RESEARCH METHODS IN BUSINESS

UNIT I

DR DEBOSREE SARMA
RESEARCH: MEANING
 The term research refers to an activity where a study
is carried out in a particular discipline or a subject of
particular interest, especially to discover new facts or
information in the discipline or the concerned subject
of interest area.
 In short, research is work that involves studying
something and tying to discover facts about it.
 Research in common parlance refers to a search for
something/knowledge.
 One can define research as a scientific and systematic
search for pertinent information on a specific topic. In
fact research is an art of scientific investigation.
METHODOLOGY
A system of broad principles or rules from which
specific methods or procedures may be derived to
interpret or solve different problems within the
scope of a particular discipline.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
 The process used to collect information and data for the
purpose of making business decisions.
 The methodology may include publication research,
interviews, surveys and other research techniques, and
could include both present and historical information.
For e.g.-
A Company has 4 factories, running all over India suddenly the
owner suffers heavy losses,
 so can one(owner) just shut down/invest in any one unit(factory)
which he chooses randomly (means without any
investigation/enquiry).?
-Surely no!
 First he/she(owner/mgmt.) should enquire/investigate properly
(systematically & scientifically) that which unit is making loss
to company.
 Then check the problem/s then take required corrective
measures(actions) either to solve the problem/improve the
systems or shut down if it is advised to do so -as per
information obtained from the systematic enquiry/investigation
i.e. called Research.
DEFINITIONS OF RESEARCH
 According to Clifford Woody,
“ Research comprises of defining and redefining
problems, formulating hypothesis or suggested
solutions; collecting, organising and evaluating data;
making deductions and reaching conclusions and at
last carefully testing the conclusions to determine
whether they fit the formulating hypothesis”.
 D.Slesinger and M. Stephenson in the encyclopaedia
of Social Sciences define research as
“the manipulation of things, concepts or symbols for
the purpose of generalising to extend, correct or verify
knowledge, whether that knowledge aids in
construction of theory or in the practice of an art”.
 Therefore, the term research refers to the systematic
method consisting of enunciating the problem,
formulating the hypothesis, collection of facts or data,
analysing the facts and reaching certain conclusions either
in the form of solution (s) towards the concerned problem
or in certain generalizations for some theoretical
formulation.
OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH:
 The purpose of research is to discover answers to
questions through the application of scientific procedures.
 The main aim of research is to find out the truth which is
hidden and which has not been discovered as yet. Some of
the specific objectives of research are entitled below:
 To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve
new insights into it (Exploratory or formulative
studies).
 To portray accurately the characteristics of a
particular individual, situation or a group
(Descriptive research studies).
 To determine the frequency with which it is
associated with something else (Diagnostic research
studies).
 To test the hypothesis of a causal relationship
between variables (hypothesis-testing research
studies).
 NATURE OF RESEARCH
 It is Systematic:-
It is systematic because it is a step by step process. It starts
from problem formulation & continues through literature
review, hypotheses formulation, research design, data
collection, data analysis & ends at Report-writing.
 It is Scientific:-

It is scientific because it contains Rules, Principles,

methods, techniques for conducting the research . such as
Questionnaire, scheduling, Psychological Techniques,
Mean, Mode, Median etc.
 It has objectivity:-
As it always has some topic/issue & has an objective to collect
information related for the same.
 It has verifiability :-

Because research results can be verified by new researcher.

 It has definiteness :

because it has a particular direction & a specific(definite) topic

for conducting research.
 It is art & science both :-
it is art because it provides the researcher necessary skill to
collect, analyze, and present the data. it is science because it uses
various scientific tools for data collection, data analysis like
observation, interview, mean, mode, etc.
 It has wider scope.

as it is used in almost all areas of knowledge like Physics,

chemistry, agriculture & also in Management like Marketing,
HRM, finance, etc.
 It’s a tool for new product development.:

because by research marketers able to know

needs,wants,desires,tastes,preference,problems,demography,psyc
hography etc. of consumers. on the basis of which organizations
develop new products.
 It serves as basis of management principles.
As it helps & guides to make principles, policies, Rules,
Regulations, systems, procedures related to management.
 It aids in decision making:

As it provides sound & substantial information base on which

management can take rational & better decisions related to
various important issues of organizations
 It is Qualitative& Quantitative both :

As sometimes it goes for collecting qualitative information like

attitude, satisfaction level, perception etc. of consumers,
retailers, employees ,hence it is qualitative & sometimes it
collects & present information in numerical forms too like
number of people, percentage of consumers/retailers/employees,
etc. so it is quantitative too.
 It is helpful in prediction & control :-
it provides substantial informational base
to predict the amount of demand which in
turn helps in determining production
quantity more accurately. Which reduce
the risk of over production & also reduce
the risk of opportunity loss to a great
extent.
 It has psychological approaches too.

as it uses attitude measurement techniques

& Motivational Research techniques. Viz.
Thematic test, word association test,
sentence completion test, inkblot
holtzman test etc.
 It relies on empirical evidences.
As in research data collected is based
on experiences of
people/consumers/retailers etc..
 It explores new insights/describes
in detail/obtain cause & effect
relationships:
It helps to explores an issue/subject
for more /new insights when the
researcher has either no information
or little information. And/or goes into
detailed investigation & describe the
topic thoroughly.
RESEARCH PROCESS
 Research consists of a series of actions or steps necessary for
effectively carrying out research. Therefore, it is a process as it
involves a systematic activity which is carried out in a step
wise manner, each of this step is described in detail :
STEP 1: IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM
 The first step in research is to identify the problem.
The researcher must discover a suitable problem and
define it operationally.
 A problem is defined as that interrogative statement
which shows the relationship between two or more
variables in an unambiguous manner.
 Example: What is the relationship between academic
ability and socio-economic status?
A problem has several other characteristics which
becomes the relevant considerations in choosing a
scientific problem.
 For identifying a good solvable problem, the
investigator undertakes review of related literature, it
helps the researcher to become familiar with several
knowns and unknowns.
 Review of literature has the advantage that it helps in
eliminating duplication of what has already been
done and provide fertile guidance and suggestions for
further research.
 The main purpose of review of literature is four fold:
A) First it gives an idea about the variables which have
been found to be conceptually and practically
important and unimportant in the related field. Thus, it
helps in the selection of relevant variables.
B) Second, it helps to provide an estimate of the
previous work done. This has two-fold advantages- it
avoids duplication of previous work and provides an
opportunity for the meaningful extension of previous
works.
C) Thirdly, the review of literature helps the researcher
in expanding and synthesizing the growing body of
knowledge. This facilitates in drawing useful
conclusions regarding the variables under study and
provides a meaningful way for their subsequent
applications.
D) Fourthly, it also helps in redefining the variables and
determining the meanings and relationships among
them so that the researcher can build up a case for
further applications.
STEP 2: FORMULATING A HYPOTHESIS
 When the researcher has identified the problem and
reviewed the relevant literature , the researcher
formulates a hypothesis which is a kind of suggested
answer to the problem. Hypothesis may be defined
as a tentative statement showing the relationship
between variables under study. It is stated in
declarative form:
 Example: 1. Persons coming from the upper and middle Socio
economic status have stronger academic ability than persons
coming from lower Socio economic status.
 2. Reward facilitates learning.

A good research hypothesis has several characteristics which are

enumerated below:
i) First, it should be consistent with the known facts and
theories.
ii) Secondly, it should be testable.
iii) Thirdly, it should be reasonable and expressed in the simplest
possible words.
For unbiased research, the researcher must formulate a hypothesis
in advance of the data-gathering process. No hypothesis should be
formulated after the data are collected.
STEP- 3: IDENTIFYING, MANIPULATING AND
CONTROLLING VARIABLES
 Variables are defined as those characteristics which
are manipulated, controlled and observed by the
experimenter.
 At least three types of variables must be recognised at
the outset. The dependent variable, the independent
variable and the extraneous variable.
 The dependent variable is one about which the
prediction is made on the basis of the experiment.
 The independent variable is the variable that is
manipulated or selected by the experimenter in order
to find out its relationship to some observed
phenomenon.
 An extraneous variable Is the uncontrolled variable
that may affect the dependent variable.
 The experimenter is not interested in the changes
produced due to the extraneous variable and hence he
tries to control it as far as practicable.
STEP-4 : FORMULATING A RESEARCH
DESIGN
 A research design may be regarded as the blueprint of
those procedures which are adopted by the researcher
for testing the relationship between the dependent
variable and the independent variable.
 There are several kinds of research design and the
selection of any one is based upon the purpose of the
research, types of variables to be controlled and
manipulated as well upon the conditions upon which
the experiment is to be conducted.
STEP 5: CONSTRUCTING DEVICES FOR
OBSERVATION AND MEASUREMENT
 When the research design has been formulated the
next step is to construct or collect the tools of
research for scientific observation and measurement.
 Questionnaires, opinionnaires and interviews are the
most common tools which have been developed for
researches.
STEP 6: SUMMARIZING RESULTS

 The next step in scientific research is to summarize

the results so that a suitable analysis can be made.
There are two common methods for summarizing
results- the tabular method and the graphic method.
 In the tabular method the obtained data are reduced to
some convenient tables, which facilitate the use of
appropriate statistical tests.
 In the graphic method the obtained data are shown through
graphs and pictures.
 In general, the graphic method has an advantage over
tabular method in the sense that it provides quick
deliberation and understanding to those who examine it.
 But the general limitation of the graphic method is that
complex data are difficult to be displayed whereas the same
can be easily shown through tabular method.
 A good researcher, therefore should summarize the results
by utilizing both the methods.
STEP 7: CARRYING OUT STATISTICAL
ANALYSIS
 When the data have been reduced to the tabular form, the
next step is to carry out appropriate statistical analysis.
 There are two types of statistical tests- parametric and
non-parametric tests.
 Depending upon the nature and purpose of the
experiment or research either of a statistic is chosen for
statistical analysis.
 In general, the purpose of carrying out the statistical analysis is
to reject the null hypothesis so that the alternate hypothesis may
be accepted. Commonly there are two levels of significance at
which the null hypothesis is rejected-0.05 level or 5% level and
 0.01 level (1% level). These levels are also known as alpha
level.
STEP 8: DRAWING CONCLUSION
 The investigator after analysing the results, draws
some conclusions.
 In fact, the investigator can at this point make some
statement about the research problem, which he
could not make without conducting the research.
 Whatever conclusion is arrived at, he generalizes it
to the whole population. At this stage the investigator
also makes some predictions about certain related
events or behaviour in new situations.
 REPORT WRITING
 After the research is complete, the researcher has to put
his work in writing so that it is available to the people.
 Report writing must be done in the prescribed format.

 It should contain the details of how, when, where and

why the research was done.
 The report should be concise and legitimate to all
readers.
RESEARCH DESIGN
RESEARCH DESIGN
 Definition
A Research Design is the framework or blueprint for
conducting the research project.
 It specifies the details of the procedures necessary for
obtaining the information needed to structure and/or
solve marketing research problems.
Components
 Information needed
 Data collection methods
 Measurement and scaling procedures
 Sampling process and sample size
 Data analysis procedures
OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH DESIGN
Exploratory
• “discovery”
Descriptive
• “relationships”
Causal
• “cause-and-effect”
OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH DESIGN
Uses Types
•Formulate problems more precisely •Literature search
•Develop Hypotheses •Experience survey
Exploratory •Establish priorities for research •Analysis of select cases
Research •Eliminate impractical ideas •Interviews
•Clarify concepts •Ethnographies
•Focus groups
•Etc.
•Describe segment characteristics
Descriptive •Estimate proportion of people
Research who behave in a certain way •Longitudinal study
•Make specific predictions •Panels
•Sample Survey
Causal •Provide evidence regarding causal
Research relationships
•Laboratory experiment
•Rule out all other explanations
•Field experiment
QUALITATIVE VERSUS QUANTITATIVE
RESEARCH
Data

Quantitative = numeric data

Qualitative = non-numeric data

Common Assumption:
Qualitative Data = preliminary
Quantitative Data = confirmatory
QUALITATIVE VS. QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

Qualitative Research Quantitative Research

Objective To gain a qualitative To quantify the data and

understanding of the generalize the results from
underlying reasons and the sample to the
motivations population of interest

Sample Small number of non- Large number of

representative cases representative cases

Data Collection Unstructured Structured

Data Analysis Non-statistical Statistical

Outcome Develop an initial Recommend a final course

understanding of action
 Detailversus Generalizability
 Quantitative Methods
 Generalizations to other populations and/or
situations
 Qualitative Methods
 Rich Understanding
 RESEARCH DESIGN: EXPLORATORY
RESEARCH
• Exploratory research is most commonly
unstructured, “informal” research that is undertaken
to gain background information about the general
nature of the research problem.
• Exploratory research is usually conducted when the
researcher does not know much about the problem
and needs additional information or desires new or
more recent information.
• Exploratory research is used in a number of
situations:
• Formulating a problem for more precise
investigation
• Discovering new ideas
• Developing hypotheses
• Establishing priorities for further research
• Screening of alternatives
• Increasing the analyst's familiarity with the
problem area
• Clarifying concepts
 Exploratory research

Qualitative Research Procedures

Direct Indirect
(Non-disguised) (Disguised)

Projective
Focus Group Depth Interview Techniques

Association Completion Construction Expressive

Techniques Techniques Techqniques Techniques
TYPES OF EXPLORATORY RESEARCH
 Case studies

 Literature search

 Pilot studies

 Experience interviews / Expert Opinion Survey

 In-Depth Interviews

 Focus Groups
AN EXPLORATORY RESEARCH TOOL:
PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES
 Projective techniques are unstructured and indirect
forms of questioning that encourage respondents to
project their underlying motivations, beliefs, attitudes,
or feelings regarding the issues of concern.
TYPES OF PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES
 Association Techniques
 Word Association: Subjects are read a list of words or
phrases and asked to respond with the first thing that
comes to mind in order to look for hidden meanings and
associations

Word Ms. M Ms. G

washday everyday ironing
fresh and sweet clean
pure air soiled
scrub don't; husband does clean
filth this neighborhood dirt
bubbles bath soap and water
family squabbles children
towels dirty wash
TYPES OF PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES
 Completion techniques
 Sentence completion: Respondents given incomplete
sentences and asked to complete in their own words in the
hopes that hidden thoughts/feelings will be revealed

If Pantaloons were a car it would be a _____________________

Pantaloons shoppers are ________________________________

If I asked my friend to go shopping at Pantaloons, they would say

________________________________

Compared to Reliance Trends, Pantaloons is _____________________

TYPES OF PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES
 Completion techniques
 Story completion: Respondents are provided a scenario
and asked to complete it.

It has been a very long day. Between classes and meetings, I

did not have time to take a break at all. It is now 5:30 and I
have just arrived home at my apartment. I just realized that I
haven’t eaten all day and am starving. I found a package of
Chicken & Mushroom flavored Ramen Noodles and decide to
heat it up in the microwave. The noodles are ready to go. As I
sit down at the kitchen table and pick up a fork to eat what is in
front of me……………
TYPES OF PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES
 Construction Techniques
 Cartoon (or balloon) Tests: Subjects are given a cartoon
drawing (typically presented in a vague manner) and asked
to suggest the dialogue in an attempt to identify a person’s
latent feelings about what is being portrayed.

Let’s see if we can

pick up some home
décor items at Sohum

Sohum
TYPES OF PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES
 Construction Techniques
 Picture Tests: Subjects are given a picture and instructed to
describe their reactions by writing a short narrative story
about the picture.
TYPES OF PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES
 Construction Techniques
 Thematic Apperception Tests (TAT): Subjects are
presented with a series of pictures and asked to provide a
description of or a story about the pictures.

 A twist on the TAT:

 Ask subjects to draw cartoons and write about the subject
of interest
 Example: Roach Killer...
TYPES OF PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES
 Expressive Techniques
 Role Playing: Subject is asked to act out someone else’s
behavior in a specified setting.

A customer is trying to return an item and does not have a

receipt. The customer insists on a cash refund but store policy
clearly states that all returns must be accompanied by a receipt.
The store manager is only permitted to allow store credit in
these circumstances. The customer is irate. What would you do
if you were the store manager in this situation?
TYPES OF PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES
 Expressive Techniques

What Will the Neighbors Say?

 Third-Person
A study was performed Technique: Subject
for a commercial airlineisto asked to verbalize
understand why some
people how
do notafly.
third person
When (such as were
the respondents a neighbor
asked, "Areor you
friend)
afraid would
to fly?"
very few people
react to asaid yes. The
specific major reasons given for not flying were cost,
question.
inconvenience, and delays caused by bad weather. However, it was suspected
that the answers were heavily influenced by the need to give socially desirable
responses. Therefore, a follow-up study was done. In the second study, the
respondents were asked, "Do you think your neighbor is afraid to fly?" The
answers indicated that most of the neighbors who traveled by some other
means of transportation were afraid to fly.
TYPES OF PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES
 Another twist - Shopping Lists -- Ask respondents about the
type of person who would buy a particular group of products

 An example: Instant Coffee in the 50s.

 Two women are depicted with having identical shopping
lists with the exception that 1 had instant coffee on her list
and the other had regular brew coffee. Can you guess how
the woman who purchased the instant coffee was viewed as
compared to the one who bought the coffee that had to be
percolated?
PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES
 Advantages  Disadvantages
 They help probe consumer  Subjectivity/Interpretation
motivations by enabling a bias
subject to project their own  Rely on analytical
psychological material in a expertise/background of
non-threatening way researcher (need highly
 May stimulate greater trained interviewers
creativity  Unusual behavior may not be
 Greater elicitation of reflective of a person’s
responses normal personality or
motivations
 the psychological material
uncovered may or may not
be related to the topic or to
the person
IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS (IDIS)
 Depth interviews, also known as Individual Depth Interviews
(IDIs) or One-on-Ones, is an unstructured, direct personal
interview in which a single respondent is probed by a highly
skilled interviewer to uncover underlying motivations, beliefs,
attitudes, and feelings on a topic.
 General Characteristics
 Individual Interviews
 Intended to provide depth of understanding to
uncover motivations, beliefs, attitudes, feelings, etc.
 Typically 30 minutes to 1 hour in length
 Unstructured format dependent on response
 Probing is critical
IDIS
 Laddering: the line of questioning proceeds from product
characteristics to user characteristics. This technique allows the
researcher to tap into the consumer's network of meanings.

Wide body aircrafts (product characteristic)

I can get more work done

I accomplish more

I feel good about myself (user characteristic)

Advertising theme: You will feel good about yourself when

flying our airline. “You're The Boss.”
ANOTHER LADDERING EXAMPLE
 Here is a typical chain or ladder obtained from a secretary
discussing why she would prefer to use an overnight package
delivery service that has drop boxes available:

Drop Box
Convenient
Save Time
Personal Satisfaction
Accomplishment
Self-Esteem
IDI’S
 Advantages  Disadvantages

 Increased depth  Cost

 Fewer inhibitions  Time
 Eliminates peer  Less client
pressure involvement
 Specific competitive  Interviewer errors
situations  Lack of
generalizability
FOCUS GROUPS
 Focus groups were originally called "focused interviews" or
"group depth interviews". The technique was developed after
World War II to evaluate audience response to radio programs
(Stewart & Shamdasani, 1990).
 A focus group could be defined as a group of interacting
individuals having some common interest or
characteristics, brought together by a moderator, who uses
the group and its interaction as a way to gain information
about a specific or focused issue.
 General Characteristics
 Multiple Respondents
 Group Interaction
 Group Moderation/Facilitation
 Discussion Guide Rather than a Questionnaire
 Homogeneous group composition of prescreened
respondents
 Group Size of 6 to 12 participants
 Typically 1 to 2 hours in length
 USES OF FOCUS GROUPS

 To generate hypotheses that can be further tested quantitatively

 To generate information helpful in structuring questionnaires
 To provide overall background information on a product
category
 To get impressions on new product concepts for which there is
little information available
 To stimulate new ideas about older products
 To generate ideas for new creative concepts
 To interpret previously obtained quantitative results
TYPES OF FOCUS GROUPS
 Traditional group
 Dual-moderator group: two moderators (traditional or dueling
moderators)
 Two-way group: one focus group watches another focus group
and discusses what is learned (e.g. a focus group of physicians
viewed a focus group of arthritis patients discussing the
treatment they desired )
 Respondent-moderator group: moderator asks selected
participants to play the role of moderator temporarily to
improve group dynamics.
 Video-conference group
 Telesession/telephone group
 Online group
 FOCUS GROUP ADVANTAGES
 Synergism: The combined effect of the group will produce a
wider range of information, insight, and ideas than if the
participants had been interviewed separately.
 Snowballing: A bandwagon effect often operates in a group
interview situation - a comment by one individual often
triggers a chain of responses from others.
 Security: The participants can usually find comfort in the
group in that their feelings are not greatly different from the
other participants.
 Spontaneity: Since individuals aren't required to answer any
given question in a group interview, their responses can be
more spontaneous and less conventional, and should provide a
more accurate picture of their position on some issues.
 Serendipity: It is more often the case in a group rather than
individual interview that some idea will "drop out of the blue."
 Specialization: The group interview allows the use of a more
highly trained interviewer since a number of individuals are
being "interviewed" simultaneously.
 Scientific scrutiny: The group interview allows several
observers to witness the session and it can be recorded for later
playback and analysis.
 Structure: The group interview affords more flexibility than
the individual interview with regard to the topics covered and
depth with which they are treated.
 Speed: Since a number of individuals are being interviewed at
the same time, the group interview speeds up the data collection
and analysis process.
FOCUS GROUP DISADVANTAGES
 Misuse: Focus groups can be misused and abused by
considering the results as conclusive rather than exploratory.

 Misjudge: Focus group results can be more easily misjudged

than the results of other data collection techniques. Focus
groups are particularly susceptible to client and researcher
biases.

 Moderation: Focus groups are difficult to moderate.

Moderators with all of the desirable skills are rare. The quality
of the results depends heavily on the skills of the moderator.
 Messy: The unstructured nature of the responses makes
coding, analysis and interpretation difficult. Focus group data
tend to be messy.
 Misinterpretation: Focus group results are not necessarily
representative of the general population and are not statistically
projectable. Consequently, focus group results should not be
the sole basis for decision making.
 Money: Focus groups can be expensive on a per participant
basis
THE FOCUS GROUP PROCESS
 Defining the Parameters – the Planning Phase
 How many groups?
 How many participants per group?
 Where will/should the groups be held?
 What should be the composition of each group (screening
requirements)?
 What stimuli (if any) should be used to elicit responses?
 What incentives should be offered?
THE FOCUS GROUP PROCESS
 Analyzing and Reporting the Results
 The debriefing session
 Transcripts
 Review of video recordings
 Analyzing the patterns
 Writing the report
THE MODERATOR’S ROLE

 To "elicit" inputs
 To work with the "assembled group"
 To "achieve the objectives of the client"
 To keep the session "on track"
 To handle situations where participants are only giving "yes"
"no" responses
 To change directions when the subject is "dead"
 To wrap-up effectively
MODERATOR QUALIFICATIONS
 Kindness with firmness: In order to elicit the necessary
interaction, the moderator must combine a disciplined
detachment with an empathic understanding.

 Permissiveness: While an atmosphere of permissiveness

is desirable, the moderator must be at all times alert to
indications that the group atmosphere of cordiality is
disintegrating.
 Involvement: Since a principal reason for the group
interview is to expose feelings and to obtain reactions
indicative of deeper feelings, the moderator must
encourage and stimulate intensive personal involvement.
 Incomplete Understanding: A most useful skill of
the moderator is his or her ability to convey a lack of
complete understanding of the information being
presented.
 Encouragement: Although the dynamics of the
group situation facilitate the participation of all
members in the interaction, there may be individuals
who resist contributing.
 Flexibility: The moderator should be equipped, prior to the
session, with a topic outline of the subject matter to be
covered. By committing the topics to memory before the
interview, the moderator may use the outline only as a
reminder of content areas omitted or covered incompletely.

 Sensitivity: The moderator must be able to identify, as the

group interview progresses, the information level on which it
is being conducted, and determine if it is appropriate for the
subject under discussion.
 Sensitive areas will frequently produce superficial rather than
depth responses. Indication of depth are provided when
participants begin to indicate how they feel about the subject,
rather than what they think about it.
MODERATOR PROBLEMS
 Leading rather than guiding
 Being too knowledgeable
 Trying to be a comedian/becoming the focus of the group
 Being a poor listener
 Being too rigid with the moderator guide
 Not relating well to the people in the group
 Being too naive about the subject of the focus group
 Focusing on individuals rather than the group
 Alienating a group member
THE MODERATOR’S GUIDE
 Importance of the Moderator’s Guide
 Allows moderator & client to agree on the content of
the focus groups
 Specifies what data will be collected
 Provides an outline of the report

 Length & Content

 Typically 3-5 pages
 Outline of introductory remarks
 Outline of questions and probes
ISSUES DURING THE GROUPS
 Facility Problems
 Noise
 Audio/Video recording

 Content Problems
 Confusing concept
 Dead subject
 Lively subject

 Participant Problems
 Talkative participant
 Opinionated member
 Silent member
 Improperly screened participant
FINAL THOUGHTS: FOCUS GROUPS

 Focus groups can be one valuable part of a research

program when used correctly
 Focus groups are often used inappropriately
 Focus groups should not be used to make major
decisions but only as one step in the process
 Focus groups are not an inexpensive way to answer
research questions
 Clients must prepare for focus groups to obtain
valuable results
 The moderator is the most important element in
gathering good useful data
 There is no substitute for client attendance at
focus group sessions
 Focus groups with children require different
moderator skills
 The demand for focus groups is increasing and the
quality of focus groups is improving
EXPERT OPINION SURVEY

 Expert opinion survey is conducted when no previous

information or data is available on a topic of research.
 It is formal and structured in general

 It is advisable to quiz different expert sources as no

expert, no matter how learned, can be solely relied
upon to arrive at any conclusions.
DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH
 Research Design: Descriptive Research

• Descriptive research is undertaken to provide

answers to questions of who, what, where, when,
and how – but not why.
• Two basic classifications:
• Cross-sectional studies
• Longitudinal studies
THE BASIC STEPS OF DESCRIPTIVE
RESEARCH...
An orderly scientific and disciplined process,
involving:

 recognizing and identifying a topic to be studied

 selecting an appropriate sample of participants

 collecting valid and reliable data

 reporting conclusions
 Let’s say we want to investigate the relationship between daily
walking and cholesterol levels in the body.
 One of the first things we’d have to determine is the type of
study that will tell us the most about that relationship.

cross-sectional study. longitudinal study.

Do we want to compare Or, do we want to measure

cholesterol levels among cholesterol levels in a single
different populations of walkers population of daily walkers
and non-walkers at the same over an extended period of
point in time? time?
 Research Design: Descriptive Research
Cross-sectional Studies

• Cross-sectional studies measure units from a sample

of the population at only one point in time.
• Sample surveys are cross-sectional studies whose
samples are drawn in such a way as to be
representative of a specific population.
• On-line survey research is being used to collect data
for cross-sectional surveys at a faster rate.
• To return to our example, we might choose to measure
cholesterol levels in daily walkers across two age groups,
over 40 and under 40, and compare these to cholesterol
levels among non-walkers in the same age groups.
•We might even create subgroups for gender. However, we
would not consider past or future cholesterol levels, for
these would fall outside the frame.
•We would look only at cholesterol levels at one point in
time.
•This would be a cross sectional study
 The benefit of a cross-sectional study design is that it
allows researchers to compare many different variables
at the same time.
 We could, for example, look at age, gender, income and
educational level in relation to walking and cholesterol
levels, with little or no additional cost.
 However, cross-sectional studies may not provide
definite information about cause-and-effect
relationships. This is because such studies offer a
snapshot of a single moment in time; they do not
consider what happens before or after the snapshot is
taken.
 Research Design: Descriptive Research
Longitudinal Studies

• Longitudinal studies repeatedly draw sample units of

a population over time.
• One method is to draw different units from the same
sampling frame.
• A second method is to use a “panel” where the same
people are asked to respond periodically.
• On-line survey research firms recruit panel members
to respond to online queries.
 To return to our example, we might choose to look at the
change in cholesterol levels among women over 40 who
walk daily for a period of 20 years.
 The longitudinal study design would account for
cholesterol levels at the onset of a walking regime and as
the walking behavior continued over time.
 Therefore, a longitudinal study is more likely to suggest
cause-and-effect relationships than a cross-sectional study
by virtue of its scope.
TYPES OF LONGITUDINAL SURVEYS...

 Trend survey
 Cohort survey
 Panel survey
 Trend survey
…A study where a sample is taken from the general
population in order to collect data over time

…Involves different groups and different samples

over time
• how newspaper
readership has
declined over
time
 Cohort survey
• It is a form of longitudinal study that samples a
cohort (a group of people who typically
experienced a common event at a given point in
time).
• a cohort study observes subjects that fall in a
similar group or demographic based on shared
characteristics. This could include region, age, or
common experience
• A cohort study is essentially used in the field of
medicine.

• the British Cohort Study of persons born in 1970

PANEL SURVEY
 Panel studies are a particular design of longitudinal
study in which the unit of analysis is followed at
specified intervals over a long period, often many
years.
 The key feature of panel studies is that they collect
repeated measures from the same sample at
different points in time.
 Panel studies have been used extensively to
monitor the dynamics of poverty, movements into
and out of the labor market, and the process of
demographic change.
 Panel survey
• Two types of panels:
• Continuous panels ask panel members the same
questions on each panel measurement.
• Discontinuous panels vary questions from one
time to the next.
• Longitudinal data used for:
• Market tracking
• Brand-switching
• Attitude and image checks
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CROSS
SECTIONAL AND LONGITUDINAL
RESEARCH DESIGN
CAUSAL RESEARCH
 CAUSAL / EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
DESIGN
 In causal research, the emphasis is on specific
hypotheses about the effects of changes of one variable
on another variable.
 Deals with cause-effect relationship.

 Involves experiment where an independent variable is

changed or manipulated to see how it affects a
dependent variable by controlling the effects of
extraneous variables.
 If exposure X is If exposure X is
associated with outcome Applying guidelines associated with outcome
Y…..then how do we decide for Y…..then how do we
if X is a cause of Y causal inference decide if X is a cause of
Y
Ordinary meaning Scientific Meaning
X is the only cause of Y X is the only one of the number
of possible causes of Y

X must always lead to Y The occurrence of X makes the

occurrence of Y more possible
(X is a probabilistic cause of Y)

It is possible to prove that X is a We can never prove that X is a

cause of Y cause of Y.
At best we can infer that X is a
cause of Y.
NECESSARY CONDITIONS FOR MAKING
CAUSAL INFERENCES
Concomitant Variation:
 It is the extent to which a cause X and effect Y occur
together or vary together.
 However a strong association between X and Y does
not imply causality.
 The high association between these two variables
could be due to the influence of other extraneous
variables.
Time order of occurrence of variables:
 This means that the causal variables must occur prior
to or simultaneously with the effect variable.
 Further it can be that each of the two events X and Y
be both cause and effect of each other.

Absence of other possible causal factors:

 It means that the factor or variable being investigated
should be the only possible causal explanation.
SOME DEFINITIONS

 Independent Variable
 Any variable that can be manipulated by the researcher and
whose effects are measured and compared.
 Test Unit

• Individuals, organizations or other entities whose

response to independent variables or treatments is being
studied.
Dependent Variable
 Variables that measure the effect of the independent
variables on the test unit.
 Variable that is expected to be dependent on the
manipulation of the independent variable
 MORE DEFINITIONS
 Extraneous variables
• Variables other than the independent variables, that
influences the response of the test unit
 Experiment
 The process of manipulating one or more independent
variables and measuring their effect on one or more
dependent variables, while controlling for the extraneous
variables.
 Experimental Group
 Group of subjects exposed to the experimental treatment
 Control Group
 Group of subjects exposed to the control condition
 Not exposed to the experimental treatment
 EXPERIMENTAL VALIDITY
 Internal Validity
 A measure of accuracy of an experiment.
 It measures whether the manipulation of the independent
variables, or treatments, actually caused the effects on the
dependent variables.
 External Validity
 Indicates the extent to which the results of the experiment are
applicable to the real world.
 A determination of whether the cause-and-effect relationship
found in the experiment can be generalized.
CATEGORIES OF EXTRANEOUS VARIABLES
 HISTORY: Specific events that are external to the experiment
but occurs at the same time as the experiment.

 MATURATION: An extraneous variable attributable to

changes in the test units themselves that occur with the
passage of time.

 TESTING EFFECTS: It is caused by the process of

experimentation. Main testing effect occurs when a prior
observation affects a latter observation.
 INSTRUMENTATION: An extraneous variable involving
changes in the measuring instrument or in the observers
themselves

 SELECTION BIAS: An extraneous variable attributable to the

improper assignment of test units to treatment conditions.

 MORTALITY: An extraneous variable attributable to the loss

of test units while the experiment is in progress.
CONTROLLING EXTRANEOUS
VARIABLES
 Extraneous variables pose a serious threat to the internal
and external validity.
 If these variables are not controlled for, they affect the
dependent variables and thus confound the results.

 CONFOUNDING VARIABLES
Synonymous with extraneous variables, used to
illustrate that extraneous variables can confound the
results by influencing the dependent variables.
CONTROLLING EXTRANEOUS
VARIABLES
 RANDOMIZATION: It is a method of controlling extraneous
variables that involves randomly assigning test units to
experimental groups by using random numbers.
 Treatment conditions are also randomly assigned to
experimental groups.

 MATCHING: It is a method of controlling extraneous

variables that involves matching test units on a set of key
background variables before assigning them to the treatment
conditions.
Experimentation as Conclusive Research
Conclusive
Research

Descriptive
Causal

Experimentation

Field Laboratory
Experiments Experiments
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
A set of procedures for devising an experiment such
that a change in a dependent variable may be
attributed solely to the change in an independent
variables.
Various notations used:
 O = The measurement or the process of observation of
a dependent variable on the subjects or groups of
subjects to be tested.
 O1 and O2 refer to different measurements made of
the dependent variable.
X = The manipulation, or change, of an independent
variable.
 R = Random assignment of subjects (consumers,
stores, and so on) to experimental and control groups.
 E = Experimental effect; that is, the change in the
dependent variable due to the independent variable
 CLASSIFICATION OF EXPERIMENTAL
DESIGN
Experimental Design

True
Pre- Experimental Quasi
Statistical
experimental Experimental
Design •Pretest-Posttest
Control group •Randomized
•Time series
•One Shot Case blocks
Study •Posttest-only
•Multiple time
control group •Latin square
•One group
series
Pretest-Posttest •Solomon Four- •Factorial
Group
•Static group
PRE- EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS
 Designs that do not control for extraneous factors by
randomization.
 Three types of Pre-Experimental Designs
One-Shot Design
One-Group Pretest-Posttest Design
Static Group Design

 Question:

 “Does protein supplementation increase muscle

hypertrophy?”
ONE-SHOT CASE STUDY
 A.K.A. – after-only design
 A pre-experimental design in which a single group of test
units is exposed to a treatment X, and then a single
measurement on the dependent variable is taken.
 Study lacks any comparison or control of extraneous
influences
 Diagrammed as: X O1
PRE-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS

One Shot Study

X O 1
ONE-GROUP PRETEST-POSTTEST DESIGN
A pre-experimental design in which a group of test units is
measured twice.
 Subjects in the experimental group are measured before
and after the treatment is administered.
 Offers comparison of the same individuals before and after
the treatment (e.g., training)
 Can also suffer from history and mortality effects

 Diagrammed as O1 X O2
PRE-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS

One Group Pre-test Post-test

O 1 X O 2
 STATIC GROUP DESIGN
 A.K.A., after-only design with control group
 A pre-experimental design in which there are two groups:
the experimental group (EG), which is exposed to the
treatment, and the control group (CG)
 Experimental group is measured after being exposed to the
experimental treatment
 Control group is measured without having been exposed to
the experimental treatment
 Diagrammed as:

Experimental Group: X O1
Control Group: O2
PRE-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS

Static Group Comparison

X O 1

O2
TRUE EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
 Experimental designs distinguished by the fact that the
researcher can randomly assign test units to experimental
groups and also randomly assign treatments to experimental
groups.

• Pretest-Posttest Control group

• Posttest-only control group

• Solomon Four-Group
PRETEST-POSTTEST CONTROL GROUP
DESIGN
 A.K.A., Before-After with Control
 True experimental design in which the experimental group is
exposed to the treatment but the control group is not.
 Experimental group tested before and after treatment
exposure
 Control group tested at same two times without exposure to
experimental treatment
 Includes random assignment to groups
 Effect of all extraneous variables assumed to be the same on
both groups
 PRETEST-POSTTEST CONTROL GROUP
DESIGN
 Diagrammed as
 Experimental
R
Group: O1 X O2
 Control Group: RO3 O4
 Effect of the experimental treatment equals
(O2 – O1) -- (O4 – O3)
 Example
 20% brand awareness among subjects before an advertising treatment
 35% in experimental group & 22% in control group after the treatment
 Treatment effect equals (0.35 – 0.20) – (0.22 – 0.20) = 13%
 TRUE-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS
Pre-test Post-test Randomised Group Comparison

O 1 X O 2

R
O
O
3

4
POSTTEST-ONLY CONTROL GROUP
DESIGN
 A.K.A., After-Only with Control
 True experimental design in which the experimental group
is exposed to the treatment but the control group is not and
no pretest measure is taken.
 Experimental group tested after treatment exposure

 Control group tested at same time without exposure to

experimental treatment
 Includes random assignment to groups

 Effect of all extraneous variables assumed to be the same

on both groups
 POSTTEST-ONLY CONTROL GROUP DESIGN
 Diagrammed as
 Experimental Group: RX O1
 Control Group: O2
R
 Effect of the experimental treatment equals
(O2 – O1)
 Example
 Assume you manufacture an athlete’s foot remedy
 Want to demonstrate your product is better than the
competition
 Can’t really pretest the effectiveness of the remedy
TRUE-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS

Randomised Group Comparison

X O 1

R
O 2
SOLOMON FOUR-GROUP DESIGN
 True experimental design that explicitly controls for
interactive testing effects, in addition to controlling for all
the other extraneous variables.
 Combines pretest-posttest with control group design and
the posttest-only with control group design
 The importance of this design is that it allows the
researcher to ensure that confounding variables and
extraneous variables have not influenced the result.
 Does include random assignment
 SOLOMON FOUR-GROUP DESIGN
 Diagrammed as
 Experimental Group 1: RO1 X O2
 Control Group 1: O3 O4
R
 Experimental Group 2: X O5
R
 Control Group 2: O6
R

 Effect of independent variable (O2 – O4) & (O5 – O6)

 TRUE-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS

Solomon Four-Group Design

X
O 1
O 2

O O 4

R
3

X
O 5

O 6
QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS
 Designs that apply part of the procedures of true
experimentation but lack full experimental control.
 More realistic than true experiments

 Researchers lacks full control over the scheduling of

experimental treatments
 They are unable to randomize

 Includes
 Time Series Design
 Multiple Time Series Design
 Same as Time Series Design except that a control group is

added
TIME SERIES DESIGN
 A quasi-experimental design that involves periodic
measurements on the dependent variable for a group of test
units.
 Then the treatment is administered by the researcher or occurs
naturally.
 After the treatment, periodic measurements are continued in
order to determine the treatment effect
 Diagrammed as:

O1 O2 O3 O4 X O5 O6 O7 O8
QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS

Time series

O 1 O 2 O 3 X O 4 O 5 O 6
TIME SERIES DESIGN
 A time series design that includes another group of test units to
serve as a control group.

Diagrammed as:
EG: O1 O2 O3 O4 X O5 O6 O7 O8
CG: O9 O10 O11 O12 O13 O14 O15 O16
QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS
Multiple Time series

O 1 O 2 O 3 X O 4 O 5 O 6

O 7 O 8 O 9 O 10 O 11 O 12
STATISTICAL DESIGNS
 Statistical design consist of a series of basic experiments that
allows for statistical control and analysis of external variables.
 Multiple experiments are conducted simultaneously to permit
extraneous variables to be statistically controlled and
 Effects of multiple independent variables to be measured
 Advantages
 Can measure the effects of more than one independent variable
 Can statistically control specific extraneous variables
 Economical designs can be formulated when each subject is
measured more than once.
RANDOMIZED BLOCK DESIGN
 A statistical design in which the test units are blocked on the basis
of an external variable to ensure that the various experimental and
control groups are matched closely on that variable.
 Involves randomly assigning treatments to group members
 Allows control over all extraneous treatments while
manipulating the treatment variable
 Simple to administer, but should NOT be used unless test
members are similar, and they are also alike regarding a
particular extraneous variable
 Different forms of the independent variable are called “levels.”
RANDOMIZED BLOCK DESIGN
EXAMPLE
 Grocery store chain trying to motivate consumers to shop in their
stores
 3 possible sales promotional efforts

X1 = offer discount of 5% off total shopping bill

X2 = offer taste sample of selected foods
X3 = control group, no sales promotional effort applied
RANDOMIZED BLOCK DESIGN
EXAMPLE
SALES PROMOTION TECHNIQUE

LEVELS 5% discount Taste samples No sales

promotion

Sales, store 3 Sales, store 5 Sales, store 9

STORES Sales, store 1 Sales, store 8 Sales, store 7

Sales, store 6 Sales, store 4 Sales, store 2

Average sales Average sales Average sales

LATIN SQUARE DESIGN
 A statistical design that allows for the statistical control of two
non-interacting external variables in addition to the manipulation
of the independent variable.
 Each external or blocking variable is divided into an equal number
of blocks or level.
 A Latin square is conceptualized as a table with rows and the
columns representing the blocks in the two external variables.
 Used for comparing t treatment levels in t rows and t columns
 I.e., if we have 3 treatment levels, we must have 3 rows and 3
columns
 LATIN SQUARE DESIGN
Interest in the store
Store
patronage

High A B C

Medium B C A

Low C A B

Note: A,B & C denote the 3 test commercial, which have, respectively, no
humor, some humor and high humor
FACTORIAL DESIGN
 Used to examine the effects that the manipulation of at
least 2 independent variables (simultaneously at different
levels) has upon the dependent variable
 The impact that each independent variable has on the
dependent variable is referred to as the main effect
 Dependent variable may also be impacted by the
interaction of the independent variables. This is called the
interaction effect
 For example, an individuals favorite drink might be coffee
and favorite temperature level might be cold, but this
individual might not prefer cold coffee, leading to an
interaction.
FACTORIAL DESIGN EXAMPLE
 Grocery store chain wants to use 12 of its stores to examine
whether sales would change at 3 different hours of operation and
2 different types of sales promotions
 Dependent variable is change in sales
 Independent variables
 Store open 6 am to 6 pm
 Store open 6 am to midnight
 Store open 24 hours/day
 Sales promotion: samples for a free gift
 Sales promotion: food samples
 Called a 3 x 2 factorial design
 Need 6 experimental groups (3 x 2 = 6)
 FACTORIAL DESIGN EXAMPLE
HOURS OF OPERATION

SALES 6 am – 6 pm 5 am – midnight 24 hours

PROMOTION

Gift stamps

Food samples
 TEST MARKETING
 Controlled experiment conducted on a small segment of the
target market
 Major objectives
 Determine how well products will be accepted in the
marketplace
 Determine how changes in marketing mix will likely affect
product success
 Major reason for test marketing is risk reduction
 Lose $ 1 million in test market or $ 50 million on product
failure?
 Problems
 Expense
 Time
 Competitors can disrupt
 FACTORS TO CONSIDER
 Population size
 Demographic composition

 Lifestyle considerations

 Competitive situation

 Overused test markets

 Loss of secrecy