RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

ASSIGNMENT – II

NAME & CONTRIBUTION OF GROUP MEMBERS

Q1 & Q2: LAV KUMAR MATHUR

Q3: PRACHI JAIN

Q4: SREYA SENGUPTA

Q5 & Q6: SNEHA SHARMA

Q7 & Q8: ASHISH P JAIN

Q9: GROUP DISCUSSION

Q1.With the help of a diagram explain the “Marketing Research Process”.

Introduction to Marketing Research

Market research and marketing research are often confused. 'Market' research is
simply research into a specific market. It is a very narrow concept. 'Marketing' research
is much broader. It not only includes 'market' research, but also areas such as research
into new products, or modes of distribution such as via the Internet. Here are a couple
of definitions:

"Marketing research is the function that links the consumer, customer, and public to
the marketer through information - information used to identify and define marketing
opportunities and problems; generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor
marketing performance; and improve understanding of marketing as a process.
Marketing research specifies the information required to address these issues, designs
the methods for collecting information, manages and implements the data collection
process, analyzes, and communicates the findings and their implications."

The Marketing research Process.

Marketing research is gathered using a systematic approach. An example of one
follows:

1. Define the problem. Never conduct research for things that you would 'like' to know.
Make sure that you really 'need' to know something. The problem then becomes the
focus of the research. For example, why are sales falling in New Zealand?

2. How will you collect the data that you will analyze to solve your problem? Do we
conduct a telephone survey, or do we arrange a focus group? The methods of data
collection will be discussed in more detail later.

3. Select a sampling method. Do we us a random sample, stratified sample, or cluster

sample?

4. How will we analyze any data collected? What software will we use? What degree of
accuracy is required?

5. Decide upon a budget and a timeframe.

6. Go back and speak to the managers or clients requesting the research. Make sure
that you agree on the problem! If you gain approval, then move on to step seven. 7. Go
ahead and collect the data.

8. Conduct the analysis of the data.

9. Check for errors. It is not uncommon to find errors in sampling, data collection
method, or analytic mistakes.

10. Write your final report. This will contain charts, tables, and diagrams that will
communicate the results of the research, and hopefully lead to a solution to your
problem. Watch out for errors in interpretation.
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Q2. Define the following terms with relevant examples used in research.

a.       Variables
b.      Concept

c.       Construct

d.      Hypothesis

e.      Operational definitions

 VARIABLES-
A variable is a characteristic that can take on two or more values
E.g. Age, Height and Weight

 CONCEPT-
 gives the meaning of a word in terms of the theories of a specific discipline. This type
of definition assumes both knowledge and acceptance of the theories that it depends
on. To theoretically define is to create a hypothetical construct
e.g.,
Heat in physics, which actually puts forth an entire theory of heat.

 CONSTRUCT-
e.g.
A hypothetical construct like "intelligence" must be understood in terms of a
comprehensive theory of mind and reality

 HYPOTHESIS-
It can be defined as a logically conjectured relationship between two or more variables
expressed in the form of a testable statement. The relationship suggested may be
positive, negative or of causal relationship.
e.g.,
Families with higher incomes spend more for recreation.

 OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS-
Operational definitions are used to define system states in terms of a specific, publicly
accessible process of preparation or validation testing, which is repeatable at will.
e.g.,
Defining the weight of an object in terms of the numbers that appear when that object is
placed on a weighing scale.

Q3.Distinguish between Exploratory, descriptive and Causal research with examples?

Exploratory research is a type of research conducted for a problem that has not been
clearly defined. Exploratory research helps determine the best research design, data
collection method and selection of subjects. It should draw definitive conclusions only
with extreme caution. Given its fundamental nature, exploratory research often
concludes that a perceived problem does not actually exist.

De fining Pro b le m Re s ults in

Cle ar Cut Re s e arc h Ob je c tiv e s
S ymptom De te c tion

Analys is of
the S ituation
Exploratory
Re s e arc h
(Optio na l)
Proble m De finition

S tate me nt o f
Re s e arc h Obje c tive s

Copyright © 2000 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved

Descriptive research does not fit neatly into the definition of either quantitative or
qualitative research methodologies, but instead it can utilize elements of both, often
within the same study. The term descriptive research refers to the type of research
question, design, and data analysis that will be applied to a given topic. Descriptive
statistics tell what is, while inferential statistics try to determine cause and effect.

Causal Research explores the effect of one thing on another and more specifically, the
effect of one variable on another.

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.

For 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 color white.

Following the research, company bosses will be able to decide whether changing the
color of the jeans to white would be profitable.

To summarize, causal research is a way of seeing how actions now will affect a business
in the future.

Q4. What are the primary differences between qualitative and quantitative research
techniques?
 Qualitative Methods Quantitative Methods

Methods include focus groups, in-depth Surveys, structured interviews &

interviews, and reviews of documents for observations, and reviews of records or
types of themes documents for numeric information

Primarily inductive process used to Primarily deductive process used to test

formulate theory or hypotheses pre-specified concepts, constructs, and
hypotheses that make up a theory

More subjective: describes a problem or More objective: provides observed effects

condition from the point of view of those (interpreted by researchers) of a program
experiencing it on a problem or condition

Text-based Number-based

More in-depth information on a few cases Less in-depth but more breadth of
information across a large number of
cases

Unstructured or semi-structured Fixed response options

response options

No statistical tests Statistical tests are used for analysis

Can be valid and reliable: largely Can be valid and reliable: largely
depends on skill and rigor of the depends on the measurement device or
researcher instrument used

Time expenditure lighter on the planning Time expenditure heavier on the planning
end and heavier during the analysis phase phase and lighter on the analysis phase

Less generalizable More generalizable

Q5.  Which are different types of research? Explain with examples.

Different Types of Research 

Survey Research
survey research seeks to identify what large numbers of people (mass) think or feel
about certain things. It is used extensively in politics and marketing (such as TV
advertising).

Examples of survey research are

 Public opinion polls

 Mail Surveys
 Telephone Surveys
 Consumer Surveys (in the Mall)

An amazing fact about survey research is that the amount of error (expressed as plus
and minus a certain percentage) is determined by the sample size (the number of people
surveyed. Using a larger sample size than 1500 gives a slight reduction in the error
margin, and using a smaller sample size than 1500 significantly increases the error
margin.

Surveys are often considered biased because

 They ask leading questions

 The sample population is biased in a particular way
 The questions were not clear
 The respondents were influenced by the researcher

Increasingly we find the Internet being used to conduct survey research, with the use of
opinion polls and questionnaires. This is due to the ease of creating on-line
questionnaires and the power of analysing the data in real-time by the use of powerful
database servers.

Focus Groups
A focus group gathers in-depth information by interviewing six to twelve experts in an
informal discussion that lasts one to two hours. An experienced interviewer gathers
opinions of the group.
Benefits of Focus Groups

 Opinions are canvassed on specific topics

 Immediate feedback or additional questions are possible
 Can help identify key issues quickly

Problems Using Focus Groups

 The group can be dominated by a particular person or viewpoint

 Only a limited number of questions can be dealt with
 The interviewer could bias the results

Typical Uses of Focus Groups

 Gauging consumer reaction to products (such as the pre-release of a movie or

product)
 Understanding why consumers buy or don't buy certain products
 Identifying the use of products and services

Case Studies
A case study looks at existing information that is readily available and attempts to draw
conclusions from this information. Information has been collected and stored from a
wide variety of sources about many issues. Much of this information is readily available
in the public domain.

The researcher begins with a number of research questions. For instance, a researcher
might want to look at the impact of information technology in South Africa since the
overthrow of white rule. The researcher will identify information in the public domain,
such as tele-density, number of Internet hosts, and other data. From this information,
the researcher will draw qualitative conclusions.

Case studies allow existing information to be reused in new ways that the original
collectors of the data did not envisage.
 

Delphi Method
The Delphi method surveys the opinions of "expert panels". The research is conducted
in three rounds, where the information is gathered, refined and then feed back to the
expert participants. The feedback stage allows issues to be sharpened and helps to
highlight the major issues involved.

Round one involves an in-house panel that seeks to identify the research questions for
the experts. It also conducts a pre-test of the survey.

The second round involves an examination of the issues by the expert panel. At this
stage, additional items are often suggested that may have been overlooked. The panel
responses and additional items are combined to the original questionnaire.

In the third round, the panel make judgements on the items. This sometimes takes the
form of a multiple-choice questionnaire.

Content Analysis
Content analysis is often used in quantitative research to study trends or occurrences of
information. During World War II, the allies monitored the number and types of songs
played on European radio stations. By comparing the music played on German radio to
that of other radio stations in occupied territory, the allies were able to measure the
changes in troop concentration on the continent.

Content analysis is heavily involved in the use of television. A common exercise is to use
content analysis to measure the incidences of violence on television or in print.

There are three main characteristics associated with content analysis

 It is systematic
The content to be analysed is carefully selected, and all content is treated in the
same way.
  It is objective
If another researcher performs the same analysis, the same conclusions should
result.
 It is quantitative
It tries to determine amounts, such as 55% of news items are concerned with
domestic violence.

How is content analysis done? Let us consider an exercise. Our research hypothesis is
that "More than 75% of leading news items are concerned with violence". This is based
on the media assumption that "if it bleeds, it leads". Firstly, we have to define what we
mean by violence. Since content analysis of the mass media is a well-established field,
there are many sites on the Internet that can assist in providing useful definitions. Let
us consider that violence in this research means bodily violence inflicted by one person
on another, resulting in injury, hospitalisation or death.

Having decided on what violence means, we then monitor the lead news items over a
number of weeks. An adequate sample size must be chosen to eliminate bias, as it is
possible that a particular news item could be repeated over several days (for instance, a
war could break out). We might decide to select three days a week at random over a
period of three to four weeks.

Coders are responsible for coding each story into a violent/non-violent category. There
is a form for each day that the coder fills in. These forms are collected at the end of the
study and then the results tabulated accordingly.

The coding form shown below is a more comprehensive one for analysing each item of
the evening news broadcast. Coders use this form to mark the category of the particular
news item under consideration.

Q6. What is the relationship between exploratory, descriptive and causal research?

Relationship between different types of research

There are multiple ways of classifying analysis. Marketing research as a discipline
categorizes analysis into two major categories – Exploratory and Conclusive.

An Exploratory study helps in defining the problem. It also tells the analyst if the actual
problem is different from what was thought of earlier or if there is a problem at all. It
generates basic insights. An exploratory analysis is usually followed by further analysis
and its outcome could lead to formulation of hypothesis.

A Descriptive study will take the analysis to the next level. Based on statistical
techniques (e.g., Frequency Distribution, Charts, Correlation coefficients, Measures of
central tendency etc.), it describes, synthesizes and categorizes data but does not
comment on the relationship between variables. E.g. Correlation just explains the
relationship (magnitude and direction) between two variables but does not comment on
the cause of relationship and what is causing what. The outcome of descriptive research
quite often supplements exploratory research. In relation to our example, a descriptive
analysis here will attempt to describe the potential users of the product, determine the
proportion of population that uses similar product(s), predict the future demand etc.

A causal study here would explore the effect of change in one or more variables on the
outcome/dependent variable. The hypothesis that was generated will be validated. A
cause and effect relationship analysis would help the marketing manager underscore
the importance of various variables. He will be in a position to make an objective
assessment of the role of each of the variable (e.g., customer demographics, competitive
products, pricing, seasonality, macro-economic factors etc.) in shaping up the demand
for the product. This study will enable him to put his marketing dollars in areas which
create maximum impact.

Q7. List the six W’s of descriptive research and give example for each.
Where

E.g. where do u prefer shopping more?

(a) Malls
(b) Retail outlets
(c) Wholesalers
(d) Showrooms

Who

E.g. who informed you about our company products and services ?

What

E.g. what kind of car do you own?

1. Brand (Indica, Zen, Santro)

2. Type (Passenger, MUV, SUV)
3. Gasoline (Petrol or Diesel)
4. Model (V2- V2 deluxe, V2 New)

Why

E.g. why do you choose branded / non-branded product and on what basis ?

(a) Quality
(b) Price
(c) Availability
(d) Variety

Which
E.g. which brand /brands of shampoo have you personally used at home during the last
month? In case of more than on brand, please list all the brands that apply.

When

E.g. when did you get to know about the particular product/service and through whom?

Q8. Explain the exploratory research tools with examples.

Exploratory research is a type of research conducted for a problem that has not been
clearly defined. Exploratory research helps determine the best research design, data
collection method and selection of subjects. It should draw definitive conclusions only
with extreme caution. Given its fundamental nature, exploratory research often
concludes that a perceived problem does not actually exist.

Exploratory research often relies on secondary research such as reviewing available

literature and/or data, or qualitative approaches such as informal discussions with
consumers, employees, management or competitors, and more formal approaches
through in-depth interviews, focus groups, projective methods, case studies or pilot
studies. The Internet allows for research methods that are more interactive in nature.
For example, RSS feeds efficiently supply researchers with up-to-date information;
major search engine search results may be sent by email to researchers by services such
as Google Alerts; comprehensive search results are tracked over lengthy periods of time
by services such as Google Trends; and websites may be created to attract worldwide
feedback on any subject.

The results of exploratory research are not usually useful for decision-making by
themselves, but they can provide significant insight into a given situation. Although the
results of qualitative research can give some indication as to the "why", "how" and
"when" something occurs, it cannot tell us "how often" or "how many".

Exploratory research is not typica Marketers have no machines to peer inside a decision
problem, so they may use certain research techniques to “open up” the problem and
look around. Researchers use these techniques, which they refer to collectively as
exploratory research, with a single broad purpose: clarify the research questions that
guide the entire research project.

Importantly, the entire notion of “exploratory” research suggests that it precedes a

larger, more formal research project. This is usually the case. The techniques we
classify as “exploratory” generally provide information and insight to researchers as
they prepare for larger research efforts such as surveys and experiments generalizable
to the population at large.

Q9. A film researcher would like to study on the topic, “Depiction of gender in Science
fiction Films.” Help him to develop a research proposal.

Research Proposal

Depiction of gender in Science fiction films

The following questions can help the researcher gather adequate information about the
research topic. Based on the response from the general public, the researcher can draw
conclusions about various aspects of the topic.

1. What kind of movies do the audience prefer to watch the most?

(a) Action

(b) Thriller

(c) Comedy

(d) Fiction

2. What roles do the actors in the movie play in gathering your interest ?

3. Would you prefer a male or a female lead role in the movie ? Why ?
4. In a science fiction movie, like INCEPTION, how would you rate the roles that were
played by various characters based on their genders ?

(a) Below Average

(b) Average

(c) Satisfactory

(d) Above Average

5. If given a chance to watch a movie with a female lead role in it what kind of movie
would you like it to be ?

(a) Science fiction

(b) Drama / Comedy

(c) Thriller

6. If given a chance to watch a movie with a male lead role in it what kind of movie
would you like it to be ?

(a) Science fiction

(b) Drama / Comedy

(c) Thriller

7. With the rapid increase of successful female lead roles in the industry, do you think it
may hinder the male lead roles in movies ?