The Proposal

The Final Product• Introduction

– Including your Management Question

• Literature Review• Your Model

– Research Questions– Hypotheses you plan to test

• Your Proposed Research Master Plan– Methodology– Sample– Questionnaire

• Limitations• Decisions that may be supported by the results

What It is NOT

• You will not collect data.

• You will not draw conclusions

• You will not make recommendations

Problemdiscovery

Problem definition(statement of

research objectives)

Secondary(historical)

data

Experiencesurvey

Pilotstudy

Casestudy

Selection ofexploratory research

technique

Selection ofbasic research

method

Experiment SurveyObservation Secondary

Data StudyLaboratory Field Interview Questionnaire

Selection ofexploratory research

techniqueSampling

Probability Nonprobability

Collection ofdata

(fieldwork)

Editing andcodingdata

Dataprocessing

Interpretationof

findings

Report

DataGathering

Data Processingand Analysis

Conclusionsand Report

Research Design

Problem Discoveryand Definition

Symptoms vs. Problems

• Manufacturer of palm-size computers with Internet access

• Symptom

– Distributors complain prices are too high• PD based on the Symptom

– Investigate business users to learn how much prices need to be reduced

• True Problem

– Distributors do not have adequate product knowledge to communicate product’s value

Management Decision Problems vs.Marketing Research Problems

• Management Decision Problems

– Ask what the decision maker needs to do

– Action oriented– Focus on symptoms

• Marketing Research Problems

– Ask what information is needed and how it should be obtained

– Information oriented– Focus on the

underlying causes

Translating Management Problems into Research Problems (Questions)

• Management Problem– Determine the best ways the firm can communicate with

potential purchasers of laptop computers• Research Questions

– How familiar are consumers with the various brands of computers?

– What attitudes do consumers have toward these brands?

– How important are the various factors for evaluating the purchase of a laptop computer?

– How effective are the communications efforts of the various competitive marketers in terms of message recognition?

Hypotheses

• An unproven proposition or possible solution to the problem.

• Assert probable answers to research questions.• Hypotheses & research questions both state

relationships

– Research questions are interrogative (ask)

– Hypotheses are declarative (state)

Planning the Research DesignPlanning the Research Design

Research Design

• A master plan that specifies the methods and procedures for collecting and analyzing needed information.

Define the Information Needed

Design the Exploratory, Descriptive, and/or Causal Phases of the Research

Specify the Measurement and Scaling Procedures

Construct a Questionnaire

Specify the Sampling Process and the Sample Size

Develop a Plan of Data Analysis

Tasks Involved In a Research Design

A Classification of Market Research Designs

Research Design

Exploratory Research

Conclusive Research

Secondary Data

Experience Surveys

Pilot Studies

Case Studies

See next slide

A Classification of Market Research Designs

Research Design

Exploratory Research

Conclusive Research

See previous slide

Descriptive Design

Causal Design

Cross-sectional Study

Longitudinal Study

Secondary Data Study

Observation

Experiment

Survey

Exploratory Research

• Usually conducted during the initial stage of the research process

• Purposes– To narrow the scope of the research topic, and– To transform ambiguous problems into well-

defined ones

Exploratory Research Techniques• Secondary Data Analysis

– Secondary data are data previously collected & assembled for some project other than the one at hand

• Pilot Studies– A collective term for any small-scale exploratory

research technique that uses sampling but does not apply rigorous standards

– Includes• Focus Group Interviews

– Unstructured, free-flowing interview with a small group of people

• Projective Techniques– Indirect means of questioning that enables a respondent to project

beliefs and feelings onto a third party or an inanimate object– Word association tests, sentence completion tests, role playing

Exploratory Research Techniques

• Case Studies– Intensively investigate one or a few situations

similar to the problem situation

• Experience Surveys– Individuals who are knowledge about a

particular research problem are questioned

Types of Conclusive Research

• Descriptive Research– Describes attitudes, perceptions, characteristics,

activities and situations.– Examines who, what, when, where, why, & how

questions

• Causal Research– Provides evidence that a cause-and-effect relationship

exists or does not exist.– Premise is that something (and independent variable)

directly influences the behavior of something else (the dependent variable).

Sample Surveyed at T1

Sample Surveyed

at T1

SameSame Sample

also Surveyed

at T2

T1 T2

Cross Sectional Design

Longitudinal Design

Time

Cross Sectional vs. Longitudinal Designs

Cross-Sectional vs. Longitudinal Designs

Cross-Sectional Longitudinal

Detecting change Worse Better

Amount of data collected Worse Better

Accuracy Worse Better

Representativeness Better Worse

Response bias Better Worse

Exploratory Research

•Secondary Data Analysis

•Focus Groups

Conclusive Research•Descriptive/Causal

Conclusive Research•Descriptive/Causal

Exploratory Research

•Secondary Data Analysis

•Focus Groups

Conclusive Research•Descriptive/Causal

Some Alternative Research Designs

(a)

(b)

(c)

Basic Research Methods

• Secondary Data Analysis– Historical analysis

• Surveys– Asking; self-reported

• Experiments– Testing in controlled environments

• Observation– Watching & recording

Which is the “Best” Research Design & Method?

• “You cannot put the same shoe on every foot.”– Publilius Syrus

• It depends on the– problem of interest, – level of information needed, – resources, – researcher’s experience, etc.