Marketing Research Exam 1 – Flashcards
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What is the definition of marketing research?
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the planning, collection, and analysis of data relevant to marketing decision making and the communication of the results of this analysis to management
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What are the Three Functional Roles of Marketing Research?
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descriptive, diagnostic, predictive
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Descriptive Function
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the gathering and presentation of statements of fact
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Diagnostic Function
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the explanation of data or actions
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Predictive Function
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specification of how to use descriptive and diagnostic research to predict the results of a planned marketing decision
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What is the difference between basic and applied marketing research?
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Basic is research aimed at expanding the frontiers of knowledge rather than solving a specific, pragmatic problem. Applied is research aimed at solving a specific, pragmatic problem—better understanding of the marketplace, determination of why a strategy or tactic failed, or reduction of uncertainty in management decision making.
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What are the types of applied research?
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programmatic, selective, evaluative
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Programmatic
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Research conducted to develop marketing options through market segmentation, market opportunity analyses, or consumer attitude and product usage studies.
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Selective
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Research used to test decision alternatives.
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Evaluative
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Research done to assess program performance.
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What factors determine whether an organization should conduct a marketing research project?
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It is not always a good idea to conduct marketing research. Reconsider conducting marketing research under the following circumstances: -The resources are lacking to do proper research -The research results might not be useful to management -The opportunity has passed -The research cost outweighs the benefits of the research
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How has the internet influenced the marketing research industry and methods?
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-Helps M.R. firms find potential clients and sell services -Helps potential M.R. clients solicit research proposals -Allows closer and more rapid collaboration between research suppliers and clients -Enables very rapid access to secondary information -Facilitates quick survey response/analysis capabilities --Enables personalization of surveys & increased response rates --Produces higher response rates --Ability to contact the hard-to-reach -Fosters easier executing of follow-up and longitudinal studies -Can dramatically reduce data collection costs -Allows quick publishing, reporting, and dissemination of research results
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What is the structure of the marketing research industry?
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Types of Marketing Research Firms?
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Custom / Ad Hoc: -Companies that carry out customized marketing research to address specific projects for corporate clients. Syndicated: -Companies that collect, package, and sell market research data to many firms. Limited Function: -May serve a single industry or employ a special or specific methodology. Supplier Service Firms: -Field Service Firms, Sample Providers, Software Firms, Data Analysis Providers
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What is the Green Book?
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Directory of marketing research firms
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Who are the consumers of marketing research?
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What were the main challenges to marketing research according to the survey of M.R. executives cited by McDaniel and Gates?
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-Maximizing survey participation & completion rates (38.7%) -Reaching a representative sample of respondents (30.2%) -Providing surveys in the format most desired by respondents (10.2%) -Designing or authoring the survey (12.0%) -Analyzing results (17.6%) -Coding or quantifying survey operations (18.6%)
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What are the main ethical responsibilities of the marketing researcher?
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-prohibiting selling or fundraising under the guise of conducting research -maintaining research integrity by avoiding misrepresentation and omission of pertinent research data -treating outside client and suppliers fairly.
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What are the main ethical responsibilities of the marketing research client?
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Unethical Practices: -Making false promises -Issuing unauthorized request proposals -Issuing bid requests when supplier has been predetermined
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What are specific ethical problems associated with marketing research?
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Research suppliers: -Low balling pricing -Allowing subjectivity into the research -Abusing respondents -Selling unnecessary research -Black box branding Research Clients: -Making false promises -Issuing unauthorized request proposals -Issuing bid requests when supplier has been predetermined Field Services: -Using professional respondents -Not validating data
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What are the stages of the marketing research process according to McDaniel and Gates?
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1. Identification of the Problem and Statement of the Research Objectives 2. Creation of the research design 3. Choice of Method of Research 4. Selection of the Sampling Procedure 5. Collection of the Data 6. Analysis of the Data 7. Writing and Presentation of the Report 8. Follow-Up
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Explain why the problem definition stage of the marketing research process is critically important.
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If the research problem is defined incorrectly, the research objectives will also be wrong, and the entire marketing research process will be a waste of time and money.
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Explain the difference between a marketing problem and a symptom of a marketing problem.
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Declining sales, profits, market share are symptoms, problems are factors internal and/or external that cause the symptoms Chapter 3, Slide 12
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Explain the methods available to develop problem definitions.
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-Recognize the problem or opportunity -Find out why the information is being sought -Understand the decision making environment -Use the symptoms to help clarify the problems -Translate the management problem ingot a marketing research problem -Determine whether the information already exists -Determine whether the question really can be answered -State the research objective
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What is the difference between a research question and a hypothesis?
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Research Statement: A remark about what the researcher wants to learn - without making a claim about what might be causing the issue at hand. "We don't know why sales are declining so let's research the problem to find out." Research Question: A research statement in interrogative form. May be general or specific. "Why are sales are declining?" "Are sales declining because of competition?" Research Hypothesis: A conjectural statement about a relationship between two or more variables that can be tested with empirical data. A claim, or argument about your theory of what is causing "X" that you will research to prove or disprove: "Sales are declining because of competition"
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19. What are the tradeoffs that must be addressed in choosing a research design?
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Cost VS Quality Time VS Type of Design
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20. What are the differences between descriptive and causal research?
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Descriptive research studies answer the, who what, where, when and how questions. It is used when one wants to gain a better understanding of the specifics or details the research issue. Casual research studies that examine whether the value of one variable causes or determines the value of another variable. Conducted to identify cause and effect relationships Do strategic marketing decisions influence sales, share, profit? Usually follows, exploratory and descriptive research to refine strategies Typically involves experimentation
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21. Explain the conditions that must be met in order for a researcher to infer a causal effect?
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Dependent Variable: A symbol or concept expected to be explained or influenced by the independent variable. One affects the dependent variable by manipulating the independent variable deemed to be associated with the dependent variable. Independent Variable: A symbol or concept over which the research has some control and that is hypothesized to cause or influence the dependent variable. Identifying Causality: A causal relationship cannot be absolutely proven but it may be inferred from research results. Evidence of causality: 1. The appropriate temporal order of events 2. Concomitant variation 3. An absence of alternative plausible explanations Chapter 3, Slides 32/33
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What are the basic research methods?
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observation, survey, experiments, qualitative
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Observation
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Typically descriptive research that monitors respondents' actions without direct interaction.
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Survey
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Research in which an interviewer interacts (except in mail or Internet surveys) with respondents to obtain facts, opinions, and attitudes.
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Experiments
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Research to measure causality, in which the researcher changes one or more independent variables and observes the effect of the changes on the dependent.
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Qualitative
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Research such as focus groups, interviews, secondary analysis, and case studies.
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23. What is the difference between a probability sample and a nonprobability sample?
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Probability Sampling: A subset of the population that can be assumed to be a representative cross section of the population because every element in the population has a known non-zero chance of being selected. Randomization techniques used to draw sample Allows measurement of random sampling error Nonprobability Sampling: A subset of the population in which the chances of selection for the various elements in the population are not precisely known. No randomization Sampling error cannot be measured
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24. What are the contents of a formal marketing research proposal?
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An internal document used by large organizations that describes a potential research project, its benefits to the organization, and estimated costs; it must be formally approved before a research project can begin. It Includes: Action - Decision makers determine what action will result from the research Origin - Clarify/state the origin of the problem that necessitated the research Information - Decision maker should detail questions to be answered Use - How each piece of the research will be used should be detailed Targeting - Determine which groups will be targeted for the research Logistics - Determine how the research will be done - time & budget are key Comments - Additional information that is relevant to the project Chapter 3, Slides 39-43
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25. Briefly explain the three basic types of research and provide an example of each
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What is the difference between primary and secondary data?
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Secondary Research: Data than have been previously gathered. Primary Research: New data gathered to help solve the problem under investigation
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Briefly explain the main advantages and disadvantages of secondary data.
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Advantages: Can help to clarify or refine the issue or problem; Might provide a solution to a research problem; Might provide primary data research alternatives; Can alert the researcher to other problems; Provides background information enhancing research credibility Disadvantages: Might be outdated or questionable; Could be hard to analyze; Might be misapplied to your situation; Might be biased - intentionally or unintentionally; Might not be any available data on your topic.
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Briefly explain the factors a marketing researcher should examine when assessing the quality of secondary data?
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Availability: Can we find the data? Relevance: Does the data measure what we think it measures? Does it apply to the audience we think it applies to? Timeliness: Have we received it in time to make decisions/conclusions? Are data out of date / when were the data collected? Quality / Accuracy: How was the data obtained - what methods were used? Who collected the data? Why and for what purpose was the data collected? Completeness: Is the whole story captured - are we parsing the data? Is there a sufficient amount of data to tell the story? Insufficiency: Not enough data exists to make a sound decision
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What are the main objectives for using secondary data?
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What are the main internal and external sources of secondary data?
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What are Geographic Information Systems?
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Geographic Information Systems - GIS: A computer-based system that uses secondary and/or primary data to generate maps that visually display various types of data geographically.
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What are Marketing Research Aggregators?
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A company that acquires, catalogues, reformats, segments, and resells reports already published by large and small marketing research firms.
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What are Marketing News Groups?
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Newsgroup: An Internet site where people can read and post messages devoted to a specific topic.
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What are the key differences between qualitative and quantitative research methods?
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Types of questions, sample size, information per respondent, administration requirements, types of analysis, hardware, degree of replicability, researcher training, type of research. Look at slide with table
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What are the main applications of qualitative research methods?
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What are the steps in setting up a focus group?
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Decide on the key focus group objectives; Use secondary research to hone questions; Select focus group facility and participants; Begin recruiting after deciding on participant incentives; Select a moderator; Develop a moderator guide to chart flow of focus group; Conduct the focus group - generally about two hours; Review the video tape and analyze the results; Prepare a written report.
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What are the advantages of the focus group?
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Candor of participants; Looks the customer "in the eye"; Generates fresh ideas and brainstorming; Allows client to observe and comment onsite; Can be executed quickly; Can enhance other data collection methods; Participants provide valuable information useable for the next research phase
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What are the disadvantages of the focus group?
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Expense and time; A significant level of expertise is needed; Participation issues - "no shows"; The interpretation is subjective; Often misused as representative the population
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What skills should a focus group moderator have?
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-Has good listening skills; -Has good observation skills - can pick-up on body language;
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What are the main responsibilities of the focus group moderator?
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-Meet and greet the participants before the focus group; -Ask personal questions during the warm-up; -Reveal personal information about yourself; -Ask for the participants assistance during the process; -Use humor when appropriate; -Dress a the same level as the respondents; -Start the focus group session sitting down.
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What is a focus group discussion guide?
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-establishes a plan of discussion -includes topics to be covered -not a questionnaire -allows flexibility
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Under what conditions should a marketing researcher employ in-depth interviews rather than focus groups?
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Explain the laddering technique.
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What is the purpose of projective techniques and what are the main types used in marketing research?
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What is random (sampling) error, why does it occur, and how is it limited?
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A statistical fluctuation that occurs because of chance variation in the elements selected for the sample Even if all procedures in choosing a sample are adhered to rigorously, there will still be error due to chance Error cannot be avoided but can be reduced by increasing sample size choose a subset of population elements that is representative of the whole population
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What is systematic error, why does it occur, and how is it limited?
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What are the forms of measurement error, why does each occur and how are they limited?
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What are the forms of sample design error, why does each occur and how are they limited?
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Sample Selection Error -results from incomplete or improper sampling procedures or not following appropriate procedures. Population Specification Error -results from mis-defining the population of interest Frame Error -results from using an inaccurate (incomplete, out of date) sampling frame Sampling frame is a list of the population elements
