Chapter TwoChapter Two

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Problem Definition and the

Research Process

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Problem Definition ProcessExh

ibit

2.1

Recognize the problem or opportunity

Found why the information is being sought:

Understand the decision-making environment

Use the symptoms to help clarify the problem

Translate the management problem into a marketing research problem

Determine whether the information already exists

Determine whether the question really can be answered

State the research objectives

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• Recognize the Problem or Opportunity– Opportunity Identification

• External environment

• Marketing mix

• New opportunities

• Find Out Why the Information Is Being Sought– Use and decisions made with the information

– Prioritize the questions

– Create sample data—will this answer the questions

To understand the problem definition process

Critical Importance of

Correctly Defining the Problem

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• Understand the Decision-Making Environment– Situation analysis– Exploratory research– Pilot studies– Experience surveys– Secondary data– Case analysis

To understand the problem definition process

Critical Importance of

Correctly Defining the Problem

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• Use the Symptoms to Clarify the Problem– Symptom

• Iceberg principle

– “What caused this to occur?”

• Translate the Management Problem Into a Marketing Research Problem– Marketing research problem– Marketing research objective– Management decision problem

Critical Importance of

Correctly Defining the Problem

To understand the problem definition process

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• Determine Whether the Information Already Exist– Can save time and money

• Determine Whether the Question Can Be Answered– Identify the following:

• You know the information exists or can be obtained• Based on similar prior experience the information

can be gathered• Trying this is new and there is a risk of drawing a

blank

Critical Importance of

Correctly Defining the Problem

To understand the problem definition process

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• State the Research Objectives• Stated in terms of precise information necessary to

address the problem/opportunity

• Road map

– Avoid the Nice-to-Know Syndrome– Management Decisions and Research

Objectives• Would be a restatement, in research terms, of what

management needs to know to make a decision

To learn the steps involved in the marketing research process

Critical Importance of

Correctly Defining the Problem

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– Research objectives as Hypotheses• Hypothesis—statement about a relationship between

or or more variables that can be tested with empirical data

• Should contain clear implications for testing stated relationships

• Development of the research hypothesis sets the stage for creating the research design

Critical Importance of

Correctly Defining the Problem

To understand the problem definition process

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The Marketing Research ProcessExhibit 2.2

(2)Creating of the

Research Design

(3)Choosing the

Method of Research

(4)Selecting the

Sampling Procedure

(5)Collecting the

Data

(6)Analyzing the

Data

(7)Writing and

Presenting the Report

(8)Follow-up

(1)Identification of the Problem and

Statement of Objectives

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To learn the steps involved in the marketing research process.

The Marketing Research Process

• Creating the Research Design– Research design

• The plan to be followed to answer the research objectives or hypothesis

– Descriptive studies• Who, what, when, where, and how

• Variable- a symbol or concept that can assume any one of a set of values

• Can shed light on associations or relationships

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– Causal Studies• Investigate whether one variable causes or

determines the value of another– Dependent variable—to be predicted or explained

– Independent variable—the variable that affects or causes the dependent variable—can be manipulated, changed or altered

– Temporal sequence—effect follows closely the hypothesized cause—an appropriate causal order of events

– Concomitant variation—the degree to which a presumed cause and a presumed effect occur together or vary together

The Marketing Research Process

To learn the steps involved in the marketing research process.

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To learn the advantages and disadvantages of survey, observation,

and experimental research

• Choosing a Basic Method of Research– Survey: an interviewer and questionnaire– Observation: to monitor respondents’ actions

without direct interaction– Experiments: to measure causality

• Selecting a Sampling Procedure– Probability sample– Nonprobability sample

The Marketing Research Process

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• Collecting the Data– Marketing research field service

• Analyzing the Data– To interpret and draw conclusions

• Writing and Presenting the Report– Judging the quality of a report– Using the Internet to disseminate the reports

• Follow-up– Determine whether the recommendations were

followed

The Marketing Research Process

To learn the steps involved in the marketing research process.

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The End

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.