Research Design

1. Research Design

2. Exploratory and Conclusive Research • Research Purpose • Exploratory Research • General: To generate insights about a situation • Conclusive Research • Specific: To verify insights and aid in selecting a course of action

3. Exploratory Research • Develop initial hunches or insights • Provide direction for any further research needed • Purpose: • To shed light on the nature of the situation and to identify any specific objectives or data needs

4. Conclusive or Confirmatory Research • To verify insights and to aid decision-makers in selecting a specific course of action More Formal More Rigorous

5. Relationship among Research Designs Descriptive Research Exploratory Research Causal Research

6. No Is the research purpose specific and are data requirements clear? Yes Conduct exploratory research with these procedures: -Key informant technique -Focus group interviews -Secondary-data analysis -Case study method Yes Design conclusive research Analyze data/interpret findings Does the research purpose call for testing cause-and-effect relationships between variables? No Is there a need for further research Yes No Conduct an appropriate experimental-research study Conduct a suitable descriptive-research study Analyze data/interpret findings Make recommendations Selecting the Appropriate Research Type

7. Types of Research Designs Uses Types • Formulate problems more precisely • Develop Hypotheses • Establish priorities for research • Eliminate impractical ideas • Clarify concepts • Literature search • Experience survey • Analysis of select cases • Focus groups • Interviews • Projective tests • Ethnographies Exploratory Research • Describe segment characteristics • Estimate proportion of people who behave in a certain way • Make specific predictions Descriptive Research • Longitudinal study • True panel • Omnibus panel • Sample Survey • Provide evidence regarding causal relationships by means of: • Concomitant variation • Time order in which variables occur • Elimination other explanations Causal Research • Laboratory experiment • Field experiment

8. Types of Data for Exploratory Research • Key informant • Focus groups • Secondary data • Observation studies • Case studies

9. Secondary and Primary Data • Data collected for a purpose other than the research situation at hand • Data collected specifically for purpose at hand

10. Exs: census, government, corporate library, scanner data +’s: quick, cheap, easy, focuses research, benchmark -’s: doesn’t fit problem, outdated Exs: focus group, survey, interviews, telemarketing +’s: tailored to needs, current -’s: takes time to collect, expensive Strength and Weaknesses for the two different types of Data Secondary Primary ***Their strengths and weaknesses are complementary! So...any good research project should have both!

11. Secondary Data: Small Business Application • Market Research for a small business: You want to start a pool and spa cleaning and repair service • How do you find out about market size and competition?

12. HOW TO GET STARTED WHEN SEARCHING PUBLISHED SOURCES OF SECONDARY DATA • Identify what you wish to know and what you already • know about your topic. 2. Develop a list of key terms and names. • Search several of the general guides, directories, and websites • for papers and/or reports. 4. Compile the literature you have found. Rework your list of key words and authors if necessary. 5. Consult the reference librarian. 6. Consult the various directory guides. 7. Identify authorities in the area and consult them.

13. Secondary Data Relevance: Measurement Units • Sentinel Corporation produces a line of smoke detectors • U.S. Census of Population and Housing Data can be used to estimate the total residential market potential for their products in different sections of the country

14. Secondary Data Relevance: Measurement Units (Cont’d) • Sentinel Corporation requires size data expressed in number of rooms per household • U.S. Census of Population and Housing data • Useful to Sentinel Corporation

15. Parents Digital BabySitter.com website Digital BabySitter

16. Digital BabySitter (Cont’d) • Specializes in making digital baby monitor devices • Wants to expand beyond the United States • Based on birthrates provided by the United Nations (www.un.org), the company decided to target China and India • Obtained information on computer penetration in urban areas and chose urban populations as its target market

17. Digital BabySitter (Cont’d) • Secondary Data Analysis is not meaningful in China and India because children are either with their extended families or at school • Children are almost never alone • Secondary data is not always relevant!!!

18. Most important lesson about Secondary data… THE SHOCKING TRUTH IS THAT STATISTICS ARE ONLY AS CREDIBLE AS THE SOURCES THAT PRODUCE THEM !

19. Secondary Data Limitations • Accuracy • Who collected the data? • Why was the data collected? • How was the data collected?

20. Identify data needs Yes Are internal secondary data available? Are the data relevant? No Yes No Are the data sufficiently accurate? No Yes Will they be adequate for the data needs? Yes No Yes Are external secondary data available? No Are the data relevant? Yes No Are the data sufficiently accurate? No Yes Will they (along with any suitable internal data) be adequate? No Yes Analyze the primary and/or secondary data Analyze the primary and/or secondary data Analyze the primary and/or secondary data Collect the necessary primary data Flow Diagram for Conducting a Data Search

21. Internal Data • Can often be obtained with less time, effort, and expense than external secondary data • May have relevance to the research being conducted • Examples include: • A firm’s historical record of sales • A public service association’s list of donors • Public opinion polls conducted in the past by a political candidate’s campaign office

22. External Data: Government Sources • Collects extensive data about people, firms, markets, and foreign countries; more than any other secondary data source • Data collected is readily available on Internet sites • Documents published are in the form of summary reports based on the raw data collected • The raw data is often available for a fee • Public-Use Microdata files

23. Syndicated Sources • Syndicated services offered by marketing research firms • Nielsen Retail Index • Fees are required but they are more cost effective than collecting primary data • Focus directly on the needs of decision makers • Updated more frequently than government data • Often allows for customization

24. Trade Associations • Very numerous and diverse • Many collect data relevant to and about their members • Also collect competitively sensitive data about members that may not be available to industry outsiders

25. Competitive Intelligence: Burger King Corp. • Burger King: • Maintains a brand research library and subscribes to analyst reports that provide a detailed view of competitors' financial and long-term plans • Gathers syndicated reports that provide sales and cost data and describe the competition's growth plans • Insights about the restaurant business can be flushed out from interviews with restaurant business leaders, published routinely in these trade journals

26. Managing Secondary Data • Merely keeping abreast of all the available data without being overwhelmed is a challenge • Effective secondary-data management is necessary in this "information explosion" age

27. Qualitative Research • Qualitative research involves collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data that cannot be meaningfully quantified, that is, summarized in the form of numbers

28. Qualitative Research (Cont’d) • Qualitative Research • Typically involves relatively few respondents or units • Uses non-structured questioning or observation techniques • Techniques are most appropriate in situations calling for exploratory research

29. On the contrary… • Quantitative Research • More structure and use larger, more representative respondent samples. • Logical place is in conclusive research projects • Calls for very specific data, capable of suggesting a final course of action • Primary role is to test hunches or hypotheses

30. Importance of Qualitative Research • Works better if the purpose of the research is to understand a problem or to develop “new product concepts” • Can be viewed as generating just the right type of raw material needed to produce a finished product in the form of a relevant quantitative research project

31. Importance of Qualitative Research • More flexible than other types of research • More easily capture information crucial to forming effective strategies • Aids in analyzing open-ended questions • Rarely but sometimes needed to verify the accuracy of quantitative research results

32. Muscular Dystrophy Family Foundation® • MDFF wants to start a new program to aid people with serious physical handicaps • They are wondering about what kinds of charitable programs to begin and about what strategies to develop in order to seek donations from the public • Who should the MDFF talk to? • Officers in well-established public service organizations, such as the United Way, the American Red Cross, and the American Cancer Society.

33. moderator discussion individuals Focus Group Interviews • 8 to 12 individuals • Moderator (a well-trained researcher) • Informal discussion about research topic

34. Group Composition • Generally, focus groups conducted by marketing research practitioners involve between 6 and 12 participants • To be effective, a focus group must be as homogeneous as possible with respect to demographic and socioeconomic characteristics

35. Moderator Tasks • Guide discussion • Ensure key aspects of the topic that are discusses • Observe interactions • Record dialogue and reactions

36. Desirable Focus Group Moderator Skills • Kind but firm • Permissive • Involved • Incomplete understanding • Encouragement • Flexibility • Sensitivity

37. Conducting Focus Groups • Focus group sessions typically last 1 1/2 to 2 hours • Focus group interviews are often recorded: audio tapes or videotapes

38. Advantages of Focus Groups • Richness of Data • Versatility • Ability to Study Special Respondents

39. Disadvantages of Focus Groups • Lack of Generalizability • Results cannot be viewed as conclusive • Opportunity for Misuse • Occurs when managers yield to a temptation to generalize a few key remarks made by participants • Cost • On a cost-per-respondent basis, focus groups are extremely expensive

40. Focus Group Applications • Understanding Consumers • Product Planning • Advertising

41. Revlon Consumer Products Corporation • Revlon conducts focus group interviews of working women between ages 20 and 30 to get them to talk freely about their makeup needs: • Types of cosmetics used • Satisfaction and dissatisfaction with existing products • Suggestions for improvements

42. Revlon Consumer Products Corporation (Cont’d) • Focus group interviews likely to generate a range of new‑product ideas appealing to a wide cross-section of working women • No guarantee that ideas for new cosmetic products gathered from specific focus groups (working women 20-30) will appeal to other demographic women groups

43. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York • RPI conducted a focus groups to better understand school’s reputation and profile among influential business leaders • Focus Groups participants commented on • Inconsistent image of the school • Perception of RPI as “that school in Troy!” • "Colorful" and natural customer statements capable of having a significant impact on decision makers can only emerge from a focus group setting

44. Understanding Consumers • Pillsbury, a manufacturer of cake mixes, is always interested in questions such as: • What do consumers like about baking? • What do they dislike? • Why do they bake? • How do they bake? • What words/terms do they use in describing baking products and their use? • Focus groups will be helpful in this situation to get a feeling for consumers' perceptions, opinions, and behavior concerning cake mixes

45. 3 M • Strongly positioned in the home & leisure business-sponges, scouring pads,scrub sponges • Lacked a presence in Wool-Soap-Pads segment • Conducted focus groups with consumers around the country • Finding:standard steel wool pads scratched consumers’ cookware • Led to the idea for Scotch-Brite Never Scratch Soap Pad

46. Research Techniques -- Dual Moderator Group • A focus group interview conducted by two moderators • Useful in focus groups involving discussion of a highly technical topic • Example: A group of electronic engineers discussing new concepts for computer memory chips

47. Other Qualitative Research Techniques • Respondent-Moderator Groups • The real moderator may ask selected participants to temporarily play the role of moderator to improve group dynamics and productivity • Client-Participant Groups • Client personnel are introduced to respondents and made part of the group

48. Impact of Technology on Focus Groups • Electronic Group Interviewing (EGI) • Videoconferencing Focus Groups • Online Focus Groups

49. Which One to Choose? – In-Depth Interview or Focus Group

50. Interviews Focus Groups • Not influenced by others • Max probing, great depth • Expensive • Time consuming • Candid, sensitive topics • Group dynamics, expect more creative • Some probing • Relatively inexpensive • Ready industry Focus Groups and Depth Interviews • Qualitative • Flexible • Probing • Richness of data • Gets at the “Why” of customers’ behaviors • Generates ideas • Clarifies other project results