Dr ZHENG Weijia

Office ： IB941
Email ： [email protected]
 Hand in your group member lists (6-8 members/group)!
 Start from 5th session (detailed schedule on course
syllabus). Further guideline and information available on
BB.
 Cases & questions available on BB one week in advance
 Groups will make a 15-20 minute presentation. An extra 5
minutes for questions & answers.
 Group will need to upload the presentation slides on BB
after the presentation.
 20% of the final grade.
 Research Approaches

Exploratory Conclusive
Research Research

Descriptive Causal
Research Research

Cross- Longitudinal
Sectional Study
Study
Single Cross- Multiple Cross-
Sectional Sectional
Study Study
 Exploratory Conclusive
Objective: To provide insights and To test specific hypotheses and
understanding examine relationships

Character- Information needed is Information needed is clearly

istics: defined only loosely. defined. Research process is
Research process is flexible formal and structured.
and unstructured. Sample is Sample is large and
small and non- representative. Data analysis is
representative. quantitative
Analysis of primary data is
qualitative
Findings/
Results: Tentative Conclusive

Outcome: Generally followed by further

exploratory or conclusive Findings used as input into
research decision making
 Exploratory Descriptive Causal
Objective: Discovery of Describe market Determine
ideas and insights characteristics or cause and
functions effect
relationships
Characteristics: Flexible, versatile Marked by the prior
formulation of Manipulation of
specific hypotheses independent
variables,
effect on
dependent
Often the front Preplanned and variables
end of total structured design
research design Control
mediating
Methods: Expert surveys Secondary variables
Case studies data(quantitative
Secondary analysis)
data(qualitative Surveys Experiments
analysis) Observation and
Focus groups other data
 Exploratory research is usually conducted at the
outset of research projects.
 It is usually conducted when the researcher does
not know much about the problems.
 Formulate a problem or define a problem more
precisely
 Identify alternative courses of action
 Develop hypotheses
 Isolate key variables and relationships for
further examination
 Gain insights for developing an approach to the
problem
 Establish priorities for further research
 Secondary Data Analysis in qualitative manner:
the process of searching for interpreting existing
information relevant to the research topic
 Expert Surveys: refers to gathering information
from those knowledgeable on the issues relevant to
the research problem
› Key-informant technique: gathering information
from those thought to be knowledgeable on the
issues relevant to the problem
› Lead-user survey: used to acquire information
from lead users of a new technology
 Case Analysis: a review of available information
about a former situation(s) that has some similarities
to the current research problem
 Focus Groups: small groups brought together and
guided by a moderator through an unstructured,
spontaneous discussion for the purpose of gaining
information relevant to the research problem
 Descriptive research is undertaken to describe
answers to basic questions of who, what, where,
when, and how related to the marketing
phenomena.
 It is desirable when we wish to project a study’s
findings to a larger population, if the study’s sample
is representative.
 To describe the characteristics of relevant
groups, such as consumers, salespeople,
organizations, or market areas
 To estimate the percentage of units in a specified
population exhibiting a certain behavior
 To determine the perceptions of product
characteristics
 To determine the degree to which marketing
variables are associated
 To make specific predictions
 Secondary data analyzed in a quantitative, as opposed to
a qualitative, manner
 Surveys
 Observational and other data

Descriptive research remains the

most popular way to collect primary
quantitative data in marketing
research.
Measure units from a sample of the population at only
one point in time (or “snapshot”).
Sample surveys are cross-sectional studies whose
samples are drawn in such a way as to be
representative of a specific population.
-In single cross-sectional studies, there is only one
sample of respondents and information is obtained
from this sample only once.
-In multiple cross-sectional studies, there are two or
more samples of respondents, and information from
each sample is obtained only once.
 Repeatedly measure the same sample units of a
population over time.
 Since they involve multiple measurements over
time, they are often described as “movies” of the
population.
 A longitudinal study differs from a cross-sectional
one in that the sample or samples remain the same
over time.
 Brand-switching studies: studies examining how
many consumers switched brands.
 Market-tracking studies are those that measure
some variable(s) of interest — such as market share
or unit sales — over time.
Cross- Sample
Sectiona Surveye
l Design d at T1

Same
Sample Sample
Longitudina Surveyed also
l Design at T1 Surveyed
at T2

Time T1 T2
Evaluatio Cross- Longitudin
n Criteria Sectional al Design
Design
Detecting Change - +
Large amount of data - +
collection - +
Accuracy + -
Representative Sampling + -
Response bias
Note: A “+” indicates a relative advantage over the
other design, whereas a “-” indicates a relative
disadvantage.
Descriptive versus Causal Research
Conclusive Research
Design

Descriptive Research Causal Research

Association Cause and Effect

X and Y Vary X is a Cause of

Together Y
 Causality may be thought of as understanding a
phenomenon in terms of conditional statements of
the form “If x, then y.”
 Causal relationships are often determined by the
use of experiments.
 To understand which variables are the cause
(independent variables) and which variables are the
effect (dependent variables) of a phenomenon
 To determine the nature of the relationship between
the causal variables and the effect to be predicted
 METHOD: Experiments
 An experiment is defined as manipulating an
independent variable to see how it affects a
dependent variable, while also controlling the effects
of additional extraneous variables.
 Independent variables are those variables which
the researcher has control over and wishes to
manipulate… the 4 P’s.
 For example: level of ad expenditure; type of ad
appeal; display location; method of compensating
salespersons; price; type of product.
 Dependent variables are those variables that are
measured in response to changes in independent
variable.
 Experimental design is a procedure for devising an
experimental setting such that a change in a
dependent variable may be attributed solely to the
change in an independent variable.
An experiment is valid if:
The observed change in the dependent variable is
due to the independent variable;
The results of the experiment apply to the “real world”
outside the experimental setting.
Two forms of validity are used to assess the validity of
an experiment:
Internal validity is concerned with the extent to
which the change in the dependent variable is actually
due to the change in the independent variable.
External validity refers to the extent that the
relationship observed between the independent and
dependent variables during the experiment is
generalizable to the “real world.”
Memos from a Researcher
Describe which research approach you would
recommend for each client.
For each research approach you selected for the
three clients, discuss why you believe your choice
of design is the correct choice.
 Exploratory research
- There is a need to measure the brand image, and there
is not a clear idea of what the exact problem is.
- Exploratory research would be best for Client A.
 Descriptive research
- The Client B wants to determine how sales are affected,
what affects them, and when advertisements are most
effective.
- These questions of who, what, where, when, why, and
how are best answered by descriptive research.
 Causal research
- Client C wants to determine what factors of package
design cause an increase in awareness, preference for,
and intention to buy the brand.
- These are causal relationships, and therefore best
investigated by causal research.
 Exploratory Research
(a) • Secondary Data Conclusive Research
Analysis •Descriptive/Causal
• Focus Groups

(b) Conclusive Research

•Descriptive/Causal

Exploratory
(c) Conclusive Research Research
•Descriptive/Causal • Secondary Data
Analysis
• Focus Groups
Marketing Research at Citibank is typical in that it is
used to measure consumer awareness of products,
monitor their satisfaction and attitudes associated
with the product, track product usage and diagnose
problems as they occur.
To accomplish these tasks, Citibank makes
extensive use of exploratory, descriptive, and causal
research.
research Often it is advantageous to offer special
financial packages to specific groups of customers.

In this case, a financial package is being designed

for senior citizens. The following seven-step process
was taken by marketing research to help in the
design.
1) A taskforce was created to better define the
market parameters to include all the needs of the
many Citibank branches. A final decision was
made to include Americans 55 years of age or
older, retired, and in the upper half of the financial
strata of that market.
Citibank on Exploratory, Descriptive,
and Causal Research
2) Exploratory research in the form of secondary data
analysis of the mature or older market was then
performed, and a study of competitive products was
conducted.
Exploratory qualitative research involving focus
groups was also carried out, in order to determine the
needs and desires of the market and the level of
satisfaction with the current products.
In the case of senior
citizens, a great deal of
diversity was found in the
market. This was
determined to be due to
such factors as affluence,
relative age, and the
absence or presence of a
spouse.
3) The next stage of research was brainstorming.
This involved the formation of many different
financial packages aimed at the target market. In
this case, a total of 10 ideas were generated.
Citibank on Exploratory, Descriptive,
and Causal Research

4) The feasibility of the 10 ideas generated in step

3 was then tested. The ideas were tested on the
basis of whether they were possible in relation to
the business.

The following list of questions was used as a series

of hurdles that the ideas had to pass to continue on
to the next step.

• Can the idea be explained in a manner that the

target
market will easily understand?
• Does the idea fit into the overall strategy of
Citibank?
Citibank on Exploratory, Descriptive,
and Causal Research
 Is there an available description of a specific
target market for the proposed product?
 Does the research conducted so far indicate a
potential match for target market needs, and is
the idea perceived to have appeal to this market?
 Is there a feasible outline of the tactics and
strategies for implementing the program?
 Have the financial impact and cost of the
program been thoroughly evaluated and
determined to be in line with company practices?
In this study, only one idea generated from the
brainstorming session made it past all the listed
hurdles and on to step 5.
Citibank on Exploratory, Descriptive,
and Causal Research

5) A creative work-plan was then generated. This plan

was to emphasize the competitive advantage of the
proposed product, as well as better delineate the specific
features of the product.

6) The previous exploratory research was now followed up

with descriptive research in the form of mall intercept
surveys of people in the target market range. The survey
showed that the list of special features was too long and it
was decided to drop the features more commonly offered
by competitors.
Citibank on Exploratory, Descriptive,
and Causal Research

7) Finally, the product was test marketed in

six of the Citibank branches within the
target market. Test marketing is a form of
causal research.
research Given successful test
marketing results, the product is introduced
nationally.
 Total Error

Sampling Error Non-sampling

Error

Response Non-response
Error Error

Researcher Interviewer Respondent

Error Error Error

Measurement Error Respondent Selection Error Inability Error

Population Definition Error Questioning Error Unwillingness Error
Sampling Frame Error Recording Error
Data Analysis Error Cheating Error
 The total error is the variation between the true mean value
in the population of the variable of interest and the observed
mean value obtained in the marketing research project.
 Sampling error is the variation between the true mean value
for the population and the true mean value for the original
sample.
 Non-sampling errors can be attributed to sources other
than sampling, including errors in problem definition,
approach, scales, questionnaire design, interviewing
methods, and data preparation and analysis.
- non-response errors
- response errors
 Non-response error arises when some of the
respondents included in the sample do not
respond.
 Response error arises when respondents give
inaccurate answers or their answers are
misrecorded or misanalyzed.
Sweet Cookies, Inc. is planning to launch a new line of
cookies and wants to assess the market size. The cookies
are of a mixed chocolate pineapple flavor and will be
targeted at the premium end of the market. The manager is
concerned about what can be done to increase the market
share of the mixed chocolate pineapple flavor cookie.
Work in pairs, discuss the issue and formulate the
appropriate:
a. Research problem
b. Specific research questions?
c. Research approaches: exploratory, descriptive, and/or
causal? Respective purposes?
a. Research problem
- Determine the market size of a mixed chocolate
pineapple flavor cookie
- Determine the strengths and weaknesses of similar
products, if any, already in the market.
b. Specific research questions to the research
problem
- What is the size of the cookie market?
- What is the potential size of the market for a
chocolate pineapple flavor cookie?
- What attributes do consumers desire in cookies?
c. Research approaches & purposes
 Exploratory research
- to explore consumers’ attitudes and feelings
regarding the cookie market and the desire for this
particular cookie.
 Descriptive research
- to estimate the percentage of consumers that might
purchase the cookie and the amount they would be
willing to spend.
 Exploratory Research
 Descriptive Research
i. Cross-Sectional Design
ii. Longitudinal Design
iii. Advantages and Disadvantages of Longitudinal
and Cross-Sectional Designs
 Causal Research
 Relationships Among Exploratory, Descriptive and
Causal Research
 Potential Sources of Error
i. Sampling Error
ii. Non-sampling Error
 Case allocation for group assessment
 Next session:1st group presentation
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