Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited EXPLORATORY RESEARCH AND QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS Chapter 5 Part 2 Designing Research Studies

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited

EXPLORATORY RESEARCH

AND QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS

Chapter

5

Part 2

Designing Research Studies

LEARNING OBJECTIVESLEARNING OBJECTIVESLEARNING OBJECTIVESLEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. To understand the differences between qualitative research and quantitative research

2. To explain the purposes of exploratory research

3. To identify the four general categories of exploratory research

4. To explain the advantages and disadvantages of experience surveys, case study methods, focus group interviews, projective techniques, depth interviews, and other exploratory research techniques

5. To understand how technology is changing the nature of exploratory research

What you will learn in this chapter

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited 5–1

LEARNING OBJECTIVES (cont’d)LEARNING OBJECTIVES (cont’d)LEARNING OBJECTIVES (cont’d)LEARNING OBJECTIVES (cont’d)

6. To understand when exploratory techniques are appropriate and to understand their limitations

What you will learn in this chapter


• Exploratory ResearchExploratory ResearchInitial research conducted to clarify and define the

nature of a problem

Exploratory Research: What It Is and What It Is Exploratory Research: What It Is and What It Is NotNotExploratory Research: What It Is and What It Is Exploratory Research: What It Is and What It Is NotNot


• Researchers conduct exploratory research for Researchers conduct exploratory research for three interrelated purposes:three interrelated purposes:1. Diagnosing a situation

2. Screening alternatives

3. Discovering new ideas

Why Conduct Exploratory Research?Why Conduct Exploratory Research?Why Conduct Exploratory Research?Why Conduct Exploratory Research?


Diagnosing a situation Exploratory research helps diagnose the dimensions of

problems so that successive research projects will be on target; it helps set priorities for research

Screening alternatives When several opportunities, such as new product ideas,

arise at once, but budgets don’t allow trying all possible options, exploratory research may be used to determine the best alternatives

Concept testing: Any exploratory research procedure that tests some sort of stimulus as a proxy for an idea about a new, revised, or repositioned product, service, or strategy

Why Conduct Exploratory Research? Why Conduct Exploratory Research? (cont’d)(cont’d)Why Conduct Exploratory Research? Why Conduct Exploratory Research? (cont’d)(cont’d)


Discovering new ideas Marketers often conduct exploratory research to generate

ideas for new products, advertising copy, and so on Uncovering consumer needs is a great potential source of

product ideas One goal of exploratory research is to first determine what

problems consumers have with a product category

Why Conduct Exploratory Research? (cont’d)Why Conduct Exploratory Research? (cont’d)Why Conduct Exploratory Research? (cont’d)Why Conduct Exploratory Research? (cont’d)


Categories of Exploratory Research Categories of Exploratory Research Categories of Exploratory Research Categories of Exploratory Research

• A manager may choose from four general A manager may choose from four general categories of exploratory research methods:categories of exploratory research methods:1. Experience surveys

2. Secondary data analysis

3. Case studies

4. Pilot studies


Experience SurveysExperience SurveysExperience SurveysExperience Surveys

• Experience SurveyExperience SurveyAn exploratory research technique in which

individuals who are knowledgeable about a particular research problem are questioned


Secondary Data AnalysisSecondary Data AnalysisSecondary Data AnalysisSecondary Data Analysis

Data collected for a purpose other than the project at hand

EconomicalQuick source for background information


Case StudiesCase StudiesCase StudiesCase Studies

• Case Study MethodCase Study MethodThe exploratory research technique that intensively

investigates one or a few situations similar to the problem situation Example: Schwinn bicycles


Pilot StudiesPilot StudiesPilot StudiesPilot Studies

• Pilot StudyPilot StudyA collective term for any small-scale exploratory

research project that uses sampling but does not apply rigorous standards

Major categories of pilot studies include:

1. Focus group interviews

2. Projective techniques

3. Depth interviews


Pilot Studies (cont’d)Pilot Studies (cont’d)Pilot Studies (cont’d)Pilot Studies (cont’d)

• Focus Group InterviewFocus Group InterviewAn unstructured, free-flowing interview with a small

group of people Example: Birks and Carlsberg Canada

Group composition The ideal size of the focus group is six to ten relatively

similar people

Environmental conditions The group session may take place at the research agency,

the advertising agency, a hotel, or one of the subjects’ homes



• Focus Group Interview (cont’d)Focus Group Interview (cont’d)The moderator

The person who leads a focus group discussion

The planning the focus group online Discussion guide: A document prepared by the focus group

moderator that contains remarks about the nature of the group and outlines the topics or questions to be addressed

Focus groups as diagnostic tools Managers who are puzzled about the meaning of survey

research results may use focus groups to better understand what consumer surveys indicate; the focus group supplies diagnostic help after quantitative research has been conducted



• Focus Group Interview (cont’d)Focus Group Interview (cont’d)Videoconferencing Streaming media

Multimedia content, such as audio or video, that can be accessed on the Internet without being downloaded first

Interactive media Online focus groups

A focus group whose members use Internet technology to carry on their discussion



• Focus Group Interview (cont’d)Focus Group Interview (cont’d)Shortcomings

Focus groups require sensitive and effective moderators; without a good moderator, self-appointed participants may dominate a session, giving somewhat misleading results

Some unique sampling problems arise with focus groups



• Projective TechniquesProjective TechniquesProjective technique

An indirect means of questioning that enables a respondent to project beliefs and feelings onto a third party, an inanimate object, or a task situation

Word association test A projective technique in which the subject is presented

with a list of words, one at a time, and asked to respond with the first word that comes to mind

Sentence completion method A projective technique in which respondents are required to

complete a number of partial sentences with the first word or phrase that comes to mind



• Projective Techniques (cont’d)Projective Techniques (cont’d)Third-person technique

A projective technique in which the respondent is asked why a third person does what he or she does or what he or she thinks about a product. The respondent is expected to transfer his or her attitudes to the third person

Role-playing technique A projective technique that requires the subject to act out

someone else’s behaviour in a particular setting

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) A projective technique that presents a series of pictures to

research subjects and asks them to provide a description of or a story about the pictures



• Projective Techniques (cont’d)Projective Techniques (cont’d)Cartoon tests

Picture frustration: A version of the TAT that uses a cartoon drawing for which the respondent suggests dialogue the characters might engage in



• Depth InterviewsDepth InterviewsA relatively unstructured, extensive interview in

which the interviewer asks many questions and probes for in-depth answers


Some Issues in Using Exploratory ResearchSome Issues in Using Exploratory ResearchSome Issues in Using Exploratory ResearchSome Issues in Using Exploratory Research

Exploratory research cannot take the place of conclusive, quantitative research

Firms often use what should be exploratory studies as final, conclusive research projects, which can lead to incorrect decisions

Exploratory research techniques provide qualitative information and interpretation of the findings typically is judgmental


Documents

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited EXPLORATORY RESEARCH AND QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS Chapter 5 Part 2 Designing Research Studies