market and social research part 5

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Market research - survey design

The learning outcomes of this lecture are to:

To describe each of the quantitative research methods;

To state the strengths and weaknesses of each of the quantitative research methods;

To describe the main types of survey designs;

To specify the factors that determine the choice of data collection methods

Study Skills and Learning Resources - http://www.griot.org

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The role of the interviewer in Quantitative research:

•Contact people who match the recruitment criteria•Encourage them to take part in the research•Administer the research/interview

Interviewers must be competent, adept in people skills, understand research and research processes. The input of both the researcher, and the informant, will affect each data transaction.


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It is important to keep a consistent, uniform approach with quantitative interviewing (there is more flexibility with qualitative interviewing). Informants are asked the same questions, in the same order, in the same way, on each occasion. The researcher must record the responses accurately (either in boxes, by ticking, verbatim, etc)


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In all of these methods there 3 factors in addition to the research objective:-

•Accuracy

•Speed

•Cost


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All interviewers should be well trained, ideally using the Interviewer Quality Control Scheme (IQCS) set up by the MRS. In addition, there should be thorough briefing for each research programme they work on.


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Face to face interviews –•Street interviews•Shopping centres/hall tests•In-home studies•At-work studiesOther approaches -•Retail audits•Telephone interviews•Postal and Email surveys•Consumer panels•Tracking studies•Observation •Mystery shoppingStudy Skills and Learning

Resources - http://www.griot.org

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Street interviews:

Very popular with researchers – but unpopular with informants. The researcher approaches those who fit the profile/criteria, or takes every Nth passer-by

What about advantages and disadvantages - consider:

•Environment?

•Stimulus materials?

•Length of interview?

•True sample?


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Street interviews:

Most of us will, at some time, have been stopped by a researcher with a clip board asking if we can spare a few moments of our time to help complete a questionnaire/ survey. This approach ensures very rapid results, which can be checked against detailed quota samples drawn up by the researcher, and is comparatively cheap in terms of both time and money.


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Hall tests

In hall tests, respondents are brought to a hall, and asked to view or taste products.

Hall tests - usually restricted to consumer research, Clinics - for the industrial or business-to-business field, (terms can be used interchangeably.)


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AdvantagesEconomical and quick. Providing the location has a decent volume of pedestrian flow, a high throughput can be obtained in a short period of time.

Advantages and disadvantages of Hall tests:

DisadvantagesSamples drawn from the street during the day are bound to contain biases. For example, what about all the individuals who are elsewhere?Not everyone is willing to give up 15-20 minutes, even during a lunch hour.


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In-home studies

Products - tested by informants in their own homes.

relaxed informants longer testing, discussing and assessingappropriate when the is long, complicated, sensitive questionnaire

use of complex prompts or cards.


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At work surveys:

Not all market research is carried out on consumers (i.e. the general public). There is a wide range of different types of respondent in commerce and industry whose views are of interest because of their job. What they think will be of relevance to products that are produced for those markets. Examples of this are doctors and nurses (the pharmaceutical industry), warehouse managers (fork-lift trucks and warehouse equipment) and bank managers (banking and insurance).

Advantages and disadvantages?


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Retail audits:

Team of auditors from a research firm visits a sample of stores to:-count the inventory record deliveries since the last visit.

Sales are computed as follows:

Beginning inventory + deliveries - ending inventory = Sales for the period.

Audits used to project national and regional estimates

A.C. Nielson Co carry out regular audits covering groceries, drugs, other merchandise and alcoholic beverages.


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Problems with retail audit research:

•the time and resources needed to carry it out

•this sort of work tells you what people are doing but not why they are doing it.


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Telephone interviews:

CATI systems (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing). Average length of such an interviewer is between 5-15 minutes.


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Postal and Email surveys:

Postal surveys are very common – but response rate??Issues:-the list of potential respondents,accessing these respondents, ensuring an acceptable response rate –Other advantages and disadvantages?


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Panel studies:

follow the same consumers over a period of time

Useful in

•tracing movements in buying and consumer behaviour

•assessing the impact of specific variables (see reference to experimentation in earlier notes).

BBC and British Telecom both use panels,

AGB - produces detailed consumer information


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Problems of panels include the following points:

•selection bias (the high rates of refusal to take part and the resulting lack of representativeness)•high investment in time and resources•difficulties in ensuring that panel members continue to stay involved in the research until the end of the programme•the issue of trying to ensure that responses of respondents are not atypical


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Tracking studies:

monitor consumer reactions and perceptions over a period of time using different consumers or groups of consumers at each stage of the research.

Monitoring of advertising campaigns - researchers identify reasons for a campaign’s success or failure.


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. Features that can be tracked include:

advertisement awarenessawareness of the elements of the advertisementbrand awarenessbeliefs about brand attributesbrand imageoccasions of use brand preference


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. Constraints/comments of tracking studies:

Costs •expensive •large number of interviews needed.•syndication for cost reduction

Accuracy •Relatively high degree of accuracy. •Bias is avoided - large sample size

- fresh sample in each wave.

Speed•Not fast


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Observation: Structured observation can be used to collect quantitative data. The danger is that the unskilled researcher merely stands and watches, without preparing the criteria which will be observed. In some cases, there is participant observation (i.e. where the researcher interacts with the subjects under observation). Ethical issues of observation will be picked up in a later lecture.


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Mystery shopping: a form of observation. A check list will be prepared, allowing one experience to be validly compared with another.


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Summary

Described each of the quantitative research methods;

Stated the strengths and weaknesses of each of the quantitative research methods;

Described the main types of survey designs;

Specified the factors that determine the choice of data collection methods


market and social research part 5

Education