201- MKT 322- MODULE 2 TO MODULE 5 - NOTES

Exploratory research (or ER)

is an examination into a subject
in an attempt to gain further
insight. With ER, a researcher

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starts with a general idea and uses research as a tool to identify issues that could be the focus of future
research.
Look at how ER is used in business. For instance, let's say you own a bakery called The Cupcake King. If you
wanted to improve your sales, but weren't sure where to start, you might employ ER to find out the areas of
your business that need improvement.
Descriptive research includes both quantitative and qualitative data and uses these types of data to describe
the population being observed. Observation is an essential part of descriptive research, and is the main way of
gathering information.
For example, someone interested in why certain groups of trees are dying, while others of the same type and in
the same location are thriving, can observe the trees and their surrounding environment to come to a
preliminary decision. At its core, this is descriptive research.
An example of causal research would be a restaurant wanting to find out why fewer customers were
demanding one of its sandwiches, so management might experiment to find out if possibly the sandwich's
current price or a new competitor's presence in the area would be a cause. The purpose of such research is to
find out what is causing a specific change, and in business, this might be a decline in sales.
Causal research can help businesses determine how changes they make will affect operations, so it's helpful for
planning.

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1.Leading and lagging indicators are two types of measurements used when assessing performance in a
business or organisation. A leading indicator is a predictive measurement, for example; the percentage of
people wearing hard hats on a building site is a leading safety indicator. A lagging indicator is an output
measurement, for example; the number of accidents on a building site is a lagging safety indicator. The
difference between the two is a leading indicator can influence change and a lagging indicator can only record
what has happened. 

3. Cross sectional data example -Take an example. Say, suppose you want to measure current blood pressure
levels in a population. 1000 people will be selected randomly from that population. It is also called a cross
section of that particular population range). Now, their Blood Pressure will be measured. Their height, weight
and other health factors will also be noted.This cross sectional data provides you a snapshot of that population.
This data will only provide the current proportion of the Blood pressure levels. On the basis of just one cross
sectional ample, you can’t judge whether the rate of Blood pressure raising is low or high. But, it will surely
give you an idea of the scenario.

Another cross sectional data example can be a cross sectional study performed on the variations of ice cream
flavours at a particular store and how people are responding to those flavours. You can also obtain cross
sectional data from a list of grades scored by a class of students on a particular test.

4.Econometric forecasting model is a tool that reveals relationships among economic variables to forecast
future developments. Finding relationships between the sale for a given product market and GNP, inflation ,
exchange rates …in different countries.

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