Unit 3 – Research Design

Research design - Meaning

A research design is the plan or framework used to conduct a research

study. It involves outlining the overall approach and methods that will
be used to collect and analyze data in order to answer research
questions or test hypotheses.
A well-designed research study should have a clear and well-defined
research question, a detailed plan for collecting data, and a method for
analyzing and interpreting the results. A well-thought-out research
design addresses all these features.
 Nature of Marketing research design
There are different types of marketing research depending on the objectives that the
research is designed to achieve and the sources of data which are to be used.

Marketing research may also be either qualitative or quantitative depending on the form of
data generated and the degree of mathematical accuracy level to which it is subjected. The
most widely used category of marketing research is based on the functional objective of
investigation.
Research Types_ Descriptive_Analytical_Qualitative_Quantitative_Conceptual_Empirical_
Applied_Basic.mp4
 Marketing research can be

1. Exploratory
2. Descriptive
3. Casual
4. Predictive
 Exploratory research

• Exploratory research gives valuable insight, generates ideas and hypotheses rather than
measuring or testing them. “Exploratory research is concerned with identifying the real
nature of research problems and perhaps of formulating relevant hypotheses for various
tests”. Crimp stated that the researcher undertakes exploratory research in order to generate
an adequate basis for designing research and it includes searching for data that are already
available both within the company and from external sources, consulting experts,
conducting observational studies, getting feedback from market place and surveys.
• A marketing researcher uses this type of research when very little is known about the
problem being examined. The major benefit is that it is less expensive and less time-
consuming. For example, if a researcher is interested in finding out “Which features or
factors are vital in a purchase decision? and “What will be the best mode of communication
to reach the consumers? For all these purposes, exploratory research gives an insight into the
problem.
 Descriptive Research

Descriptive research is concerned with measuring and estimating the frequencies with
which things occur or the degree of correlation or association between various variables. It
has been seen that market research reports are often descriptive and they measure market
size, market structure, and the behaviour and attitudes of consumers in the marketplace. In
general as the data obtained by descriptive research is put to various statistical analysis, it is
very necessary to make a list of the variables to be investigated and how these variables will
be measured.
 Causal research

Causal research is basically concerned with establishing cause and effect relationship and
an attempt to explain why things happen. For example, to what extent the price elasticity of
demand or the degree to which advertising campaigns have affected the sales may be
explained by causal research.
 Predictive research

The main purpose of predictive research is to arrive at a forecast or

prediction or some measurement of interest to the researcher. The ultimate
target may be the future sales level of the firm. Other goals of predictive
research may involve industry sales level, projection or growth or defining
of firm’s product line and the use of a test market to predict the likely
success of a new product.