1. HOW CAN ONE CHARACTERIZE RESEARCH?
-Theoretical: concerned with developing, exploring or testing the theories or ideas that researchers have about how the world operates.
-Empirical: based on observations and measurements of reality
-Non-mothetic: rules that pertain to the general case
-Idiographic: laws or rules that relate to individuals
-Probabilistic: based on probabilities
-Descriptive: What is going on or what exists
-Relational: Looks at the relationships between two or more variables (i.e., gender and voting preference)
-Causal: How one variable impacts another (i.e., sales and advertising)
-Cross-Sectional: Takes place at a single point in time
-Longitudinal: Takes place over time
2. AVOIDING RESEARCH FALLACIES
• The Ecological Fallacy: occurs when you make conclusions about individuals based on analyses of group data.
• The Exception Fallacy: Occurs when you reach a group conclusion on the basis of exceptional cases.
3. HOW CAN ONE THINK AS A RESEARCHER?
4. DEFINITION: Marketing research is the systematic gathering, recording and analyzing of data about problems relating to the marketing of goods and services.
5. What research activities are undertaken by companies?
• Advertising (exaggeration or puffery; company image-Kaiser)
• Pricing (reference pricing-at the movies; price elasticity- Tylenol vs. Datril and price/quality)
• Market Potential (Levi's and the Cowboy Jean market; Hilton Honors program)
• Corporate Responsibility (Listerine)
• New Product Research (Pringles; the power of the pioneer)
• Product Perceptions (The "Green ones")
6. HOW YOU PROCEED WITH MARKET RESEARCH
1)State management's problem: sales of Barbie have leveled off!
2)State the research question: A research question is the single question or question(s) or hypotheses which best state the objectives of the research study. (i.e., what are the major factors contributing to a decline in Barbie's sales?
-is Barbie's image negative?
-are competitor's products doing better?
-would other products with the Barbie name sell?
3)State the investigative questions: These questions are those that the researcher must answer in order to satisfactorily answer the general research question
-if Barbie were a real woman what type of job would she have?
-describe Barbie's personality
4)Write the Measurement questions: these are the questions which we actually ask respondents. They appear on the questionnaire.
7. RESEARCH DESIGN ERRORS
• Surrogate information error - caused by a variation between the information required to solve the problem and the information sought by the researcher.
• Measurement error - caused by a difference between the information desired by the researcher and the information provided by the measurement process.
• Experimental error - occurs when the effect of the experimental situation itself is measured rather than the effect of the independent variable.
• Population Specification error - selecting an inappropriate universe or population from which to collect data.
• Frame error - caused by using an inaccurate or incomplete sampling frame.
• Sampling error - caused by the generation of a non-representative sample via a probability sampling method.
• Selection error or bias - caused by the generation of a non-representative sample via a non-probability sampling method.
• Non-response error - caused by (1) a failure to contact all members of the sample and/or
(2) the failure of some contacted members of the sample to respond to all or specific parts of the measurement instrument.