Quantitative Research Techniques

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Quantitative Research Techniques
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Survey Research ...

• is a method of descriptive research used for
  collecting primary data based on verbal or
  written communication with a representative
  sample of individuals or respondents from the
  target population.
• It requires asking the respondents for
  information either face-to-face or using the
  telephone interview, or through mail, fax or
  Internet.

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Survey Research

• Objectives
• Most survey research studies attempt to identify
  and explain a particular marketing activity.
  Marketing surveys typically have multiple
  objectives.
• Although surveys are generally conducted to
  quantify certain factual information, certain
  aspects of surveys may also be qualitative.
• For example, testing and refining new product
  concepts is often a qualitative objective in a
  new product development.
• Has non-business application as well. e.g. donor
  research.

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Example

• What survey research objectives might Daewoo
  motor car develop to learn about car buyers?
• Consumer preference in design and features and
  how best to satisfy these preferences
• shopping mall intercepts mail interview etc.
• Demographic details, customer satisfaction
• Testing certain aspects of advertising
• Study product image.

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Person administered surveys I

• 1. Direct, face-to-face Interview
• Interviewer and interviewee see and talk to each
  other face-to-face. Includes
• In-home/In-office Interview
• Appointment first,
• Face to face Interview
• Needs Skill
• Mall Intercept Interview
• Interview outside home, in supermarkets,
  departmental stores, other public places

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Face to face interview

• Advantages
• Direct interaction
• Clarity and display of exhibits
• Better quality and quantity of data
• Higher response rate
• No sequence bias
• Identifying respondents
• Unstructured

• Disadvantages
• High cost
• Longer time
• Interviewer bias
• Anonymity not maintained
• Interviewer cheating
• Time bias exists
• Field control needed

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Person Administered Surveys II

• 2. Indirect, non- face-to-face Interview
• The interviewer and the interviewee do not see
  but talk direct to each other.
• Telephone Interview

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Telephone Interview

• Advantages
• Faster Results
• Inexpensive
• Better geographical coverage
• Irresistibility
• Reaching hard-to-reach people
• Timing early or late OK
• Privacy and better control
• Coincidental data immediate feedback.

• Disadvantages
• No exhibits
• Long interview not possible
• Inability to make judgment
• Answering machines and caller identification
  device
• Sampling problem
• Obsolete directory poor sampling frame

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Self-administered surveys

• Mail
• Advantages
• Wide geographical coverage
• Providing thoughtful answers
• Ability to ask sensitive questions
• No interviewer bias
• Inexpensive
• Better control
• Anonymity
• Clarity

• Survey
• Disadvantages
• Mailing list problem
• Unidentifiable respondent
• Questionnaire exposure
• Data limitation
• No interviewer assistance
• no exhibits
• Assumed literacy
• Poor response rate
• Longer time

Survey through Internet has similar advantages
and problems
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A questionnaire also called research instrument

• Data collection instrument used for gathering
  data
• A formalized schedule of an assembly of a
  carefully formulated questions

• Six important functions
• Converts research objectives into specific
  questions
• Standardizes the questions
• Keeps respondents motivated to complete the
  research
• Serve as a permanent record
• Speed-up the process of data analysis
• Reliability and validity purposes

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Questionnaire Development Process
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Basic Question Formats
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OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS Questions to which
respondents give their responses freely,
according to their own will.
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Advantages and disadvantages of Open-ended
Questions

• Advantages
• Since they do not restrict the respondents
  response, the widest scope of response can be
  attained.
• Most appropriate where the range of possible
  responses is broad, or cannot be predetermined.
• Less subject to interviewer bias.
• Responses may often be used as direct quotes to
  bring realism and life to the written report.

• Disadvantages
• Inappropriate for self-administered questionnaire
  since people tend to write more briefly than they
  speak.
• The interviewer may only record a summary of the
  responses given by an interview and fail to
  capture the the interviewers own ideas.
• It is difficult to categorize and summarize the
  diverse responses of different respondents.
• May annoy a respondent and prompt him/her to
  terminate the interview, or ignore the mail
  questionnaire.

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CLOSED-ENDED QUESTIONS Questions to which
respondents are required to answer from set of
alternative responses provided by the researcher.
Could be dichotomous or multiple choice.
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Advantages and Disadvantages of Closed-ended
Questions

• ADVANTAGES
• All respondents reply on a standard response set.
  This ensures comparability of responses,
  facilitates coding, tabulating and interpreting
  the data.
• Easier to administer and most suited for
  self-administered questionnaire.
• If used in interviews, less skilled interviewer
  may be engaged to do the job.

• DISADVANTAGES
• Preparing the list of responses is
  time-consuming.
• If the list of responses is long, the respondents
  may be confused.
• If the list of responses is not comprehensive,
  responses may often fail to represent the
  respondents point of views.

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Considerations in choosing a question format

• Nature of the property being measured
• Subjective Vs objective
• Previous research studies
• Need for comparison with past studies
• Data Collection Mode
• Telephone/face-to-face-interview/mail
• Scale level desired
• Statistical analysis
• Ability of the respondents

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Phrasing and Sequencing of Questions

• PHRASING
• Focus on a single issue or topic
• Ask precise questions using respondents core
  vocabulary
• Avoid
• use of vague words
• asking leading or loaded questions
• estimation questions
• double barreled questions
• presumptuous questions

• SEQUENCING
• Start with simple opening questions
• Place
• broad-based questions first
• more specific and narrow questions and difficult,
  sensitive, embarrassing questions should come
  later(Funnel approach)
• Classification questions last.
• Transition from one topic to another should be
  smooth

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Questionnaire Layout

• Provide sufficient spaces
• Use prominent print for instructions
• Use filtered questions
• Do not slit the same question over two pages
• Number the questions
• Layout should facilitate editing and coding

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Causal Research/Experiments

• In causal research, the emphasis is on specific
  hypotheses about the effects of changes of one
  variable on another variable.
• Deals with cause-effect relationship.
• Involves experiment where an independent variable
  is changed or manipulated to see how it affects a
  dependent variable by controlling the effects of
  extraneous variables.
• Extraneous variables
• Different from dependent or independent variables
• Variables that may have some affects upon a
  dependent variable but yet are not independent
  variables.

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Experimental design

• A set of procedures for devising an experiment
  such that a change in a dependent variable may be
  attributed solely to the change in an independent
  variables.
• Various notations used
• O The measurement or the process of observation
  of a
  dependent variable on
  the subjects or groups of subjects to be tested.
  O1 and O2 refer to different measurements
  made of the dependent variable.
• X The manipulation, or change, of an
  independent variable.
• R Random assignment of subjects (consumers,
  stores, and so on) to experimental and control
  groups.
• E Experimental effect that is, the change in
  the dependent variable due to the independent
  variable.

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Types of Experimental Designs

• Many Designs
• Quasi- and true experimental designs
• Quasi designs designs which do not properly
  control for the effects of extraneous variables.
• True designs designs which properly control for
  the effects of extraneous variables and isolate
  the effects of independent variables on the
  dependent variables.
• Three examples
• After only design
• One Group, Before-After Design
• Before-After with control group

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Three Examples

• After only
• Involves one group, shown as X O1
• X represents the change in the independent
  variable
• One group, Before-After Design
• Involves one group, shown as O1 X O2
• Both are examples of quasi experimental design
• Before-after with control group
• Experimental group Group subjected to
  experimental treatment O1 X O2
• Control group Group not subjected to
  experimental treatment O3 O4
• Change (O2 -- O1) -- (O4 -- O3 )

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Illustrated Example
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Question Did the change from selling in packs
of two to free selection from produce bins caused
this sales increase?
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Experimental Design the mango example

• Divide the 16 supermarkets in two equivalent
  groups of 8 - one control group, the other
  experimental group.
• In the shops in control group, DO NOT CHANGE the
  packaging style, in the experimental group, make
  the change.
• Measure the sales for both groups before the
  experiment date and after the experiment date.
• Assume that the difference in the two groups are
  as below
• After
  Before Difference
• Control group 30,720units O4 27,980
  O3 2,740 O4 - O3
• Experimental group 31,688 O2 27,816 O1 3,872
  O2 - O1
• Sales increase due to new system 1,132

Change (O2 -- O1) -- (O4 -- O3 )
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Other points related to experiments

• Validity
• An experiment is valid if
• the observed change in the dependent variable is,
  in fact, due to the independent variable gtgt
  internal validity
• if the results of the experiment apply to the
  real world outside the experimental setting gtgt
  external validity.
• Test marketing
• A special type of field experiment used to test
• sales potential for a new product or service,
• variations in the marketing mix for a product or
  service.

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TEST MARKETING
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Difference between Surveys and Experimental
Designs

• The fundamental difference concerns the
  manipulation of independent variables.
• In surveys, an effect is observed and a search
  for a cause follows.
• In experimental research, on the other hand,
  independent variables are manipulated to
  establish a cause-effect relationship.

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Alternative Research Strategies for collecting
consumer information about a product.
Elements of Strategy Strategy 1 Strategy
2 Strategy 3 Strategy 4 Survey Telephone
Mail Personal Personal Method interview survey
interview interview Research Few factual A
2-page Many Projective instrument questions ques
tionnaire questions tests Sampling A small
All subscribers A large sample A dozen
plan sample of to a consumer of
subjects people households magazine chosen on
a found chosen by national using
the random digit probability
product dialing in the sampling
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Quantitative Research in Asia-Pacific Region

• Unavailable/inaccurate secondary data
• Much data on Asian markets are either
  non-existent, difficult to obtain or unreliable.
  For example, in many Asian countries consumers
  income estimates are inaccurate since they omit
  the unreported or underreported income.
• Problem with primary data
• Survey research suffers from lack of sampling
  frame shortage of qualified researchers/interview
  ers respondents unfamiliarity with research and
  lack of trust on researchers less than truthful
  responses and other cultural idiosyncrasies.
• Poor postal and telephone system poor rate of
  literacy of respondents high rate of change and
  political instability etc.
• The nature and magnitude of problems vary from
  country to country.