Research Process (with a focus on Problem Formulation)

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Research Process (with a focus on Problem
Formulation)

• Jeremy Kees, Ph.D.

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Review from last week

• Marketing research is the marketers link to
  understanding the consumer and the external
  environment
• The main purpose of marketing research is to
  inform decisions
• Is a source of a competitive advantage for many
  successful firms
• Every research project is different
• It often takes many research projects over many
  years to really understand a phenomenon

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Ongoing PharmFirm Case Study

• Will be used as an example for many of the
  concepts we discuss
• Large-scale, multi-study research project for a
  major pharma company in the Philadelphia area
• Key research questions focused on fair balance
  of a online medical resource targeted at
  physicians
• Proactive research in anticipation of pushback
  from FDA

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Formulate Problem
Stages in the Research Process (Researchers Pers
pective)
Determine Research Design
Design Data Collection Method and Forms
Design Sample and Collect Data
Analyze and Interpret the Data
Prepare the Research Report
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Research Process Problem Formulation

• Perhaps the most important step in the research
  process
• A well-defined study begins with a clearly
  defined objective
• The formulation of a problem is often more
  essential than its solution - Albert Einstein
• The problem is rarely clear-cut
• Slight variations in research questions can lead
  to substantial changes in the research process
  (so be careful)
• Drives decisions related to research design,
  measurement, sampling, etc.

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Problem Formulation

• Differentiate between a decision problem and a
  research problem
• Try to get beyond an info request

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Research Process Problem Formulation
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Research Process Problem Formulation

• PharmFirm
• Longest stage in the process
• 4 months
• Talked with LOTS of people
• Over-arching problem
• Need evidence that a medical information website
  is fairly balanced
• Unclear what fair balance means in an computer
  mediated environment
• Anticipated issues from FDA

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Research Process Problem Formulation

• PharmFirm
• Overarching Research Objective
• provide an empirical test of perceived benefit
  and risk information (i.e., fair balance)
  presented on the medical information website

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Research Process Problem Formulation

• PharmFirm
• More specific study objectives
• Phase I Develop a metric for the construct of
  fair balance
• Phase II Test the perceived fair balance of the
  website
• Different versions
• Versus print marketing materials
• Phase III Test the perceived fair balance of the
  website versus other websites

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Research Process Problem Formulation

• PharmFirm
• 4 separate studies, each with its own very
  specific objectives
• Expected Decisions
• Positive results move forward confidently
• Negative or mixed results adapt website

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Research Process Determine Research Design

• Dictated by the problem or research question
• Exploratory Research
• Descriptive Research
• Causal Research

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Research Process Determine Research Design
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Research Process Determine Research Design

• PharmFirm research questions call for.
• Some pretesting to develop and refine the metric
• Experiments
• To test versions of the website with different
  presentations of risk information
• To test the website versus print marketing
  materials (a context where fair balance is
  well-defined)
• To test the website versus other existing online
  resources that are deemed fairly balanced

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Research Process Design Data Collection Forms

• Secondary research
• None necessary
• Survey Research
• Lots of ways to collect data
• Measurement
• Constructs / Variables

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Research Process Design Data Collection Forms
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Research Process Design Data Collection Forms

• PharmFirm data collection required.
• Scale development and testing
• Define construct
• Develop valid and reliable measures
• Stimuli development
• Website mock-ups
• Measurement instrument (i.e., survey)
• Manipulation checks
• Dependent variables
• Individual difference variables
• Demographic/categorical information

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Research Process Design Sample and Collect Data

• Determine your target market
• Determine necessary sample size
• Dictated by study design
• Sampling Methodology
• Logistics
• Cost
• Ethics

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Research Process Design Sample and Collect Data
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Research Process Design Sample and Collect Data

• PharmFirm sample call for.
• 1000 physicians from three specialty groups
• Outsource!!
• Data collected online
• Sample is too geographically dispersed and time
  sensitive to collect data in person
• Qualtrics research software

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Research Process Analyze and Interpret the Data

• Edit / clean / code the data
• Analyze
• Interpret

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Research Process Analyze and Interpret the Data
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Research Process Analyze and Interpret the Data

• PharmFirm analysis calls for.
• Factor analysis to develop metric
• Dictated by study design
• Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) to
  analyze experimental data
• Dictated by study design

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Research Process Prepare Research Report

• Know your audience
• Sell your findings

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Research Process Prepare Research Report
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Research Process Prepare Research Report

• PharmFirm report out calls for.
• Four separate presentations to the client
• Final comprehensive report outlining purpose,
  research questions, design, sample, results, etc.
• Compilation of data in easy-to-use format
• Measurement definitions
• Coding schemes

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TEAM ASSIGNMENT 1

• Discuss some issues that you deal with at your
  workplace that can be answered with primary
  research
• Discuss the issue broadly (i.e., provide some
  context)
• Develop several clear, concise research questions
• Develop hypotheses (and null hypotheses)
• Discuss the decisions that would be made
  depending on the different outcomes of the
  research

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Hints.

• Try to acutely identify the problem at hand (and
  avoid nice to know questions)
• What information is necessary in order to make a
  decision?
• Determine what course(s) of action will result
  from your findings
• If we find A, what will you do?
• What about if we find B?
• Make all alternative courses of action explicit
• Refer to Beal (Chapter 2)