Chapter 2 Summary

Describe the major environmental factors that are directly influencing marketing research, and explain some of their impact on the research process.

Several key environmental factors have significant impact on changing the tasks, responsibilities, and efforts associated with marketing research practices. The Internet and e-commerce, gatekeeper technologies, and data privacy legislation, new global structure expansions, and repositioning marketing research as a strategy are forcing researchers to balance their uses of secondary and primary data to assist decision makers in solving decision problems and taking advantage of opportunities. Researchers are being asked to improve their ability to use technology-driven tools and databases. There are also greater needs for faster data acquisition and retrieval, analysis, interpretation of cross-functional data and information among decision-making teams within global market environments.

Describe and discuss the four phases and the 10 integrative task steps involved with the research process, and explain some of the key activities within each step.

The information research process was discussed in terms of four major phases, identified as (1) determination of the research problem, (2) development of the appropriate research design, (3) execution of the research design, and (4) communication of the results. To achieve the overall objectives of each phase, researchers must be able to successfully execute 10 interrelated task steps: (1) determine and clarify management's information needs, (2) redefine the decision problem as a research problem, (3) establish research objectives and determine the value of the information, (4) determine and evaluate the research design and data sources, (5) determine the sample plan and sample size, (6) determine the measurement issues and scales, (7) collect and process data, (8) analyze data, (9) transform data structures into information, and (10) prepare and present the final report to management. The overview of the steps highlighted the importance of each step and showed how it was related to the other steps in the research process.

Explain the differences between raw data, stat structures, and information, and explain the process by which raw data are transformed into information that managers can use.

Researchers and decision makers must understand that raw data, data structures, and information are different constructs. Raw data consist of the responses obtained by either questioning or observing people or physical phenomena. Data structures are created by submitting the raw data to some type of analysis procedure. In turn, information is created only when either the researcher or decision maker narratively interprets data structures.

Identify the most critical task step in the research process, and explain why it is so important.

While all the task steps are necessary, Task step 2, redefine the decision problem as a research problem, is the most critical in the overall research process. How the information problem in stated in research terms directly influences many, if not all, of the other steps. It is in this step that researchers identify the variables of the decision problem and transform them into key how, when, what, where, and why questions. Without an accurate definition of the research problem, it is highly unlikely that the research process will produce the high-quality and pertinent information needed by the decision maker.

Distinguish among exploratory, descriptive, and causal research designs.

The main objective of exploratory research designs is to create information that the researcher or decision maker can use to (1) gain a clearer understanding of the decision problem; (2) define or redefine the initial problem, separating the symptom variables from the independent and dependent factors; (3) crystallize the problem and the objective; or (4) identify the specific information requirements (e.g., facts, estimates, predictions, variable relationships). Exploratory research designs are not intended to provide conclusive information from which a particular course of action can be determined.

Descriptive research designs focus on using a set of scientific methods to collect raw data and create data structures that are used to describe the existing characteristics (e.g., attitudes, intentions, preferences, purchase behaviors, evaluations of current marketing mix strategies) of a defined target population. The researcher looks for answers to how, who, what, when, and where questions. Information from this type of research design allows decision makers to draw inferences about their customers, competitors, target markets, environmental factors, or other phenomena of concern.
Finally, causal research designs are most useful when the research objectives include the need to understand why market objectives include the need to understand why market phenomena happen. The focus of this type of research design is to collect raw data and create data structures and information that will allow the decision maker or researcher to model cause-and-effect relationships between two or more variables.

List the critical issues in the development of a sampling plan, and explain the basic differences between a probability and nonprobability sampling plan.

A sampling plan is a blueprint for correctly defining the appropriate target population, establishing the procedural steps needed to draw the required sample and determining the appropriate size of the sample. Some of the critical questions that researchers must address when developing a sampling plan are the following: Who would be the best type of person to question or observe? What explicit demographic or behavioral traits should be used to identify population membership? How many population elements must be drawn into the sample to ensure the representativeness of the population membership? How reliable does the resulting information have to be for the decision maker? What technique should be used in the actual selection of sampling units? What are the time and cost constraints associated with developing and executing the appropriate sampling plan?

Identify and explain the major components of a solid research proposal.

Once the researcher understands the different phases and task steps of the information research process, he or she can develop a solid research proposal. The proposal serves as a contract between the researcher and the decision maker. There are nine specific content sections suggested for inclusion: (1) purpose of the proposed research project, (2) type of study, (3) definition of the target population and sample size, (4) sample design, technique, and data collection method; (5) specific research instruments; (6) potential managerial benefits of the proposed study; (7) proposed cost structure for the total project; (8) profile of the researcher and company; and (9) optional dummy tables of the projected results.