The

Marketing Research Process

and Proposals

McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2010 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights

reserved.
 Information Research Process

Information research process is the systematic

task steps in the gathering, analyzing,
interpreting, and transforming of data
structures and results into decision-making
information

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The iceberg principle states that in many business problem situations the decision maker is aware of
only 10 percent of the true problem. Often what is thought to be the problem is nothing more than
an observable outcome or symptom (i. e., some type of measurable market performance factor),
while 90 percent of the problem is neither visible to nor clearly understood by decision makers.
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 Exhibit 2.2 Phases of the
Information Research Process
Phase I
Determine the Research Problem

Phase II
Select Appropriate Research Design

Phase III
Execute the Research Design

Phase IV
Communicate the Research Results

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Phase I. Determine the Research Problem

Step 1. Identify and clarify information

needs

problem
Step 2. Define the research
and questions

p ecif y research o bjectives and

Step 3. S n value
confirm informatio

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Step 1. Identify and clarify information needs

Researchers and decision makers must:

Agree on the decision maker’s purpose for the
research,
Understand the complete problem,
Identify measurable symptoms and distinguish
them from the root problem,
Select the unit of analysis,
Determine the relevant variables
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 Step 2. Define the research problem
and questions

Redefine the problem as a research question

Conducts a review of the literature for
valuable perspectives and ideas that may be
used in research design and in interpretation
of results

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 Step 3. Specify research objectives and
confirm information value

Research objective should:

Be based on the definition of the research problem
in Step 2.
Provide guidelines for determining other steps that
must be taken.
Confirm the value: evaluate the expected value of
the information.
 “Best guess” answers
 Research should be conducted only when the
expected value exceeds the cost.
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 Phase II. Select the Research Design

Step 4. Determine the research design

and data sources

samp li n g design
elop the
Step 5. Dev d sample size
an

Step 6. Examine measu

rement issues
and scales

Step 7. Desig
n and pretest
th e questionna
ire
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 Step 4. Determine research design

Exploratory research: generating defining

insights or deepening the understanding that
are not easy to access
Descriptive research: collecting quantitative
data to answer research questions
Causal research: determining cause-and-
effect relationships between two or more
variables
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 Step 5. Develop the Sampling Design
and Sample Size

Sampling design involves:

 identifying the relevant target population.
 choosing to collect data from a census (for
small population) or a sample (for large
population)
 selecting a representative sample of the
population to generalize the findings
Sample size affects the accuracy and
generalizability of research results
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 Step 6. Examine Measurement Issues
and Scales

Reliability and validity of information

Development of reliable and valid scale
measurement
Single or multi-item measures used to collect
data

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Step 6. Design and Pretest the Questionnaire

Questionnaire design involves:

 Selecting the correct type of questions
 Consider sequence and format
 Pretest
 ask people representative of the sample
to complete the questionnaire
 ask for their comments on clarity of
instructions and questions, sequence of
the topics and questions, etc.
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 Phase III. Execute the Research Design
Step 8
. Colle
ct and
p repare
d ata

interview or observe; quantify the data with codes, check for

errors, missing, inconsistencies
Step
9. An
alyze
data

vary widely in sophistication and complexity, frequency

distributions, summary statistics, and multivariate data analysis
Step 10. I
nt erpret dat
a to create
knowledg
e

more than a narrative description, involves integrating several

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aspects of the findings into conclusions
 Phase IV. Communicate the
Research Results
Step 11. Prepa
re and presen
t final report

Executive Summary

Introduction

Problem Definition & Objectives

Methodology

Results, Findings, Limitatio

ns of Study

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 Illustration of Magnum Hotel case

Consider the Magnum Hotel. Corporate

executives were assessing ways to reduce costs
and improve profits. The VP of finance
suggested cutting back on the “quality of the
towels and bedding” in the rooms. Before
making a final decision, the president asked the
marketing research department to interview
business customers.

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 Illustration of Magnum Hotel case
 total of 880 people were asked
 indicate the degree of importance they
placed on seven criteria when selecting a
hotel.
 Respondents used a six-point importance
scale ranging from “Extremely Important
= 6” to “Not At All Important = 1.”
 Both first-time and repeat customers

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 Research Proposal Outline

 Purpose of proposed research project

 Type of study
 Definition of target population and sample size
 Sample design and data collection method
 Specific research instruments
 Potential managerial benefits
 Proposed cost for total project
 Profile of research company
 Optional dummy tables of projected results

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