Marketing Research: An Applied Orientation

Seventh Edition

Chapter 3
Research Design

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Chapter Outline (1 of 3)
1) Overview
2) Research Design: Definition
3) Research Design: Classification
4) Exploratory Research
5) Descriptive Research
I. Cross-Sectional Design
II. Longitudinal Design
III. Advantages and Disadvantages of Longitudinal and
Cross-Sectional Designs

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Chapter Outline (2 of 3)
6) Causal Research
7) Relationships Among Exploratory, Descriptive, and
Causal Research
8) Potential Sources of Error
I. Random Sampling Error
II. Non-sampling Error
a. Non-response Error
b. Response Error
9) Budgeting and Scheduling

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Chapter Outline (3 of 3)
10) Marketing Research Proposal
11) International Marketing Research
12) Marketing Research & Social Media
13) Mobile Marketing Research
14) Ethics in Marketing Research
15) Summary

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Research Design: Definition
• A research design is a framework or blueprint for
conducting the marketing research project. It details the
procedures necessary for obtaining the information needed
to structure or solve marketing research problems.

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A Classification of Marketing Research
Designs
Figure 3.1 A
Classification of
Marketing
Research
Designs

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Exploratory & Conclusive Research
Differences
Table 3.1 Differences Between Exploratory and Conclusive
Research
Blank Exploratory Conclusive
Objective: To provide insights and To test specific hypotheses and
understanding examine relationships
Characteristics: Information needed is defined only Information needed is clearly
loosely. Research process is defined. Research process is
flexible and unstructured. Sample formal and structured. Sample
is small and nonrepresentative. is large and representative.
Analysis of primary data is Data analysis is quantitative.
qualitative.
Findings/Results: Tentative Conclusive
Outcome: Generally followed by further Findings used as input into
exploratory or conclusive research decision making

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A Comparison of Basic Research Designs
Table 3.2 A Comparison of Basic Research Designs
Blank Exploratory Descriptive Causal
Objective: Discovery of ideas and Describe market Determine cause-and-
insights characteristics or functions effect relationships
Characteristics: Flexible, versatile Marked by the prior Manipulation of one or
formulation of specific more independent
hypotheses variables
Often the front end of total Preplanned and structured Measure the effect on
research design design dependent variable(s)
Control of other
mediating variables
Methods: Expert surveys Secondary data: quantitative Experiments
Pilot surveys analysis
Case studies Surveys
Secondary data: qualitative Panels
analysis Observation and other data
Qualitative research

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Uses of Exploratory Research
• 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

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Use of Descriptive Research
• 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

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Cross-Sectional Designs
• Involve the collection of information from any given sample of
population elements only once.
• In single cross-sectional designs, there is only one sample of
respondents and information is obtained from this sample only
once.
• In multiple cross-sectional designs, there are two or more
samples of respondents, and information from each sample is
obtained only once. Often, information from different samples is
obtained at different times.

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Longitudinal Designs
• A fixed sample (or samples) of population elements is
measured repeatedly on the same variables
• A longitudinal design differs from a cross-sectional design
in that the sample or samples remain the same over time

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Cross-Sectional vs. Longitudinal

Cross- Sample
Sectional Surveyed
Design at T1

Sample Same Sample

Longitudinal
Surveyed at also Surveyed
Design
T1 at T2

Time → T1 T2

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Uses of Causal Research
• 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

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Marketing Research Proposal
• Executive Summary
• Background
• Problem Definition/Objectives of the Research
• Approach to the Problem
• Research Design
• Fieldwork/Data Collection
• Data Analysis
• Reporting
• Cost and Time
• Appendices

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International Marketing Research (1 of 2)
• Given environmental and
cultural differences, a
research design
appropriate for one country
might not be suitable for
another.
• In developing countries,
consumer panels often are
not available, which makes
it difficult to conduct
descriptive longitudinal
research.
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International Marketing Research (2 of 2)
• In many countries, the marketing support infrastructure –
retailing, wholesaling, advertising, and promotion
development – is often lacking, which makes it difficult to
implement a causal design involving a field experiment.
• In formulating a research design, considerable effort is
required to ensure the equivalence and comparability of
secondary and primary data obtained from different
countries.

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Ethics in Marketing Research (1 of 2)
• The choice of a research design has ethical overtones for
both the client and the research firm.
• Researchers must ensure that the research design will
provide the information needed to address the marketing
research problem.
• The client should have the integrity not to misrepresent the
project, should describe the constraints under which the
researcher must operate, and should not make
unreasonable demands.

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Ethics in Marketing Research (2 of 2)
• It would be unethical for a client to extract details from a
proposal submitted by one research firm and pass them to
another who actually would do the project for the client.
• The client should not take advantage of the research firm
by making false promises of future research contracts in
order to solicit concessions for the current project.

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Primary Vs. Secondary Data
• Primary data are originated by a researcher for the
specific purpose of addressing the problem at hand. The
collection of primary data involves all six steps of the
marketing research process
• Secondary data are data that have already been collected
for purposes other than the problem at hand. These data
can be located quickly and inexpensively.

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A Comparison of Primary & Secondary
Data
Table 4.1 A Comparison of Primary and Secondary Data
Blank Primary Data Secondary Data
Collection purpose For the problem at hand For other problems
Collection process Very involved Rapid and easy
Collection cost High Relatively low
Collection time Long Short

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Uses of Secondary Data
• Identify the problem
• Better define the problem
• Develop an approach to the problem
• Formulate an appropriate research design (for example, by
identifying the key variables)
• Answer certain research questions and test some
hypotheses
• Interpret primary data more insightfully

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Syndicated Services
• Syndicated services are companies that collect and sell
common pools of data of known commercial value
designed to serve a number of clients
• Syndicated sources can be classified based on the unit of
measurement (households/consumers or institutions)
• Household/consumer data may be obtained from surveys,
diary panels, or electronic scanner services
• Institutional data may be obtained from retailers,
wholesalers, or industrial firms

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 Overview of Syndicated Services (1 of 2)
Table 4.3 Overview of Syndicated Services
Type Characteristics Advantages Disadvantages Uses
Surveys Surveys conducted at Most flexible way of Interviewer errors; respondent Market segmentation;
regular intervals obtaining data; errors advertising theme
information on selection, and
underlying advertising
motives effectiveness
Purchase Households provide Recorded purchase Lack of representativeness; Forecasting sales,
panels specific information behavior can be response bias; maturation market share, and
regularly over an linked to the trends; establishing
extended period of demographic/psy consumer profiles,
time; respondents chographic brand loyalty, and
asked to record characteristics switching; evaluating
specific behaviors test markets,
as they occur advertising, and
distribution

Media Electronic devices Same as purchase Same as purchase panel Establishing advertising
panels automatically panel rates; selecting
recording behavior, media program or air
supplemented by a time; establishing
diary viewer profiles
Scanner Household purchases Data reflect actual Data may not be representative; Price tracking,
volume recorded through purchases; timely errors in recording purchases; modeling;
tracking electronic data; less difficult to link purchases to effectiveness of in-
data scanners in expensive elements of marketing mix store promotion
supermarkets other than price

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Overview of Syndicated Services (2 of 2)
[Table 4.3 Continued]
Type Characteristics Advantages Disadvantages Uses

Scanner Scanner panels of Data reflect actual Data may not be Promotional mix
panels with households that purchases; sample representative; analyses; copy
cable TV subscribe to cable TV control; ability to link quality of data testing; new-product
panel data to limited testing; positioning
household
characteristics

Audit services Verification of product Relatively precise Coverage may be Measurement of

movement by information at the incomplete; consumer sales and
examining physical retail and wholesale matching of data market share;
records or performing levels on competitive competitive activity;
inventory analysis activity may be analyzing distribution
difficult patterns; tracking of
new products

Industrial Data banks on industrial Important source of Data are lacking in Determining market
product establishments created information on terms of content, potential by
syndicated through direct inquiries industrial firms; quantity, and geographic area;
services of companies, clipping particularly useful in quality defining sales
services, and corporate initial phases of the territories; allocating
reports project advertising budget

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Single-Source Data
Single-source data provide integrated information on
household variables, including media consumption and
purchases, and marketing variables, such as product
sales, price, advertising, promotion, and in-store marketing
effort
• Recruit a test panel of households and meter each home's
TV sets
• Survey households periodically on what they read
• Grocery purchases are tracked by UPC scanners
• Track retail data, such as sales, advertising, and promotion

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Ethics in Marketing Research (1 of 3)
• The research firm has the ethical responsibility to use only
secondary data that are relevant and appropriate to the
problem.
• In addition to evaluating their quality and completeness,
researchers should also evaluate secondary data in terms
of moral appropriateness.
• Data collection might be unethical if the data are generated
without the respondents’ knowledge or consent and if their
use raises ethical questions.

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Ethics in Marketing Research (2 of 3)
• When generating secondary data, researchers and
syndicated firms should not engage in any questionable or
unethical practices, such as abuse of respondents’ privacy.
• After a detailed analysis of secondary data has been
conducted, the researcher should reexamine the collection
of primary data stipulated in the proposal to see if it is still
appropriate.

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Ethics in Marketing Research (3 of 3)
• Respondents’ rights, particularly their privacy, are a salient
issue. Obtaining data from respondents without their full
knowledge or consent is an invasion of privacy.
• Researchers have the ethical responsibility to avoid both
uninformed and misinformed participation by respondents
in market research projects.
• Syndicated firms are playing a significant role in
researching ethical issues and sensitizing marketing firms,
the marketing research industry, and the general public
about these concerns.

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