XMBA564 – Marketing

Research

Part III
 Marketing Research Process
Identification of
the problem and
statement of
research
objectives

Creation of the The entire group of people about whom information is

research design needed; also called the universe or population of
interest.
No rules - requires good logic and judgment
Choice of method of
research

Selection of the The process of obtaining information from a subset of a

sampling procedure larger group.

Collecting and
analyzing the data

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tuğba Tuğrul

 Marketing Research Process
Identification of
the problem and Developing a Sampling Plan
statement of
research
objectives
Step 1: Define the Target Population
Creation of the Step 2: Select the Sample Frame
research design
Step 3: Select the Sampling Method
Step 4: Determine the Sample Size
Choice of method of
research
Step 5: Execute the Sampling Plan

Selection of the
sampling procedure

Collecting and
analyzing the data

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tuğba Tuğrul

 Marketing Research Process
Identification of
the problem and Developing a Sampling Plan
statement of
research
objectives
Step 1: Define the Target Population
Creation of the
research design
 Determine the characteristics of those (e.g., customers,
companies, stores) you are interested in studying.
Choice of method of
 Determine groups of people or entities about which you
research want to learn more.
 Define the target market for the product in question.

Selection of the
sampling procedure

Collecting and
analyzing the data

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tuğba Tuğrul

 Marketing Research Process
Identification of
the problem and Developing a Sampling Plan
statement of
research
objectives
Step 2: Select the Sample Frame
Creation of the A list of elements or members of the population from which
research design we select units to be sampled/selected.
There usually is no such a list.
Choice of method of
research
 A telephone book (those who do not have telephones or
those with unlisted numbers- more likely to live in the central
city, have recently moved, have larger families, have younger
Selection of the
sampling procedure children, have relatively lower income rates)
 Recordings of municipals
 Random-digit dialing (generating list of telephone
Collecting and
analyzing the data numbers at random)

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tuğba Tuğrul

 Marketing Research Process
Identification of
the problem and
statement of
Developing a Sampling Plan
research
objectives
Step 3: Select the Sampling Method
Creation of the
research design Probability Sampling
Each member of the population has a known, nonzero,
fixed, equal probabilistic chance of being selected for the
Choice of method of
research sample.
Nonprobability Sampling
Elements selected in a nonrandom manner.
Selection of the
sampling procedure The selection depends on the personal judgment of the
researcher.

Collecting and
analyzing the data

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tuğba Tuğrul

Sampling Methods

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tuğba Tuğrul

 Sampling Methods

A sample selected by assigning a number to every element of the population and

then using some method for randomly selecting elements to be in the sample
such as random digit dialing.

A sample in which the entire population is numbered and elements are selected using a skip
interval – every “nth” name is selected.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tuğba Tuğrul

 Sampling Methods

A two-step process;

1. Identify important demographic or classification factors (as a

general rule, no more than six factors). The population is
partitioned into subpopulations (strata).

2. Determine what potions of the population fall into the various

subgroups under each stratum (how many respondents are
required from each subgroup).

3. Select separate simple random samples from each stratum

(elements are selected from each stratum by a random
procedure).
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tuğba Tuğrul
The way men and women are likely to vote is different - gender is an appropriate basis for stratification.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tuğba Tuğrul

 Sampling Methods

All other types of samples have single unit samples, in which each
sampling unit is selected separately.

In the case of cluster samples, the sampling units are selected in

groups.

A sample in which the sampling units are selected from a number

of small geographic areas to reduce data collection costs.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tuğba Tuğrul

 Sampling Methods

Two basic steps:

1. The population of interest is divided into mutually exclusive

and exhaustive subpopulations, or clusters.

2. A random sample of the subsets is selected.

• One-stage cluster—if the sample consists of all elements

in the selected subset.
• Two-stage cluster—if the sample elements are selected
in some probabilistic manner from the selected subsets.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tuğba Tuğrul

 Sampling Methods

A sample based on using people who are easily

accessible or trying to reach people in low-incidence
and hard-to-find categories
Easy to collect
Respondents are selected because they happen to be in
the right place at the right time.
• Using employees as a sample group, members
of an organization
• Using mall intercepts or other high traffic location
• Purchasing a list of desirable respondents
• Students

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tuğba Tuğrul

 Sampling Methods

A sample in which the selection criteria are based on

the researcher’s personal judgment about the
representativeness of the population under study. The
researcher selects who should be in the study.
• Test Market Sampling
• Taste tests at malls
• Taste tests at food events

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tuğba Tuğrul

 Sampling Methods

A sample in which quotas, based on demographic or

classification factors selected by the researcher, are
established for population subgroups.

Differences between a quota sample and stratified sample

• Respondents are not selected at random vs. randomly

• The Demographic or classification factors rely on the researcher’s

judgment vs. based on the existence of a correlation between the
factor and the behavior of interest.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tuğba Tuğrul

 Sampling Methods

A two-stage judgmental sampling;

1. Develop control categories or quotas of
population (e.g., sex, age, race etc.) with the
proportions
2. Sample elements are selected based on
convenience or judgment.
Demographic characteristics in the sample to be the
same as in the population

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tuğba Tuğrul

 Sampling Methods

A sample in which additional respondents are selected

based on referrals from initial respondents.
Characteristics that are rare in the population
• Ideal for sampling from low-incidence or rare population
• Dramatically reduces search costs
• May bias the sample (similar people) and prevent a good cross-
section of the total population
An initial group of respondent is selected, usually at random.
After being interviewed, these respondents are asked to
identify others who belong to the target population

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tuğba Tuğrul

 Marketing Research Process
Identification of
the problem and Developing a Sampling Plan
statement of
research
objectives
Step 4: Determine the Sample Size
Creation of the
research design What is the level of accuracy you want to achieve; the time and
money you have to do the survey, and the data collection
method?
Choice of method of
research
The actual size could be determined by a formula or by some
rule of thumb based on experience.
Selection of the
sampling procedure

Collecting and
analyzing the data

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tuğba Tuğrul