View
5
Download
0
Category
Preview:
Citation preview
1. Introduction of Business Research
2. Steps of Business Research
3. Research Design
4. Exploratory Research
5. Descriptive Research
6. Causal Research
Module- 1
Business Research
“Business research is the systematic and objective
identification, collection, analysis, dissemination, and
use of information for the purpose of improving
decision making related to the identification and
solution of problems and opportunities in business.”
Steps of Business Research Process
Step 1 : Problem Definition
Step 2 : Development of an Approach to the Problem
Step 3 : Research Design Formulation
Step 4 : Fieldwork or Data Collection
Step 5 : Data Preparation and Analysis
Step 6 : Report Preparation and Presentation
Step 1: Problem Definition
• The purpose of the study
• The relevant background information
• How it will be used in decision making
Problem definition involves discussion with
• The decision makers
• Interviews with industry experts
• Analysis of secondary data, and
• Some qualitative research, such as focus groups
Step 2: Development of an approach to the problem
• Formulating an objective or theoretical framework
• Analytical models
• Research questions and
• Identifying the information needed
This process is guided by discussions with
• Management and industry experts
• Analysis of secondary data and
• Qualitative research
Step 3 : Research Design Formulation • Definition of the information needed
• Secondary data analysis
• Qualitative research
• Methods of collecting quantitative data(survey, observation, and
experimentation)
• Measurement and scaling procedures
• Questionnaire design
• Sampling process and sample size
• Plan of data analysis
Step 4: Fieldwork or Data Collection
• Personal interviewing (in-home, mall intercept, or computer-
assisted personal interviewing)
• Telephone (telephone or computer- assisted personal interviewing)
• Mail (traditional mail)
• Electronically (e-mail or Internet)
Step 5: Data Preparation and Analysis
• The editing
• Coding
• Transcription and
• Verification of data.
Step 6 : Report Preparation and Presentation
• Address the specific research questions identified
• Describes the approach
• The research design,
• Data collection
• Data analysis procedures adopted
• Presents the results and
• Major findings
Research Design
“A research design is a framework or blueprint for
conducting the business research project. It details
the procedures necessary for obtaining the
information needed to structure or solve business
research problems.”
A Classification of Business Research Designs
Single Cross-
Sectional Design
Multiple Cross-
Sectional Design
Research Design
Conclusive
Research Design
Exploratory
Research Design
Descriptive
Research
Causal Research
Cross-Sectional
Design
Longitudinal
Design
Exploratory Research Design
Uses of Exploratory Research
• Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely
• Identify alternative courses of action
• Develop hypotheses
• Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination
• Gain insights for developing an approach to the problem
• Establish priorities for further research
Methods of Exploratory Research
• Secondary data analyzed in a qualitative way
• Qualitative research
Secondary data
Secondary data are data that have already been
collected for purposes other than the problem
at hand. These data can be located quickly and
inexpensively.
Uses of Secondary Data
• Identify the problem
• Better define the problem
• Develop an approach to the problem
• Formulate an appropriate research design (for example, by
identifying the key variables)
• Answer certain research questions and test some hypotheses
• Interpret primary data more insightfully
A Classification of Secondary Data
Secondary Data
Ready to
Use
Requires
Further
Processing
Published
Materials
Computerized
Databases Syndicated
Services
Internal External
Internal Secondary Data
Department Store Project Sales were analyzed to obtain:
• Sales by product line
• Sales by major department (e.g., men's wear, house wares)
• Sales by specific stores
• Sales by geographical region
• Sales by cash versus credit purchases
• Sales in specific time periods
• Sales by size of purchase
• Sales trends in many of these classifications were also examined
A Classification of Published Secondary Sources
Statistical
Data Guides Directories Indexes Census
Data Other
Government
Publications
Published
Secondary Data
General Business
Sources
Government
Sources
A Classification of Computerized Databases
Bibliographic
Databases
Numeric
Databases
Full-Text
Databases
Directory
Databases Special-
Purpose
Databases
Computerized
Databases
Online Off-Line Internet
Syndicated Services
• Syndicated services are companies that collect and sell common pools of
data of known commercial value designed to serve a number of clients
• Syndicated sources can be classified based on the unit of measurement
(households/consumers or institutions)
• Household/consumer data may be obtained from surveys, diary panels,
or electronic scanner services
• Institutional data may be obtained from retailers, wholesalers, or
industrial firms
A Classification of Syndicated Services
Unit of
Measurement
Households/
Consumers Institutions
Syndicated Services: Consumers
Psychographic
& Lifestyles
Advertising
Evaluation
Households /
Consumers
Scanner
Panels with
Cable TV
Surveys Volume
Tracking Data
Scanner
Panels
Electronic
scanner services Purchase Media
Panels
Syndicated Services: Institutions
Audits
Direct
Inquiries
Clipping
Services
Corporate
Reports
Institutions
Retailers Wholesalers Industrial firms
A Classification of Business Research Data
Survey
Data
Observational
and Other Data
Experimental
Data
Qualitative Data Quantitative Data
Descriptive Causal
Business Research Data
Secondary Data Primary Data
A Classification of Qualitative Research Procedures
Direct (Non- disguised): Focus Groups
Group Size 8-12
Group Composition Homogeneous, respondents,
prescreened
Physical Setting Relaxed, informal atmosphere
Time Duration 1-3 hours
Recording Use of audiocassettes and
videotapes
Moderator Observational, interpersonal, and
communication skills of the
moderator
Depth Interview Techniques: Laddering
In laddering, the line of questioning proceeds from product
characteristics to user characteristics. This technique allows the
researcher to tap into the consumer's network of meanings.
Projective Techniques
• An unstructured, indirect form of questioning that encourages
respondents to project their underlying motivations, beliefs, attitudes or
feelings regarding the issues of concern.
• In projective techniques, respondents are asked to interpret the
behavior of others.
• In interpreting the behavior of others, respondents indirectly project
their own motivations, beliefs, attitudes, or feelings into the situation.
Word Association
In word association, respondents are presented with a list of words, one at
a time, and asked to respond to each with the first word that comes to
mind. The words of interest, called test words, are interspersed
throughout the list which also contains some neutral, or filler words to
disguise the purpose of the study.
Example: Mrs. X Mrs.Y
Bubbles Bath Soap &Water
Towels Dirty Wash
Completion Techniques
In sentence completion, respondents are given incomplete sentences and
asked to complete them. Generally, they are asked to use the first word
or phrase that comes to mind.
A person who shops at Shopping mall is ______________________
When I think of shopping in a department store, I ________
A Cartoon Test
Should we go to
the shopping
mall?
Expressive Techniques
• Role playing
• Third-person technique
Descriptive Research Design
Use of Descriptive Research
• To describe the characteristics of relevant groups, such as consumers,
salespeople, organizations, or market areas
• To estimate the percentage of units in a specified population exhibiting
a certain behavior
• To determine the perceptions of product characteristics
• To determine the degree to which marketing variables are associated
• To make specific predictions
Types of Descriptive research Design
• Cross-Sectional Research Designs
• Longitudinal Research Designs
Cross-Sectional Research Designs
• Single cross-sectional designs
• Multiple cross-sectional designs
• Cohort analysis
Longitudinal Designs
• A fixed sample (or samples) of population elements is measured
repeatedly on the same variables
• A longitudinal design differs from a cross-sectional design in that the
sample or samples remain the same over time
Methods of Descriptive Research Design
• Survey
• Observation
A Classification of Survey Methods
Traditional
Telephone
Computer-
Assisted Telephone
Interviewing
Interview Mail
Panel
In-Home Mall
Intercept
Computer-Assisted
Personal
Interviewing
E-mail Internet
Survey
Methods
Telephone Personal Mail Electronic
A Classification of Observation Methods
Observation Methods
Personal
Observation
Mechanical
Observation
Trace
Analysis
Content
Analysis Audit
Personal Observation
• A researcher observes actual behavior as it occurs.
• The observer does not attempt to manipulate the phenomenon being
observed but merely records what takes place.
Mechanical Observation
Do not require respondents' direct participation
• The AC Nielsen audimeter
• Turnstiles that record the number of people entering or leaving a building.
• On-site cameras (still, motion picture, or video)
• Optical scanners in supermarkets
Do require respondent involvement
• Eye-tracking monitors
• Pupilometers
• Psychogalvanometers
• Voice pitch analyzers
• Devices measuring response latency
Audit
• The researcher collects data by examining physical records or
performing inventory analysis.
• Data are collected personally by the researcher.
• The data are based upon counts, usually of physical objects.
• Retail and wholesale audits conducted by marketing research suppliers
were discussed in the context of syndicated data.
Content Analysis
• The objective, systematic, and quantitative description of the manifest
content of a communication.
• The unit of analysis may be words, characters (individuals or objects),
themes (propositions), space and time measures (length or duration of
the message), or topics (subject of the message).
• Analytical categories for classifying the units are developed and the
communication is broken down according to prescribed rules.
Trace Analysis
• The number of different fingerprints on a page was used to gauge
the readership of various advertisements in a magazine.
• The position of the radio dials in cars brought in for service was
used to estimate share of listening audience of various radio stations.
• Internet visitors leave traces which can be analyzed to examine
browsing and usage behavior by using cookies.
Causal Research Design
Uses of Causal Research
• To understand which variables are the cause (independent variables)
and which variables are the effect (dependent variables) of a
phenomenon
• To determine the nature of the relationship between the causal variables
and the effect to be predicted
• METHOD: Experiments
Concepts of Causal Research
• Independent variables
• Test units
• Dependent variables
• Extraneous variables
Experimental Design
• The test units and how these units are to be divided into
homogeneous subsamples,
• What independent variables or treatments are to be manipulated,
• What dependent variables are to be measured; and
• How the extraneous variables are to be controlled.
A Classification of Experimental Designs
Pre-experimental
One-Shot Case
Study
One Group
Pretest-Posttest
Static Group
True
Experimental
Pretest-Posttest
Control Group
Posttest: Only
Control Group
Solomon Four-
Group
Quasi
Experimental
Time Series
Multiple Time
Series
Statistical
Randomized
Blocks
Latin Square
Factorial
Design
Experimental Designs
Pre-experimental designs
One-Shot Case Study
X 01
• A single group of test units is exposed to a treatment X.
• A single measurement on the dependent variable is taken (01).
• There is no random assignment of test units.
• The one-shot case study is more appropriate for exploratory than for
conclusive research.
One-Group Pretest-Posttest Design
01 X 02
• A group of test units is measured twice.
• There is no control group.
• The treatment effect is computed as 02 – 01.
• The validity of this conclusion is questionable since extraneous
variables are largely uncontrolled.
Static Group Design
EG: X 01
CG: 02
• A two-group experimental design.
• The experimental group (EG) is exposed to the treatment, and the control
group (CG) is not.
• Measurements on both groups are made only after the treatment.
• Test units are not assigned at random.
• The treatment effect would be measured as 01 - 02.
True Experimental Designs
Pretest-Posttest Control Group Design
EG: R 01 X 02
CG: R 03 04
• Test units are randomly assigned to either the experimental or the control group.
• A pretreatment measure is taken on each group.
• The treatment effect (TE) is measured as: (02 - 01) - (04 - 03).
• Selection bias is eliminated by randomization.
• The other extraneous effects are controlled as follows:
02 – 01= TE + H + MA + MT + IT + I + SR + MO
04 – 03= H + MA + MT + I + SR + MO
= EV (Extraneous Variables)
• The experimental result is obtained by:
(02 - 01) - (04 - 03) = TE + IT
• Interactive testing effect is not controlled.
Posttest-Only Control Group Design
EG : R X 01
CG : R 02
• The treatment effect is obtained by:
TE = 01 – 02
• Except for pre-measurement, the implementation of this design is very
similar to that of the pretest-posttest control group design.
Quasi-Experimental Designs
Time Series Design
01 02 03 04 05 X 06 07 08 09 010
• There is no randomization of test units to treatments.
• The timing of treatment presentation, as well as which test units
are exposed to the treatment, may not be within the researcher's
control.
Multiple Time Series Design
EG : 01 02 03 04 05 X 06 07 08 09 010
CG : 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 010
• If the control group is carefully selected, this design can be an
improvement over the simple time series experiment.
• Can test the treatment effect twice: against the pretreatment
measurements in the experimental group and against the control
group.
Statistical Designs
Statistical Designs
Statistical designs consist of a series of basic experiments that allow
for statistical control and analysis of external variables and offer the
following advantages:
• The effects of more than one independent variable can be measured.
• Specific extraneous variables can be statistically controlled.
• Economical designs can be formulated when each test unit is
measured more than once.
Randomized Block Design
• Randomized Block Design is useful when there is only one major
external variable, such as store size, that might influence the dependent
variable.
• The test units are blocked, or grouped, on the basis of the external
variable.
• By blocking, the researcher ensures that the various experimental and
control groups are matched closely on the external variable.
Randomized Block Design
Treatment Groups
Block Store Commercial Commercial Commercial
Number Patronage A B C
1 Heavy A B C
2 Medium A B C
3 Low A B C
4 None A B C
Latin Square Design
• Allows the researcher to statistically control two noninteracting external
variables as well as to manipulate the independent variable.
• Each external or blocking variable is divided into an equal number of blocks,
or levels.
• The independent variable is also divided into the same number of levels.
• A Latin square is conceptualized as a table ,with the rows and columns
representing the blocks in the two external variables.
• The levels of the independent variable are assigned to the cells in the table.
• The assignment rule is that each level of the independent variable should
appear only once in each row and each column.
Latin Square Design
Interest in the Store Store Patronage High Medium Low
Heavy B A C
Medium C B A
Low and none A C B
Factorial Design
• Factorial Design Is used to measure the effects of two or more
independent variables at various levels.
• A factorial design may also be conceptualized as a table.
• In a two-factor design, each level of one variable represents a row
and each level of another variable represents a column.
Factorial Design
Amount of Humor
Amount of Store No Medium High
Information Humor Humor Humor
Low A B C
Medium D E F
High G H I
Recommended