1. Chapter 3
Research Design

2. Focus
Types of designs
major sources of error in a research design

3. Definition (p. 83)
A framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project
specifies the details of the procedures necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure and/or solve marketing research problems
makes data collection and analyses efficient

4. Components (p. 83) define the information needed (Ch. 2)
design the exploratory, descriptive, and /or causal phases of research (Ch. 3-7)
specify measurement procedures (Ch. 8,9)
construct and pretest a questionnaire (Ch. 10)
specify sampling details (Ch. 11, 12)
develop a plan for data analysis (Ch. 14)

5. Exploratory vs Conclusive Research (p. 83-84)
objective: provide insights vs testing hypotheses
information needed: loosely defined vs clearly defined
research process: unstructured vs structured
analysis: qualitative vs quantitative
findings: tentative vs conclusive

6. Exploratory Research Applications (p. 85)
define a problem more precisely
identify alternative courses of action
develop hypotheses
isolate key variables and relationships (e.g. Frigidaire)
gain insights
establish priorities

7. Types of exploratory studies: Patronage project (p. 86)
review of literature to identify relevant demographic and psychographic factors
interviews with retail experts
case analyses - three best versus three worst stores
focus groups to understand store selection criteria

8. Descriptive Research (p. 87-89)
is based on clear statement of the problem and detailed information needs
it is therefore preplanned and structured
typical descriptive studies
market analysis
sales and market share studies
image studies
product usage studies
distribution studies
pricing studies
advertising studies

9. Example: Advertising Study
What % of consumers are aware of the current ad campaign?
What do consumers recall of the ad copy?
What is the post-exposure brand attitude?
What are consumer perceptions of the ad spokesperson?
What do consumers like/dislike about the ad?

10. Two Types of Descriptive Research (p. 89-91)
Cross-sectional designs
single (surveys)
multiple
same sample (true panel)
different sample (quasi-panel; cohort)
Longitudinal designs

11. Relative Advantages/Disadvantages of Cross-Sectional Designsp
detecting change: -
amount of data: -
accuracy: -
representative sampling: +
response bias: +

12. Causal Research (p. 94-95) to test cause-effect relationships
e.g. does ad $ increase sales?
Does price reduction increase sales?
Discussed in a later chapter

13. Sources of Error (p )
error = true population value - observed sample value
error = random sampling error + non-sampling error
random sampling error
arises because of drawing a sample from the population
the particular sample drawn may differ from the population
can be reduced by increasing sample size

14. Nonsampling error (p.100) attributed to sources other than sampling
may be random or non random
include error in problem definition, scales, questionnaire design, interviewing methods, data preparation and analysis
is made up of nonresponse error and response error

15. Nonresponse error (p. 100)
some of the respondents included in the sample do not respond
causes: refusals, not-at-home
final sample will end up being different from the planned sample

16. Response error (p. 100-101) researcher error interviewer error
population definition
information sought
measurement instruments used
interviewer error
respondent selection
questioning
cheating
respondent error
inability to answer
unwilling to answer