Research Design I

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Topic 3
Marketing Analysis Research (MAR3613) By
Kanghyun Yoon

• Research Design I

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Introduction to Research Design

• What is research design?
• The framework or plan for addressing the research
  objectives or hypotheses to make informed
  decision-makings.
• An example of research proposal.
• Components of Research Design
• Type of data to be collected
• secondary vs. primary data and quantitative vs.
  qualitative data.
• Type of research method
• Exploratory study Gathering background
  information about the research problems.
• Descriptive study Providing accurate snapshots
  or profiles about the research problems.
• Causal study Investigating the causal
  relationships about the research problems.
• Sampling procedure
• Description of sample sampling frame
• Sampling selection procedure non-probability vs.
  probability sample.
• Size of the sample and types of sampling errors

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Type of Data

• Type of Data to be collected
• Secondary data
• Existing data that have been previously gathered
  for some purposes that are irrelevant to the
  research problems.
• Examples of secondary data Internal and external
  sources.
• Primary data
• New data gathered to help solve the research
  problems at hand.
• Examples of primary data Survey, observation,
  and experiment.
• Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research
• Qualitative research Research findings are not
  subject to quantification.
• Focus group interview (FGI), in-depth interviews,
  projective tests.
• Quantitative research Research findings are
  dependent upon mathematical analysis.
• Surveys, observations, experiments.
• Key differences of two researches (Table 4.1,
  McDaniel and Gates 2004).

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Research Method I

• Exploratory Study
• When we use exploratory study?
• It is used when a research has a limited amount
  of experience with or knowledge about research
  issue. Specifically, it is used when a researcher
  needs background information.
• Most exploratory study is not quantitative, but
  qualitative.
• Purpose
• 1) Diagnosing a situation
• 2) Screening alternatives
• 3) Discovering new ideas
• Gathering background information and identifying
  variables as well as its underlying relationships
  among the identified variables.
• Types of exploratory research
• Experience surveys
• Secondary data analysis
• Case studies
• Pilot studies

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Research Method II

• Descriptive Study
• When we use descriptive study?
• It is used when researchers have general
  understanding or knowledge about the research
  problems.
• Most descriptive study is quantitative.
• Purpose
• Provide an accurate snapshot or profile of a
  population or a phenomenon, regarding variables
  or relationships of variables.
• Seek to determine the answers of who, what, when,
  where, and how questions.
• Types of Descriptive Researches
• 1) Cross-sectional study
• Ex) Relative frequency of occurrence,
  cross-classification analysis
• Adv.) A snapshot of variables at a single point
  of time, sample elements representative to known
  population
• Disadv.) Superficial analysis, high cost
• 2) Longitudinal study
• Ex) Brand switching matrix between two time
  points.
• Adv.) Repeated measurement of a fixed sample,
  quality of information, accuracy
• Disadv.) Non-representative sample, interaction
  bias

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Research Method III

• Causal Study
• When we use causal study?
• It is used when a research has clear
  understanding or knowledge about research
  problem.
• Most causal study is quantitative.
• Purpose
• Understand the causal (e.g., cause-and-effect)
  relationships among the variables.
• Three conditions to demonstrate causal
  relationship of variables.
• Concomitant variation (e.g., correlation)
• Appropriate time order of occurrence (e.g.,
  temporal sequence)
• Elimination of other possible causal factors
  (e.g., alternative explanations)
• Type of Causal Research
• Experiments
• Difference from Descriptive Research
• Descriptive research focus on the frequency of
  the variables.
• Causal research focus on the causality among the
  variables.

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Comparison of Research Studies

• Exploratory research
• When research problems are ambiguous to
  understand.
• Key purposes to define the nature of the
  research problem and to gain a better
  understanding of the environment within which the
  problem has occurred.
• Questions to be asked
• Our sales are declining and we dont know why.
• Would people be interested in our new product
  idea?
• Descriptive research
• When research problems are partially defined.
• Key purposes to provide an accurate snapshot of
  some aspects of the market environment in terms
  of frequency analysis.
• Questions to be asked
• What kind of people are buying our product? Who
  is buying our competitors product?
• What features do buyers prefer in our product?
• Causal research
• When research problems are clearly defined.
• Key purposes to investigate whether one variable
  determines the value of another variable (e.g.,
  causal relationships among variables).
• Questions to be asked
• Will buyers purchase more of our product in a
  new package?
• Which of two advertising campaign is more
  effective?

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Survey Research I

• Nature and popularity of survey research
• The use of a questionnaire to gather the primary
  data such as facts, opinions, attitudes, and so
  on.
• Advantages of the survey research
• The best way to find out what consumers think by
  simply asking the respondents.
• A quick, inexpensive, efficient, and accurate
  means of assessing information about a
  population.
• Versatility employed in virtually any setting,
  adaptable to any kind of research objectives.
• Types of primary data
• 1) The need to know Who
• It is necessary for the identification and
  definition of market segments.
• Collected data demographic, socioeconomic,
  psychological, lifestyle characteristics.
• 2) The need to know Why
• It is necessary for studying the driving forces
  of certain behaviors - why consumers behave as
  they do.
• Collected data needs, preferences, attitudes,
  intentions, purchasing reasons, etc.
• 3) The need to know How
• It is necessary for understanding the buying
  process that consumers go through how did they
  make the decisions.

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Survey Research II

• Types of survey research
• 1) Personal interviews
• Key features face-to-face method, major impacts
  of environment
• Examples door-to-door, executive, and mall
  intercept interviews.
• Advantages large amount of information, complex
  questions, flexibility.
• Disadvantages time-consuming, high cost.
• 2) Telephone interviews
• Key features verbal contact method, minor
  impacts of environment
• Advantages cost between personal interview and
  mail survey, central location, better access to
  certain population, shorter data collection time.
• Disadvantages no use of visual aids or complex
  tasks, sampling bias, questionnaire constraints.

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Survey Research III

• Types of survey research
• 3) Self-administered surveys
• Key features no contact, no impact of
  environment
• Examples mail surveys, fax surveys, email
  surveys, internet surveys.
• Advantages least expensive, wide access to
  dispersed samples, enough time to give answers.
• Disadvantages low response rate, mailing list
  required, high fixed cost (especially for fax or
  internet survey).
• Understanding sources of errors
• Non-sampling (e.g., systematic) errors
• Random sampling errors

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Sampling Procedure

• Defining target population for sampling
• Sampling frame The list of population elements
  from which the sample will be drawn.
• How to use random numbers in random digits table?
  
• Choosing sampling selection procedure
• Probability sample Simple random, systematic,
  stratified, cluster, multistage area sampling.
• Non-probability sample Convenience, judgment,
  quota, and snowball sampling.
• Determining sample size
• Reviewing basic concepts of statistics.
• The formula for sample size is

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Reference

• Zikmund, William G. (2003), Essentials of
  Marketing Research, 2nd ed., Thompson
  South-Western. (see Chapter 3, 5, 6, 7, 12, and
  13)
• McDaniel, Carl and Roger Gates (2004), Marketing
  Research Essentials, 4th ed., John Wiley Sons,
  Inc. (see Chapter 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, and 11)
• Churchill, Jr., Gilbert A. and Tom J. Brown
  (2004), Basic Marketing Research, 5th ed.,
  Thompson South-Western. (see Chapter 3, 5, 6,
  15, 16, and 17)