V A marketing research process cannot be

completed without an effective research

design.
V A research design precisely specifies
particular means and methods through which
required informations can be collected for
structuring the research as well as seeking
specific practical solutions to the problem.
V O



   
  

 
 


 


 




 

  




 

   

  
   


  





 

 

 

 




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V As the term suggests, exploratory research is
often c because a problem has not been
clearly defined as yet, scope is unclear as yet.
It allows the researcher to familiarize himelf/
herself with the problem or concept to be
studied, an generate hypotheses to be
tested.
V It is the initial resear, more conclusive
research is undertaken. Exploratory rese
determine the best research design, data
collection m<
V
V Another common reason for conducting
exploratory research is to test concepts
before they are put in the marketplace,
always a very costly endeavour.
V In concept testing, consumers' are provided
either with a written concept or a prototype
for a new, revised or repositioned product,
service or strategy.
V Exploratory research can be quite informal,
relying on secondary research such as
reviewing available literature and/or data, or
qualitative approaches such as informal
discussions with consumers, employees,
management or competitors, and more
formal approaches through in-depth
interviews, focus groups, projective methods,
case studies or pilot studies.
V rhe results of exploratory research are not
usually useful for decision-making by
themselves, but they can provide significant
insight into a given situation.
V Although the results of qualitative research
can give some indications as to the "why",
"how" and "when", something occurs, it
cannot tell us "how often" or "how many". In
other words, the results cannot be
generalized; they are not the representative
of the whole population being studied.
V As the term suggests, conclusive research is
meant to provide information that is useful in
reaching conclusions or decision-making. It
tends to be quantitative in nature, that is to
say, in the form of numbers that can be
quantified and summarized.
V It relies on both secondary data, particularly
existing databases that are reanalyzed to
shed light on a different problem than the
original one for which they were constituted,
and primary research, or data specifically
gathered for the current study.
V rhe purpose of conclusive research is to
provide a reliable or representative picture of
the population through the use of a valid
research instrument.
V In the case of formal research, it will also test
hypothesis.
V
°onclusive research can be subdivided into two
major categories:
V Descriptive or statistical research, and
V °ausal research
V Descriptive studies are formal, rigid and well
structured and focused in nature. rhis type of
research involves the description of
relationships between the number of variable
factors and working out conclusions.
V Descriptive study starts with specific research
questions where substantial information
about the research problem is known by
conducting the pilot study.
V rhus, descriptive research means a
preconceived, formal and struhured design to
seek solution to a particular problem.
V rhis study can be cross-sectional or
longitudinal in nature.
V rhe former is concerned with the ex-post
facto analysis of related and inter related
variables in real life situations. rhis analysis
can be done on the basis of field study and
surveys. rhe cross-sectional study is the most
popular and widely used technique.
V It involves the collection of information from
any given sample of population elements
only once.
V It is useful because it provides a quick
snapshot of what's going on with the
variables of interest for our research problem.
V Descri tive studies a e undertaken in many
circumstances. When the researcher is
interested in knowing the characteristics of
certain group such as a e sex educational
level, occupation or income, a descriptive
study may be necessary.
V ðther cases when a descriptive study could
be taken up are when he is interested in
knowing the proportion of people in a given
population who have behaved in a particular
manner, making projections of a certain
thing; or determining the relationship
between two or more variables.
V rhe objective of such a study is to answer the

  and of
V the subject under investl ation.
V Descriptive studies can be divided into two
broad categories-cross-sectional and
„

„ ðf the two, the former type of
study is more frequently used.
V
V °


 A cross-sectional study is
concerned with a sample of elements from a
given population. rhus, it may deal with
households, dealers, retail stores, or other
entities. Data on a number of characteristics
from the sample elements are collected and
analysed.
V °ross-sectional studies are of two types-field
|
| and surveys. Although the distinction
between them is not clear-cut, there are
some practical differences which need
different techniques and skills.
V ield studies are ex-post-facto scientific
inquires that aim at finding the relations and
inter-relations among variables in a real
setting. Such studies  

  



 





 









V
V ield studies have their strengths and
weaknesses.
V ðne major strength is that they are close to
real life, and they cannot be criticized on the
ground that they are remote from real
settings or are artificial.
V ield studies are more socially significant
than other types of study.
V Another type of cross-sectional study is
survey research9. A major strength of survey
research is its wide scope. Detailed
information can be obtained from a sample
of a large population.
V Besides, it is economical as more information
can be collected per unit of cost. Also, it is
obvious that a sample survey needs less time
than a census inquiry.
V Despite these advantages of survey research,
it is subject to certain limitations. Generally,
survey research does not penetrate below the
surface as more emphasis is given to the
extent of information sought rather than to
an in-depth analysis. Another disadvantage is
that survey research demands more time and
more money, especially when it is conducted
on a large scale.
V It may take months before a single
hypothesis can be tested, because testing can
be taken up only when the entire research
process from the formulation of the problem
through sample design, collection of data,
and their tabulation is complete.
V ^

 

^ongitudinal studies are
based on panel data and panel methods. A
panel is a sample of respondents who are
interviewed and then reinterviewed from
time to time. Generally, panel data relate to
the repeated measurements of the same
variables.
V Each family included in the panel, records its
purchases of a number of products at regular
intervals, say, weekly, monthly or quarterly.
ðver a period of time, such data will reflect
changes in the buying behaviour of families.
V rhere are several advantages of using panel
data. irst, such data enable the researcher to
under-take detailed analysis. rhus, one can
determine the characteristics of individuals
who have changed brands and those who
have not.
V rhis may help the firm in identifying the
segment of the population on which
promotional effort should be focused.
Another adviilltage of the panel is that more
comprehensive data could be obtained as
individuals or families included in the panel
are those who have accepted to provide data
periodically.
V As panel members are willing persons, more
data can be collected. Yet an-other advantage
is that panel data have been found to be
more accurate than data collected through
surveys. inally, costs of data collection
through panels are generally lower than
through personal interviews.
V A large proportion of the costs of the panel is
fixed cost such as expenditure incurred on the
recruitment, training and maintaining of
panel members while the variable cost of
collecting data from them may be moderate,
particularly as the response rate will be
extremely high.
V rhere are certain limitations of panel data. A
major criticism of panels is that they may not
be representative samples.
V Since panel members are expected to put in
some effort in furnishing data to the research
organisation, some persons chosen in the
original sample may refuse to serve on
panels.
V