essentials of marketing research exploratory research chapter 5: audhesh paswan, ph.d

Essentials of Marketing Research

Exploratory Research

Chapter 5:

Audhesh Paswan, Ph.D.

Audhesh Paswan, Ph.D..

Research Design - IExploratory Research:Objective: Discovery of ideas and insights.

Characteristics: Flexible, Versatile, Unstructured, Often the Front End of total Research Design,Small Non-representative Sample,Analyses typically qualitative.

Findings: Tentative, typically followed by further exploratory, descriptive or causal research.

Methods: Literature Search, Focus Groups, ExperienceSurveys, Pilot Surveys, Expert Interviews,

CaseStudies, Reliance on Secondary Data.


EXPLORATORY RESEARCHEXPLORATORY RESEARCH

• INITIAL RESEARCH CONDUCTED TO CLARIFY AND DEFINE THE NATURE OF A PROBLEM

• DOES NOT PROVIDE CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE

• SUBSEQUENT RESEARCH EXPECTED


Exploratory Research

• Unstructured, informal, and sometimes intuitive

• Used for -– Gain background information.

– Define terms.

– Clarify problems and hypotheses.

– Establish research priorities.

– Diagnose a situation

– Screening of alternatives

– Discover new ideas


WHAT IS EXPLORATORY WHAT IS EXPLORATORY RESEARCH?RESEARCH?

QUANTITATIVEQUANTITATIVEDATADATA

QUALITATIVEQUALITATIVEDATADATA


Exploratory Research Techniques

• Qualitative Research– Experience surveys

– Case analysis

– Pilot Studies:• Projective techniques.

• Focus groups

• Depth Interview.

– Other qualitative techniques (secondary data & observation, etc.)??


“Knowing when to use qualitative research, and importantly when not to is a crucial skill in a research manager’s judgment.”

Malcolm Baker, PresidentThe B/R/S Group, Inc.


EXPERIENCE SURVEYSEXPERIENCE SURVEYS

• ASK KNOWLEDGEABLE INDIVIDUALS

• ABOUT A PARTICULAR RESEARCH PROBLEM

• MOST ARE QUITE WILLING


“If you wish to know the road up themountain, you must ask the man who goes back and forth on it.”

-- Zenrinkusi


CASE STUDY METHODCASE STUDY METHOD

• INTENSELY INVESTIGATES ONE OR A FEW SITUATIONS SIMILAR TO THE PROBLEM

• INVESTIGATE IN DEPTH

• CAREFUL STUDY

• MAY REQUIRE COOPERATION


PILOT STUDYPILOT STUDY

• A COLLECTIVE TERM

• ANY SMALL SCALE EXPLORATORY STUDY THAT USES SAMPLING

• BUT DOES NOT APPLY RIGOROUS STANDARDS


PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUESPROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES

• WORD ASSOCIATION TESTS

• SENTENCE COMPLETION METHOD

• THIRD-PERSON TECHNIQUE

• ROLE PLAYING• T.A.T (and PICTURE FRUSTRATION VERSION OF

TAT)


“A man is least himself when he talksin his own person; when given a maskhe will tell the truth.”

--Oscar Wilde


WORD ASSOCIATIONWORD ASSOCIATION

• SUBJECT IS PRESENTED WITH A LIST OF WORDS

• ASKED TO RESPOND WITH FIRST WORD THAT COMES TO MIND


WORD ASSOCIATION WORD ASSOCIATION EXAMPLESEXAMPLES

• GREEN

• CHEESE

• MONEY

• KRAFT


People who drink beer are ______________________

A man who drinks light beer is ___________________

Imported beer is most liked by ___________________

The woman in the commercial ____________________

SENTENCE COMPLETIONSENTENCE COMPLETION


TAT

THEMATIC APPERCEPTION TESTTHEMATIC APPERCEPTION TEST


FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEWSFOCUS GROUP INTERVIEWS

• UNSTRUCTURED• FREE FLOWING• GROUP INTERVIEW• START WITH

BROAD TOPIC AND FOCUS IN ON SPECIFIC ISSUES


GROUP COMPOSITIONGROUP COMPOSITION

• 6 TO 10 PEOPLE• RELATIVELY

HOMOGENEOUS• SIMILAR

LIFESTYLES AND EXPERIENCES


Focus groups

• Small group of people brought together and guided by a moderator through an unstructured, spontaneous discussion about some topic.

• Goal is to draw out ideas, feelings, and experiences about a certain issues that would be obscured by more structured methods.


Focus Group Objectives

• To generate ideas.

• To understand consumer vocabulary.

• To reveal consumer needs, motives, perceptions, and attitudes.

• To understand findings from quantitative studies.


Focus Group Moderator

• The “Man (or woman) with the plan”!

• Conducts the entire session and guides the flow of group discussion.

• Must have excellent observation, interpersonal, and communication skills, Interacts, listens, develops rapport.

• Must be sensitive to participants situations and comments, promotes interaction.

• Must be prepared.


Reporting and Use of Focus Group Results

• Some sense must be made by translating the qualitative statements of participants into categories.

• Demographic and buyer behavior characteristics should be judged against the target market profile.


Focus Group Pros and Cons

• Advantages– Generate fresh ideas

– Allow clients to observe the group

– Generally versatile

– Works well with special respondents.

• Disadvantages– May not represent the

population

– Interpretation is subjective

– Expensive


Exploratory Research Techniques

• Quantitative Research– Secondary data analyses

– Observation

– Physiological measurement


Observation Techniques

• Observation methods - researcher relies on his or her powers of observation rather than communicating with respondent

• Direct versus Indirect

• Disguised versus Undisguised

• Structured versus Unstructured

• Human versus Mechanical


Direct or Indirect

• Direct observation– Observing behavior as it occurs

• Indirect observation– Observe effects or results of behavior– Use archives or physical traces

• Archives - secondary data

• Physical traces - tangible evidence of some event (e.g., garbology)


Disguised or Undisguised

• Disguised - unaware of observation– “Secret shopper”– One-way mirrors– Hidden cameras

• Undisguised– Laboratory settings– “Ride withs”– “Knowing” may bias the responses.


Structured or Unstructured

• Structured - researchers agree beforehand which behaviors are to be observed and recorded.

• Unstructured - No restrictions, all behavior is observed.– Observer must be thoroughly briefed on the

areas of general concern.


Human or Mechanical

• Human - a person observes

• Mechanical - a machine observes– turnstiles, scanners, people meters, etc.


When to use observation

• Short time interval Short time interval - involves activities that generally occur over a short time span.

• Public behavior Public behavior - setting where researchers can readily observe.

• Faulty recall Faulty recall - when actions or activities are so repetitive that the respondent cannot recall specifics.


Advantages . . .

• Subjects are unaware*

• React in a natural manner*

• No chance for recall error• Less costly and more accurate

* Assuming disguised observation.


Limitations . . .

• Only a small number of subjects are studied (Dracula Syndrome - suck too much out of a few subjects).

• Is sample representative?

• Motivations, attitudes, and internal conditions are not observed.

• Multiple observers (inconsistency)

• Subjective Interpretation


Other Techniques

• Depth interviews• Protocol analysis - Decision maker’s view

• Projective techniques – Shopping basket– Personality completion– Cartoon or balloon test– Role-playing activity

• Physiological measurement - Galvanometer, Pupilometer, etc.


SECONDARY DATA ANALYSISSECONDARY DATA ANALYSIS

• DATA COLLECTED FOR A PURPOSE OTHER THAN THE PROJECT AT HAND

• ECONOMICAL

• QUICK SOURCE FOR BACKGROUND INFORMATION


Next Stage - Quantitative Research

• Quantitative research – involves structured questions – predetermined response options – large number of respondents involved.

• Sizable representative sample of the population

• Formalized data gathering procedure

• Specific purpose


Qualitative or Quantitative Research?

Does it have to be one or the other?

It depends . . .maybe both - Pluralistic Research.

essentials of marketing research exploratory research chapter 5: audhesh paswan, ph.d

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