MBA Answers_Marketing Research

8/6/2019 MBA Answers_Marketing Research

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Question 1. a) Define Marketing Research. Explain the concept with

nature, scope and principles of importance.


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Answer

Marketing research is the function that links the consumer, customer, and public to

the marketer through information - information used to identify and define marketing

opportunities and problems; generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions;

monitor marketing performance; and improve understanding of marketing as a

process. Marketing research specifies the information required to address these

issues, designs the methods for collecting information, manages and implements the

data collection process, analyzes, and communicates the findings and their

implications.

The top Management of every organization needs information in order to introduce

products and services that create value in the mind of the customer. The perception

of value is a subjective one, and what customers value this year may be quite

different from what they value next year. As such, the attributes that create value

cannot simply be deduced from common knowledge. Rather, data must be collectedand analyzed. The goal of marketing research is to provide the facts and direction

that managers need to make their more important marketing decisions.

To maximize the benefit of marketing research, those who use it need to understand

the research process and its limitations.

Marketing research is the systematic gathering, recording, and analysis of

data about issues relating to marketing products and services. The term is

commonly interchanged with market research; however, expert practitioners

may wish to draw a distinction, in that market research is concerned

specifically with markets, while marketing research is concerned specifically

about marketing processes.

Marketing research is often partitioned into two sets of categorical pairs, either by

target market:

Consumer marketing research, and

Business-to-business (B2B) marketing research

Or, alternatively, by methodological approach:

Qualitative marketing research, and

Quantitative marketing research

Marketing research may also be described as the systematic and objective

identification, collection, analysis, and dissemination of information for the purpose

of assisting management in decision making related to the identification and solution


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of problems and opportunities in marketing. The goal of marketing research is to

identify and assess how changing elements of the marketing mix impacts customer

behavior.

The task of marketing research is to provide management with relevant, accurate,

reliable, valid, and current information. Competitive marketing environment and theever-increasing costs attributed to poor decision making require that marketing

research provide sound information. Sound decisions are not based on gut feeling,

intuition, or even pure judgment.

Marketing managers make numerous strategic and tactical decisions in the process

of identifying and satisfying customer needs. They make decisions about potential

opportunities, target market selection, market segmentation, planning and

implementing marketing programs, marketing performance, and control.

Marketing research helps the marketing manager link the marketing variables withthe environment and the consumers. It helps remove some of the uncertainty by

providing relevant information about the marketing variables, environment, and

consumers. Ongoing marketing research programs provide information on

controllable and non-controllable factors and consumers; this information enhances

the effectiveness of decisions made by marketing managers.

Traditionally, marketing researchers were responsible for providing the relevant

information and marketing decisions were made by the managers. However, the

roles are changing and marketing researchers are becoming more involved in

decision making, whereas marketing managers are becoming more involved with

research. The role of marketing research in managerial decision making is explained

further using the framework of the "DECIDE" model:

D ---- Define the marketing problem

E ---- Enumerate the controllable and uncontrollable decision factors

C ---- Collect relevant information

I ---- Identify the best alternative

D ---- Develop and implement a marketing plan

E ---- Evaluate the decision and the decision process

The DECIDE model conceptualizes managerial decision making as a series of six

steps. The decision process begins by precisely defining the problem or opportunity,


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along with the objectives and constraints. Next, the possible decision factors that

make up the alternative courses of action (controllable factors) and uncertainties

(uncontrollable factors) are enumerated. Then, relevant information on the

alternatives and possible outcomes is collected. The next step is to select the best

alternative based on chosen criteria or measures of success. Then a detailed plan to

implement the alternative selected is developed and put into effect. Last, the

outcome of the decision and the decision process itself are evaluated.

Marketing Research has 3 basic principles or guidelines for generating information

useful to managers.

Attend to the timeliness and relevance of research.

Define research objectives carefully and clearly.

Do not conduct research to support decisions already made.

These principles are simple and perhaps even intuitive. Nevertheless, they are crucialto the proper and successful application and marketing research.

First, marketing research is systematic. Thus systematic planning is required at all

the stages of the marketing research process. The procedures followed at each stage

are methodologically sound, well documented, and, as much as possible, planned in

advance. Marketing research uses the scientific method in that data are collected

and analyzed to test prior notions or hypotheses.

Marketing research is objective. It attempts to provide accurate information that

reflects a true state of affairs. It should be conducted impartially. While research is

always influenced by the researcher's research philosophy, it should be free from the

personal or political biases of the researcher or the management. Research which is

motivated by personal or political gain involves a breach of professional standards.

Such research is deliberately biased so as to result in predetermined findings. The

motto of every researcher should be, "Find it and tell it like it is." The objective

nature of marketing research underscores the importance of ethical considerations,

which are discussed later in the chapter.

Marketing research involves the identification, collection, analysis, and dissemination

of information. Each phase of this process is important. We identify or define the

marketing research problem or opportunity and then determine what information is

needed to investigate it., and inferences are drawn. Finally, the findings, implications

and recommendations are provided in a format that allows the information to be

used for management decision making and to be acted upon directly. It should be

emphasized that marketing research is conducted to assist management in decision

making and is not: a means or an end in itself. The next section elaborates on this

definition by classifying different types of marketing research.


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Question 1. (b) - Whats Marketing Research Process? Illustrate youranswer with examples.

ANSWER -

Marketing Research is systematic problem analysis, model building and fact

finding for the purpose of important decision making and control in the marketing of

goods and services. Marketing Research is a well-planned, systematic process which

implies that it needs planning at all the stages. It uses scientific methods.

It attempts to provide accurate authentic information. Marketing Research is

sometimes defined as the application of scientific method in the solution of

marketing problems.Marketing Research plays a very significant role in identifying

the needs of customers and meeting them in best possible way. The main task ofMarketing Research is systematic gathering and analysis of information.

Marketing Research is essential for strategic market planning and decision making. It

helps a firm in identifying what are the market opportunities and constraints, in

developing and implementing market strategies, and in evaluating the effectiveness

of marketing plans.

Marketing Research is a growing and widely used business activity as the sellers

need to know more about their final consumers but are generally widely separated

from those consumers. Marketing Research is a necessary link between marketing

decision makers and the markets in which they operate.

Marketing Research includes various important principles for generating information

which is useful to managers. These principles relate to the timeliness and importance

of data, the significance of defining objectives cautiously and clearly, and the need to

avoid conducting research to support decisions already made

Marketing Research is of use to the following -


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1. Producersa. To know about his product potential in the market vis--vis the total

product;b. New Products;c. Various brands;d. Pricing;

e. Market Structures and selection of product strategy, etc.

2. Business and Government - Marketing Research helps businesses andgovernment in focusing attention on the complex nature of problems faced bythem. For example:a. Determination of Gross National Product; Price indices, and per capita

income;b. Expenditure levels and budgeting;c. Agricultural Pricing;d. The economic policies of Government; and

e. Operational and planning problems of business and industry.

3. Market Research Agencies - Marketing Research is being used extensively byprofessionals to help conducting various studies in Marketing Research.

4. CEOs, Decision Makers, and Managers

Marketing research process is a set of five - six steps which defines the tasks to

be accomplished in conducting a marketing research study. These include problem

definition, developing an approach to problem, research design formulation, field

work, data preparation and analysis, and report generation and presentation.

The Stages of Marketing research Process

Identify specific problems / subjects

Set certain objectives

Design questionnaire

Collect Data

Analyze and interpret findings

Report on research findings


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Step 1: Problem Definition

The first step in any marketing research project is to define the problem. In defining

the problem, the researcher should take into account the purpose of the study, therelevant background information, what information is needed, and 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, perhaps, some

qualitative research, such as focus groups. Once the problem has been precisely

defined, the research can be designed and conducted properly.

Step 2: Development of an Approach to the Problem

Development of an approach to the problem includes formulating an objective or

theoretical framework, analytical models, research questions, hypotheses, and

identifying characteristics or factors that can influence the research design. This

process is guided by discussions with management and industry experts, case

studies and simulations, analysis of secondary data, qualitative research and

pragmatic considerations.

Step 3: Research Design Formulation

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research

project. It details the procedures necessary for obtaining the required information,

and its purpose is to design a study that will test the hypotheses of interest,

determine possible answers to the research questions, and provide the information

needed for decision making. Conducting exploratory research, precisely defining the

variables, and designing appropriate scales to measure them are also a part of the

research design. The issue of how the data should be obtained from the respondents

(for example, by conducting a survey or an experiment) must be addressed. It is also

necessary to design a questionnaire and a sampling plan to select respondents for

the study.

More formally, formulating the research design involves the following steps:

1. Secondary data analysis2. Qualitative research

3. Methods of collecting quantitative data (survey, observation, and

experimentation)

4. Definition of the information needed

5. Measurement and scaling procedures

6. Questionnaire design


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7. Sampling process and sample size

8. Plan of data analysis

Step 4: Field Work or Data Collection

Data collection involves a field force or staff that operates either in the field, as in thecase of personal interviewing (in-home, mall intercept, or computer-assisted personal

interviewing), from an office by telephone (telephone or computer-assisted telephone

interviewing), or through mail (traditional mail and mail panel surveys with pre-

recruited households). Proper selection, training, supervision, and evaluation of the

field force help minimize data-collection errors.

Step 5: Data Preparation and Analysis

Data preparation includes the editing, coding, transcription, and verification of data.

Each questionnaire or observation form is inspected, or edited, and, if necessary,corrected. Number or letter codes are assigned to represent each response to each

question in the questionnaire. The data from the questionnaires are transcribed or

key-punched on to magnetic tape, or disks or input directly into the computer.

Verification ensures that the data from the original questionnaires have been

accurately transcribed, while data analysis, guided by the plan of data analysis, gives

meaning to the data that have been collected. Univariate techniques are used for

analyzing data when there is a single measurement of each element or unit in the

sample, or, if there are several measurements of each element, each RCH variable is

analyzed in isolation. On the other hand, multivariate techniques are used for

analyzing data when there are two or more measurements on each element and the

variables are analyzed simultaneously.

Step 6: Report Preparation and Presentation

The entire project should be documented in a written report which addresses the

specific research questions identified, describes the approach, the research design,

data collection, and data analysis procedures adopted, and presents the results and

the major findings. The findings should be presented in a comprehensible format so

that they can be readily used in the decision making process. In addition, an oral

presentation should be made to management using tables, figures, and graphs to

enhance clarity and impact.

For these reasons, interviews with experts are more useful in conducting marketing

research for industrial firms and for products of a technical nature, where it is

relatively easy to identify and approach the experts. This method is also helpful in

situations where little information is available from other sources, as in the case of

radically new products.


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Sources of Data - PrimaryandSecondary

There are two main sources of data - primary and secondary. P is conducted from

scratch. It is original and collected to solve the problem in hand. Secondary research,

also known as desk research, already exists since it has been collected for other

purposes.

QUESTION2.(a) - Explain various types of Marketing Research.

ANSWER -

Research may be classified into different types for the sake of better understanding

of the concept. Several bases can be adopted for the classification such as nature of

data, branch of knowledge, extent of coverage, place of investigation, method

employed, time frame and so on. Depending upon the BASIS adopted for the

classification, research may be classified into a class or type. It is possible that a

piece of research work can be classified remembered that good research uses a

number of types, methods, & techniques. Hence rigid classification is impossible. The

following is only an attempt to classify research into different types.
http://www.marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-marketing-research-primary.htmlhttp://www.marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-marketing-research-secondary.htmlhttp://www.marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-marketing-research-primary.htmlhttp://www.marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-marketing-research-secondary.htmlhttp://www.marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-marketing-research-secondary.htmlhttp://www.marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-marketing-research-primary.htmlhttp://www.marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-marketing-research-secondary.htmlhttp://www.marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-marketing-research-primary.html


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1. According to the Branch of Knowledge - Different Branches of knowledgemay broadly be divided into two:

a) Life and physical sciences such as Botany, Zoology, Physics and Chemistry.

b) Social Sciences such as Political Science, Public Administration, Economics,Sociology, commerce and Management.

Research in these fields is also broadly referred to as life and physical science

research and social science research. Business education covers both Commerce and

Management, which are part of Social sciences. Business research is a broad term

which covers many areas. Business Research, Management, Production, Personnel,

Finance, Accounting, Marketing, Business Policy, History. The research carried out, in

these areas, is called management research, production research, personnel

research, financial management research, accounting research, Marketing research

etc.

Management research includes various functions of management such as planning,

organizing, staffing, communicating, coordinating, motivating, controlling.

Various motivational theories are the result of research. Production (also called

manufacturing) research focuses more on materials and equipment rather than on

human aspects. It covers various aspects such as new and better ways of producing

goods, inventing new technologies, reducing costs, improving product quality.

Research in personnel management may range from very simple problems to highly

complex problems of all types. It is primarily concerned with the human aspects ofthe business such as personnel

policies, job requirements, job evaluation, recruitment, selection, placement, training

and development, promotion and transfer, morale and attitudes, wage and salary

administration, industrial relations. Basic research in this field would be valuable as

human behaviour affects organizational behaviour and

productivity. Research in Financial Management includes financial institutions,

financing instruments (egs. shares, debentures), financial markets (capital market,

money market, primary market, secondary market), financial services (egs. merchant

banking, discounting, factoring), financial analysis (e.g.

investment analysis, ratio analysis, funds flow / cash flow analysis) etc., Accounting

research though narrow in its scope, but is a highly significant area of business

management. Accounting information is used as a basis for reports to the

management, shareholders, investors, tax authorities, regulatory


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bodies and other interested parties. Areas for accounting research include inventory

valuation, depreciation accounting, generally accepted accounting principles,

accounting standards, corporate reporting etc.

Marketing research deals with product development and distribution problems,

marketing institutions, marketing policies and practices, consumer behavior,advertising and sales promotion, sales management and after sales service etc.

Marketing research is one of the very popular areas and also a well established one.

Marketing research includes market potentials, sales forecasting, product testing,

sales analysis, market surveys, test marketing, consumer behaviour studies,

marketing information system etc.

2) According to the Nature of Data -A simple dichotomous classification of

research is Quantitative research and Qualitative research / non-quantitative.

Quantitative research is variables based where as qualitative research is attributesbased. Quantitative research is based on measurement / quantification of the

phenomenon under study. In other words, it is data based a nd hence more objective

and more popular. Qualitative research is based on the subjective assessment of

attributes, motives, opinions, desires, preferences, behaviour etc. Research in such a

situation is a function of researchers insights and impressions.

3) According to the Coverage -According to the number of units covered it can

be Macro study or Micro

study. Macro study is a study of the whole where as Micro study is a study of the

part. For example, working capital management in State Road Transport

Corporations in India is a macro study where as Working Capital Management in

Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation is a micro study.

4) According to Utility or Application - Depending upon the use of research

results i.e., whether it is contributing to the theory building or problem solving,

research can be Basic or Applied. Basic research is called pure / theoretical /

fundamental research. Basic research includes original investigations for the

advancement of knowledge that does not have specific objectives to answerproblems of sponsoring agencies. Applied research also called Action research,

constitutes research activities on problems posed by sponsoring agencies for the

purpose of contributing to the solution of these problems.


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5) According to the place where it is carried out - Depending upon the place

where the research is carried out (according to the data generating source), research

can be classified into:

a) Field Studies or field experiments

b) Laboratory studies or Laboratory experimentsc) Library studies or documentary research

6) According to the Research Methods used - Depending upon the research

method used for the investigation, it can be classified as:

a) Survey research,

b) Observation research ,

c) Case research,

d) Experimental research,

e) Historical research,f) Comparative research.

7) According to the Time Frame - Depending upon the time period adopted for

the study, it can be

a) One time or single time period research - eg. One year or a point of time.

Most of the sample studies, diagnostic studies are of this type.

b) Longitudinal research - eg. several years or several time periods ( a time

series analysis) eg. industrial development during the five year plans in India.

8) According to the purpose of the Study - What is the purpose/aim/objective of

the study ? Is it to describe or analyze or evaluate or explore? Accordingly the

studies are known as.

a) Descriptive Study: The major purpose of descriptive research is the

description of a person, situation, institution or an event as it exists. Generally

fact finding studies are of this type.

b) Analytical Study: The researcher uses facts or information already available

and analyses them to make a critical examination of the material. These are

generally Ex-post facto studies or post-mortem studies.

c) Evaluation Study: This type of study is generally conducted to examine /

evaluate the impact of a particular event, eg. Impact of a particular decision

or a project or an investment.

d) Exploratory Study: The information known on a particular subject matter is

little. Hence, a study is conducted to know more about it so as to formulate


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the problem and procedures of the study. Such a study is called exploratory/

formulative study.

This is the most fundamental division of research practices. Primary research refers

to original or custom research - gathering information from original sources. It is

usually proprietary to a client and not made available to the marketplace. This type

of research is our forte at J Arnold & Associates.

Secondary research involves the compiling of information from existing or published

sources. These sources can be internal or external. Internal would be your customer

databases, historical files, etc. External would involve searches for published

information. Typical sources include newspapers, trade publications, associations,

industry reports, and of course, the Internet.

Hybrid ResearchResearchers often use more than one research design. They may start with

secondary research to get background information, then conduct a focus group

(qualitative research design) to explore the issues. Finally they might do a full nation-

wide survey (quantitative research design) in order to devise specific

recommendations for the client.

Qualitative and Quantitative Research

Primary research is basically divided into these two categories. In essence,

qualitative research addresses emotional issues, while quantitative is based more on

reason or logic.

Qualitative research methods strive to understand how people feel or to tap their

creative juices. Quantitative techniques are applied to generate meaningful metrics

that clearly define the magnitude of a response. For example, qualitative research

would uncover how people feel about an issue, whereas quantitative research would

measure how strongly they feel about it.

When planning a study or defining its objectives, the consultant must first determine

which approach is best suited - qualitative or quantitative. Sometimes only one will

suffice, and other times, both are needed. Once determined, the most appropriate

methodology needs to be chosen. The most commonly used methods are

summarized below.


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Qualitative Methods Quantitative MethodsFocus groups (ideal size 4-6 people) Telephone interviewsMini groups (fewer people or shorter

duration)

Self administered mail surveys

One-on-one in-depth personal interviews Online sources - via email or websitesPaired in-depth interviews Electronic surveys - compliled on diskette

Advisory panels Real time moment-to-moment

(primarily for media research)

Marketing research techniques come in many forms, including:

Ad Tracking also known as post-testing or ad effectiveness tracking is in-market

research that monitors a brands performance including brand and advertising

awareness, product trial and usage, and attitudes about the brand versus their

competition.

Today, most ad tracking studies are conducted via the Internet. Some ad tracking

studies are conducted continuously and others are conducted at specific points in

time (typically before the advertising appears in market, and then again after the

advertising has been running for some period of time). The two approaches use

different types of analyses, although both start by measuring advertising awareness.

Typically, the respondent is either shown a brief portion of a commercial or a few

memorable still images from the TV ad. Other media typically are cued using either

branded or de-branded visual of the ad. Then, respondents answer three significant

questions.

1. Do you recognize this ad? (recognition measure)

2. Please type in the sponsor of this ad. (unaided awareness measure)

3. Please choose from the following list, the sponsor of this ad. (aided awareness

measure)

The continuous tracking design analyzes advertising awareness over time, in relation

to ad spending; separately, this design tracks brand awareness, and then develops

indices of effectiveness based on the strength of the correlations between ad

spending and brand awareness.

The most popular alternate approach to the continuous tracking design is the

Communicus System longitudinal design, in which the same people are interviewed

at two points in time. Changes in brand measures (for example, brand purchasing

and future purchase intentions) exhibited among those who have seen the

advertising are compared to the changes in brand measures that occurred among

those unaware of advertising. By means of this method, the researchers can isolate

those marketplace changes that were produced by advertising versus those that

would have occurred without advertising.


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Advertising Research a specialized form of marketing research conducted to

improve the efficiency of advertising. According to MarketConscious.com, It may

focus on a specific ad or campaign, or may be directed at a more general

understanding of how advertising works or how consumers use the information in

advertising. It can entail a variety of research approaches, including psychological,

sociological, economic, and other perspectives.

Brand equity research - refers to the marketing effects or outcomes that accrue

to a product with its brand name compared with those that would accrue if the same

product did not have the brand name. And, at the root of these marketing effects is

consumers' knowledge. In other words, consumers' knowledge about a brand makes

manufacturers/advertisers respond differently or adopt appropriately adept

measures for the marketing of the brand. The study of brand equity is increasingly

popular as some marketing researchers have concluded that brands are one of the

most valuable assets that a company has. Brand equity is one of the factors which

can increase the financial value of a brand to the brand owner, although not the only

one.

In the early 2000's in North America, the Ford Motor Company made a strategic

decision to brand all new or redesigned cars with names starting with "F". This

aligned with the previous tradition of naming all sport utility vehicles since the Ford

Explorer with the letter "E". The Toronto Star quoted an analyst who warned that

changing the name of the well known Windstar to the Freestar would cause confusion

and discard brand equity built up, while a marketing manager believed that a name

change would highlight the new redesign. The aging Taurus, which became one of

the most significant cars in American auto history, would be abandoned in favor of

three entirely new names, all starting with "F", the Five Hundred, Freestar and

Fusion. By 2007, the Freestar was discontinued without a replacement. The Five

Hundred names were thrown out and Taurus was brought back for the nextgeneration of that car in a surprise move by Alan Mulally. "Five Hundred" was

recognized by less than half of most people, but an overwhelming majority was

familiar with the "Ford Taurus".

Brand association research refers to researches on what do consumers

associate with the brand?

Brand attribute research refers to researches on what are the key traits that

describe the brand promise?

Brand name testing refers to researches on what do consumers feel about thenames of the products?

The annual list of the worlds most valuable brands, published by Interbrand and

Business Week, indicates that the market value of companies often consists largely

of brand equity. Research by McKinsey & Company, a global consulting firm, in 2000

suggested that strong, well-leveraged brands produce higher returns to shareholders


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than weaker, narrower brands. Taken together, this means that brands seriously

impact shareholder value, which ultimately makes branding a CEO responsibility.

Commercial eye tracking research - examine advertisements, package designs,

websites, etc by analyzing visual behavior of the consumer. Eye tracking is

commonly used in a variety of different advertising media. Commercials, print ads,

online ads and sponsored programs are all conducive to analysis with current eye

tracking technology. Analyses focus on visibility of a target product or logo in the

context of a magazine, newspaper, website, or televised event. This allows

researchers to assess in great detail how often a sample of consumers fixates on the

target logo, product or ad. In this way, an advertiser can quantify the success of a

given campaign in terms of actual visual attention.

Concept testing - to test the acceptance of a concept by target consumers. is the

process of using quantitative methods and qualitative methods to evaluate consumer

response to a product idea prior to the introduction of a product to the market. It can

also be used to generate communication designed to alter consumer attitudes

toward existing products. These methods involve the evaluation by consumers of

product concepts having certain rational benefits, such as "a detergent that removes

stains but is gentle on fabrics," or non-rational benefits, such as "a shampoo that lets

you be yourself." Such methods are commonly referred to as concept testing and

have been performed using field surveys, personal interviews and focus groups, in

combination with various quantitative methods, to generate and evaluate product

concepts.

Today, with the advent of the Internet, concept testing has experienced

resurgence. Armed with the ability to show thousands of respondents images of an

actual concept, many market researchers, and organizations, have had their faithrestored in this once questionable method. Online survey takers now have the ability

to view a potential product in a similar manner to how they would view the same

product in a retail environment. In addition, with online retailing become increasingly

prominent, many online respondents are also online consumers. Thus, they are able

to easily place themselves in the mindset of a consumer looking to buy goods or

services. Since the arrival of these methods, market researchers have been able to

make better, more accurate, suggestions to their clients regarding the decision to

move forward, revise, or start over with a product concept. Online Choice Modeling

for example can produce detailed econometric models of demand for various

attributes of the new product such as feature, packaging and price.

Cool hunting - to make observations and predictions in changes of new or existing

cultural trends in areas such as fashion, music, films, television, youth culture and

lifestyle. In this they resemble the intuitive fashion magazine editors of the 1960s

such as Nancy White (Harper's Bazaar 19581971). Cool hunters operate most

notably in the world of street fashion and design, but their work also blurs into that of

futurists such as Faith Popcorn. Many web loggers now serve as online cool hunters,

in a variety of cultural and technological areas.


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Customer satisfaction research - quantitative or qualitative studies that yields

an understanding of a customer's of satisfaction with a transaction

Demand estimation - to determine the approximate level of demand for the

product

Distribution channel audits - to assess distributors and retailers attitudestoward a product, brand, or company

Internet strategic intelligence - searching for customer opinions in the Internet:

chats, forums, web pages, blogs... where people express freely about their

experiences with products, becoming strong "opinion formers"

Marketing effectiveness and analytics - Building models and measuring results

to determine the effectiveness of individual marketing activities.

Mystery Consumer or Mystery shopping - is a tool used by market research

companies to measure quality of retail service or gather specific information aboutproducts and services. Mystery shoppers posing as normal customers perform

specific taskssuch as purchasing a product, asking questions, registering

complaints or behaving in a certain way and then provide detailed reports or

feedback about their experiences.

Mystery shopping was standard practice by the early 1940s as a way to measure

employee integrity. Tools used for mystery shopping assessments range from simple

questionnaires to complete audio and video recordings. Many mystery shopping

companies are completely administered through the Internet, allowing potential

mystery shoppers to use the Internet to register for participation, find mystery

shopping jobs and receive payment.

The most common venues where mystery shopping is used are retail stores, movie

theaters, restaurants, fast food chains, banks, gas stations, car dealerships,

apartments and health clubs, as well as health care facilities. In the UK, mystery

shopping is increasingly used to provide feedback on customer services provided by

local authorities and other non-profit organizations, such as housing associations and

churches.

Positioning research - how does the target market see the brand relative to

competitors? - What does the brand stand for?

Price elasticity testing - to determine how sensitive customers are to pricechanges

Sales forecasting - to determine the expected level of sales given the level of

demand. With respect to other factors like Advertising expenditure, sales promotion

etc.

Segmentation research - to determine the demographic, psychographic, and

behavioral characteristics of potential buyers


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A focus group - is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are

asked about their attitude towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea,

or packaging. Questions are asked in an interactive group setting where participants

are free to talk with other group members.

The first focus groups were created at the Bureau of Applied Social Research by

associate director, sociologist Robert K. Merton. The term itself was coined by

psychologist and marketing expert Ernest Dichter.

Store audit- to measure the sales of a product or product line at a statistically

selected store sample in order to determine market share, or to determine whether a

retail store provides adequate service

Test marketing - a small-scale product launch used to determine the likely

acceptance of the product when it is introduced into a wider market. in the field of

business and marketing, is a geographic region or demographic group used to gauge

the viability of a product or service in the mass market prior to a wide scale roll-out.

The criteria used to judge the acceptability of a test market region or group include:

(1) A population that is demographically similar to the proposed target market; and

(2) Relative isolation from densely populated media markets so that advertising to

the test audience can be efficient and economical.

Viral Marketing Research - refers to marketing research designed to estimate

the probability that specific communications will be transmitted throughout an

individuals Social Network. Estimates of Social Networking Potential (SNP) are

combined with estimates of selling effectiveness to estimate ROI on specific

combinations of messages and media.

All of these forms of marketing research can be classified as either problem-

identification research or as problem-solving research.

Question 2.(b) - How is Geographic Information System used for Marketing

Research?

ANSWER -

A Geographic Information System (GIS), orGeographical Information System

is any system that captures, stores, analyzes, manages, and presents data that is

linked to location. Technically, a GIS is a system that includes mapping software and


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its application to remote sensing, land surveying, aerial photography, mathematics,

photogrammetry, geography, and tools that can be implemented with GIS software.

Still, many refer to "Geographic Information System" as "GIS" even though it doesn't

cover all tools connected to topology.

In the strictest sense, the term describes any information system that integrates,

stores, edits, analyzes, shares, and displays geographic information. In a more

generic sense, GIS applications are tools that allow users to create interactive

queries (user-created searches), analyze spatial information, edit data, maps, and

present the results of all these operations. Geographic Information Science is the

science underlying the geographic concepts, applications and systems, taught in

degree and GIS Certificate programs at many universities.

In the simplest terms, GIS is the merging of cartography and database technology.

Consumer users would likely be familiar with applications for finding driving

directions, like a GPS program on their hand-held device. GPS (Global Positioning

System) is the real-time location component that uses satellites to show your current

position, "where am I now" on your device. GPS technology is discussed in more

detail later in this article.

The value of location as a business measure is fast becoming an important

consideration for organizations. GIS (Geographical Information Systems), with its

capability to manage, display, analyze business information spatially, is emerging as

a powerful location intelligence tool. In the US, Starbucks, Blockbuster, Hyundai, and

thousands of other businesses use census data and GIS software to help them

understand what types of people buy their products and services, and how to better

market to these consumers. For example, McDonalds in Japan uses a GIS system to

overlay demographic information on maps to help identify promising new store sites.

More than 80% of organization data are location-related locations where

transactions are done, where retailers are found, and where the customers are to

buy their products. Recently, there has been a growing interest in the business

community to use GIS to enhance decision making processes at both strategic and

operational levels. It can be used for marketing research or to identify locations for

new outlets -- what we call site selection. It can even be used for sales territory

planning, meaning that a business will know how to deploy its sales staff so they

dont overlap with each others territories. GIS can also help optimize their


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catchment area. Understanding location is even more important when businesses

go into new location such as China and Vietnam.

In Shanghai, there was recently a project to carry out a market research study using

GIS. The client, a retailer, had previously engaged a market research company to

study how the market in Shanghai operates. The director wanted to know where

exactly the relevant channel stores that would help distribute their products were

located, so they could then decide on how many to start building relationships with.

The study identified mama stores and other possible channels of product

distribution and how they performed. This is a classical way of doing market

research. They now have a better idea of where the hot spots are located, and can

focus their resources on the high concentration areas. They can also prioritize in the

sense that they can find out the locations of the top 10% sales volume stores. If they

have limited resources, they can zoom in on these stores or areas first.

The use of GIS in business has greatly enhanced the efficiency in a number of areas,

especially marketing research. Examples of the use of GIS in business include:

locating potential competitors, mapping market thresholds for retailers, providing

computerized hazard information classifications, aiding risk management decisions in

insurance companies, and enabling real estate agents to handle property data more

efficiently. Delivery services also utilize GIS in aspects such as navigation &

monitoring of their fleets, routing optimization for shipping and deliveries, geocoding

address matching, and location searches. Typical data input into this category

include road networks, street addresses, business profiles, and socioeconomic

profiles.


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QUESTION 3.(a) - Define and explain Data Collection with its types andmethods.

ANSWER -

Data collection is a term used to describe a process of preparing and collecting

data - for example as part of a process improvement or similar project. The purpose

of data collection is to obtain information to keep on record, to make decisions about

important issues, to pass information on to others. Primarily, data is collected to

provide information regarding a specific topic.

Data Collection in Marketing Research is a detailed process in which a planned

search for all relevant data is made by researcher.

Types of Data

1. Primary Data- Primary data is the data which is collected first hand specially

for the purpose of study. It is collected for addressing the problem at hand.

Thus, primary data is original data collected by researcher first hand.

2. Secondary data- Secondary data is the data that have been already

collected by and readily available from other sources. Such data are cheaper

and more quickly obtainable than the primary data and also may be available

when primary data can not be obtained at all.

Data Collection Methods

1. Qualitative Research- Qualitative Research is generally undertaken todevelop an initial understanding of the problem. It is non statistical in nature.

It uses an inductive method, that is, data relevant to some topics are

collected and grouped into appropriate meaningful categories. The

explanations are emerged from the data itself. It is used in exploratory

research design and descriptive research also. Qualitative data comes into a

variety of forms like interview transcripts; documents, diaries and notes made

while observing. There are two main methods for collecting Qualitative data

a. Direct Collection Method-When the data is collected directly, it makes use of

disguised method. Purpose of data collection is not known. This method

makes use of-i. Focus Groups

ii. Depth Interview

iii. Case Study

b. Indirect Collection-Method

i. Projective Techniques


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2. Quantitative Research- Quantitative Research quantifies the data and

generalizes the results from the sample to the population. In Quantitative

Research, data can be colleted by two methods

a. Survey Methodb. Observation Method

Data collection usually takes place early on in an improvement project, and is often

formalized through a data collection Plan which often contains the following activity.

a. Pre collection activity Agree goals, target data, definitions, methods

b. Collection data collection

c. Present Findings usually involves some form of sorting analysis and/or

presentation.

Prior to any data collection, pre-collection activity is one of the most crucial steps in

the process. It is often discovered too late that the value of their interview

information is discounted as a consequence of poor sampling of both questions and

informants and poor elicitation techniques. After pre-collection activity is fully

completed, data collection in the field, whether by interviewing or other methods,

can be carried out in a structured, systematic and scientific way.

A formal data collection process is necessary as it ensures that data gathered is both

defined and accurate and that subsequent decisions based on arguments embodied

in the findings are valid. The process provides both a baseline from which to measure

from and in certain cases a target on what to improve.

Data collection is a way of gathering information for use in various studies or decisionmaking situations. Depending on the required outcome or information needed

methods of data collection can vary and even be combined to achieve needed

results. All data collection methods boil down to five basic types:

Registration

Questionnaires

Interviews

Direct Observations

Reporting

Each method of data collection has its uses, advantages and disadvantages. Mostoften using more than one method of data collection will gain better results.

Registration - Registration is a data collection method mainly used to gather

information about a certain group or demographic population. This method is

primarily used in the following ways:

Drivers licenses


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Welfare programs

School programs

Voter records

Questionnaires - This type of data collection method is one of the inexpensive ways

to gain information. Most of the information gathered is from co-operative and highlyliterate people such as college graduates or people in professional fields. Many times

questionnaires will be used by service providers to gain needed information. Such

providers would include:

Medical Surveys

Insurance Applications

Higher paying job applications

Scientific Research

Interviews - Interviews are more expensive than questionnaires as a method of

data collection because of the labor involved. The tradeoff is that an interview cancontain more complex questions. Interviews are more useful with lower literacy rates

and less co-operative participants. The following fields tend to use the interview

method of data collection as a main resource.

Government agencies such as the IRS or Welfare Department

Census takers

Law enforcement

Direct Observation- This type of data collection method is the most accurate way

of gathering information, and can be the most cost effective over a long time frame.

This method is mainly used in institutional and professional settings such as:

Medical analysis

Corrections Facilities

Psychology and Sociology clinical settings

Indirect research

Reporting - Reporting is a direct opposite to the interview and questionnaire where

the study group is required to provide information without being asked specific

questions. This type of data collection method is most frequently used for:

Tracking parolees and ex-offenders Government tracking and analysis of community needs

Field teams gathering information using other methods

Data analysis depends on the method of data collection used. While some analysis

will be simple statistics, other analysis will be far more complex depending on the

information and combination of data collection methods used.


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The data collection process can be relatively simple depending on the type of data

collection tools required and used during the research. Data collection tools are

instruments used to collect information for performance assessments, self-

evaluations, and external evaluations. The data collection tools need to be strong

enough to support what the evaluations find during research. Here are a few

examples of data collection tools used within three main categories.

There are 3 main tools for data collection as follows:

Secondary Participation

Data collection tools involving secondary participation require no direct contact to

gather information. Examples of secondary data collection tools would include:

Postal mail

Electronic mail

Telephone

Web-based surveys

These data collection tools do not allow the researcher to truly gauge the accuracy of

the information given by the participants who responded.

In-Person Observations

Data collection tools used in personal contact observations are used when there is

face to face contact with the participants. Some examples of this type of data

collection tool would include:

In-person surveys used to gain general answers to basic questions Direct or participatory observations where the researcher is directly involved with

the study group

Interviews used to gain more in depth answers to complex questions

Focus groups where certain sample groups are asked their opinion about a certain

subject or theory

These data collection tools not only allow for a true measurement of accuracy but

also let the researcher obtain any unspoken observations about the participants

while conducting research.

Case Studies and Content Analysis

Case studies and content analysis are data collection tools which are based upon pre-

existing research or a search of recorded information which may be useful to the

researcher in gaining the required information which fills in the blanks not found with

the other two types during the data collectionprocess. Some examples of this type of

data collection tool would include:
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Expert opinions leaders in the field of study

Case studies previous findings of other researchers

Literature searches research articles and papers

Content analysis of both internal and external records documents created from

internal origin or other documents citing occurrences within the research group

These three data collection tools are the primary sources for gaining information

during research. The most effective being the In-Person Observations with the use of

Case Studies and analysis for verification resources. While each type of data

collection tool can be used alone, most often they are used in either combination or

conjunction with each other in various ways.

Other main types of collection include census, sample survey, and administrative by-

product and each with their respective advantages and disadvantages. A census

refers to data collection about everyone or everything in a group or population and

has advantages, such as accuracy and detail and disadvantages, such as cost and

time. A sample survey is a data collection method that includes only part of the total

population and has advantages, such as cost and time and disadvantages, such as

accuracy and detail. Administrative by-product data is collected as a byproduct of an

organizations day-to-day operations and has advantages, such as accuracy, time

simplicity and disadvantages, such as no flexibility and lack of control.

There are multiple ways to collect information to answer most questions. The ideal

situation would be to collect from more than one source and/or to collect more than

one type of information. The selection of a

method for collecting information must balance several concerns including:

resources available, credibility, analysis and reporting resources, and the skill of the

evaluator. Examples of different data collection methods are given below.

Behavior Observation Checklist: a list of behaviors or actions among participants

being observed. A tally is kept for each behavior or action observed.

Knowledge Tests: information about what a person already knows or has learned.

Opinion Surveys: an assessment of how a person or group feels about a particular

issue.

Performance tests: testing the ability to perform or master a particular skill.

Delphi Technique: a method of survey research that requires surveying the same

group of respondents repeatedly on the same issue in order to reach a consensus.

Q-sorts: a rank order procedure for sorting groups of objects. Participants sort cards

that represent a particular topic into different piles that represent points along a

continuum.

Self-Ratings: a method used by participants to rank their own performance,

knowledge, or attitudes.
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Questionnaire: a group of questions that people respond to verbally or in writing.

Time Series: measuring a single variable consistently over time, i.e. daily, weekly,

monthly, annually.

Case Studies: experiences and characteristics of selected person involved with a

project.Individual Interviews: individuals responses, opinions, and views.

Group Interviews: small groups responses, opinions, and views.

Wear and Tear: measuring the apparent wear or accumulation on physical objects,

such as a display or exhibit.

Physical Evidence: residues or other physical by-products are observed.

Panels, Hearings: opinions and ideas.

Records: information from records, files, or receipts.

Logs, Journals: a persons behavior and reactions recorded as a narrative.

Simulations: a persons behavior in simulated settings.Advisory, Advocate Teams: ideas and viewpoints of selected persons.

Judicial Review: evidence about activities is weighed and assessed by a jury of

professionals.

Below are some issues to remember when choosing a data collection

method.

Availability: We may have information already available to you that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines. Review

information in prior records, reports, and summaries.

Need for Training or Expert Assistance: Some information collection methods

will require special skill on the part of the evaluator, or perhaps staff will need to be

trained to assist with the evaluation.

Pilot Testing: You will need to test the information collection instrument or process

you design, no matter the form or structure. You will need to plan time for this step

and for any revisions that may result from

this testing.

Interruption Potential: The more disruptive an evaluation is to the routine of the

project, the more likely that it will be unreliable or possibly sabotaged by those who

feel they have more important things to do.


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Protocol Needs: In many situations, you need to obtain appropriate permission or

clearance to collect information from people or other sources. You will have to allow

time to work through the proper

channels.

Reactivity: You do not want how you ask something to alter the response you willget. Reactivity may also be a concern if your presence during data collection may

possibly alter the results. For example, if you

as a supervisor are administering an opinion survey about a specific project, the

responses your employees give may be influenced by their desire to please you as

their supervisor, rather than based on their true

feelings.

Bias: Bias means to be prejudiced in opinion or judgment. Bias can enter the

evaluation process in a variety of ways. For example, if you use a self-selected

sample (when a person decides to participate in a study, rather than being pickedrandomly by the researcher), how might these respondents be different from the

people that chose not to participate?

Reliability: Will the evaluation process you have designed consistently measure

what you want it to measure? If you use multiple interviews, settings, or observers,

will they consistently measure the same thing each time? If you design an

instrument, will people interpret your questions the same way each time?

Validity: Will the information collection methods you have designed produce

information that measures what you say you are measuring? Be sure that the

information you collect is relevant to the evaluation questions.

Question 3. (b) - What is the significance of measurement instruments and

sampling in data collection?

ANSWER -

Sample is a finite part of a statistical population whose properties are studied to gain

information about the whole (Webster, 1985). When dealing with people, it can be


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defined as a set of respondents (people) selected from a larger population for the

purpose of a survey.

A population is a group of individuals, persons, objects, or items from which samples

are taken for measurement for example a population of presidents or professors,

books or students.

Sampling is the act, process, or technique of selecting a unit / suitable sample

/representative part of a population of interest so that by studying the

sample we may fairly generalize our results back to the population from

which they were chosen.

There would be no need for statistical theory if a census rather than a sample was

always used to obtain information about populations. But a census may not be

practical and is almost never economical. There are six main reasons for samplinginstead of doing a census. These are - Economy, Timeliness, The large size of many

populations, Inaccessibility of some of the population, Destructiveness of the

observation and accuracy.

The desirability of a sampling procedure depends on both its vulnerability to error

and its cost. However, economy and reliability are competing ends, because, to

reduce error often requires an increased expenditure of resources. Of the two types

of statistical errors, only sampling error can be controlled by exercising care in

determining the method for choosing the sample. The chance component

(sometimes called random error) exists no matter how carefully the selectionprocedures are implemented, and the only way to minimize chance sampling errors

is to select a sufficiently large sample. Sampling bias on the other hand may be

minimized by the wise choice of a sampling procedure.

Measurement is the process observing and recording the observations that are

collected as part of a research effort. There are two major issues that will be

considered here.

In most social research the data analysis involves three major steps, done in roughlythis order:

Cleaning and organizing the data for analysis (Data Preparation)

Describing the data (Descriptive Statistics)

Testing Hypotheses and Models (Inferential Statistics)
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Data Preparation involves checking or logging the data in; checking the data for

accuracy; entering the data into the computer; transforming the data; and

developing and documenting a database structure that integrates the various

measures.

Descriptive Statistics are used to describe the basic features of the data in a study.

They provide simple summaries about the sample and the measures. Together with

simple graphics analysis, they form the basis of virtually every quantitative analysis

of data. With descriptive statistics you are simply describing what is, what the data

shows.

Inferential Statistics investigate questions, models and hypotheses. In many cases,

the conclusions from inferential statistics extend beyond the immediate data alone.

For instance, we use inferential statistics to try to infer from the sample data what

the population thinks. Or, we use inferential statistics to make judgments of the

probability that an observed difference between groups is a dependable one or one

that might have happened by chance in this study. Thus, we use inferential statistics

to make inferences from our data to more general conditions; we use descriptive

statistics simply to describe what's going on in our data.

In most research studies, the analysis section follows these three phases of analysis.

Descriptions of how the data were prepared tend to be brief and to focus on only the

more unique aspects to your study, such as specific data transformations that are

performed. The descriptive statistics that you actually look at can be voluminous. In

most write-ups, these are carefully selected and organized into summary tables and

graphs that only show the most relevant or important information. Usually, the

researcher links each of the inferential analyses to specific research questions or

hypotheses that were raised in the introduction, or notes any models that were

tested that emerged as part of the analysis. In most analysis write-ups it's especially

critical to not "miss the forest for the trees." If you present too much detail, the

reader may not be able to follow the central line of the results. Often extensive

analysis details are appropriately relegated to appendices, reserving only the mostcritical analysis summaries for the body of the report itself.
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QUESTION 5.(a) Define Data Analysis. How is an initial analysis of data

conducted?

ANSWER

Data analysis is a process of inspecting, cleaning, transforming, and modeling data

with the goal of highlighting useful information, suggesting conclusions, and

supporting decision making. Data analysis has multiple facets and approaches,

encompassing diverse techniques under a variety of names, in different business,

science, and social science domains.

Data analysis is a practice in which raw data is ordered and organized so that useful

information can be extracted from it. The process of organizing and thinking about

data is key to understanding what the data does and does not contain. There are a

variety of ways in which people can approach data analysis, and it is notoriously easy

to manipulate data during the analysis phase to push certain conclusions or agendas.

For this reason, it is important to pay attention when data analysis is presented, and

to think critically about the data and the conclusions which were drawn.

Raw data can take a variety of forms, including measurements, survey responses,

and observations. In its raw form, this information can be incredibly useful, but also

overwhelming. Over the course of the data analysis process, the raw data is ordered

in a way which will be useful. For example, survey results may be tallied, so that

people can see at a glance how many people answered the survey, and how people

responded to specific questions.

In the course of organizing the data, trends often emerge, and these trends can be

highlighted in the write-up of the data to ensure that readers take note. In a casual

survey of ice cream preferences, for example, more women than men might express

a fondness forchocolate, and this could be a point of interest for the researcher.

Modeling the data with the use of mathematics and other tools can sometimes

exaggerate such points of interest in the data, making them easier for the researcher

to see.
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Charts, graphs, and textual write-ups of data are all forms of data analysis. These

methods are designed to refine and distill the data so that readers can glean

interesting information without needing to sort through all of the data on their own.

Summarizing data is often critical to supporting arguments made with that data, as is

presenting the data in a clear and understandable way. The raw data may also beincluded in the form of an appendixso that people can look up specifics for

themselves

When people encounter summarized data and conclusions, they should view them

critically. Asking where the data is from is important, as is asking about the sampling

method used to collect the data, and the size of the sample. If the source of the data

appears to have a conflict of interestwith the type of data being gathered, this can

call the results into question. Likewise, data gathered from a small sample or a

sample which is not truly random may be of questionable utility. Reputableresearchers will always provide information about the data gathering techniques

used, the source of funding, and the point of the data collection in the beginning of

the analysis so that readers can think about this information while they review the

analysis.

Initial data analysis

The most important distinction between the initial data analysis phase and the main

analysis phase, is that during initial data analysis one refrains from any analysis that

are aimed at answering the original research question. The initial data analysis phase

is guided by the following four questions:

Quality of data

The quality of the data should be checked as early as possible. Data quality can be

assessed in several ways, using different types of analyses: frequency counts,

descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, and median), normality (skew ness,

kurtosis, frequency histograms, normal probability plots), associations (correlations,

scatter plots).

Other initial data quality checks are:

Checks on data cleaning: have decisions influenced the distribution of the

variables? The distribution of the variables before data cleaning is compared to the
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distribution of the variables after data cleaning to see whether data cleaning has had

unwanted effects on the data.

Analysis ofmissing observations: are there many missing values, and are the

values missing at random? The missing observations in the data are analyzed to see

whether more than 25% of the values are missing, whether they are missing at

random (MAR), and whether some form ofimputation (statistics) is needed.

Analysis ofextreme observations: outlying observations in the data are analyzed to

see if they seem to disturb the distribution.

Comparison and correction of differences in coding schemes: variables are

compared with coding schemes of variables external to the data set, and possiblycorrected if coding schemes are not comparable.

The choice of analyses to assess the data quality during the initial data analysis

phase depends on the analyses that will be conducted in the main analysis phase.

Quality of measurements

The quality of the measurement instruments should only be checked during the

initial data analysis phase when this is not the focus or research question of the

study. One should check whether structure of measurement instruments corresponds

to structure reported in the literature.

There are two ways to assess measurement quality:

Confirmatory factor analysis

Analysis of homogeneity (internal consistency), which gives an indication of the

reliabilityof a measurement instrument, i.e., whether all items fit into a uni-

dimensional scale. During this analysis, one inspects the variances of the items and

the scales, the Cronbach's of the scales, and the change in the Cronbach's alpha

when an item would be deleted from a scale.
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Initial transformations

After assessing the quality of the data and of the measurements, one might decide to

impute missing data, or to perform initial transformations of one or more variables,

although this can also be done during the main analysis phase.

Possible transformations of variables are:

Square root transformation (if the distribution differs moderately from normal)

Log-transformation (if the distribution differs substantially from normal)

Inverse transformation (if the distribution differs severely from normal)

Make categorical (ordinal / dichotomous) (if the distribution differs severely from

normal, and no transformations help)

Did the implementation of the study fulfill the intentions of the research

design?

One should check the success of the randomization procedure, for instance by

checking whether background and substantive variables are equally distributed

within and across groups.If the study did not need and/or use a randomization

procedure, one should check the success of the non-random sampling, or instance by

checking whether all subgroups of the population of interest are represented in

sample.

Other possible data distortions that should be checked are:

dropout(this should be identified during the initial data analysis phase)

Item nonresponse (whether this is random or not should be assessed during the

initial data analysis phase)

Treatment quality (using manipulation checks).

Characteristics of data sample

In any report or article, the structure of the sample must be accurately described. It

is especially important to exactly determine the structure of the sample (and

specifically the size of the subgroups) when subgroup analyses will be performed

during the main analysis phase.

The characteristics of the data sample can be assessed by looking at:
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Basic statistics of important variables

Scatter plots

Correlations

Cross-tabulations

Final stage of the initial data analysis

During the final stage, the findings of the initial data analysis are documented, and

necessary, preferable, and possible corrective actions are taken. Also, the original

plan for the main data analyses can and should be specified in more detail and/or

rewritten.

In order to do this, several decisions about the main data analyses can and should be

made:In the case of non-normals: should one transform variables; make variables

categorical (ordinal/dichotomous); adapt the analysis method?

In the case ofmissing data: should one neglect or impute the missing data; which

imputation technique should be used?

In the case ofoutliers: should one use robust analysis techniques?

In case items do not fit the scale: should one adapt the measurement instrument

by omitting items, or rather ensure comparability with other (uses of the)

measurement instrument(s)?

In the case of (too) small subgroups: should one drop the hypothesis about inter-

group differences, or use small sample techniques, like exact tests or bootstrapping?

In case the randomizationprocedure seems to be defective: can and should one

calculatepropensity scores and include them as covariates in the main analyses?

Question 5. (b) - What is the importance of Tabulation in Marketing

Research?

ANSWER -

Social research involves many weird and wonderful methods over which debate,

often bitter, rages continuously. However, at some

stage even the most virulently anti-positivist and anti-empiricist will need to be able

to name, sort and count things, or to read, understand or even act on, reports

based on things which have been named, sorted and counted. Perhaps the easiest

way of explaining one of the most basic skills in statistics is to try to make sense of

raw data through a process of naming, sorting and counting. For instance,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_distributionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_transformation_(statistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_datahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlierhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randomizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propensity_scorehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_distributionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_transformation_(statistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_datahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlierhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randomizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propensity_score


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take the following data relating to 20 sixth form students. Information is provided on

their sex and on their intentions towards higher education.

Student Sex Higher Education?

1 Male Yes

2 Male No

3 Female Yes

4 Female No

5 Female No

6 Male No

7 Female No

8 Male No

9 Female No

10 Female Yes11 Male Yes

12 Male No

13 Male Yes

14 Female No

15 Male Yes

16 Male No

17 Female No

18 Female No

19 Male No

20 Male No

It is not easy to tell from these data how many males and females there are, let

alone make any meaningful statement about the relationship between sex and plans

for higher education. What can we do to make them easier to understand?

The first thing we need to do is to sort them into some kind of order. We can do this

by arranging all the males in one group and the females in another, or we can do it

by sorting all those with H.E. Plans into one group and the rest into another.

Thus by sex:

Female Yes

Female No

Female No

Female No

Female No

Female No

Female Yes


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Female No

Female No Total Females = 9

Male Yes

Male No

Male Yes

Male NoMale Yes

Male No

Male Yes

Male No

Male No

Male No

Male No Total Males = 11

...and by college plans:

Male No

Female No

Male NoFemale No

Male No

Female No

Male No

Female No

Male No

Male No

Female No

Female No

Male No

Female No Total with no college plans = 14

Male Yes

Male Yes

Female Yes

Male Yes

Female Yes

Male Yes Total with college plans = 6

If we want to look at both distributions together we can sort on both variables to

yield:

By sex and college plans:

Female NoFemale No

Female No

Female No

Female No

Female No

Female No Total females with no college plans = 7


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Female Yes

Female Yes Total females with college plans = 2

Male No

Male No

Male No

Male NoMale No

Male No

Male No Total males with no college plans = 7

Male Yes

Male Yes

Male Yes

Male Yes Total males with college plans = 4

These data can be summarized by tabulating one variable at a time in frequencydistributions.

Sex: Female 9 45%Male 11 55%

-----------Total 20 100%

College:No 14 70%Yes 6 30%

-----------Total 20 100%

If we want to summarize data from both variables at the same timewe need to construct a contingency table. We do this by constructing a blank table

with the same number of rows as there are categories in one of the variables, and

the same numbers of columns as there are categories in the other. Let us take Sex"

as the column variable and "College plans" as the row variable. In this case both

variables have only two categories, and so the table will have 2 rows and 2 columns,

and therefore 4 cells.

Sex Male Female

-----------------------------

I I I

No I I I

I I I

College -----------------------------

I I I

Yes I I I


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I I I

-----------------------------

These four cells form the body of the table into which we can now enter the counts

from the list sorted on both variables at once. At the same time we enter outside the

table the row-totals and column-totals from the original frequency distributions

for each variable and the grand total for the number of cases in the whole table.

Thus:

Sex

(Raw data) Male Female Row Total

-----------------------------

I I INo I 7 I 7 I 14

I I ICollege -----------------------------

I I IYes I 4 I 2 I 6

I I I-----------------------------

Column total 11 9 20

This is at least a little easier to interpret than the original sorted lists, but it is still

difficult to answer a question as to whether males are more likely to want to go

college than are females, or vice versa. To answer this question we need to ask not,

How many?", but, "What proportion?" Of each sex have college plans. One

further operation is now necessary - to standardize the data by converting the raw

counts for each sex into percentages - to enable direct comparison between sexes.

Sex

(% data)

Male Female Row Total

-----------------------------

I I I

No I 63.6 I 77.8 I 70.0

College -----------------------------

I I I

Yes I 36.4 I 22.2 I 30.0

-----------------------------


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Column total 100.0 100.0 100.0

(Base for %) (11) (9) (20)

From this table we can now state that female sixth-formers are less likely to have

plans for Higher Education. From the above example we can state the importance of

tabulation in Market Research.

Everysocial research question has its own purpose and value. No single way oftabulating market research data is correct for every type of market researchquestion. It takes knowledge and experience to understand the most effectiveapproach for tabulating each question type.

If the data tabulations are incorrect, there is a risk for making market research baseddecisions that are incorrect.

QUSETION 7. Write short notes on:

Q 7. (1) Questionnaire Format

ANSWER

A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series ofquestions and

other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from respondents. Although
http://www.discoveryresearchgroup.com/design/http://www.discoveryresearchgroup.com/design/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Researchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Questionhttp://www.discoveryresearchgroup.com/design/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Researchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Question


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