1.Introduction
1.1 Market Research and Survey
What is Research?
Research is the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions.
(Oxford Dictionaries)
Research is the searching for and gathering of information and ideas in response to a specific question.
(Unknown author)
Survey Research
Survey – The most popular technique for gathering primary data in which a researcher interacts with people to obtain facts, opinions, and attitudes.
Practical Application of Surveys
| Who | Why |
|
Sociology and Political Science |
Public opinion research, identification of population’s attitudes towards socially important phenomena, events, and facts… |
|
Psychology |
Personality tests, intelligence tests, identification of individual strengths and weaknesses psychological stability, cognitive disorders, social influence… |
|
Human Resources |
Measurement of employee satisfaction, loyalty, potential, personality traits and leadership skills, productivity and quality of work, professional fit, resistance to stress, social intelligence, work-life balance… |
|
Marketing |
Market and consumer research, measurement of perception of image, preferences, attitudes, satisfaction with product and/or service, loyalty, willingness to pay; segmentation, positioning, new product development, evaluation of market potentials, pricing and price setting, advertising tests, ease of web-site navigation, user feedback, willingness to recommend… |
|
Science (in general) |
Study of relationships between two or more variables, factors, phenomena; development of scales and survey techniques for practical use… |
|
Education |
Knowledge tests (quizzes, exams), evaluation of students and/or teachers… |
Market Research Process
| Define the Research problem | – identify and clarify information needs
– define research problem and questions – specify research objectives – confirm information value If a problem is vaguely defined, the results can have little bearing on the key issues |
| Develop the research plan |
Decide on – budget – data sources – research approaches – sampling plan – contact methods – methods of data analysis The plan needs to be decided upfront but flexible enough to incorporate changes or iterations |
| Collect data |
– collect data according to the plan or – employ an external firm This phase is the most costly and the most liable to error |
| Analyze data |
Analyze data – statistically or – subjectively and infer answers and implications Type of data analysis depends on type of research |
| Report findings |
– Formulate conclusions and implications from data analysis – prepare finalized research report Overall conclusions to be presented rather than overwhelming statistical methodologies |
When NOT to Conduct Market Research
Occasion |
Comments |
| Vague objectives | When managers cannot agree on what they need to know to make a decision. Market research cannot be helpful unless it is probing a particular issue. |
|
Closed mindset |
When decision has already been made. Research is used only as a rubber stamp of a preconceived idea. |
|
Late timing |
When research results come too late to influence the decision. |
|
Poor timing |
If a product is in a “decline” phase there is little point in researching new product varieties. |
|
Lack of resources |
If quantitative research is needed, it is not worth doing unless a statistically significant sample can be used. When funds are insufficient to implement any decisions resulting from the research. |
|
Costs outweigh benefits |
The expected value of information should outweigh the costs of gathering an analyzing the data.. |
|
Results not actionable |
Where, e.g., psychographic data is used which will not help he company form firm decisions. |
1.2 Types of Market Research
Types of Market Research:
By Objectives
- Exploratory
(a.k.a. diagnostic) - Descriptive
- Causal
(a.k.a. predictive, experimental)
By Data Source
- Primary
- Secondary
By Methodology
- Qualitative
- Quantitative
Market Research by Objectives
Exploratory
|
|
of a small sample, focus groups, depth interviews,,… |
Descriptive |
|
of a large representative sample, observation, … |
Causal
|
|
|
Market Research by Data Source
Primary – Original research to collect new raw data for a specific reason. This data is then analyzed and may be published by the researcher (Survey, Interviews, observation, experiments,…)
Secondary – Research data that has been previously collected, analyzed and published in the form of books, articles, etc (Literature review, library, web, database, archive,…)
Market Research by Methodology
Quantitative:
- Involves collecting and measuring data
- Often requires large data sets. For example, large number of people.
- Uses statistical methods to analyze data
- Aims to achieve objective/scientific view of the subject
(Survey of a large representative sample, observation, …)
Qualitative:
- Involves understanding human behavior and the reasons behind it
- Focus is on individuals and small groups
- Objectivity is not the goal, the aim is to understand one point of view, not all points of view.
- Usually not representative
(Survey of a small sample, focus groups, depth interviews,…)
Triangulation
Triangulation — The combination of methods in the study of the same topic
