CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING RESEARCH

- Marketing has been defined by the AMA as an organizational function and a set of processes for
creating, communicating and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in
ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders.
- The Marketing Concept is a business philosophy that holds that the key to achieving organizational
goals consists of the company’s being more effective than competitors in creating, delivering, and
communicating customer value to its chosen markets.
- A Marketing Strategy consists of selecting a segment of the market as the company’s target market and
designing the proper “mix” of the product/service, price, promotion, and distribution system to meet the
wants and needs of the consumers within the target market.
- Marketing segmentation, marketing strategy (for restaurant location, menu, prices, type, advertising)
- Managers must make decisions in order to practice marketing, to implement the marketing concepts and
to implement marketing strategy. Many decisions require additional information and this is why MR is
needed – to make right decisions, to implement marketing, to practice marketing concept and to make
the right decisions to select the right marketing strategy
- Marketing research is the process of designing, gathering, analyzing, and reporting information that may
be used to solve a specific marketing problem. According to AMA, marketing research is the function
that links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through information – information used to
identify and define marketing opportunities and problems; generate, refine, and evaluate marketing
actions; monitor marketing performance; and improve the understanding of marketing as a process.
- Market research: the “systematic gathering, recording, and analyzing of data with respect to a particular
market, where ‘market’ refers to a specific group in a specific geographic area.”
- The purpose of marketing research is to link the consumer to the marketer by providing information that
can be used in making marketing decisions
- The uses of marketing research:
o To identify marketing opportunities and problems
o To generate, refine and evaluate potential marketing actions
o To monitor marketing performance
o To improve marketing as a process
- Classifying marketing research studies:
o To identify marketing opportunities and problems:
 Market-demand determination
 Market segments identification
 Marketing audits SWOT analysis
o To generate, refine and evaluate potential marketing actions
 Proposed marketing-mix evaluation testing
 New-product prototype testing
 Advertising pretesting
o To monitor marketing performance
 Image analysis
 Tracking studies
 Customer satisfaction studies
 o To improve marketing as a process – purpose is to expand knowledge of marketing as a process
rather than to solve a specific problem facing a company
- Marketing information system (MIS) is a structure consisting of people, equipment, and procedures to
gather, sort, analyze, evaluate, and distribute needed, timely, and accurate information to marketing
decision makers.
- Components of MIS:
o Internal reports system (accounting information system, data from income statement…)
o Marketing intelligence system (information coming from outside the firm)
o Marketing decision support system – DSS (database with analytical tools)
o Marketing research system
- The marketing research system has a role in MIS because:
o It gathers information not gathered by the other MIS component subsystems
o Marketing research studies are conducted for a specific situation facing the company
o Marketing research projects unlike other MIS components are not continuous
- Hot topics in MR:
o Online marketing research - the use of computer networks, including the Internet, to assist in any
phase of the marketing research process including development of the problem, research design,
data gathering, analysis, and report writing and distribution.
 Web based research - research that is conducted on web applications; may use traditional
methods as well as on-line research methods in conducting research on web-based
applications
 On-line survey research: collection of data using computer networks
o Growing consumer/respondent resentment –
o Globalization - The top 25 marketing research firms in the world earn 67% of their revenues
outside their own country.
 CHAPTER 2 – THE MARKETING RESEARCH PROCESS
1. Establishing the Need for Marketing Research
2. Defining the Problem Figure out what to research
3. Establishing Research Objectives
4. Determining Research Design
5. Identifying Information Types and Sources
6. Determining Methods of Accessing Data Design the way to do the research
7. Designing Data Collection Forms
8. Determining Sample Plan and Size
9. Collecting Data Gather data from respondents
10. Analyzing Data
11. Preparing and Presenting the Final Report Generate findings and interpret them

1. Establishing the need for marketing research - Marketing research is not always needed – when the
information is already available, when decisions must be made now, when we cannot afford the research
and when the costs outweigh the value of marketing research
2. Defining the problem – the most important of 11 steps because if the problem is incorrectly defined, all
else is wasted effort. Problems stem from gaps between what is supposed to happen and what did
happen and gaps between what did happen and what could be happening.
3. Establishing research objectives – research objectives provide information necessary to solve the
problem identified. They state what the researchers must do
4. Determining research design:
o Exploratory research – collecting information in an unstructured and informal manner
o Descriptive research – set of methods and procedures describing marketing variables
o Casual research – experiments – allows isolation of causes and effects
5. Identifying information types and sources:
o Primary information – information collected specifically for the problem at hand; information
developed or gathered by the researcher specifically for the research project at hand.
o Secondary information – information already collected; information that has previously been
gathered by someone other than the researcher and/or for some other purpose than the research
project at hand. Has many uses in MR and sometimes the entire research project may depend on
the use of it. Used in economic-trend forecasting, corporate intelligence, international data,
public opinion and historical data. It can be:
 Internal – data that has been collected within the firm – sales records, purchase
requisitions and invoices. It is used for database marketing – the process of building,
maintaining customer or other databases for the purpose of contracting, transacting and
building relationships. Database – collection of data and info describing items of interest
6. Determining methods of accessing data – secondary data is relatively easy to access while primary data
is far more complex. There are three main choices for primary data:
o Have a person ask questions
o Use computer assisted or direct questioning
o Allow respondents to answer questions themselves without computer assistance
7. Designing data collection forms – questionnaire must be worded objectively, clearly and without a bias
in order to communicate with respondents. Software programs are available to assist marketing
researchers in preparing forms.
8. Determining sample plan and size:
o Sample plan is a process used to select units from the population to be included in the sample
o Sample size is determining how many elements of the population should be included in the
sample
9. Collecting data – data collection is very important because no matter what the data analysis method is
used, it cannot fix bad data collected. Nonsampling errors may occur during the process of data
collection. Those errors may be attributed to field workers or respondents.
10. Analyzing data:
o Data analysis – involves entering data into computer files, inspecting data for errors and running
tabulations and various statistical tests
o Data cleaning – a process by which raw data is checked to verify that the data has been correctly
inputted from the data collection form to the computer software program
11. Preparing and presenting the final research report – one of the most important phases of marketing
research. The report and the presentation are what truly communicate the results to the client.
 CHAPTER 3 – THE MARKETING RESEARCH INDUSTRY
- Charles Coolidge Parlin – father of the marketing research – he conducted the first continuous marketing
research
- The Industrial Revolution led to manufacturers producing goods for distant markets. Manufacturers
needed to know about faraway consumers. This led to the growing need for marketing research.
- Marketing research industry today – $21.5 billion spent annually
- Honomichl global top 25, honomichl top 50
- Classifying firms in the MR industry:
o Research suppliers
 Internal – an entity within the firm supplies MR. Can be organized as own formal
departments (around marketing function, research process, area of application), single
individual or a committee, and no responsibility assigned
 External – outside firms hired to fulfill a firm’s MR needs. Can be organized around
function, type of research application, geography, types of customers finance health, or a
combination of those above
 Limited service suppliers
 Full service suppliers
- Challenges to the MR industry:
o Marketing researchers should focus on diagnosing problems in the market
o Marketing researchers should speed up marketing research by using IT
o Marketing researchers should take an integrative approach
o Marketing researchers should expand their strategic impact (get away from standard reports)
o Other criticisms such as lack of creativity, too survey oriented, lack of understanding of real
problems, lack of concern for respondents
- Improvement of industry – auditing, education
- Ethics: competing ethical philosophies:
o Deontology – if an individual’s rights are violated, then the behavior is not ethical: mystery
shopper – unethical, frugging – wrong, disguised survey - unethical
o Teleology – to judge a given behavior in terms of its benefits and costs to society: if there are
individual costs but group benefits, then there are net gains and the behavior is judged to be
ethical: mystery shopper – no problem, frugging – okay if it helps fols, disguised survey – okay
if it gets to the truth
- Ethical issues include sugging, frugging, misrepresentation and omission of pertinent research data,
treating clients suppliers and the public unfairly, phony ITBs and RFPs
- MR companies are making greater use of panels.
 CHAPTER 4 – DEFINING THE PROBLEM AND DETERMINING
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
- Properly defining the problem is the most important step in the marketing research process.
- If the wrong problem is defined, all the remaining steps in the marketing research process are wrong.

- In order to recognize a problem, managers must be knowledgeable of objectives and actual performance.
To be aware of opportunities, managers must have a process for monitoring opportunities – opportunity
identification.
- Managers need to be aware that they do not confusing symptoms with problems. Symptoms are changes
in the level of some key monitor which measures the achievement of an objective. The role of the
symptom is to alert management that there is a problem.
- Researchers have a role in the problem definition. Researchers should ensure managers are defining the
problem correctly. This is particularly true when the manager has already defined the problem in very
specific terms. Researchers sometimes take additional investigations, known as a “situation analysis,” to
ensure the problem is adequately defined.
- Impediments to problem defining:
o Failure to change behavior for problem definition situations – managers deal with outside
suppliers efficiently with little interaction. MR requires a great deal of interaction and
communication
o Differences between managers’ and researchers’ backgrounds
- ITBs – invitations to Bid, RFPs – Requests for Proposals. When those two are issued, management has
already defined the problem
- The researcher must understand the industry, the competitors and the company. He must also understand
the manager’s unique situation. He must understand the control system and determine what symptoms
are being identified by the system.
- There is always some cause for a change. It is important to determine all possible causes. Researchers
should narrow possible causes to a small set of probable causes.
- Researcher should specify possible solutions that may alleviate the symptoms. The possible solutions
may be any marketing action that the marketing manager thinks may solve the problem such a s price
changes, product modification and so on
- Marketing manager usually has assumptions about solutions’ consequences. Assumptions are actually
assertions that certain reactions will take place if considered solutions are implemented. If manager is
completely certain of assumptions there is no need for research.
- The role of hypotheses in defining the problem – hypotheses are statements that are taken for true for the
purposes of argument or investigation. They are assumptions about the consequences of solutions.
- In order to specify research objectives:
o The information state should be assessed
o The information state refers to the quantity and quality of evidence a manager possesses for each
of his or her assumptions
o Information gaps are discrepancies between the current and the desired information level. They
are the basis for establishing research objectives.
o Research objectives are set to gather the specific bits of knowledge that need to be gathered in
order to close the information gaps
- The MR proposal states the problem, specifies the research objectives and details the research method
proposed. Proposals contain a timetable and a budget.
- Operational definitions describe the operations to be carried out in order for constructs to be measured.
A construct is an abstract idea inferred from specific instances that are thought to be related. Typical
mktg constructs are brand loyalty, satisfaction, preference, awareness, knowledge
- A model is a logical arrangement of constructs and relationships based on theory or experience
 CHAPTER 5 – RESEARCH DESIGN
- Research design is a set of advanced decisions that make up the master plan specifying the methods and
procedures for collecting and analyzing the need information
- Types of research design:
o Exploratory
o Descriptive
o Casual
- The choice of the most appropriate design largely depends on the objectives of the research and how
much is known about the problem and research objectives

Research Objective Appropriate Design

To gain background information, Exploratory
to define terms, to clarify
problems and hypotheses,
to establish research priorities
To describe and measure marketing Descriptive
phenomena at a point in time
To determine causality, Causal
to make “if-then” statements

- Exploratory research:
o Most commonly unstructured (no formal set of objectives, sample plan or questionnaire),
informal research undertaken to gain background info about the general nature of the research
problem
o Usually conducted when the researcher does not know much about the problems. Conducted at
the outset of research projects.
o Variety of methods available to conduct exploratory research – secondary data analysis,
experience surveys, case analysis, focus groups, projective techniques
- Descriptive research:
o Undertaken to describe answers to questions of who, what, where, when and how
o Desirable when we wish to project a study’s findings to a larger population, if the study’s sample
is representative
o Two basic classifications: cross-sectional and longitudinal studies
o Cross-sectional studies measure units from a sample of the population at only one point in time
(sample surveys – samples are drawn in such a way to be representative of a specific population).
They take snapshots of the population at a point in time.
o Longitudinal studies repeatedly measure the same sample units of a population over time. They
often make use of a panel which represents sample units who have agreed to answer questions at
periodic intervals.
o Panels can be:
 Continuous – they ask panel members the same questions on each panel measurement.
One may use data from continuous panels to gain insights into changes in consumers’
purchases, attitudes,…
 Discontinuous – vary questions from one panel measurement to the next. They have the
advantage of being able to access large groups of people who have made themselves
 available for research. They represent sources of information that may be quickly
accessed for a wide variety of purposes.
- Casual research:
o Casuality may be thought of as understanding a phenomenon in terms of conditional statements
of the form “if x, then y”
o Those studies conducted through the use of experiments
o Experiment is manipulating an independent variable to see how it affects a dependent variable,
while controlling the effects of additional extraneous variables.
o Independent variables – variables which the researcher has control over and wishes to
manipulate (level of ad expenditure, type of ad appeal, price, product features, etc.)
o Dependent variables – variables that we have little or no direct control over, yet we have a strong
interest in (return on investment, net profits, market share, customer satisfaction)
o Extraneous variables – variables that may have some effect on a dependent variable yet are not
independent variables. Must be controlled through proper experimental design. Experimental
design is a procedure for devising an experimental setting such that a change in a dependent
variable may be attributed solely to the change in an independent variable.
 Symbols of experimental design: o – measurement of a dependent variable, x –
manipulation of an independent variable, r – random assignment of subjects to
experimental and control groups and e – experimental effect
 A “true” experimental design is one that truly isolates the effects of the independent
variable on the dependent variable while controlling for the effects of any extraneous
variables.
- Pretest refers to the measurement of the dependent variable taken prior to changing the independent
variable.
- Posttest refers to measuring the dependent variable after changing the independent variable.
- A control group is a group whose subjects have not been exposed to the change in the independent
variable.
- An experimental group is a group that has been exposed to a change in the experimental variable.
- An experiment is valid if it has:
o Internal validity – measures the extent to which the change in the dependent variable is actually
due to the change in the independent variable.
o External validity – refers to the extent that the relationship observed between the independent
and dependent variables during the experiment is generalizable to the “real world.”
- Types of experiments:
o Laboratory experiments are those in which the independent variable is manipulated and measures
of the dependent variable are taken in a contrived, artificial setting for the purpose of controlling
the many possible extraneous variables that may affect the dependent variable.
o Field experiments are those in which the independent variables are manipulated and the
measurements of the dependent variable are made on test units in their natural setting.
- Test marketing is the phrase commonly used to indicate an experiment, study, or test that is conducted in
a field setting. Used to test sales potential for a new product or service and to test variations in the
marketing mix for a product or service. Used in both consumer markets and industrial B2B markets.
- Pros:
o Allows most accurate method of forecasting future sales
o Allows firms the opportunity to pretest marketing mix variables
- Cons:
o Does not yield infallible results
o Are expensive
o Exposes the new product to competitors
o Takes time to conduct
- Types of test markets:
o Standard Test Market: one in which the firm tests the product and/or marketing mix variables
through the company’s normal distribution channels.
o Controlled Test Markets: ones that are conducted by outside research firms that guarantee
distribution of the product through prespecified types and numbers of distributors.
o Electronic Test Markets: those in which a panel of customers have agreed to carry identification
cards that each consumer presents when buying goods and services.
o Simulated Test Markets: those in which a limited amount of data on consumer response to a new
product is fed into a model containing certain assumptions regarding planned marketing
programs, which generate likely sales volume.
- Criteria for selecting test markets:
o Representativeness: Do demographics match the total market?
o Degree of isolation: Phoenix and Tulsa are isolated markets; Los Angeles is not.
o Ability to control distribution and promotion: Are there preexisting arrangements to distribute
the new product in selected channels of distribution? Are local media designed to test variations
of promotional messages?
 CHAPTER 6 – USING SECONDARY DATA AND ONLINE
INFORMATION DATABASES
- Primary information – information collected specifically for the problem at hand; information developed
or gathered by the researcher specifically for the research project at hand.
- Secondary information – information already collected; information that has previously been gathered
by someone other than the researcher and/or for some other purpose than the research project at hand.
Has many uses in MR and sometimes the entire research project may depend on the use of it. Used in
economic-trend forecasting, corporate intelligence, international data, public opinion and historical data.
It can be:
o Internal – data that has been collected within the firm – sales records, purchase requisitions and
invoices. It is used for database marketing – the process of building, maintaining customer or
other databases for the purpose of contracting, transacting and building relationships. Database –
collection of data and info describing items of interest
o External – published – sources of info prepared for public distribution and normally found in
libraries or a variety of other entities such as trade organisations. Syndicated services data –
provided by firms that collect data in a standard format and make them available to subscribing
firms – highly specialized and are not available in libraries. External databases – databases
supplied by organisations outside the firm such as online information databases.
- Advantages of secondary data: obtained quickly, inexpensive, usually available, enhances existing
primary data, may achieve research objective
- Disadvantages of secondary data: incompatible reporting units, measurement units do not match, data
are outdated, class definitions are not usable
- Locating secondary data resources:
1. Identify what you wish to know and what you already know about the topic
2. Develop a list of key words and names
3. Begin the search using several library sources
4. Compile the literature you have found and evaluate the findings
5. If you are unhappy with what you have found or are otherwise having trouble and the reference
librarian has not been able to identify sources, use an authority
6. Report results
- Search strategies used for searching online information database:
o Boolean logic: And, Or, Not
o Field searching: Author, Title, Subject
o Proximity operators: Adj, Near, Same
o Truncation: Allows root of the word to be submitted retrieving all words beginning with that root
o Nesting: a technique that indicates the order in which a search is to be carried out
o Limiting: limits the search of database records to those that meet specified criteria
- The Lifestyle Market Analyst provides an analysis of lifestyle categories such as “avid book readers,”
“own a cat,” “golf,” “have grandchildren.”
- The lifestyle market analyst provides marketers with the following information:
o Demographics by lifestyles
o Other activities members of the lifestyle are involved in
o Where the geographical markets are with the heaviest concentration of the given lifestyle
o Which magazines participants of a given lifestyle read
 CHAPTER 7 – STANDARDISED INFORMATION SOURCES
- Standardized information is a type of secondary data in which the data collected and/or the process of
collecting the data are standardized for all users.
- There are two broad classes of standardized information:
o Syndicated data – data that is collected in a standard format and made available to all subscribers
o Standardized services – standardized marketing research process that is used to generate
information for a particular user
- Advantages of syndicated data: shared costs, quality of the data collected typically very high, data is
normally disseminated very quickly
- Disadvantages of syndicated data: buyers have little control over what info is collected, firms often must
commit to long-term contracts, no strategic info advantage in purchasing syndicated data
- Advantages of standardised services: taking advantage of the experience of the research firm offering
the service, reduced cost, speed of the research service
- Disadvantages of standardised services: the ability to customise some projects is lost, the company
providing the standardised service may not know a particular industry well
- Standardised information applied in measuring consumer attitudes and opinion polls, defining market
segments, conducting marketing tracking, market tracking studies monitor a variable over time,
monitoring media usage and promotion effectiveness
- Geodemographics – term used to describe the classification of arbitrary, usually small geographic areas
in terms of the characteristics of their inhabitants
- Single-source data – data that contains information on several variables such as promotional message
exposure, demographics and buyer behaviour
 CHAPTER 8 – OBSERVATION, FOCUS GROUPS AND OTHER
QUALITATIVE MEASURES
- Research can be:
o Quantitative research: research involving the use of structured questions in which response
options have been predetermined and a large number of respondents involved
o Qualitative research: research involving collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data by observing
what people do and say
o Pluralistic research: combination of both quantitative and qualitative research methods in order
to gain the advantages of both
- Observation methods – techniques in which the researcher relies on his or her powers of observation
rather than communicating with a person in order to obtain information
- Types of observation:
o Direct versus indirect
o Disguised versus undisguised
o Structured versus unstructured
o Human versus mechanical
- Direct observation – observing behavior as it occurs
- Indirect observation – observing the effects or results of the behavior rather than the behavior itself. it
can be further divided on:
o Archives
o Physical traces
o Structured versus unstructured
o Human versus mechanical
- Disguised observation – subject is unaware that he or she is being observed
- Undisguised observation – respondent is aware of observation
- Structured observation – researcher identifies beforehand which behaviours are to be observed and
recorded
- Unstructured observation – no restriction is placed on what the observer would note: all behavior in the
episode under study is monitored
- Human observation – observer is a person hired by the researcher, or the observer is the researcher
- Mechanical observation – human observer is replaced with some form of static observing device
- Advantages of observational data:
o Insight into actual, not reported, behaviors
o No chance for recall error
o Better accuracy
o Less cost
- Disadvantages of observational data:
o Small number of subjects
o Subjective interpretations
o Inability to pry beneath the behavior observed
o Motivations, attitudes, and other internal conditions are unobserved…we don’t know why?
- Focus groups are small groups of people brought together and guided by a moderator through an
unstructured, spontaneous discussion for the purpose of gaining information relevant to the research
problem. The moderator’s task is to ensure that open discussion is “focused” on some area of interest.
Focus groups are used to generate ideas, to learn the respondents’ “vocabulary,” to gain some insights
into basic needs and attitudes. Focus groups should not be used when the research objective is to predict
a specific number based upon sample data. Focus groups should be used when the research objective is
to describe rather than predict.
- Focus groups:
 o Traditional – select 6 to 12 persons and meet in a dedicated room with one-way mirror for client
viewing for about 2 hours
o Nontraditional – online with client viewing from distant locations, 25/50 respondents, allowed
client interaction, may take place in nontraditional locations
o Online focus group: one in which the respondents and/or clients communicate and/or observe by
use of the Internet
- Advantages of online focus groups:
o No physical setup is necessary
o Transcripts are captured on file in real time
o Participants can be in widely separated geographical areas
o Participants are comfortable in their home or office environments
o The moderator can exchange private messages with individual participants
- Pros of focus groups:
o Generate fresh ideas
o Allow clients to observe their participants
o May be directed at understanding a wide variety of issues
o Allow fairly easy access to special respondent groups
- Cons of focus groups:
o Representativeness of participants
o Interpretation sometimes difficult
o High cost per participant
- Report and usage of results, factors to remember when analyzing data:
o Some sense must be made by translating the qualitative statements of participants into categories
and then reporting the degree of consensus apparent in the focus groups
o Demographics and buyer behavior characteristics of focus group participants should be judged
against the target market profile to assess what degree the groups represent the target market
- Other qualitative techniques:
o Depth interview is a set of probing questions posed one-on-one to a subject by a trained
interviewer so as to gain an idea of what the subject thinks about something or why he or she
behaves a certain way.
o Protocol analysis involves placing a person in a decision-making situation and asking him or her
to verbalize everything he or she considers when making a decision.
o Projective techniques involve situations in which participants are placed in (projected into)
simulated activities in the hopes that they will divulge things about themselves that they might
not reveal under direct questioning (Word association test, sentence completion, picture test,
cartoon or balloon test, role-playing activity)
o Ethnographic research: borrowed from anthropology–descriptive study of a group. It includes
observing, interviewing, recording consumers’ behavior. Researchers must be “present and
known” but not interfere with normal behavior.
- Physiological measurements: involves monitoring a respondent’s involuntary responses to marketing
stimuli via the use of electrodes and other equipment – Pupilometer, galvonometer
 CHAPTER 9 SURVEY – DATA COLLECTION METHODS
- Survey involves interviews with a large number of respondents using a predesigned questionnaire. There
are 4 basic survey methods:
o Person-administered surveys
o Computer-assisted surveys
o Self-administered surveys
o Mixed-mode (hybrid) surveys
- Advantages of surveys:
o Standardization
o Ease of administration
o Ability to tap the “unseen”
o Suitability to tabulation and statistical analysis
o Sensitivity to subgroup differences
- Alternative data collection modes:
o Person-administered: an interviewer reads questions, either face-to-face or over the telephone, to
the respondent and records his or her answers. It was primary administration method for many
years until development of communications systems and advancement in computer technology.
Advantages are: feedback, report, quality control, adaptability. Disadvantages are: humans make
errors, slow speed, high cost, interview evaluation: apprehensive; they are answering the
question “correctly.” Feel they are being “evaluated.” Especially a problem with sensitive topics
such as hygiene, finances, political opinions, etc.
 In-home: advantage is that it is conducted in the privacy of the home. Disadvantage is
that the costs per interview may be high and that interviewers must travel to respondent’s
home.
 Mall-intercept: advantage is that it is fast and convenient data collection method.
Disadvantages are that only mall patrons are interviewed and respondents may feel
uncomfortable answering the questions in the mall.
 In-office interview: advantage is that it is useful for interviewing busy executives.
Disadvantages are that there are relatively high costs per interview and gaining access is
sometimes difficult.
 Central location telephone interview: advantages are that there is fast turnaround, good
quality control and the cost is reasonable. Disadvantage is that it is restricted to telephone
communication.
o Computer-administered: computer technology plays an essential role in the interview work.
Advantages are: speed, error-free interviews, use of pictures videos and graphics, real-time
capture of data, reduction of “interview evaluation” concern in respondents. Disadvantages are:
technical skills required, high set-up costs
 CATI: advantages are that the computer eliminates human interviewer error, there are
simultaneous data input to computer file and good quality control. Disadvantage is that
there are setup costs which can be high.
 Fully computerized surveys: advantages are that the respondent responds at his or her
own pace and the computer gives results. Disadvantage is that the responder must have
access to a computer.
 Online questionnaire: advantages are that there is ease of creating and posting, there is
fast turnaround and computer gives results. Disadvantage is that the respondent must
have access to internet.
o Self-administered: the respondent completes the survey on his or her own. Advantages are:
reduced cost, respondents control pace at which they answer, no interview-evaluation
apprehension. Disadvantages are: respondents control the survey, lack of monitoring, high
questionnaire requirements.
  Group self-administered survey: advantages are that the cost of interviewer is eliminated
and it is economical for assembled groups of respondents. Disadvantage is that one must
find groups and secure permission to conduct the survey.
 Drop-off survey: advantages are that the cost of interviewer is eliminated and they are
appropriate for local market surveys. Disadvantage is that it is generally not appropriate
for large-scale national surveys.
 Mail survey: disadvantages are that there are low response rates, self-selection bias and it
is slow.
o Mixed Mode: a combination of two or more method. Advantages are: multiple advantages to
achieve data collection goal. Disadvantages are: mode affects response, additional complexity.
- In selecting a data collection mode, the researcher balances quality against:
o The survey data collection time horizon: telephone, online, mall intercept
o The survey data collection budget: mail & new online such as Insight Express
o Incidence rate: Screen by online or telephone
o Cultural/infrastructure considerations: Scandinavia; dislike strangers in homes.
o Type of respondent interaction required: verbal only: telephone; static stimulus then can use mail
or online; nonstatic; online/mall/personal
 CHAPTER 10 – MEASUREMENT IN MARKETING RESEARCH
- There are 3 basic question-response formats:
o Open-ended – presents no response options to the respondent:
 Unprobed format – seeks no additional information. Advantage is that it allows
respondent to use his or her own words. Disadvantages are that it is difficult to code and
interpret.
 Probed format – includes a response probe instructing the interviewer to ask for
additional information. Advantage is that it elicits complete answers and disadvantage is
that it is difficult to code and interpret.
o Close-ended – provides options on the questionnaire that can be answered quickly and easily.
 Dichotomous – has only 2 response options. Advantage is that it is simple to administer
and code and disadvantage is that it may oversimplify response options.
 Multiple response – has more than 2 options for the response. Advantages are that it
allows for broad range of possible responses and it is simple to administer and code.
Disadvantages are that it must distinguish “pick one” from “pick all that apply”.
Moreover, it may alert respondents to response options of which they were unaware.
o Scaled-response – utilizes a scale developed by the researcher to measure the attributes of some
construct under study.
 Unlabeled – uses a scale that may be purely numerical or only the endpoints of the scale
are identified. Advantages are that it allows for degree of intensity to be expressed and is
simple to administer and code. Disadvantage is that respondents may not relate well to
the scale.
 Labeled – uses a scale in which all of the scale positions are identified with some
description. Advantages are that it allows for degree of intensity to be expressed, it is
simple to administer and code and respondents can relate to scale. Disadvantage is that
scale may be forced or overly detailed.
- Considerations in choosing a question-response format:
o The nature of the property being measured
o Previous research studies
o The data collection mode
o The ability of the respondent
o The scale level desired
- Measurement: determining how much of a property is possessed by an object
- Properties: specific features or characteristics of an object that can be used to distinguish it from another
object
o Objective properties are physically verifiable
o Subjective properties are mental constructs
- Scale characteristics which determine the level of measurement: description, order, distance, origin
- Levels of measurement scales:
o Nominal scales: those that use only labels
o Ordinal scales: those with which the researcher can rank-order the respondents or responses
o Interval scales: those in which the distance between each descriptor is equal
o Ratio scales: ones in which a true zero exists
- Reliability: respondent responds in the same or a similar manner to an identical or nearly identical
measure
- Validity: accuracy of responses to a measure