Research Design

Scenario 1
A local startup producing eco-friendly packaging
materials wants to expand into new product
categories but is unsure of customer preferences
and market trends. The company has limited data
about customer expectations and wants to
understand the potential opportunities in
sustainable product innovations.
 Scenario 2

A regional tourism board wants to understand the

profile of tourists visiting a heritage city. They are
interested in data such as age, income level,
countries of origin, average spending per trip, and
preferred activities. This information will help them
in crafting targeted promotional campaigns.
 Scenario 3

A retail chain wants to test whether providing

personalized discounts based on past purchase
behavior increases customer loyalty and spending.
They plan to offer personalized discounts to one
group and standard discounts to another group
while keeping all other factors constant.
 Scenario 1
A local startup producing eco-friendly packaging
materials wants to expand into new product
categories but is unsure of customer preferences
and market trends. The company has limited data
about customer expectations and wants to
understand the potential opportunities in
sustainable product innovations.
 Scenario 2

A regional tourism board wants to understand the

profile of tourists visiting a heritage city. They are
interested in data such as age, income level,
countries of origin, average spending per trip, and
preferred activities. This information will help them
in crafting targeted promotional campaigns.
 Scenario 3

A retail chain wants to test whether providing

personalized discounts based on past purchase
behavior increases customer loyalty and spending.
They plan to offer personalized discounts to one
group and standard discounts to another group
while keeping all other factors constant.
Research Design
• A research design is a framework or blueprint within
which the research is conducted

• Procedures necessary for obtaining the information

needed to structure or solve marketing research
problems.
 Components of research design

• Define the information needed

• Design the exploratory, descriptive, and/or causal phases of the
research
• Specify the measurement and scaling procedures
• Construct and pretest a questionnaire (interviewing form) or an
appropriate form for data collection
• Specify the sampling process and sample size
• Develop a plan for data analysis
 Exploratory Vs. Conclusive

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 flexible defined. Research process is
and unstructured. Sample is small formal and structured. Sample is
and nonrepresentative. Analysis of large and representative. Data
primary data is qualitative. analysis is quantitative.

Findings/Results: Tentative Conclusive

Outcome: Generally followed by further Findings used as input into
exploratory or conclusive research decision making
 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
extraneous 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
Examples of descriptive studies
• Market studies: market share, size of the market, buying power of
customers, availability of distributors etc
• Sales by geographic regions, product line, type and size of the
account
• Image studies
• Product usage studies
• Distribution studies – number and location of distributors
• Pricing studies
• Advertising studies
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.
• Cohort analysis consists of a series of surveys conducted at
appropriate time intervals, where the cohort serves as the basic unit of
analysis. A cohort is a group of respondents who experience the same
event within the same time interval.
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
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
Question!

• What type of research design would you consider

to get insights on brand loyalty and brand
switching?
• Why?
 Relative Advantages and Disadvantages of
Longitudinal and Cross-Sectional Designs

Evaluation Criteria Cross-Sectional Longitudinal

Design Design
Detecting change − +
Large amount of data collection − +
Accuracy − +
Representative sampling + −
Response bias + −
 Q: What are the key differences between
Exploratory research and conclusive research?

Q: What are the two types of descriptive

research design? What the differences?

Conclusive
Research

Exploratory
Research
Qualitative Versus Quantitative Research

Blank Qualitative Research Quantitative Research

Objective To gain a qualitative understanding To quantify the data and
of the underlying reasons and generalize the results from the
motivations sample to the population of
interest

Sample Small number of Large number of representative

nonrepresentative cases cases

Data collection Unstructured Structured

Data analysis Nonstatistical Statistical
Outcome Develop an initial understanding Recommend a final course of
action
 Word
Association • GREEN
Examples
Word Association Examples

• CAR
Sentence Completion
People who drink beer are ______________________

A man who drinks light beer is ___________________

Imported beer is most liked by ___________________

A woman will drink beer when____________________

Construction techniques
Thematic Apperception Test
(T.A.T.)
A test that presents subjects with an ambiguous picture(s)
in which consumers and products are the center of
attention; the investigator asks the subject to tell what is
happening in the picture(s) now and what might happen
next.
Activity
Cartoon Test

Let’s see if we
can pick up some
house wares at
IKEA
 FOCUS GROUP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TwgVQIZPsw
Focus Groups
• Interview conducted by a trained moderator

• In a non structured and natural manner with a small group

of respondents
Characteristics of Focus Groups
Group size 8 to 12
Group Homogeneous; respondents prescreened
composition
Physical setting Relaxed, informal atmosphere
Time duration 1 to 3 hours
Recording Use of audiocassettes and videotapes
Moderator Observational, interpersonal, and
communication skills of the moderator
Viewing Room Looking into the Focus Group Room
Through One-Way Mirror
Variations in Focus Groups (1 of 2)
• Two-way focus group. This allows one target group to listen to
and learn from a related group. For example, a focus group of
physicians viewed a focus group of arthritis patients discussing
the treatment they desired.
• Dual-moderator group. A focus group conducted by two
moderators: One moderator is responsible for the smooth flow of
the session, and the other ensures that specific issues are
discussed.
• Dueling-moderator group. There are two moderators, but they
deliberately take opposite positions on the issues to be
discussed.
 Variations in Focus Groups (2 of 2)
• Respondent-moderator group. The moderator asks selected
participants to play the role of moderator temporarily to improve
group dynamics.
• Client-participant groups. Client personnel are identified and
made part of the discussion group.
• Mini groups. These groups consist of a moderator and only 4 or 5
respondents.
• Telesession groups. Focus group sessions by phone using the
conference call technique.
• Online focus groups. Focus groups conducted online over the
Internet.
Applications of Focus Group
• Understanding consumers’ perceptions, preferences, and
behavior concerning a product category
• Obtaining impressions of a new product concepts
• Generating new ideas about older products
• Developing creative concepts and copy material for
advertisement
• Securing price impressions
Depth Interview Techniques: Laddering
In laddering, the line of questioning proceeds from product characteristics to user
characteristics. This technique allows the researcher to tap into the consumer's
network of meanings.

Wide body aircrafts (product characteristic)

↓
I can get more work done
↓
I accomplish more
↓
I feel good about myself (user characteristic)
Advertising theme: You will feel good about yourself when flying
our airline. “You're The Boss.”
Depth Interview: Hidden Issue Questioning
In hidden issue questioning, the focus is not on socially
shared values but rather on personal “sore spots;” not on
general lifestyles but on deeply felt personal concerns.
Depth Interview Techniques: Symbolic
Analysis
Symbolic analysis attempts to analyze the symbolic meaning of objects by
comparing them with their opposites. The logical opposites of a product that
are investigated are: non-usage of the product, attributes of an imaginary
“non-product,” and opposite types of products.

“What would it be like if you could no longer use airplanes?”

↓
“Without planes, I would have to rely on emails, letters, and long-distance
calls.”

Airlines sell to the managers face-to-face communication.

Advertising theme: The airline will do the same thing for a manager as Federal
Express does for a package.
Applications
• Detailed probing of respondent (automobile purchase)
• Discussion of confidential, sensitive or embarrassing topic
(personal finance)
• Detailed understanding of complicated behavior (department
store shopping)
• Interviews with competitors, who are unlikely to reveal the
information in a group setting (travel agent’s perceptions of airline
package travel programs)
• Interviews with professional people (industrial marketing
research)
 CASE : SONY PLAYSTATION 3

• Depth interview was used to determine consumer attitude and

purchasing motivation towards the Playstation 3
Key insight of product:
• Friends came together and spent an evening working together
through a game or playing against each other
• Challenging games require more critical thinking and decision
making. They felt like a puzzle rather than a game
• Some games are suited to adult only, so one don’t like playing a
“kidgame”, but taking part in a high quality gaming experience
Marketing Implication

• Set up gaming kiosks in nightclubs in large cities such as New York to

attract adults
• Target magazines such as Wired, Sports having more mature audience
• Advertise through sitcoms such as Friends with Joey and Chandler
playing games on Playstation 3
 Focus Groups Versus Depth Interviews

Focus Groups Versus Depth Interviews

Characteristic Focus Groups Depth Interviews

Group synergy and dynamics + −

Peer pressure/group influence − +

Client involvement + −

Generation of innovative ideas + −

In-depth probing of individuals − +

Uncovering hidden motives − +

Discussion of sensitive topics − +

Characteristic Focus Groups Depth Interviews
Interviewing respondents who are − +
competitors

Interviewing respondents who are − +

professionals

Scheduling of respondents − +
Amount of information + −
Bias in moderation and interpretation + −
Cost per respondent + −
Time (interviewing and analysis) + −
Note: A + indicates a relative advantage over the other procedure, a − indicates a relative disadvantage.