Topic Seven
Class Seven
Learning Objectives
Understand the . . . purpose and process of exploratory research two types and three levels of management decision-related secondary sources
five types of external information and the factors for evaluating the value of a source and its content
7-2
Learning Objectives
Understand . . .
7-3
Street ethnography
Elite or expert interviewing Document analysis
Expert Interview
Search Strategy
Group Discussions
Identify sources for and actual sample frames that might be used
7-6
7-8
Whiteboard technology makes the discussion of symptoms relevant to the management-research question hierarchy easier
Levels of Information
Primary Sources: Memos Letters Interviews Speeches Laws Internal records
Secondary Sources: Encyclopedias Textbooks Handbooks Magazines Newspapers Newscasts Tertiary Sources: Indexes Bibliographies Internet search engines
7-9
Information Sources
Indexes/ Bibliographies
Directories
Dictionaries
Types
Handbooks Encyclopedias
7-10
Format
Scope
Evaluation Factors
Audience Authority
7-11
What was my average total revenue over the last five years? What were unit sales in California last December? What were unit sales in California last December? Drill down to Sacramento. Whats likely to happen to Sacramento unit sales next month? Why?
Retrospective, static data delivery Retrospective, dynamic data delivery at record level Retrospective, dynamic data delivery at multiple levels
Relational databases (RDBMS), structured query language (SQL), ODBC Online analytic processing (OLAP), multidimensional databases, data warehouses Advanced algorithms, multiprocessor computers, massive databases
7-12
7-13
Established major dimensions of research task Defined a set of subsidiary questions that can guide research design
Learned which hypotheses can be safely ignored Concluded additional research is not needed or not feasible
Experience Surveys
Experience surveys are semi-structured or unstructured interviews with experts on a topic or a dimension of a topic
Exploratory
Focus Groups
Focus groups are discussions on a topic involving a small group of participants led by a trained moderator
6-16
Experience Surveys
What is being done? What has been tried in the past with or without success? How have things changed? Who is involved in the decisions? What problem areas can be seen?
6-17
Focus Groups
Group discussion
6-10 participants
Moderator-led 90 minutes-2 hours
6-18