic Research Designs
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Uses of Exploratory Research

• Formulate a problem or define a problem more
  precisely
• Identify alternative courses of action
• Develop hypotheses
• Isolate key variables and relationships for
  further examination
• Gain insights for developing an approach to the
  problem
• Establish priorities for further research

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Methods of Exploratory Research

• Survey of experts (discussed in Chapter 2)
• Pilot surveys (discussed in Chapter 2)
• Secondary data analyzed in a qualitative way
  (discussed in Chapter 4)
• Qualitative research (discussed in Chapter 5)

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Use of Descriptive Research

• To describe the characteristics of relevant
  groups, such as consumers, salespeople,
  organizations, or market areas.
• To estimate the percentage of units in a
  specified population exhibiting a certain
  behavior.
• To determine the perceptions of product
  characteristics.
• To determine the degree to which marketing
  variables are associated.
• To make specific predictions.

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Methods of Descriptive Research

• Secondary data analyzed in a quantitative as
  opposed to a qualitative manner (discussed in
  Chapter 4)
• Surveys (Chapter 6)
• Panels (Chapters 4 and 6)
• Observational and other data (Chapter 6)

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Cross-sectional Designs

• Involve the collection of information from any
  given sample of population elements only once.
• In single cross-sectional designs, there is only
  one sample of respondents and information is
  obtained from this sample only once.
• In multiple cross-sectional designs, there are
  two or more samples of respondents, and
  information from each sample is obtained only
  once. Often, information from different samples
  is obtained at different times.
• Cohort analysis consists of a series of surveys
  conducted at appropriate time intervals, where
  the cohort serves as the basic unit of analysis.
  A cohort is a group of respondents who experience
  the same event within the same time interval.

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Consumption of Various Soft Drinks by Various Age
Cohorts
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Longitudinal Designs

• A fixed sample (or samples) of population
  elements is measured repeatedly on the same
  variables
• A longitudinal design differs from a
  cross-sectional design in that the sample or
  samples remain the same over time

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Cross-sectional vs. Longitudinal
Figure 3.6 Cross Sectional vs. Longitudinal
Designs
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Relative Advantages and Disadvantages of
Longitudinal and Cross-Sectional Designs
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Cross-Sectional Data May Not Show Change
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Longitudinal Data May ShowSubstantial Change
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Uses of Casual Research

• To understand which variables are the cause
  (independent variables) and which variables are
  the effect (dependent variables) of a phenomenon
• To determine the nature of the relationship
  between the causal variables and the effect to be
  predicted
• METHOD Experiments

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Alternative Research Designs
Figure 3.7 Some Alternative Research Designs
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Alternative Research Designs

Figure 3.7 Some Alternative Research Designs

• Exploratory Research
• Secondary Data Analysis
• Focus Groups

• Conclusive Research
• Descriptive/Causal

(a)

• Conclusive Research
• Descriptive/Causal

(b)

• Exploratory Research
• Secondary Data Analysis
• Focus Groups

• Conclusive Research
• Descriptive/Causal

(c)
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Potential Sources of Error inResearch Designs
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Errors in Marketing Research

• The total error is the variation between the true
  mean value in the population of the variable of
  interest and the observed mean value obtained in
  the marketing research project.
• Random sampling error is the variation between
  the true mean value for the population and the
  true mean value for the original sample.
• Non-sampling errors can be attributed to sources
  other than sampling, and they may be random or
  nonrandom including errors in problem
  definition, approach, scales, questionnaire
  design, interviewing methods, and data
  preparation and analysis. Non-sampling errors
  consist of non-response errors and response
  errors.

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Errors in Marketing Research

• Non-response error arises when some of the
  respondents included in the sample do not
  respond.
• Response error arises when respondents give
  inaccurate answers or their answers are
  misrecorded or misanalyzed.

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Citicorp Banks on Exploratory, Descriptive, and
Causal Research
Marketing Research at Citicorp is typical in that
it is used to measure consumer awareness of
products, monitor their satisfaction and
attitudes associated with the product, track
product usage and diagnose problems as they
occur. To accomplish these tasks Citicorp makes
extensive use of exploratory, descriptive, and
causal research. Often it is advantageous to
offer special financial packages to specific
groups of customers. In this case, a financial
package is being designed for senior citizens.
The following seven-step process was taken by
marketing research to help in the design.
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Citicorp Banks on Exploratory, Descriptive,and
Causal Research
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Citicorp Banks on Exploratory, Descriptive,and
Causal Research
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Citicorp Banks on Exploratory,Descriptive, and
Causal Research
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Citicorp Banks on Exploratory, Descriptive, and
Causal Research
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Citicorp Banks on Exploratory, Descriptive, and
Causal Research

• Is there an available description of a specific
  target market for the proposed product?
• Does the research conducted so far indicate a
  potential match for target market needs, and is
  the idea perceived to have appeal to this market?
• Is there a feasible outline of the tactics and
  strategies for implementing the program?
• Have the financial impact and cost of the program
  been thoroughly evaluated and determined to be in
  line with company practices?
• In this study, only one idea generated from the
  brainstorming session made it past all the listed
  hurdles and on to step 5.

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Citicorp Banks on Exploratory, Descriptive, and
Causal Research
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Citicorp Banks on Exploratory, Descriptive, and
Causal Research
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Marketing Research Proposal

• Executive Summary
• Background
• Problem Definition/Objectives of the Research
• Approach to the Problem
• Research Design
• Fieldwork/Data Collection
• Data Analysis
• Reporting
• Cost and Time
• Appendices

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The Greenfield of Online Research
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The Greenfield of Online Research
Internet users wishing to take part in surveys
and other projects begin by registering online at
the companys Web site. The registration consists
of a sign-up survey that asks for e-mail
address, type of computer used, personal
interests and information about the respondents
household. Once an Internet user is registered,
Greenfield Online matches the user with research
studies that are well-suited to his or her
interests. Incentives to take part in focus
groups or special surveys are offered by the
companies whose products or services are being
researched. This incentive is cash or valuable
prizes. Incentives are also offered to Internet
users to encourage them to register with
Greenfields Internet panel. New registrants
automatically qualify for prizes that are awarded
in monthly drawings.