Short questions:

a. How the researchers formulate the Marketing Research Problem?

Ans: Researchers first do
1. problem identification by reviewing the environment or context of the research problem i.e. perception
view, to identify the environmental variables that will affect the research project.
2. explore the nature of the problem- to understand the nature of the problem as a researcher, you will be
able to better develop a solution for the problem.
3. define variable relationships-
 Determining which variables affect the solution to the problem.
 Determining the degree to which each variable can be controlled.
 Determining the functional relationships between the variables and which variables are critical to
the solution of the problem.
4. defining consequences of alternate courses of action- Anticipating and communicating the possible
outcomes of various courses of action

b. What do you mean by Statement of Research Objective in Marketing Research?

Ans: Research objectives describe what we expect to achieve by a project. Research objectives are usually
expressed in lay terms and are directed as much to the client as to the researcher. Research objectives may
be linked with a hypothesis or used as a statement of purpose in a study that does not have a hypothesis.
Even if the nature of the research has not been clear to the layperson from the hypotheses, s/he should be
able to understand the research from the objectives.
A statement of research objectives can serve to guide the activities of research.
They are general and specific objectives eg
1. to explore/assess………. (general)
2. to identify/find out……… (specific)
3. to examine/find out the impact……….

c. Define the reasons for getting Marketing Information.

Ans: marketing information is needed for the following reasons:
 Identify the problem areas in your business
 Understand the needs of existing customers and why they chose your service over competitors
 Identify new business opportunities and changing market trends
 Recognize new areas for expansion, and increase your customer base
 Discover potential customers and their needs, which can be incorporated into your services
 Set achievable targets for business growth, sales, and latest product developments
 Make well-informed market decisions about your services and develop effective strategies
d. Define Focus Group Interview.
Ans: Focus group interview is a tool for qualitative market research where a group of people are selected
and asked about their opinion or perceptions about a particular topic. The environment is interactive where
the participants are free to discuss with each other. It is Easy to conduct, low cost and less time to get
results. It is flexible; also, since the moderator and the respondents are in direct communication, better
insights.
It is used in different fields of study research which include communication studies, education, political
science, and public health.
Characteristics:
 There is a trained moderator and a small group of respondents.
 Participants are normally similar in terms or either demographics or psychographics or buying
behaviour/attitudes.
 Participants are unknown to each other

e. What do you mean by Test Marketing?

Ans: The term ‘test marketing’ is also some- times called ‘field-testing’. The word ‘test’ means examination
or trial. Test marketing, thus, means testing the product in the market before the product is commercialised
on a large scale. This is done with a view to understand the market and the marketing considerations like
nature of competition, nature of demand, and the consumers’ needs, etc.
The basic objectives behind the test marketing are:
(i) To sharpen the knowledge of the territory for marketing and
(ii) To decide marketing strategy with respect to pricing, promotions and distribution systems.

f. Define Judgmental Sampling Techniques in Marketing Research Context?

Ans: Judgmental sampling, also called purposive sampling or authoritative sampling, is a non-probability
sampling technique in which the sample members are chosen only on the basis of the researcher’s
6knowledge and judgment. As the researcher’s knowledge is instrumental in creating a sample in this
sampling technique, there are chances that the results obtained will be highly accurate with a
minimum margin of error.
The process of selecting a sample using judgmental sampling involves the researchers carefully picking and
choosing each individual to be a part of the sample. The researcher’s knowledge is primary in this sampling
process as the members of the sample are not randomly chosen. Researchers prefer to implement
Judgmental sampling when they feel that other sampling techniques will consume more time and that they
have confidence in their knowledge to select a sample for conducting research.

g. What are the sources of data collection in Marketing Research?

Ans: The availability and quality of data is mainly dependent on the source of data. The various sources of
data can be broadly classified as:
1. Primary Sources: Information, which has been gathered for the first time, is called primary data.
Primary data can be generated by questioning people or by observing selected activities. But in marketing
research, a third method viz., experimentation is also included. In survey methods the data are collected by
asking questions from respondents thought to have the desired information. This is done by personal
interviews, telephone interviews or mail questionnaires. In observational approach, the researcher observes
 the respondents either by mechanical devices or by some individuals. In experimental procedures then
researcher introduces selected stimuli into a controlled environment and then manipulates these stimuli.
2. Secondary Sources: The search for information should begin among secondary sources and only when
such sources have exhausted, should primary data be sought. These are the sources where the data are
developed for some purpose other than the problem at hand but are applicable to the present investigation.
The primary data in one research may take the form of secondary data if used in another research. These
already exist but have not been collected for that specific purpose.

h. What do you mean by Descriptive Analysis?

Ans: Descriptive analysis is used to describe the basic features of the data in the study. They provide simple
summaries about the sample and the measures. Together with simple graphical analysis, they form the basic
virtual of any quantitative analysis of data. With descriptive analysis, one simply describes what is or what
the data shows. People use descriptive statistics to repurpose hard-to-understand quantitative insights
across a large data set into bite-sized descriptions. A student's grade point average (GPA), for example,
provides a good understanding of descriptive statistics.
 Descriptive statistics summarizes or describes characteristics of a data set.
 Descriptive statistics consists of two basic categories of measures: measures of central tendency and
measures of variability or spread.
 Measures of central tendency describe the centre of a data set.
 Measures of variability or spread describe the dispersion of data within the set.

i. What is ANOVA?
Ans: Analysis of Variance aka ANOVA test is a way to find out if survey or experiment results are significant.
In other words, they help you to figure out if you need to reject the null hypothesis or accept the alternate
hypothesis.
It is used to compare differences of means among more than 2 groups. It does this by looking at variation in
the data and where that variation is found (hence its name). Specifically, ANOVA compares the amount of
variation between groups with the amount of variation within groups. When we take samples from a
population, we expect each sample mean to differ simply because we are taking a sample rather than
measuring the whole population; this is called sampling error but is often referred to more informally as the
effects of “chance”. Thus, we always expect there to be some differences in means among different groups.
The question is: is the difference among groups greater than that expected to be caused by chance? In other
words, is there likely to be a true (real) difference in the population mean? This is tested with ANOVA.

j. Define Likert type of Scaling technique.

Ans: Likert scale is defined as a unidimensional scale used to collect the respondent attitudes and opinions.
This scale is often used to understand respondent ratings and agreement levels with the topic in-hand. Likert
Scale is a psychometric scale used mainly in market research to understand the opinions and attitudes of a
consumer towards a brand, product or target market. It serves organizations to make measurements and
know about the degree of conformity of a person or respondent towards a certain affirmative or negative
sentence. When responding to an item on the Likert Scale, the user responds specifically based on their level
of agreement or disagreement. The answers can be offered in different levels of measurement, allowing
scales of 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 elements previously configured. In most cases, it is better to have a neutral
element for those users who neither agree nor disagree.

E.g. a 5-point scale will be having ratings from strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree to strongly agree.
 k. Differentiate between Exploratory and Descriptive Research.

Basis of comparison Exploratory research Descriptive research

meaning Exploratory research means a research Descriptive research is a research that

conducted for formulating a problem for more explore and explain an individual,
clear investigation. group or a situation.
objective Discovery of ideas and thoughts. Describe characteristics and functions.

Overall design flexible rigid

Research process unstructured structured
sampling Non-probability sampling Probability sampling
Statistical Design No pre-planned design for analysis. Pre-planned design for analysis.

l. Differentiate ‘objectives’ from ‘hypotheses?

Ans: Research Objectives are statements of what the researcher intends to do. The objectives flow directly from the
problem. They communicate what the researcher plans to do. Structurally, the objectives are seen as small particles
which constitute the problem. The two types of Objective:
The immediate or general objective specifies the activity that will take place and the variables that will be
examined.
The Specific objectives may be viewed as sub-objectives or small particles of the general objective. The
following should be examined in stating the specific objectives:
1. Specific variables
2. Variables expressed in measurable terms
3. Suggestion on the type of analysis to be done
Research Hypothesis A hypothesis is defined as an educated guess or a tentative answer to the research
question. it is a statement about an expected relationship between two variables.
Types of hypotheses:
A null hypothesis is a negative statement which indicate s no relationship nor correlation between two
variables.
An alternative hypothesis is also called the research hypothesis. It is the positive form of the null
hypothesis.

m. Mention the methods of Primary Data Collection.

Ans: Primary Sources: Information, which has been gathered for the first time, is called primary data.
Primary data can be generated by questioning people or by observing selected activities. But in marketing
research, a third method viz., experimentation is also included. In survey methods the data are collected by
asking questions from respondents thought to have the desired information. This is done by personal
interviews, telephone interviews or mail questionnaires.
 In observational approach, the researcher observes the respondents either by mechanical devices or by
some individuals.
In experimental procedures then researcher introduces selected stimuli into a controlled environment and
then manipulates these stimuli.

n. What do you mean by Marketing Research?

Ans: Marketing research is the systematic gathering, recording and analyzing the data about marketing
problems towards the end of providing information useful in marketing decision – making.
The objectives are:
1. Knowing the consumer’s taste for the new products.
2. Accelerating the demand of the present product and finding out the reason of lesser sales.
3. Finding out the public interest, habits and changes in them.
4. Finding out the quantum of sales, trend and reasons for them.
5. Finding out the effect of packaging and the conditions of the customers.
6. Test and improvement of present selling activities is possible through data collection.
7. Study of old commercial policies and test of new policies may be conducted easily.
8. Knowledge about habits of customer and retailer may be obtained.

o. Differentiate between Conceptual with Empirical Research

Ans:
 Definition
Conceptual research is a type of research that is generally related to abstract ideas or concepts whereas
empirical research is any research study where conclusions of the study are drawn from evidence verifiable
by observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic.
 Nature
Conceptual research involves abstract idea and concepts; however, it doesn’t involve any practical
experiments. Empirical research, on the other hand, involves phenomena that are observable and
measurable.
 Type of Studies
Philosophical research studies are examples of conceptual research studies, whereas empirical research
includes both quantitative and qualitative studies.
 Conclusion
The main difference between conceptual and empirical research is that conceptual research involves
abstract ideas and concepts whereas empirical research involves research based on observation,
experiments and verifiable evidence.

p. Differentiate between Qualitative with Quantitative Research

Ans: The differences between qualitative and quantitative research are provided can be drawn clearly on the
following grounds:
1. Qualitative research is a method of inquiry that develops understanding on human and social sciences, to
find the way people think and feel. A scientific and empirical research method that is used to generate
numerical data, by employing statistical, logical and mathematical technique is called quantitative research.
Qualitative research is holistic in nature while quantitative research is particularistic.
2. The qualitative research follows a subjective approach as the researcher is intimately involved, whereas the
approach of quantitative research is objective, as the researcher is uninvolved and attempts to precise the
observations and analysis on the topic to answer the inquiry.
3. Qualitative research is based on purposive sampling, where a small sample size is selected with a view to get
a thorough understanding of the target concept. On the other hand, quantitative research relies on random
sampling; wherein a large representative sample is chosen in order to extrapolate the results to the whole
population.
4. Elements used in the analysis of qualitative research are words, pictures, and objects while that of
quantitative research is numerical data.
5. Qualitative Research is conducted with the aim of exploring and discovering ideas used in the ongoing
processes. As opposed to quantitative research the purpose is to examine cause and effect relationship
between variables.
6. The methods used in qualitative research are in-depth interviews, focus groups, etc. In contrast, the
methods of conducting quantitative research are structured interviews and observations.

q. What do you mean by Review of Literature?

Ans: A literature review is a comprehensive summary of previous research on a topic. The literature
review surveys scholarly articles, books, and other sources relevant to a particular area of research. The
review should enumerate, describe, summarize, objectively evaluate and clarify this previous research.  It
should give a theoretical base for the research and help the author determine the nature of your research. 
In writing the literature review, the purpose is to convey to the reader what knowledge and ideas have been
established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. The literature review must be defined
by a guiding concept (e.g. your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your
argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries.

r. Define Descriptive research Design.

Ans: Descriptive research (commonly a behavioural science research) is type of research design used when
the objective of the research is to describe and measure a marketing phenomenon at a point of time. It
provides answers to who, what, where and how, ad they are all related to the research problem.
Who- may be defined as firms (competitors)
What- defined as brands, brand sizes that are being purchased
Where- places from where customers are purchasing from
WHY cannot be answered through this method because it required causal research design.
There are 3 types: A cross-sectional study is conducted at a given point in time. E.g. describing readership of
a magazine in terms of demographics. A longitudinal study requires a researcher to revisit participants of
the study at proper intervals. E.g. a researcher wants to find out which disease affects young boys (in the age
group of 10-15) then the researcher will observe the individuals over that period of time to collect
meaningful data. The third type is the causality i.e. the cause and effect relationship that helps in
understanding through conditional statements. E.g. If X, they Y. There is a dependant (effect) and
independent variable (cause) and an exogenous variable (which are not in our control).
 s. What do you mean by Exploratory Study?
Ans: A behavioural science research with the objective to gather background info and to define terms, to
clarify problems and hypothesis and to establish research priorities. It is mostly unstructured informal
research that is undertaken to gather background information about the general nature of the research
problem. It is systematic and flexible and allows the researcher to investigate whatever sources he or she
desires e.g. going to the library, reading published secondary data, asking questions to know opinions or by
simply observing by oneself. There are various methods of conducting this research are:
1. Secondary data analysis
2. Experience surveys
3. Case analysis
4. Focus groups
5. Projective techniques like perceptual mapping

t. Define Sampling and its importance in Research.

• Ans: Sampling involves procedures that use a small number of items or parts of the population to make
conclusion regarding the whole population. In research terms a sample is a group of people, objects, or
items that are taken from a larger population for measurement. The sample should be representative of the
population to ensure that we can generalise the findings from the research sample to the population as a
whole.

Sampling is importance because it allows researchers to:

• Save Time as contacting everyone in a population takes time. And, invariably, some people will not respond
to the first effort at contacting them, meaning researchers have to invest more time for follow-up.

• Save Money as the number of people a researcher contacts is directly related to the cost of a study.
Sampling saves money by allowing researchers to gather the same answers from a sample that they would
receive from the population.

• Collect Richer Data: Sometimes, the goal of research is to collect a little bit of data from a lot of people (e.g.,
an opinion poll). At other times, the goal is to collect a lot of information from just a few people (e.g., a user
study or ethnographic interview). Either way, sampling allows researchers to ask participants more questions
and to gather richer data than does contacting everyone in a

u. What do you understand by the term, “Peer Review”?

Ans: Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competences as the
producers of the work (peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession
within the relevant field. The primary goals of a peer review are to determine whether a scholarly work falls
within the journal's scope, to check whether the research topic has been clearly formulated, and to decide if
a suitable approach has been taken to address the scientific issues involved. The reviewer also examines the
methodology to determine whether the author's results can be reproduced, and he or she assesses the
novelty and originality of the research findings. Finally, the reviewer will also rate the 'readability' of the
work, assessing how logically the argument has been constructed and whether the conclusions are well-
founded. In addition, the author of the work will generally receive useful advice on how to improve their
work.

v. Explain the term “Plagiarism”.

Ans: Plagiarism is the unethical practice of using words or ideas (either planned or accidental) of another
author/researcher or your own previous works without proper acknowledgment.
 Plagiarism is a form of fraud. We all stand on the shoulders of others, and we must give credit to the creators
of the works that we incorporate into products that we call our own.  
Some examples of plagiarism:
• a sequence of words incorporated without quotation marks
• an unacknowledged passage paraphrased from another's work
• the use of ideas, sound recordings, computer data or images created by others as though it were one’s
own"
 
w. Define Research Hypotheses.
Ans: Research Hypothesis A hypothesis is defined as an educated guess or a tentative answer to the
research question. it is a statement about an expected relationship between two variables. Hypothesis is
developed to talk about the research problem or to address any phenomenon. It aims to encourage critical
approach. It enables the researcher to develop a specific direction as well as better understanding about the
subject matter of the study. It further assists in the careful and focused analysis of data collected. 
Main types of hypothesis:
A null hypothesis is a negative statement which indicate s no relationship nor correlation between two
variables.
An alternative hypothesis is also called the research hypothesis. It is the positive form of the null
hypothesis.

x. What is Focus groups interview technique? Where it is used in a Research?

Ans: Focus group interview is a tool for qualitative market research where a group of people are selected
and asked about their opinion or perceptions about a particular topic. The environment is interactive where
the participants are free to discuss with each other. It is Easy to conduct, low cost and less time to get
results. It is flexible; also, since the moderator and the respondents are in direct communication, better
insights.
It is used in different fields of study research which include communication studies, education, political
science, and public health.
When is it used?
• When there is a new product to be launched
• When depth of opinion is more important
• When a written survey cannot bring out the necessary insights
• When a larger amount of information is needed in a short span of time
• When everyday language and culture of common people is of interest and this cannot be explored by
professionals.

y. What do you mean by APA style of Referencing? Give an example of it.

Ans: APA style, short for the American Psychological Association, is a style guide used widely for academic writing in
the social sciences and humanities. APA style calls for a "References" section (not a "Works Cited" page) at the end
of the work. The references section should always begin on a new page rather than sharing one with
the conclusion of the body. APA in-text citation style uses the author's last name and the year of publication, e.g.
(Field, 2005)
e.g. Bennett, D. (2011). Strategies and Techniques in Teaching Reading. Boston: Goucher College.