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Types of Research: Exploratory Research Has The Goal of Formulating Problems More Precisely

The document discusses different types of marketing research including exploratory research, descriptive research, and causal research. It also discusses data types and sources, including secondary data from internal/external sources and primary data collected specifically for a study. Measurement scales and designing valid and reliable questionnaires, surveys, and measures of attitudes are also covered.

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Vamsi Sakhamuri
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80 views5 pages

Types of Research: Exploratory Research Has The Goal of Formulating Problems More Precisely

The document discusses different types of marketing research including exploratory research, descriptive research, and causal research. It also discusses data types and sources, including secondary data from internal/external sources and primary data collected specifically for a study. Measurement scales and designing valid and reliable questionnaires, surveys, and measures of attitudes are also covered.

Uploaded by

Vamsi Sakhamuri
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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TYPES OF RESEARCH

Marketing research can classified in one of three categories:

Exploratory research

Descriptive research

Causal research

These classifications are made according to the objective of the research. In some
cases the research will fall into one of these categories, but in other cases different
phases of the same research project will fall into different categories.

Exploratory research has the goal of formulating problems more precisely,


clarifying concepts, gathering explanations, gaining insight, eliminating
impractical ideas, and forming hypotheses. Exploratory research can be
performed using a literature search, surveying certain people about their
experiences, focus groups, and case studies. When surveying people,
exploratory research studies would not try to acquire a representative sample,
but rather, seek to interview those who are knowledgeable and who might be
able to provide insight concerning the relationship among variables. Case
studies can include contrasting situations or benchmarking against an
organization known for its excellence. Exploratory research may develop
hypotheses, but it does not seek to test them. Exploratory research is
characterized by its flexibility.

Descriptive research is more rigid than exploratory research and seeks to


describe users of a product, determine the proportion of the population that
uses a product, or predict future demand for a product. As opposed to
exploratory research, descriptive research should define questions, people
surveyed, and the method of analysis prior to beginning data collection. In
other words, the who, what, where, when, why, and how aspects of the
research should be defined. Such preparation allows one the opportunity to
make any required changes before the costly process of data collection has
begun.
There are two basic types of descriptive research: longitudinal studies and
cross-sectional studies. Longitudinal studies are time series analyses that
make repeated measurements of the same individuals, thus allowing one to
monitor behavior such as brand-switching. However, longitudinal studies are
not necessarily representative since many people may refuse to participate
because of the commitment required. Cross-sectional studies sample the
population to make measurements at a specific point in time. A special type of
cross-sectional analysis is a cohort analysis, which tracks an aggregate of
individuals who experience the same event within the same time interval over
time. Cohort analyses are useful for long-term forecasting of product demand.

Causal research seeks to find cause and effect relationships between


variables. It accomplishes this goal through laboratory and field experiments.

Data Types and Sources


Secondary Data
Before going through the time and expense of collecting primary data, one should
check for secondary data that previously may have been collected for other
purposes but that can be used in the immediate study. Secondary data may be
internal to the firm, such as sales invoices and warranty cards, or may be external to
the firm such as published data or commercially available data. The government
census is a valuable source of secondary data.
Secondary data has the advantage of saving time and reducing data gathering costs.
The disadvantages are that the data may not fit the problem perfectly and that the
accuracy may be more difficult to verify for secondary data than for primary data.
Some secondary data is republished by organizations other than the original source.
Because errors can occur and important explanations may be missing in republished
data, one should obtain secondary data directly from its source. One also should
consider who the source is and whether the results may be biased.
There are several criteria that one should use to evaluate secondary data.

Whether the data is useful in the research study.

How current the data is and whether it applies to time period of interest.

Errors and accuracy - whether the data is dependable and can be verified.

Presence of bias in the data.

Specifications and methodologies used, including data collection method,


response rate, quality and analysis of the data, sample size and sampling
technique, and questionnaire design.

Objective of the original data collection.

Nature of the data, including definition of variables, units of measure,


categories used, and relationships examined.

Primary Data
Often, secondary data must be supplemented by primary data originated specifically
for the study at hand. Some common types of primary data are:

demographic and socioeconomic characteristics

psychological and lifestyle characteristics

attitudes and opinions

awareness and knowledge - for example, brand awareness

intentions - for example, purchase intentions. While useful, intentions are not
a reliable indication of actual future behavior.

motivation - a person's motives are more stable than his/her behavior, so


motive is a better predictor of future behavior than is past behavior.

behavior

Primary data can be obtained by communication or by observation. Communication


involves questioning respondents either verbally or in writing. This method is
versatile, since one needs only to ask for the information; however, the response
may not be accurate. Communication usually is quicker and cheaper than
observation. Observation involves the recording of actions and is performed by either
a person or some mechanical or electronic device. Observation is less versatile than
communication since some attributes of a person may not be readily observable,
such as attitudes, awareness, knowledge, intentions, and motivation. Observation
also might take longer since observers may have to wait for appropriate events to
occur, though observation using scanner data might be quicker and more cost
effective. Observation typically is more accurate than communication.
Personal interviews have an interviewer bias that mail-in questionnaires do not have.
For example, in a personal interview the respondent's perception of the interviewer
may affect the responses.
Questionnaire Design
The questionnaire is an important tool for gathering primary data. Poorly constructed
questions can result in large errors and invalidate the research data, so significant
effort should be put into the questionnaire design. The questionnaire should be
tested thoroughly prior to conducting the survey.

Measurement Scales
Attributes can be measured on nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio scales:

Nominal numbers are simply identifiers, with the only permissible


mathematical use being for counting. Example: social security numbers.

Ordinal scales are used for ranking. The interval between the numbers
conveys no meaning. Median and mode calculations can be performed on
ordinal numbers. Example: class ranking

Interval scales maintain an equal interval between numbers. These scales


can be used for ranking and for measuring the interval between two numbers.
Since the zero point is arbitrary, ratios cannot be taken between numbers on
an interval scale; however, mean, median, and mode are all valid. Example:
temperature scale

Ratio scales are referenced to an absolute zero values, so ratios between


numbers on the scale are meaningful. In addition to mean, median, and
mode, geometric averages also are valid. Example: weight

Validity and Reliability


The validity of a test is the extent to which differences in scores reflect differences in
the measured characteristic. Predictive validity is a measure of the usefulness of a
measuring instrument as a predictor. Proof of predictive validity is determined by the
correlation between results and actual behavior. Construct validity is the extent to
which a measuring instrument measures what it intends to measure.
Reliability is the extent to which a measurement is repeatable with the same results.
A measurement may be reliable and not valid. However, if a measurement is valid,
then it also is reliable and if it is not reliable, then it cannot be valid. One way to show
reliability is to show stability by repeating the test with the same results.

Attitude Measurement
Many of the questions in a marketing research survey are designed to measure
attitudes. Attitudes are a person's general evaluation of something. Customer
attitude is an important factor for the following reasons:

Attitude helps to explain how ready one is to do something.

Attitudes do not change much over time.

Attitudes produce consistency in behavior.

Attitudes can be related to preferences.

Attitudes can be measured using the following procedures:

Self-reporting - subjects are asked directly about their attitudes. Self-reporting


is the most common technique used to measure attitude.

Observation of behavior - assuming that one's behavior is a result of one's


attitudes, attitudes can be inferred by observing behavior. For example, one's
attitude about an issue can be inferred by whether he/she signs a petition
related to it.

Indirect techniques - use unstructured stimuli such as word association tests.

Performance of objective tasks - assumes that one's performance depends on


attitude. For example, the subject can be asked to memorize the arguments of
both sides of an issue. He/she is more likely to do a better job on the
arguments that favor his/her stance.

Physiological reactions - subject's response to a stimuli is measured using


electronic or mechanical means. While the intensity can be measured, it is
difficult to know if the attitude is positive or negative.

Multiple measures - a mixture of techniques can be used to validate the


findings, especially worthwhile when self-reporting is used.

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