CHAPTER TWO: RESEARCH PROCESS

As we saw earlier Marketing Research is very much essential to make strategic decisions which are important for
the growth of the organization. It helps in making the right decisions systematically using statistical methods.
Marketing Research reduces the uncertainty in the decision-making process and increase the probability and
magnitude of success if conducted in a systematic, analytical, and objective manner.
Marketing research by itself does not arrive at marketing decisions, nor does it guarantee that the organization will
be successful in marketing its products. It is only a tool which helps in the decision making process.
The Marketing Research Process involves a number of inter-related activities which have bearing on each other.
The research process is to be systematized by dividing it into steps or phases as given under. Such a systematic approach
is considered very important, because the entire research project will be conducted within this framework.
RESEARCH PROCESS- consists of a series of steps or actions required for effectively conducting research. The
following are the steps that provide useful procedural guidelines regarding the conduct of research.
1. Establish the need for research
2. Define the research problem
3. Establish research objectives
4. Determine research design
5. Identify information types and sources
6. Determine methods of accessing data
7. Design data collection forms (Questionnaire)
8. Determine sample plan and size
9. Collect data
10. Analyze data
11. Prepare and present the final research report
Before we discuss these eleven steps in the research process, it is important for us to make a few comments about
this "list" of steps. First, although the list does strongly imply an orderly, step- by -step process, it is rare that a
research project follows these steps in the exact order. Actually, research practice is more of an iterative process
whereby a researcher, by discovering something in a given step, may move backward in the process and begin
again at another step. Finding some new information while collecting data, for example, may cause the researcher
to establish different research objectives. Second, any given research project may not involve each and every step
shown here. The research problem could be resolved, for example, by a review of secondary data, thereby
eliminating the need to determine a sample plan or size. What is important for you to know is that, although almost

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every research project is different, there are enough commonalties among the various procedures and activities to
enable us to specify the eleven basic steps of the research process.

Step 1: Establish the Need for Research

To establish the need for research, all organizations should monitor their surrounding environments on a continuous
basis using a monitoring system. The primary objective of a monitoring system is to bring operating information
to management. Such information allows management:
a) to evaluate whether their current operating results are meeting performance objectives,
b) if proposed legislation has an impact on consumer spending or other industry interests,
c) whether changes in consumer values and lifestyles are occurring, or
d) if new strategies are being implemented by competitors.
Monitoring may be accomplished either formally or informally and in a variety of ways. One firm may have a
sophisticated formal Management information system (MIS). Another firm may have a more traditional control
system that primarily relies on financial statements as feedback. A small business owner/manager may diligently
observe the environments that affect his or her firm.
Research May Not Be Needed
Management should not automatically commission a research study each and every time a decision must be made.
There are several situations in which management should not consider a research project. Here are four situations
in which research may be inappropriate.
i) Information Is Already Available.
If management knows its markets, competition, and the products/services, they may have the necessary information
to make an informed decision without commissioning a research study. Contemporary managers have access to
much information about their business. One of the problems in the past was that this information was not readily
available, and a research project would have to be undertaken just to find the information and produce it in the
proper form. Today computer technology has provided management with the ability to record, store, and retrieve
much information about the routine operation of a business. It is possible to have information on sales, costs, and
profitability available by product, customer, region, salesperson, and so on, at the touch of a key. This situation is
likely to increase as more and more businesses invest in information processing technology that makes more of the
right information available to the right decision makers at the right time. In the past, many research studies were
undertaken simply to correct inadequacies in information processing capabilities.
ii) There is Insufficient Time for Research.
Sometimes there simple is not enough time for research. Occasionally, a problem is discovered that requires an
immediate response on the part of management. Unfortunately, although some research can be performed in a
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relatively short time frame, much of it requires weeks or months to complete. When competitive pressures or
customer shifts demand quick management action, there may not be enough time to carry out a properly conducted
research project. Competitive actions may be swift and so damaging that prompt reaction is deemed imperative,
and although research would be helpful, circumstances argue strongly against performing it.
iii) Resources Are Not Available.
Oftentimes, resources are not available for research. If conducted in - house, research requires a commitment of
personnel, facilities, and budget. If conducted by an outside research firm, money, as well as some personnel time
is needed. If there is not enough money to devote to the research, management must simply make the decision that
those resources are better spent elsewhere. Of courses, management always runs the risk of discovering that it
invested resources in a strategy that research would have identified as being inferior to alternative strategies. The
firms that are strapped for cash, and thus feel they cannot afford to spend dollars on research, are usually the firms
that could probably benefit the most by performing the research to help them make the best decisions.
Nevertheless, resources may simply not be available for research.
iv) Costs Outweigh the Value of the Research.
Even when funds and other resources are available to conduct research, management must always weigh the costs
of conducting the research with the potential value of conducting the research. Some decisions have relatively little
impact on company sales, profits, consumer loyalty, dealer goodwill, and so on, and, as a result, they simply do not
justify the expenditure. Other decisions, however, may be very important, thereby justifying research.

Another aspect to consider when weighing the value to be gained against the cost of the research has to do with the
confidence that the manager has in the outcome of a proposed decision. The purpose of research is to serve as an
aid in decision making; in effect, to reduce the uncertainty in the outcomes of alternative decisions. If the manager
feels that he or she knows the possible outcomes, then research should not be used.

As management monitors the environments, it receives information from many sources such as stockholders, who
may be complaining of poor bottom line performance; or dealers, who are complaining about losing sales to
competition. It is important to note that management may or may not hear about the real problem. That is, they
may not discover what is casting poor earnings or sales declines. More often, management learns of symptoms. It
is part of the researcher's job to determine what problem(s) are causing the symptoms. Defining the problem, then,
is the next step in the research process.
Step 2: Define the problem
A research problem is part of a research process that reflects a gap in understanding. Research problem statement
is usually written as an introduction part of a scientific research paper.

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Defining the marketing research problem to be addressed is the most important step because all other steps will be based
on this definition. Defining the problem is the single most important step in the research process. A clear, concise
statement of the problem is a key to good research. There is much truth to the saying, "A problem well defined is
half solved". Unfortunately, this is much easier to say than to do. Often, clients themselves do not know what the
problem is.
They know that sales are falling, employees’ turnover is higher, and that market share is shrinking, but they do not
know the cause of these symptoms.

Part of the researcher's job is to work closely with the client to correctly determine the problem. All too often,
research studies are commissioned without a clear understanding of the problem the research should address.

A firm may spend literally hundreds, of thousands of dollars doing research but, if they have not correctly identified
the problem, those dollars will have been wasted.

To avoid this scenario, care must be taken to explore all possible causes of the symptom. This requires time and a
great deal of communication between the researcher and the client. Often, a form of research, called exploratory
research, is needed to clearly define the problem so that the proper research may be conducted.

Problem definition involves:

1. Specifying the symptoms,
2. Itemizing the possible causes of the symptoms, and
3. Listing the reasonable alternative courses of action that the manager can undertake to solve the problem.
Step 3: Establish Research Objectives
Research objectives, although relate to and determined by the problem definition, are set so that, when achieved,
they provide the necessary information to solve the problem. A good way of setting research objectives is to ask,
"What information is needed in order to solve the problem?"
You should notice that the research objectives are different from the defined problem. Yet, when the information is
gathered as a result of carrying out the research objectives, the problem is solved. A key aspect of the research
objective step is the specification of the specific types of information useful to the managers as they look for a
solution to the management problem at hand.

Step 4: Determine Research Design

Research design provides the glue that holds the research project together. A design is used to structure the
research, to show how all of the major parts of the research project -- the samples or groups, measures, treatments
or programs, and methods of assignment -- work together to try to address the central research questions
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 As stated earlier, almost every research project is different. Still, there are enough commonalties among research
projects to enable us to categorize them by the research methods and procedures used to collect and analyze data.
There are three types of research design:
(1) Exploratory research,
(2) Descriptive research, and
(3) Causal research.
This classification is based on the objective of the research. In some cases the research will fall into one of these
categories, but in other cases different phases of the same research project will fall into different categories.
1. Exploratory Research Design
Exploratory research is defined as collecting information in an unstructured and informal manner. A manger
reading periodicals about the status of his or her industry, for example, could be viewed as conducting exploratory
research. For instance an owner of a successful restaurant, often eat out at competitor's restaurants in order to gather
information about menu selections, prices, and service quality.
Exploratory research is often used to define the problem. This might involve, for example, examining not only
company sales and profits but industry sales and profits as well. It may be determined that, whereas company sales
had been declining, industry sales had fallen even more and the company's own market share had actually increased.
This observation would certainly have an impact on defining the problem or even on the decision as to whether or not
to conduct any further research.

Exploratory research is very intuitive, and it is practiced as second nature by managers who constantly watch the
many factors that influence their business. However, exploratory research can be applied formally by researchers.
That is, managers can use procedures that help managers define the problem or perhaps make symptoms more visible.

An example of exploratory research is the ongoing research some companies conduct in order to spot opportunities.
For example, some companies employ clipping services whose employees regularly read the printed news media and
other periodicals, and when they encounter an article or comment dealing with the organization, they copy it and send
it to the client.
2. Descriptive Research Design
Descriptive research designs refer to a set of methods and procedures that describe research variables. Descriptive
studies portray these variables by answering who, what, why, and how questions. These types of research studies may
describe such things as consumers' attitudes, intentions, and behaviors, the number of competitors and their strategies.
For instance, several banking firms conduct annual studies wherein consumers' attitudes toward their own banks, as
well as competitor’s banks, are described. These studies, called "image analysis surveys," essentially describe how
consumers rate banks' services, availability of loans, convenience of locations, and so on.
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 Occasionally, a firm will use an observation study, during which the consumer's behavior is observed and described
in such a way as to answer the research problem.

Descriptive studies are very common in research and make up a large part of the studies that are conducted by either
in- house research departments or commissioned to outside research companies. They are the mainstays of research
because they generally allow the manager to draw inferences about his or her customers, target markets, competitors,
or other areas of concern. Therefore, it is important that the researcher must have some underlying logic by which
research variables should be included in a descriptive study.
3. Causal Research Design
Causal research designs allow us to isolate causes and effects. Causal research is conducted by controlling various
factors to determine which factor is causing the problem. By changing one factor, say price, we can monitor its effects
on a key consequence, such as sales. In other words, causal designs allow us to determine causality, or which variable
is causing another variable to change. We refer to the variables causing the change as independent variables, and the
variables that are affected by these factors are referred to as the dependent variables.
Causal research allows for the highest level of understanding that you can achieve regarding any type of phenomenon.
It gives the manager the ability to make if/then statements. For example, a factory outlet owner might be able to say,
"If I increase my advertising by 10 percent, then our sales will increase by 20 percent."
Essentially, causal designs involve experiments that allow the observer to measure the change in another variable, say
advertising (independent), while holding all other variables constant.
Although causal research designs give you a high level of understanding of the variables you are studying, the designs
often require experiments that are complex and expensive. Even with inexpensive experiments, the ability to control
or at least measure all of the factors that might be causing the phenomenon under study may be uncertain. For this
reason, causal research designs are relatively few in the research industry.
Steps 5: Identify Information Types and Sources
Basically, two types of information are available to a researcher:
i) Secondary data and
ii) Primary data.
I. Secondary data
Secondary data, as its name implies, refers to information that has been collected for some other purpose. That is,
it is being used for a purpose that is secondary to its original function. Sources of secondary data can be external,
such as census data and other publication. Or sources can be internal, arising form sources inside the firm, such as
sales record of the firm.

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Many business problems may be resolved with the use of secondary data. Secondary data should almost always be
used in any research project because it may be collected quickly and it is relatively inexpensive. Secondary data is
typically used to carry out exploratory research which, as we stated earlier, is used in many cases to define the
problem.
Some problems arise, however, with the use of secondary data. For example, it may be outdated, the information
may not be in a form that is usable for the problem at hand, and questions about the integrity of the organization
that collected and reported the data may come into play.

II. Primary data

Primary data refer to information that has been gathered specifically to serve the research objectives at hand. For
many types of problems, secondary data simply will not suffice. For example, we mentioned that many banks
conduct image analysis studies. Although a bank may have its image analysis studies from years gone by, there
simply is no secondary information that will provide the bank with current information. Therefore, if a bank wants
this information, it must collect primary data.
Step 6: Determine Methods of Accessing Data
Once the researcher has determined which types of information are needed, he or she must determine methods of
accessing data. How does he or she accomplish this? It depends on the type of data needed. Compared to primary
data, accessing secondary data is relatively easy. If the data are internal, the manager may gather the information
from company records, salespersons, other company executives, management information systems which offer a
wealth of information.

Methods of accessing external secondary data have greatly improved over the last few years. Not only has the
quantity of information available increased but, perhaps more significantly, information-processing technology (on-
line computerized search, CD-ROM databases, and so on) has vastly improved our ability to easily and quickly
retrieve the information. Most libraries offer these services at nominal fees, and there are many commercial
sources of industry and even brand- specific data.
There are several different methods of collecting primary data. These methods include telephone surveys, mail
surveys, door - to - door personal interviews, and mall intercept studies.

Technology has also impacted access to primary data. New companies are being developed that apply new data
collection technologies in unique ways. For example, there are systems that survey TV viewers and radio listeners
using computer - generated questionnaires to record respondents' audio responses. The computerized questionnaire
program customized each question depending on the respondent's verbal response to the previous question.
Step 7: Design Data Collection Forms
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Because research projects gather information, the actual design of the data collection form that is used to ask and
record this information is critical to the success of the project. Even when the correct problem has been defined and
the most appropriate research design planned, asking the wrong questions, or asking the right questions in the
wrong order, will destroy the usefulness of the research effort.

There are two basic methods by which researchers collect information:

i) by asking questions or
ii)by observing.
Both information-collecting formats use standardized forms, called questionnaires, which record the information
communicated by respondents or the respondents' behavior as observed by the researcher.

There are two types of forms: structured and unstructured. Structured questionnaires list questions that have
prespecified answer choices. Unstructured questionnaires have open- ended questions and/or questions that are
asked based on a prior response. Both forms can be disguised, which means that the true object of the study is not
identified, or undisguised, in which case the respondent is made fully aware of the purpose and/or sponsor of the
survey.

A questionnaire's apparent simplicity (writing a list of questions) is very deceptive. Care must be taken to design a
questionnaire that will cooperatively elicit objective information from the respondents. This means avoiding both
ambiguous and leading questions.
Step 8: Determine Sample plan and Size
It is important to determine a sample plan and its size. Yet, how is this done? Typically, it begins when a
researcher wants to know something about a "group". The group that the researcher is interested in knowing
something about is referred to as the population. On occasion, a population is small enough that a manager may
study all of the members of the population in order to learn whatever it is they are interested in knowing. However,
this is extremely rare. Imagine trying to study all teenagers aged 13 through 16! Consequently, researchers study
subsets of the population, called samples, in order to gather the necessary information in an efficient manner.
Care must be taken in designing and drawing the sample. It is important to note that, because a sample represents
something less than the population being studied, the characteristics of the sample will not likely exactly match the
characteristics of the population. The difference between sample data and the true population data is referred to as
sampling error. Fortunately, as you will see, you can measure the amount of sampling error that exists in a given
sample's estimate of some variable of the pupation (parameter).
There are basically three different issues regarding sampling.

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i) The first is that you must determine who, or perhaps what, to sample by defining the problem. As an
example of a company that did a poor job of specifying who to sample, consider an unnamed dog food company
that decided to design and market a new type of dog food. The company conducted a great deal of research to
choose the best package size, the best package design, and the best advertising program The product was introduced
to the market with a large campaign and the distributors enjoyed excellent sales - for a few weeks. Then, sales
dropped to virtually zero. It seemed that, with all of the research that had been undertaken, no one had checked the
proper population - the dogs - who did not like the dog food!

ii) A second issue to be included in the final sample is the sample element, which refers to a unit of the entity being
studied. The sample element could be an employer, a supermarket shopper, a head of household, or a retail store,
and son on. Also important is the sample frame, a list from which sample elements are drawn for the sample,
which contains all of the elements in the population being studied.
iii) Finally, the third issue to deal with is sample size, which determines how many sample elements will be
studied. Most people believe that sample size is primarily determined by the size of the population. You will learn
that this is not necessarily true. In fact, only rarely does the size of the population being studied have an impact on
the required sample size.
Step 9: Collect Data
Data collection is usually done by trained interviewers who are employed by field data collection companies to
collect primary data. Many possible errors, called non-sampling errors attributable to factors other than sampling
errors, may occur during data collections. Such errors include:
 selecting the wrong sample elements to interview,
 securing subjects who refuse to participate or are simply not at home when the interviewer calls,
 interviewing subjects who intentionally give out the wrong information, or
 Hiring interviewers who cheat and fill out fictitious survey questionnaires.
 Even interviewers who honestly complete their interviews may make inadvertent nonsampling errors by
copying down the wrong information on their survey form.
Needless to say, good researchers must be aware of the errors that may occur during data collection and should
implement plans to reduce these errors. Unlike sampling error, you cannot measure the amount of nonsampling
error that may exist in a study.
Therefore, it is important to know the possible causes of non-sampling error, so that, appropriate steps can be taken
to limit its occurrence.
Step 10: Analyze Data
Some type of data analysis is needed to give the raw data any meaning.
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Data analysis involves:
 Entering data into computer files,
 Inspecting it for errors, and
 Running tabulation and various statistical tests.
The first step in data analysis is data cleaning or data editing, which is the process by which the raw data is
checked to verify it is correct and entered where it should be on the data collection form. Typically, data analysis is
conducted with the assistance of a computerized data analysis program that, in most cases, allows only numerical
entries.
Coding is the next step after data cleaning. Coding is the process of assigning all response categories a numerical
value; that is, males = 1, females = 2, and so on.
An important step in data analysis is performed by tabulation, which refers to the actual counting of the number of
observations that fall into each possible response category. As you will see, there are several uses of tabulation,
some devoted to data cleaning, and others allow the researcher to understand what the collected data means.
Examining two or more response categories at the same time, called cross- tabulation, is another form of data
analysis. Finally, a variety of statistical tests, which include means, frequencies, correlation's trend analysis,
and regression, are also used to analyze data.
Step 11: Prepare and Present the Final Research Report
The last step in the research process is to prepare and present the final research report - one of the most important
phases of research. Its importance cannot be overstated because it is the report, or its presentation that properly
communicates the study results to the client.
Every researcher should confer with the client to determine exactly what is wanted in the research report. However,
there are widely accepted standardized sections of a research report, such as the introduction, the methodology, the
results, and so on. Computer graphics may be included to present information visually. Graphs are invaluable as
communication vehicles when researchers want to summarize meaningful patterns or notable findings for the
marketing managers who will be making decisions on the research results.
Sometimes researchers not only turn in a written research report but they also make an oral presentation of the
research methods used to conduct the study as well as the research findings to their client. Typically, the
presentation entails overhead transparencies or even color slides with outlines, bulleted lists, and graphs.

Summary

Virtually all research projects are different. Some studies are limited to a review of secondary data; others require
complex designs involving large-scale collection of primary data. While recognizing the diversity of research

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projects, there are enough commonalities among these projects to enable us to characterize them in terms of “steps
of the research process.” These steps are (1) establishing the need or research (2)defining the problem
(3)establishing research objectives,(4)determining research design, (5)identifying information types and sources,
(6) determining methods of accessing data, (7)designing data collection forms, (8)determining sample plan and
size, (9)collecting data, (10)analyzing data, (11)preparing and presenting the final research report.

There is value in characterizing research projects in terms of successive steps. First, the steps give researchers, and
non-researchers, an overview of the entire research process. Second, they provide a procedure in the sense that a
researcher, by referring to the steps, knows what tasks to consider and in what order. However, an informed
researcher client should know there are caveats in such a step-by-step procedure. Only by being thoroughly familiar
with the research process is a researcher or client in a position to understand some of the problems associated with
following a step by step procedure. The steps shown in this chapter are interactive. That is, after collecting some
data, the researcher may decide that the problem needs to be redefined, and the process may start over.

Review questions:
1. List out the various steps involved in the Marketing Research Process.
2. It is very important to define the research problem, explain.
3. Classify research designs and explain the relevance of each.
4. What are the types of data sources?
5. Enumerate the methods available for data collection
6. Is it important to determine the sample size? Explain.
7. How will you analyze the data collected from the research?
8. How will you prepare a research report?
9. The various steps in the Marketing Research Process are inter-related. Explain.
10. Does the Market Research Process serve as a framework for finding solution to the research problem at
hand? Evaluate critically.

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