BRM

Three tenets of research

designs
Convert the research question and stated
assumptions /hypotheses into
operational variables that can be
measured;
Specify the process that would be
followed to complete the above task, as
efficiently and economically as possible;
and
Specify the control mechanism(s) that
would be used to ensure that the effect of
other variables that could impact the
outcome of the study has been
minimized/negated.
Classification of research
designs
 designs
Are more structured and formal in
nature.
h
The objective of these studies is to
provide a comprehensive and detailed
researc
explanation of the phenomena under
study.
tive
Descrip
designs
Are the simplest, most fexible and most
h
loosely structured designs.
As the name suggests, the basic
researc
objective of the study is to explore and
obtain clarity on the problem situation.
tory
Explora
Types of research designs
 it is intricately designed and reveals a Case
comprehensive and complete presentation of method
facts, as they occur, in a single entity.
This could be an individual, an organisation or
an entire country.
Secondary
Secondary sources of data give information resource
in terms of details of previously collected analysis
fndings in facts and fgures which has been
authenticated and published.
exploratory research
Methods of conducting
Methods of conducting
exploratory research
Expert opinion survey:
valuable insights obtained
from experts which might be
based on their experience in
the feld or based on
academic work done on the
concept.
Focus group discussions:
a carefully selected
representative sub set of the
larger respondent gather to
discuss together, in a short
time frame, the
subject/topic to be
investigated.
Descriptive research
designs
Cross-
Cross-
sectional
sectional
research
research
designs
designs
two criteria Variations
carried out at a
single moment in
Single/multiple
time, therefore
cross- sectional
the applicability
designs
is temporal
specifc

Conducted on a
sub-section of
Cohort analysis
the respondent
population
Descriptive research
designs The study
involves
selection of a
representative
group as a
panel.
There are
Longitud repeated
inal measurement of
the researched
studies: variable on this
panel over
three fxed intervals
of time.
criteria Once selected
the panel
composition
needs to stay
Experimental research design
An experiment is generally used to infer a causality. In an experiment, a
researcher actively manipulates one or more causal variables and measures
their effects on the dependent variable of interest.
Concepts Used in Experiments
Independent variables: Independent variables are also known as explanatory
variables or treatments. The levels of these variables are manipulated (changed)
by researchers to measure their effect on the dependent variable.
Test units: Test units are those entities on which treatments are applied.
Dependent variables: These variables measures the effect of treatments
(independent variable) on the test units.
Experiment: An experiment is executed when the researcher manipulates
one or more independent variables and measures their effect on the
dependent variables while controlling the effect of the extraneous variables.
Extraneous variables: These are the variables other than the independent
variables which infuence the response of test units to treatments.
Examples: Store size, government policies, temperature, food intake,
geographical location, etc.
Validity in
Experimentation
Internal validity: Internal validity tries to
examine whether the observed effect on a
dependent variable is actually caused by
the treatments (independent variables) in
question.
External validity: External validity refers to
the generalization of the results of an
experiment. The concern is whether the
result of an experiment can be generalized
beyond the experimental situations.
Factors Affecting Internal
Validity of the Experiment
History

Maturation

Testing

Instrumentation

Statistical regression

Selection bias

Test unit mortality

Qualitative Research
Qualitative business research
Research that addresses business objectives
through techniques that allow the researcher to
provide elaborate interpretations of phenomena
without depending on numerical measurement
Its focus is on discovering true inner meanings and new
insights.
Researcher-dependent
Researcher must extract meaning from
unstructured responses such as text from a
recorded interview or a collage representing the
meaning of some experience.
 Qualitative Research -
Examples

Why the market share of the company has

been declining
How to meet the competition due to the
opening of another store In the neighbourhood
What are the factors that motivate the
employees in an organisation
Uses of Qualitative Research
Qualitative research is useful when:
It is difficult to develop specifc and actionable
decision statements or research objectives.
The research objective is to develop a detailed and
in-depth understanding of some phenomena.
The research objective is to learn how a
phenomenon occurs in its natural setting or to learn
how to express some concept in colloquial terms.
The behavior the researcher is studying is
particularly context-dependent.
A fresh approach to studying the problem is needed.
Qualitative versus Quantitative
Research
Quantitative Business Qualitative Business
Research Research
Descriptive and
Exploratory
conclusive
Uses small versus
Addresses research
large samples
objectives through Asks a broad range
empirical of questions versus
assessments that structured questions
involve numerical Subjective
measurement and interpretation versus
statistical analysis. statistical analysis
Qualitative Vs. Quantitative Method
Contrasting Exploratory and
Confrmatory Research
Qualitative data
Data that are not characterized by numbers
but rather are textual, visual, or oral.
Focus is on stories, visual portrayals, meaningful
characterizations, interpretations, and other
expressive descriptions.
Quantitative data
Represent phenomena by assigning numbers
in an ordered and meaningful way.
Common Qualitative Research Tools
Focus Group Interview
An unstructured, free-fowing interview with a
small group (6-10 people) led by a moderator
who encourages dialogue among respondents.
Advantages:
1. Relatively fast
2. Easy to execute
3. Allow respondents to piggyback off each others
ideas
4. Provide multiple perspectives
5. Flexibility to allow more detailed descriptions
6. High degree of scrutiny
Focus Group Respondents
Group Composition
6 to 10 people
Relatively homogeneous
Similar lifestyles and experiences
The Focus Group Moderator
Moderator
A person who leads a focus group interview
and insures that everyone gets a chance to
speak and contribute to the discussion.
Qualities of a good moderator:
Develops rapport with the group
Good listener
Tries not to interject his or her own opinions
Controls discussion without being
overbearing
Planning a Focus Group
Outline
Discussion guide
Includes written introductory comments
informing the group about the focus group
purpose and rules and then outlines topics or
questions to be addressed in the group
session.
Sample Discussion Guide for a Focus Group Interview
Focus Group Discussion
Guide
1. Welcome and introductions should take place frst.
2. Begin the interview with a broad icebreaker that
does not reveal too many specifcs about the
interview.
3. Questions become increasingly more specifc as
the interview proceeds.
4. If there is a very specifc objective to be
accomplished, that question should probably be
saved for last.
5. A debriefng statement should provide respondents
with the actual focus group objectives and
answering any questions they may have.
Videoconferencing
Videoconferencing
Managers can watch on television rather
than having to take a trip to a focus group
facility.
Interactive Media and Online Focus
Groups
Online focus group
A qualitative research effort in which a group
of individuals provides unstructured
comments by entering their remarks into an
electronic Internet display board of some
type.
Focus blog
A type of informal, continuous focus group
established as an Internet blog for the
purpose of collecting qualitative data from
participant comments.
Online Versus Face-to-face Focus Group
Techniques
Advantages Disadvantages

Fast Less control over

Inexpensive who participates
Bring together many Participants cannot
participants from touch or taste
wide-spread something
geographical areas Cannot see facial
Respondent expression and body
anonymity language
Transcript Moderators ability
automatically to probe and ask
recorded questions is reduced
Disadvantages of Focus
Groups
Focus groups:
Require objective, sensitive, and effective
moderators.
May have unique sampling problems.
May not be useful for discussing sensitive
topics in face-to-face situations.
Cost a considerable amount of money,
particularly when they are not conducted by
someone employed by the company desiring
the focus group.
Depth Interviews
Depth interview
A one-on-one interview between a professional
researcher and a research respondent conducted
about some relevant business or social topic.
Laddering
A particular approach to probing asking
respondents to compare differences between
brands at different levels.
Produces distinctions at the:
attribute level
beneft level
value or motivation level
Conversations
Conversations
An informal qualitative data-gathering approach
in which the researcher engages a respondent in
a discussion of the relevant subject matter.
Semi-structured interviews
Written form and ask respondents for short essay
responses to specifc open-ended questions.
Advantages
An ability to address more specifc issues
Responses are easier to interpret
Without the presence of an interviewer, semi-structured
interviews can be relatively cost effective
Social Networking
One of the most impactful trends in recent
times.
For many, social networking sites have become
the primary tool for communicating with friends
both far and near and known and unknown.
MySpace
Second Life
Zebo

A large portion of this information discusses

business and consumer-related information.
Companies monitor these sites for information
related to their brands.
Free-Association and Sentence
Completion Methods
Free-association techniques
Record a respondents frst cognitive reactions
(top-of-mind) to some stimulus.
Allow researchers to map a respondents thoughts
or memory.
Sentence completion
People who drink beer are
A man who drinks light beer is
Imported beer is most liked by
The woman drinking beer in the commercial
Other Techniques
Observation
Field notes
The researchers descriptions of what actually
happens in the feld.
These notes then become the text from which
meaning is extracted.
Advantageous for gaining insight into things
that respondents cannot or will not verbalize.
Collages
Respondents prepare a collage to represent
their experiences.
Analyzed for meaning.
Other Techniques (contd)
Projective Research Techniques
An indirect means of questioning enabling
respondents to project beliefs and feelings
onto a third party, an inanimate object, or a
task situation.
Particularly useful in studying sensitive
issues.
Other Techniques (contd)
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
Presents subjects with an ambiguous
picture(s) in which consumers and products
are the center of attention.
Investigator asks the subject to tell what is
happening in the picture(s) now and what
might happen next.
An Example of a TAT Picture
Exploratory Research in Science and in
Practice
Misuses of exploratory and qualitative
research
Interpretation
Qualitative research cannot draw conclusive
references.
Replicability
When the same conclusion is reached based on
another researchers interpretation.
Motivational research era
Produced some interesting and bizarre reasons for
consumers behavior
Barriers to Scientifc Decisions

Time
Time Money
Money

Business
Business
Decisions
Decisions

Emotion
Emotion
Secondary Sources of Data
Collection
 Secondary Data Research
Secondary Data
Data gathered and recorded by someone else prior to
and for a purpose other than the current project.

Advantages Disadvantages
Available
Faster and less expensive
than acquiring primary
data
Requires no access to
subjects
Inexpensivegovernment
data is often free
May provide information
otherwise not accessible
Uncertain accuracy
Data not consistent with
needs
Inappropriate units of
measurement
Time period inappropriate
(outdated)
Evaluating Secondary Data

Is it possible to go to the
original data source?
Secondary Data Research
(contd)
Data conversion
The process of changing the original form of
the data to a format suitable to achieve the
research objective
Also called data transformation

Cross-checks
The comparison of data from one source with
data from another source to determine the
similarity of independent projects.
Common Research Objectives for
Secondary-Data Studies
Typical Objectives for Secondary-Data
Research Designs
Fact Finding
Identifcation of consumer behavior for a
product category
Trend Analysis
Market trackingthe observation and analysis of
trends in industry volume and brand share over time.
Environmental Scanning
Information gathering and fact-fnding that is designed
to detect indications of environmental changes in their
initial stages of development.
 Trend Analysis Example : Colas Share
of the Carbonated Soft-Drink Market

Source: Theresa Howard, Coca-Cola Hopes Taking New Path Leads to Success, USA
Today, March 6, 2001, p. 6b. From USA Today a division of Gannett Co., Inc. Reprinted
with Permission.
Example : Model Building
Estimating
Estimating Forecasting
Forecasting
Market
Market Potential
Potential Sales
Sales

Model
Model
Building
Building

Analysis
Analysis of
of Trade
Trade
Areas
Areas and
and Sites
Sites
Sales Forecast Using Secondary Data and Moving
Averages
Data Mining
Data Mining
The use of powerful computers to dig through
volumes of data to discover patterns about
an organizations customers and products;
applies to many different forms of analysis.
Neural Network
A form of artifcial intelligence in which a
computer is programmed to mimic the way
that human brains process information.
Data Mining (contd)
Market-Basket Analysis
A form of data mining that analyzes
anonymous point-of-sale transaction
databases to identify coinciding purchases or
relationships between products purchased
and other retail shopping information.
Customer Discovery
Involves mining data to look for patterns
identifying who is likely to be a valuable
customer.
Sources of Internal
Secondary Data
Internal and Proprietary Data
Accounting information

Sales information and backorders

Customer complaints, service records,
warranty card returns, and other records.
Intranets
External Secondary Data
Sources
External Data
Generated or recorded by an entity other than the
researchers organization.
Information as a product and its distribution
Libraries
Internet
Vendors
Producers
Books and periodicals
Government
Media
Trade associations
Commercial sources
Commercial Sources
Market-share data
Demographic and census updates
Consumer attitude and public opinion
research
Consumption and purchase behavior data
Advertising research
Single-Source and Global
Research Data
Single-Source Data
Diverse types of data offered by a single company.
Usually integrated on the basis of a common
variable (i.e., geographic area or store).
Government Agencies
Global secondary data
Typical limitations of secondary data
Additional pitfalls
Unavailable in some countries
Questionable accuracy (political infuences)
Lack of standardized research terminology
CIAs World Factbook; National Trade Data Bank
Examples of Single-Source Databases
Research Snapshot: Around the World of Data