TYPES OF RESEARCH DESIGN

Research Design is mainly of three types namely, exploratory, descriptive and

causal research. Exploratory research is used to seek insights into general nature
of the problem. It provides the relevant variable that need to be considered. In
this type of research, there is no previous knowledge; research methods are
flexible, qualitative and unstructured.

Descriptive research is a type of research, very widely used in marketing

research. Generally in descriptive study there will be a hypothesis, with respect
to this hypothesis, we ask questions like size, distribution, etc.

Causal research, this type of research is concerned with finding cause and effect
relationship. Normally experiments are conducted in this type of research.

EXPLORATORY RESEARCH DESIGN

The major emphasis in exploratory research is on converting broad, vague

problem statements into small, precise sub-problem statements, which is done in
order to formulate specific hypothesis. The hypothesis is a statement that
specifies, "How two or more variables are related?"

In the early stages of research, we usually lack from sufficient understanding of

the problem to formulate a specific hypothesis. Further, there are often several
tentative explanations.

Example: "Sales are down because our prices are too high",
"our dealers or sales representatives are not doing a good job",

In this scenario, very little information is available to point out, what is the
actual cause of the problem. We can say that the major purpose of exploratory
research is to identify the problem more specifically. Therefore, exploratory
study is used in the initial stages of research.
Why conduct exploratory research?

The following are the circumstances in which exploratory study would be

ideally suited:

1. To gain an insight into the problem

2. To generate new product ideas
3. To list all possibilities. Among the several possibilities, we need to
prioritize the possibilities which seem likely
4. To develop hypothesis occasionally
5. To establish priorities so that further research can be conducted.
6. Exploratory studies may be used to clarify concepts and help in
formulating precise problems.
7. To pre-test a draft questionnaire
8. In general, exploratory research is appropriate to any problem about
which very little is known. This research is the foundation for any future
study.

Example 1 : A market researcher working for (new entrant) a company

for the first time.
Example 2 : The management is considering a change in the contract
policy, which it hopes, will result in improved
satisfaction for channel members.

Characteristics of Exploratory Stage

1. Exploratory research is flexible and very versatile.
2. For data collection structured forms are not used.
3. Experimentation is not a requirement.
4. Cost incurred to conduct study is low.
5. This type of research allows very wide exploration of views.
6. Research is interactive in nature and also it is open ended.
Formulation of Hypothesis in Exploratory Research

Generally, the following three methods in the context of research design for
such studies are talked about: (a) the survey of concerning literature; (b) the
experience survey and (c) the analysis of ‘insight-stimulating’ examples.

The quickest and the cheapest way to formulate a hypothesis in exploratory

research is by using any of the four methods:

1. Literature Search: This refers to "referring to a literature to develop a new

hypothesis". The literature referred are – trade journals, professional journals,
market research finding publications, statistical publications etc.

Example:
(a) A TV manufacturing company feels that its market share is declining
whereas the overall television industry is doing very well.
(b) Due to a trade embargo imposed by a country, textiles exports are down and
hence sales of a company making garment for exports is on the decline.

2. Experience Survey: In experience surveys, it is desirable to talk to persons

who are well informed in the area being investigated. These people may be
company executives or persons outside the organisation. Here, no questionnaire
is required. The approach adopted in an experience survey should be highly
unstructured, so that the respondent can give divergent views.

Example:
(a) A group of housewives may be approached for their choice for a "ready to
cook product".
(b) A publisher might want to find out the reason for poor circulation of
newspaper introduced recently. He might meet (i) Newspaper sellers (ii) Public
reading room (iii) General public (iv) Business community, etc.
3. Focus Group: Another widely used technique in exploratory research is the
focus group. In a focus group, a small number of individuals are brought
together to study and talk about some topic of interest. The discussion is co-
ordinated by a moderator. The group usually is of 8-12 persons.

4. Case Studies: Analysing a selected case sometimes gives an insight into the
problem which is being researched. Case histories of companies which have
undergone a similar situation may be available. These case studies are well
suited to carry out exploratory research.

Example :

In example 1: The research question is posed to determine "What benefit do

people seek from the Notes Ad?" Since no previous research is done on
consumer benefit for this product, it is not possible to form any hypothesis.

In example 2: Some information is currently available about packaging for a

soft drink. Here it is possible to formulate a hypothesis which is purely
tentative. The hypothesis formulated here may be only one of the several
alternatives available.

In example 3: The root cause of customer dissatisfaction is known, i.e. lack of

personalised service. In this case, it is possible to verify whether this is a cause
or not.
DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH DESIGN

The name itself reveals that, it is essentially a research to describe something.

For example, it can describe the characteristics of a group such as – customers,
organisations, markets, etc. Descriptive research provides "association between
two variables" like income and place of shopping, age and preferences.

Some of the questions that need to be answered before data collection for this
descriptive study are as follows:

1. Who? Who is regarded as a shopper responsible for the success of the

shop, whose demographic profile is required by the retailer?

2. What? What characteristics of the shopper should be measured?

3. Is it the age of the shopper, sex, income or residential address?
4. When? When shall we measure?
5. Should the measurement be made while the shopper is shopping or at a
later time?
6. Where? Where shall we measure the shoppers?
7. Should it be outside the stores, soon after they visit or should we contact
them at their residence?
8. Why? Why do you want to measure them?
9. What is the purpose of measurement?

Why conduct Descriptive Research?

As the name implies, the major objective of descriptive research is to describe
some thing-usually market characteristics or functions. Descriptive research is
conducted for the following reasons:
1.) To describe the characteristics of relevant groups, such as consumers,
salespeople, organizations, or market areas. For example, we could develop a
profile of the “heavy users” (frequent shoppers) of prestigious department
stores.
2.) To estimate the percentage of units in a specified population exhibiting a
certain behavior; for example, the percentage of heavy users of prestigious
department stores who also patronize discount department stores.
3.) To determine the perceptions of product characteristics. For example,
how do households’ perceive the various department stores in terms of salient
factors of the choice criteria?
4.) To determine the degree to which marketing variables are associated. For
example, to what extent is shopping at department stores related to eating out?
5.) To make specific predictions. We might be interested in sales forecasting
for the next three years, so that we can plan for training of new sales
representatives.
6.) To determine the characteristics of market such as:
(a) Size of the market
(b) Buying power of the consumer
(c) Product usage pattern
(d) To find out the market share for the product
(e) To track the performance of a brand.
7.) To determine the association of the two variables such as Ad and sales.

Example: What percentage of population in a particular geographical location

would be shopping in a particular shop?
The design in such studies must be rigid and not flexible and must focus
attention on the following:
(a) Formulating the objective of the study (what the study is about and why
is it being made?)
(b) Designing the methods of data collection (what techniques of gathering
data will be adopted?)
(c) Selecting the sample (how much material will be needed?)
(d) Collecting the data (where can the required data be found and with what
time period should the data be related?)
(e) Processing and analysing the data.
(f) Reporting the findings.

Types of Descriptive Studies

There are two types of descriptive research:

1. Longitudinal study
2. Cross-sectional study
1. Longitudinal Study: These are the studies in which an event or occurrence is
measured again and again over a period of time. This is also known as 'Time
Series Study'. Through longitudinal study, the researcher comes to know how
the market changes over time.
2. Cross-sectional Study: Cross-sectional study is one of the most important
types of descriptive research, it can be done in two ways:
(a) Field study: This includes a depth study. Field study involves an in-depth
study of a problem, such as reaction of young men and women towards a
product.
Example: Reaction of Indian men towards branded ready-to-wear suit. Field
study is carried out in real world environment settings. Test marketing is an
example of field study.
(b) Field survey: Large samples are a feature of the study. The biggest
limitations of this survey are cost and time. Also, if the respondent is cautious,
then he might answer the questions in a different manner. Finally, field survey
requires good knowledge like constructing a questionnaire, sampling techniques
used, etc.
The difference between research designs in respect of the above two types of
research studies can be conveniently summarised in tabular form as under:

Difference between Exploratory Research and Descriptive Research

The difference between research designs in respect of the above two types of
research studies can be conveniently summarised in tabular form as under:
CAUSAL RESEARCH
Causal Research are the studies that engage in hypotheses testing usually
explain the nature of certain relationships, or establish the differences among
groups or the independence of two or more factors in a situation. A research
design in which the major emphasis is on determining a cause-and-effect
relationship. The research is used to measure what impact a specific change will
have on existing norms and allows market researchers to predict hypothetical
scenarios upon which a company can base its business plan.
Causal design is the study of cause and effect relationships between two or
more variables.
Example: If a clothing company currently sells blue denim jeans, causal
research can measure the impact of the company changing the product design to
the colour white.
Following the research, company bosses will be able to decide whether
changing the colour of the jeans to white would be profitable.
Causal research is appropriate for the following purposes:

 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.

The objective is to determine which variable might be causing certain behaviour

i.e., whether there is a cause and effect relationship between variables, causal
research must be undertaken.

This type of research is very complex and the researcher can never be
completely certain that there are not other factors influencing the causal
relationship, especially when dealing with people's attitudes and motivations.
There are often much deeper psychological considerations that even the
respondent may not be aware of. In marketing decision making, all the
conditions allowing the most accurate casual statements

managers. Because in doing so they would want to be able to make casual

statements about the effects of their actions.

Example: The new advertising campaign a company developed has resulted in

percentage increase in sales or the sales discount strategy a company followed
has resulted in percentage increase in sales. In both of these examples,
marketing managers are making a casual statement.