chapter 02 (marketing research)

CHAPTER 2MARKETING RESEARCH

Marketing Management by Arun Kumar and N Meenakshi

© Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd. 2006

LEARNING OBJECTIVES• Nature and purpose of marketing information systems and

the role of marketing research within such systems • Options facing a marketing manager who wants to gather

marketing research information • Stages in the marketing research process • How to prepare a research brief and proposal • Nature and role of exploratory, descriptive and

experimentative research • Survey design decisions: sampling, survey method, and

questionnaire design issues • Analysis and interpretation of data • Report writing and presentation



MARKETING INFORMATION SYSTEMS – MIS

• Internal continuous data • Internal ad-hoc data • Environmental scanning • Marketing research



MARKETING RESEARCH APPROACHES

• By the marketing department itself • By the marketing research department • Fieldwork by an agency • The full services of a marketing research

agency is used



TYPES OF MARKETING RESEARCH

• Ad-hoc research• Continuous research interview

Consumer panelsRetail audits Television viewership panel



STAGES IN THE MARKETING RESEARCH PROCESS

• Initial contact• Research brief

Prerequisites for commissioning a good research

• Research proposal



• Types of research methodsExploratory research

Secondary research Qualitative research (Focus group, Depth

interview, Consultation with experts, observation)

Descriptive researchExperimental research



Stages In The Marketing Research Process (Contd.)



Exploratory research is a type of research conducted because a problem has not been clearly defined. Exploratory research helps determine the best research design, data collection method and selection of subjects. Given its fundamental nature, exploratory research often concludes that a perceived problem does not actually exist.

Exploratory research is conducted into an issue or problem where there are few or no earlier studies to refer to. The focus is on gaining insights and familiarity for later investigation.



Secondary research (also known as desk research) involves the summary, collation and/or synthesis of existing research rather than primary research, where data is collected from, for example, research subjects or experiments.

These secondary sources could include previous research reports, newspaper, magazine and journal content, and government and NGO statistics. Sometimes secondary research is required in the preliminary stages of research to determine what is known already and what new data is required, or to inform research design. At other times, it may make be the only research technique used.



Qualitative researchers aim to gather an in-depth understanding of human behaviour and the reasons that govern such behaviour. The qualitative method investigates the why and how of decision making, not just what, where, when. Hence, smaller but focused samples are more often needed, rather than large samples.

A focus group is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging.[1] Questions are asked in an interactive group setting where participants are free to talk with other group members.



Depth Interviews-interview is conducted one-on-one, and lasts between 30 and 60 minutes-best method for in-depth probing of personal opinions, beliefs, and values-very rich depth of information-very flexible-probing is very useful at uncovering hidden issues-they are unstructured (or loosely structured)- this differentiates them from survey interviews in which the same questions are asked to all respondents-can be time consuming and responses can be difficult to interpretrequires skilled interviewers - expensive - interviewer bias can easily be introduced-there is no social pressure on respondents to conform and no group dynamics



-start with general questions and rapport establishing questions, then proceed to more purposive questions-laddering is a technique used by depth interviewers in which you start with questions about external objects and external social phenomena, then proceed to internal attitudes and feelings-hidden issue questioning is a technique used by depth interviewers in which they concentrate on deeply felt personal concerns and pet peevesS-ymbolic analysis is a technique used by depth interviewers in which deeper symbolic meanings are probed by asking questions about their opposites



Focus Groups-an interactive group discussion lead by a moderator-unstructured (or loosely structured) discussion where the moderator --encourages the free flow of ideas-usually 8 to 12 members in the group who fit the profile of the target group or consumer but may consist of two interviewees (a dyad) or three -interviewees (a triad) or a lesser number of participants (known as a mini-group)-usually last for 1 to 2 hours-usually recorded on video/DVD-may be streamed via a closed streaming service for remote viewing of the proceedings-the room usually has a large window with one-way glass - participants cannot see out, but the researchers can see in-inexpensive and fast-can use computer and internet technology for on-line focus groups-respondents feel a group pressure to conform-group dynamics is useful in developing new streams of thought and covering an issue thoroughly



This research is the most commonly used and the basic reason for carrying out descriptive research is to identify the cause of something that is happening.

For instance, this research could be used in order to find out what age group is buying a particular brand of cola, whether a company’s market share differs between geographical regions or to discover how many competitors a company has in their marketplace. However, if the research is to return useful results, whoever is conducting the research must comply with strict research requirements in order to obtain the most accurate figures/results possible.

Descriptive Research



EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH

It is a collection of research designs which use manipulation and controlled testing to understand causal processes. Generally, one or more variables are manipulated to determine their effect on a dependent variable.

The experimental method is a systematic and scientific approach to research in which the researcher manipulates one or more variables, and controls and measures any change in other variables.

• The main data collection stage Sampling process Sample size Sample selection

Simple random sampling Stratified random sampling Cluster sampling Convenience sample Judgment sample Quota sampling



PROBABILITY

SAMPLING

NON-PROBABILITY

SAMPLING




Probability SamplingA probability sampling method is any method of sampling that utilizes some form of random selection. In order to have a random selection method, you must set up some process or procedure that assures that the different units in your population have equal probabilities of being chosen. Humans have long practiced various forms of random selection, such as picking a name out of a hat, or choosing the short straw. These days, we tend to use computers as the mechanism for generating random numbers as the basis for random selection.



Let us assume you had a school with 1000 students, divided equally into boys and girls, and you wanted to select 100 of them for further study. You might put all their names in a bucket and then pull 100 names out. Not only does each person have an equal chance of being selected, we can also easily calculate the probability of a given person being chosen, since we know the sample size (n) and the population (N) and it becomes a simple matter of division:n/N or 100/1000 = 0.10 (10%)This means that every student in the school has a 10% or 1 in 10 chance of being selected using this method. Further, all combinations of 100 students have the same probability of selection.

Simple Random Sampling



Suppose that in a company there are the following staff:

male, full time: 90male, part time: 18female, full time: 9female, part time: 63Total: 180and we are asked to take a sample of 40 staff, stratified according to the above categories.The first step is to find the total number of staff (180) and calculate the percentage in each group.% male, full time = (90 / 180) x 100 = 50% male, part time = ( 18 / 180 ) x100 = 10% female, full time = (9 / 180 ) x 100 = 5% female, part time = (63 / 180) x 100 = 35

Stratified random sampling



This tells us that of our sample of 40,50% should be male, full time.10% should be male, part time.5% should be female, full time.35% should be female, part time.

50% of 40 is 20.10% of 40 is 4.5% of 40 is 2.35% of 40 is 14.



Cluster sampling is a sampling technique used when "natural" groupings are evident in a statistical population. It is often used in marketing research. In this technique, the total population is divided into these groups (or clusters) and a sample of the groups is selected. Then the required information is collected from the elements within each selected group.

In cluster sampling, we follow these steps:

-divide population into clusters (usually along geographic boundaries)-randomly sample clusters-measure all units within sampled clusters



Non-probability sampling

Non-probability sampling is a sampling technique wherein the samples are gathered in a process that does not give all the individuals in the population equal chances of being selected. In any form of research, true random sampling is always difficult to achieve.Most researchers are bounded by time, money and workforce and because of these limitations, it is almost impossible to randomly sample the entire population and it is often necessary to employ another sampling technique, the non-probability sampling technique.



CONVENIENCE SAMPLINGConvenience sampling is probably the most common of all sampling techniques. With convenience sampling, the samples are selected because they are accessible to the researcher. Subjects are chosen simply because they are easy to recruit. This technique is considered easiest, cheapest and least time consuming.

CONSECUTIVE SAMPLING

Consecutive sampling is very similar to convenience sampling except that it seeks to include ALL accessible subjects as part of the sample. This non-probability sampling technique can be considered as the best of all non-probability samples because it includes all subjects that are available that makes the sample a better representation of the entire population.

QUOTA SAMPLINGQuota sampling is a non-probability sampling technique wherein the researcher ensures equal or proportionate representation of subjects depending on which trait is considered as basis of the quota.For example, if basis of the quota is college year level and the researcher needs equal representation, with a sample size of 100, he must select 25 1st year students, another 25 2nd year students, 25 3rd year and 25 4th year students. The bases of the quota are usually age, gender, education, race, religion and socioeconomic status.

JUDGMENTAL SAMPLINGJudgmental sampling is more commonly known as purposive sampling. In this type of sampling, subjects are chosen to be part of the sample with a specific purpose in mind. With judgmental sampling, the researcher believes that some subjects are more fit for the research compared to other individuals. This is the reason why they are purposively chosen as subjects.

SNOWBALL SAMPLINGSnowball sampling is usually done when there is a very small population size. In this type of sampling, the researcher asks the initial subject to identify another potential subject who also meets the criteria of the research. The downside of using a snowball sample is that it is hardly representative of the population.

WHEN TO USE NON-PROBABILITY SAMPLINGThis type of sampling can be used when demonstrating that a particular trait exists in the population.It can also be used when the researcher aims to do a qualitative, pilot or exploratory study.It can be used when randomization is impossible like when the population is almost limitless.It can be used when the research does not aim to generate results that will be used to create generalizations pertaining to the entire population.



The methods of non-probability sampling include:

Convenience sampling: Use who's available.Purposive sampling: Selection based on purpose.Modal instance sampling: Focus on 'typical' people.Expert sampling: Selecting 'experts' for opinion or study.Quota sampling: Keep going until the sample size is reached.Proportionate quota sampling: Balance across groups by population proportion.Non-proportionate quota sampling: Study a minimum number in each sub-group.Snowball sampling: Get sampled people to nominate others.Diversity sampling: Seeking variation with a wide net.Judgment sampling: Selecting what seems like a good enough sample.

• Survey methods

Face to face interviews

Telephone interviews

Mail surveys




• Questionnaire designDesign stage

• Pilot stage

• Data analysis and interpretation

• Report writing and presentation




chapter 02 (marketing research)

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