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Types of Research Designs

Exploratory Research (huh?)

Designed to generate basic knowledge, clarify relevant issuesuncover variables associated with a problem, uncover informationneeds, and/or define alternatives for addressing researchobjectives.

A very flexible, open-ended process.

Descriptive Research (who, what, where, how)

Designed to provide further insight into the research problem bydescribing the variables of interest.

Can be used for profiling, defining, segmentation, estimating,predicting, and examining associative relationships.

Causal Research (If-then)

Designed to provide information on potential cause-and-effectrelationships.

Most practical in marketing to talk about associations or impact ofone variable on another.

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Types and Characteristics of Exploratory Studies

Literature Search

Conceptual literature

Trade literature

Published statistics

Library homepage (www.uah.edu/library)

Analysis of Selected Cases

Intensive study of related cases or past activities

May be internal or external

Can help provide clues as to how other units orcompanies have dealt with similar issues

http://www.uah.edu/libraryhttp://www.uah.edu/library

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Types and Characteristics of Exploratory Studies

Experience Surveys (a.k.a., depth interviews)

Knowledgeable people with varying points of view

Unstructured and informal interviews

Respondent free to choose issues to be discussed

Focus Groups

8 to 10 people at one time

Relatively homogeneous groups

Multiple, heterogeneous groups

Group dynamics

Moderator is key

Relies on general topical guide with plenty of time forinteraction

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The Growing Role of Focus Groups

Goal of focus group research: learn and understandwhat people have to say and why.

Find out how participants feel about a product,concept, idea, organization, etc.;

How it fit into their lives;

Their emotional involvement with it

May be conducted alone or as part of a broaderproject

May be use to define issues or to confirm findingsfrom survey research.

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Requirements for Focus Groups

Good group of information-rich participants How many people? How many groups? Characteristics of participants

Discussion guide and outline Ground rules Agenda Guiding questions

Qualified Moderator Controls flow Stimulates discussion

Analysis and Report

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Good Moderator Characteristics

Must be able to break down barriers; get subjects to open up within

first 10 minutes

Must be a quick learner

Good listener

Absorb content

Gauge personalities Adapt quickly

Must be in control, but not dominating (guide rather than lead)

Must appear to be neither an expert nor naive

Must be flexible to allow for free flow of discussion Dont concentrate too rigidly on the moderator guide

Keep the big picture in perspective

Know what is important

When to move on

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Facilitating Group Dynamics Use a introductions to set the tone

Use only first names in introductions Avoid job titles and positions, unless necessary State your purpose and establish position as an objective,

unbiased party Encourage everyone to participate; no right or wrong

answers Use an ice breaker to get everyone comfortable State ground rules, procedural details Ask for permission to tape if possible

Ensure confidentiality/anonymity Report to contain summary of group, not individuals

Use write-down method to allow for both introverts andextroverts to have input, and to lock people into their ownopinions (avoids too much group think)

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Handling Problems in the Focus Group

Confusing Concept or Discussion Topic

Break the concept into components that are easier to understand Use the confusion as a discussion point (ask for their

interpretation, then attempt to resolve)

Dead Subject (no discussion initiative)

Play one person off the other.

Use projective techniquesWhat color do you most closely associate with . ? Why?

What animal does ______ remind you of? Why?

What type of people might use? Why?

Lively Subject (everyone talking, often at once)

Assert leadership role and take charge Promise more discussion time later

Suggest that everyone wants to hear all opinions, which is easierdone one at a time

Use write-down techniques to quiet the group down

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Handling Problems in the Focus Group (contd)

The Talkative Member Leverage his/her energy to you benefit

Ask the rest of the group to respond to (agree/disagree with) what

the talkative member said

Call on someone else specifically when asking questions

Say, Dont let Ed do all the talking, Id like to hear fromsomeone else.

Silent Members

Call on them by name (John, how do you feel about)

Reinforce the value of their responses Do this several times in a row and they will open up voluntarily

Probe their short answers for more detailed ones

Tell me more about

That is interesting, why do you feel that way/

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The Moderator/Discussion Guide

Purpose is threefold:

Outline flow of discussion

Defines issues

Sets ground rules

Provides time constraints

Provides information for participants

Serves as a guide for the final report

May be very basic or extremely detailed depending on formality of the

research. Very exploratory research will require a simple guide

More extensive analyses need more structure

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Contents of The Discussion Guide

Introductory Statements (typically 10-15 minutes)

Moderator introduction

Respondent introductions

Objectives/Statement of Purpose

Ground rules

Key Discussion Questions (45-50 minutes) Practice using multiple types of questions to elicit more detailed responses

Think about the purpose of your questions:

Collect information?

Maintain flow?

Lead respondent? Wrap-up

Clarify, Verify, Summarize

Ask All things considered type questions to get them to summarize

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Thoughts on Discussion Questions

Begin with simple, easy to answer questions Place more specific, sensitive questions toward the mid-point in the

discussion

Dont want to force them to work too hard early or scare them

Ensure that questions are short and deal with a single issue

Utilize vocabulary that is consistent with the respondents

Include questions that the respondents would reasonably have

knowledge of and ability to answer

Remember to keep the tone of the questions conversational, not

accusational, confrontational, or critical of individuals

Dont ask questions that would potentially single one person out for

inspection

Be cautious about giving examples (might lead too much)

Use parallel or similar questions to test commitment to positions

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Activities to Engage Participants

List generation

Ranking or evaluating items

May be abstract ideas or concrete objects

Sentence completion

Creating analogies

Picture or word sort Create a collage of your feelings

Drawing a picture or ideal image

Role playing or enactment

Personal experiences

Hypotheticals

Divide group for debate

Monitor and follow-up on Nonverbals

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What is Included in Typical Reports

Depends on type of report desired

Most focus group reports are designed to answer thefollowing questions: What was the purpose of the study?

What were the research objectives?

What methodology was used, and why?

What was the group composition?

What were the key findings?

As a result, what are the recommendations?

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Techniques for Summarizing Findings

Identifying comments that are frequently mentioned Evaluating rankings or "votes" occurring over the course of the project Grouping similar responses by meaningful subgroups (for instance, mentions by

region, age group, or company size) Resolving differences between groups Discussing messages with opposing ideas indicated perhaps by body language

To ensure accurate evaluation of focus group reports, keep in mind several rules ofthumb:

Avoid quantifying results; remember this is qualitative analysis. Look for patterns that show consistent themes It is important to provide quotations to support your evaluations. Identify which thoughts were generated through a free-flowing discussion and

which were actually aided responses.

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On-line Focus Groups

Advantages

No geographic barriers

Lower costs Fast turnaround time

Do not have to see a moderator face-to-face

Can reach hard-to-reach managers

Two way interaction between moderator and the client ispossible

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On-line Focus Groups

Disadvantages

Group dynamics are construed

Nonverbal inputs are minimal

Client involvement with participants is practically non-existent

Security - who is the person on-line?

Attention to the topic - is the participant paying attention?

Exposure to external stimuli - can not present productprototypes.

Or can we?

Role and skill of moderator are more difficult

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Depth Interviews

One-on-one interviews that probe and elicit detailed answers to

questions, often using nondirective techniques to uncoverhidden motivations.

Advantages

No group pressure

Respondent is focus of attention and feels important

Respondent is highly aware and active

Long time period encourages revealing new information

Can probe to reveal feelings and motivations

Discussion is flexible and can explore tangential issues

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Depth Interviews

Disadvantages

Much more expensive than focus groups

Do not get the same degree of client involvement; clients

do not want to observe single interviews Are physically exhausting for the moderatorreduces

the number of people that can be interviewed in a given

time period.

Moderators do not have other group members to helpobtain reactions and to stimulate discussion.

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Types and Characteristics of Descriptive Studies

Cross-Sectional Study

Easily the most common type of research project.

Typically involves conducting a survey of a sample of population

elements at one point in time.

Useful because it provides a quick snapshot of whats going on

with the variables of interest for our research problem. Longitudinal Study

An investigation that involves taking repeated measures over time.

Useful for conducting trend analysis, tracking changes in behavior

over time (e.g., brand switching, levels of awareness, turnover)

and monitoring long-term effects of marketing activities (e.g.,market share, pricing effects)

True panel vs. omnibus panel

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Causal Research Designs

Evidence to Support Causation

Concomitant variation

If X is supposed to cause Y, then the two variables must move together.

If one variable changes, we should observe a resulting change in the

other.

Time order of occurrence

If X is supposed to cause Y, then changes in X must precede changes in

Y.

Elimination of other possible causes

If X causes Y, no other factor could have reasonably caused the change

in Y at that moment.

Must hold all other variables constant.

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Causal Research Designs

Experiments are the best way to satisfy elements of causation.

May beField ExperimentorLaboratory Experiment

Tradeoff between realism versus control

Examples of experimentation in marketing

Market test (test marketing)

Advertising response (recall, affect, attitude toward ad elements)

Promotional design (consumer response to promotional deals,

incentives, tie-ins

Store layout and design

Product positioning

Color tracking and package design