Question 1. a) – Define Marketing Research.

Explain the concept with

nature, scope and principles of importance.
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 collected
and 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
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 the
ever-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 with
the 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,
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 crucial
to 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.
Question 1. (b) - What’s Marketing Research Process? Illustrate your
answer 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 of
Marketing 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 -

1. Producers
a. To know about his product potential in the market vis-à-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 and

government in focusing attention on the complex nature of problems faced by
them. 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 by

professionals 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

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, the
relevant 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 analysis

2. 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
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 the
case 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.
Sources of Data - Primary and Secondary

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.
1. According to the Branch of Knowledge - Different Branches of knowledge
may 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 of
the 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
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 attributes
based. 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 researcher’s 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 answer
problems 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.
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 experiments
c) 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
 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 Research

Researchers 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.
 Qualitative Methods
Focus groups (ideal size 4-6 people)
Mini groups (fewer people or shorter
duration)
One-on-one in-depth personal interviews
Paired in-depth interviews
Advisory panels
Quantitative Methods
Telephone interviews
Self administered mail surveys
Online sources - via email or websites
Electronic surveys - compliled on diskette
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 brand’s 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.
• 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 next
generation 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 the
names of the products”?

The annual list of the world’s 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
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 faith
restored 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 1958–1971). 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.
• Buyer decision processes research - to determine what motivates people to
buy and what decision-making process they use

• Copy testing – is a specialized field of marketing research, it is the study of

television commercials prior to airing them. It is defined as research to determine an
ad’s effectiveness based on consumers’ responses to the ad and covers all media
including print, TV, radio, Internet etc. Although also known as copy testing, pre-
testing is considered the more accurate, modern name (Young, p.4) for the prediction
of how effectively an ad will perform, based on the analysis of feedback gathered
from the target audience. Each test will either qualify the ad as strong enough to
meet company action standards for airing or identify opportunities to improve the
performance of the ad through editing.

In 1982, a consortium of 21 leading advertising agencies including N.W.Ayers,

D’Arcy, Grey, McCann-Erikson, Needham Harper & Steers, Ogilvy & Mather, J.Walter
Thompson, Young & Rubicam etc released a public document where they laid out the
PACT (Positioning Advertising Copy Testing) Principles on what constitutes a good
copy testing system. According to PACT, a good copy testing system is one that
meets the following criteria:

1. Provides measurements which are relevant to the objectives of the advertising

2. Requires agreements about how the results will be used in advance of each
specific test.

3. Provides multiple measurements – because single measurements are generally

inadequate to assess the performance of an advertisement

4. Based on a model of human response to communications – the reception of a

stimulus, the comprehension of the stimulus and the response to the stimulus.

5. Allows for consideration of whether the advertising stimulus should be exposed

more than once.

6. Recognizes that the more finished a piece of copy is, the more soundly it can be
evaluated and requires, as a minimum, that alternative executions be tested in the
same degree of finish.

7. Provides controls to avoid the biasing effects of the exposure context.

8. Takes into account basic considerations of sample definition.

9. Demonstrates reliability and validity.

• 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’ attitudes
toward 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 about
products and services. Mystery shoppers posing as normal customers perform
specific tasks—such 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 price

changes
• 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
• 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), or Geographical 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
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, McDonald’s 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
don’t overlap with each others’ territories. GIS can also help optimize their
“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.
QUESTION 3.(a) - Define and explain Data Collection with its types and
methods.

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 to

develop 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
 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 Method
b. 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 decision
making 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. Most
often 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
• 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 highly
literate 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 can
contain 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.
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 collection process. Some examples of this type of
data collection tool would include:
• 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
organization’s 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.
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: individual’s 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 person’s behavior and reactions recorded as a narrative.
Simulations: a person’s 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.
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 will
get. 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 picked
randomly 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
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 sampling
instead 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 selection
procedures 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 roughly
this order:

• Cleaning and organizing the data for analysis (Data Preparation)

• Describing the data (Descriptive Statistics)
• Testing Hypotheses and Models (Inferential Statistics)
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 most
critical analysis summaries for the body of the report itself.
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 for chocolate, 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.
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 be
included in the form of an appendix so 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 interest with 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. Reputable
researchers 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
distribution of the variables after data cleaning to see whether data cleaning has had
unwanted effects on the data.

• Analysis of missing 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 of imputation (statistics) is needed.

• Analysis of extreme 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 possibly
corrected 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
reliability of 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 α of the scales, and the change in the Cronbach's alpha
when an item would be deleted from a scale.
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:
• 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 of missing data: should one neglect or impute the missing data; which
imputation technique should be used?
• In the case of outliers: 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 randomization procedure seems to be defective: can and should one
calculate propensity 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,
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 Yes
11 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
 Female No
Female No Total Females = 9

Male Yes
Male No
Male Yes
Male No
Male 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 No
Female 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 No
Female No
Female No
Female No
Female No
Female No
Female No Total females with no college plans = 7
 Female Yes
Female Yes Total females with college plans = 2

Male No
Male No
Male No
Male No
Male 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 frequency

distributions.
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 time

we 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
 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 I
No I 7 I 7 I 14
I I I
College -----------------------------
I I I
Yes 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
-----------------------------
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.

Every social research question has its own purpose and value. No single way of
tabulating market research data is correct for every type of market research
question. It takes knowledge and experience to understand the most effective
approach for tabulating each question type.

If the data tabulations are incorrect, there is a risk for making market research based
decisions 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 of questions and

other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from respondents. Although
they are often designed for statistical analysis of the responses, this is not always the
case. The questionnaire was invented by Sir Francis Galton.

Questionnaires are frequently used in quantitative marketing research and social

research. They are a valuable method of collecting a wide range of information from
a large number of individuals, often referred to as respondents. Good questionnaire
construction is critical to the success of a survey. Inappropriate questions, incorrect
ordering of questions, incorrect scaling, or bad questionnaire format can make the
survey valueless. A useful method for checking a questionnaire and making sure it is
accurately capturing the intended information is to pretest among a smaller subset
of target respondents.

A questionnaire format may be used to solicit opinions, obtain information, and

collect feedback regarding the work or training environment. For example,
questionnaires can be used to collect post-training feedback on initial or continuing
training program effectiveness, to gather data that assists in the evaluation of the
proper scope of training program content, and to investigate the effects of industry
events and/or regulatory changes on the content of a training program

Types of questions

1. Contingency questions - A question that is answered only if the respondent

gives a particular response to a previous question. This avoids asking questions of
people that do not apply to them (for example, asking men if they have ever been
pregnant).

2. Matrix questions - Identical response categories are assigned to multiple

questions. The questions are placed one under the other, forming a matrix with
response categories along the top and a list of questions down the side. This is an
efficient use of page space and respondents’ time.

3. Closed ended questions - Respondents’ answers are limited to a fixed set

of responses. Most scales are closed ended. Other types of closed ended questions
include:
o Yes/no questions - The respondent answers with a “yes” or a “no”.
o Multiple choices - The respondent has several option from which to choose.
o Scaled questions - Responses are graded on a continuum (example: rate the
appearance of the product on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the most preferred
appearance). Examples of types of scales include the Likert scale, semantic
differential scale, and rank-order scale
4. Open ended questions - No options or predefined categories are suggested.
The respondent supplies their own answer without being constrained by a fixed set of
possible responses. Examples of types of open ended questions include:
o Completely unstructured - For example, “What is your opinion of
questionnaires?”
o Word association - Words are presented and the respondent mentions the first
word that comes to mind.
o Sentence completion - Respondents complete an incomplete sentence. For
example, “The most important consideration in my decision to buy a new house
is . . .”
o Story completion - Respondents complete an incomplete story.
o Picture completion - Respondents fill in an empty conversation balloon.
o Thematic apperception test - Respondents explain a picture or make up a
story about what they think is happening in the picture

Question sequence

• Questions should flow logically from one to the next.

• The researcher must ensure that the answer to a question is not influenced by
previous questions.
• Questions should flow from the more general to the more specific.
• Questions should flow from the least sensitive to the most sensitive.
• Questions should flow from factual and behavioral questions to attitudinal and
opinion questions.
• Questions should flow from unaided to aided questions.
• According to the three stages theory (also called the sandwich theory), initial
questions should be screening and rapport questions. Then in the second stage you
ask all the product specific questions. In the last stage you ask demographic
questions.

Basic rules for questionnaire item construction

• Use statements which are interpreted in the same way by members of different
subpopulations of the population of interest.
• Use statements where persons that have different opinions or traits will give
different answers.
• Use only one aspect of the construct you are interested in per item.
• Use positive statements and avoid negatives or double negatives.
• Do not make assumptions about the respondent.
• Use clear and comprehensible wording.
• Use correct spelling, grammar and punctuation.

Questionnaire administration modes

Main modes of questionnaire administration are:

• Face-to-face questionnaire administration, "where an interviewer presents the

items orally."
• Paper-and-pencil questionnaire administration, "where the items are presented
on paper."
• Computerized questionnaire administration, "where the items are presented on
the computer."
• Adaptive computerized questionnaire administration, "where a selection of items
is presented on the computer, and based on the answers on those items, the
computer selects following items optimized for the testee's estimated ability or trait."

The following guidance can be helpful when developing a questionnaire-type

evaluation instrument:
• Define the purpose of the questionnaire. This can be done by determining
what information is needed, who will provide the information, and how the
information will be used.
• Determine the source of the evaluation questions to be used in the
questionnaire. Questions can come from managers and training staff,
previous observations and interview material, and other questionnaires that
have been used for similar purposes.
• Determine the types of questions required on the questionnaire. Three
different types of questions can be used. The interview technique uses all
three types. -
o Performance Questions - These questions ask what has actually been
performed. They are aimed at obtaining descriptions of actual
experiences, activities, or actions where the corresponding
performance would be observable if an evaluator were present
o Opinion Questions - These questions ask for an individual's opinion
about something. They are used to gather information concerning
 people's goals, intentions, desires, or values. This type of question can
cause analysis problems because it usually requires agreement or
disagreement on the part of the evaluator.
o Knowledge Questions - These questions are used to determine the
factual information an individual knows. Facts are not opinions,
feelings, or actions but are considered knowledge or truths. Knowledge
questions can elicit facts from recollection or can verify facts with a
true/false answer. This type of question should be used in conjunction
with the other types to prevent the impression that this questionnaire
is a test.

• Write the questions. The questions should be clearly focused to aid the
respondents in determining the information that is desired. Clear cues should
be provided to help accomplish this. The questions should be formatted to be
consistent with the type of information sought

Q7. (2) Co-relation

ANSWER –

The correlation coefficient, denoted by r, is a measure of the strength of the

straight-line or linear relationship between two variables. The correlation coefficient
takes on values ranging between +1 and -1. The following points are the accepted
guidelines for interpreting the correlation coefficient:

1. 0 indicates no linear relationship.

2. +1 indicates a perfect positive linear relationship: as one variable increases in

its values, the other variable also increases in its values via an exact linear rule.

3. -1 indicates a perfect negative linear relationship: as one variable increases in

its values, the other variable decreases in its values via an exact linear rule.

4. Values between 0 and 0.3 (0 and -0.3) indicate a weak positive (negative)
linear relationship via a shaky linear rule.
5. Values between 0.3 and 0.7 (0.3 and -0.7) indicate a moderate positive
(negative) linear relationship via a fuzzy-firm linear rule.

6. Values between 0.7 and 1.0 (-0.7 and -1.0) indicate a strong positive
(negative) linear relationship via a firm linear rule.

7. The value of r squared is typically taken as “the percent of variation in one

variable explained by the other variable,” or “the percent of variation shared
between the two variables.”

8. Linearity Assumption. The correlation coefficient requires that the underlying

relationship between the two variables under consideration is linear. If the
relationship is known to be linear, or the observed pattern between the two variables
appears to be linear, then the correlation coefficient provides a reliable measure of
the strength of the linear relationship. If the relationship is known to be nonlinear, or
the observed pattern appears to be nonlinear, then the correlation coefficient is not
useful, or at least questionable.

The calculation of the correlation coefficient for two variables, say X and Y, is simple
to understand. Let zX and zY be the standardized versions of X and Y, respectively.
That is, zX and zY are both re-expressed to have means equal to zero, and standard
deviations (std) equal to one. The re-expressions used to obtain the standardized
scores are in equations (3.1) and (3.2):

zXi = [Xi - mean(X)]/std(X) (3.1)

zYi = [Yi - mean(Y)]/std(Y) (3.2)

The correlation coefficient is defined as the mean product of the paired standardized
scores (zXi, zYi) as expressed in equation (3.3).

rX,Y = sum of [zXi * zYi]/(n-1), where n is the sample size (3.3)

For a simple illustration of the calculation, consider the sample of five observations in
Table 1. Columns zX and zY contain the standardized scores of X and Y, respectively.
The last column is the product of the paired standardized scores. The sum of these
scores is 1.83. The mean of these scores (using the adjusted divisor n-1, not n) is
0.46. Thus, rX,Y = 0.46.

Obs X Y zX zY zX*zY
1 12 77 -1.14 -0.96 1.11
2 15 98 -0.62 1.07 -0.66
3 17 75 -0.27 -1.16 0.32
4 23 93 0.76 0.58 0.44
5 26 92 1.28 0.48 0.62
Mean 18.6 87 Sum 1.83
Std 5.77 10.32
n 5 r 0.46

Q 7. (3) Regression

ANSWER –

A regression equation allows us to express the relationship between two (or more)
variables algebraically. It indicates the nature of the relationship between two (or
more) variables. In particular, it indicates the extent to which you can predict some
variables by knowing others, or the extent to which some are associated with others.

A linear regression equation is usually written

Y = a + bX + e
Where,
Y is the dependent variable
a is the intercept
b is the slope or regression coefficient
X is the independent variable (or covariate)
e is the error term

The equation will specify the average magnitude of the expected change in Y given a
change in X.
The regression equation is often represented on a scatter plot by a regression line.

A regression line is a line drawn through the points on a scatter plot to summarize
the relationship between the variables being studied. When it slopes down (from top
left to bottom right), this indicates a negative or inverse relationship between the
variables; when it slopes up (from bottom right to top left), a positive or direct
relationship is indicated.

The regression line often represents the regression equation on a scatter plot.

Simple linear regression aims to find a linear relationship between a response

variable and a possible predictor variable by the method of least squares.

Multiple linear regression aims is to find a linear relationship between a response

variable and several possible predictor variables.

Nonlinear regression aims to describe the relationship between a response variable

and one or more explanatory variables in a non-linear fashion.

Q7. (5) Qualitative and Quantitative Research

ANSWER –

In the social sciences, quantitative research refers to the systematic empirical

investigation of quantitative properties and phenomena and their relationships. The
objective of quantitative research is to develop and employ mathematical models,
theories and/or hypotheses pertaining to phenomena. The process of measurement
is central to quantitative research because it provides the fundamental connection
between empirical observation and mathematical expression of quantitative
relationships.

Quantitative research is used widely in social sciences such as sociology,

anthropology, and political science. Research in mathematical sciences such as
physics is also 'quantitative' by definition, though this use of the term differs in
context. In the social sciences, the term relates to empirical methods, originating in
both philosophical positivism and the history of statistics, which contrast qualitative
research methods.

Quantitative research is generally made using scientific methods, which can include:
• The generation of models, theories and hypotheses
• The development of instruments and methods for measurement
• Experimental control and manipulation of variables
• Collection of empirical data
• Modeling and analysis of data
• Evaluation of results

Qualitative research is a method of inquiry appropriated in many different

academic disciplines, traditionally in the social sciences, but also in market research
and further contexts. Qualitative researchers aim to gather an in-depth
understanding of human behavior and the reasons that govern such behavior. The
qualitative method investigates the why and how of decision making, not just what,
where, when. Hence, smaller but focused samples are more often needed, rather
than large samples.

Qualitative research was one of the first forms of social studies, but in the 1950s and
1960s – as quantitative science reached its peak of popularity (The Quantitative
Revolution) – it was diminished in importance and began to regain recognition only in
the 1970s. The phrase 'qualitative research' was until the 1970s used only to refer to
a discipline of anthropology or sociology, and terms like were used instead. During
the 1970s and 1980s qualitative research began to be used in other disciplines, and
became a significant type of research in the fields of education studies, social work
studies, women's studies, disability studies, information studies, management
studies, nursing service studies, human service studies, psychology, communication
studies, and many other fields. Qualitative research occurred in the consumer
products industry during this period, with researchers investigating new consumer
products and product positioning/advertising opportunities. The earliest consumer
research pioneers including Gene Reilly of The Gene Reilly Group in Darien, CT, Jerry
Schoenfeld of Gerald Schoenfeld & Partners in Tarrytown, NY and Martin Calle of
Calle & Company, Greenwich, CT, also Peter Cooper in London, England, and Hugh
Mackay in Mission, Australia. There continued to be disagreement about the proper
place of qualitative versus quantitative research. In the late 1980s and 1990s after a
spate of criticisms from the quantitative side, new methods of qualitative research
evolved, to address the perceived problems with reliability and imprecise modes of
data analysis.[2] During this same decade, there was a slowdown in traditional media
advertising spending, so there was heightened interest in making research related to
advertising more effective.
In the last thirty years the acceptance of qualitative research by journal publishers
and editors has been growing. Prior to that time many mainstream journals were
prone to publish research articles based upon the natural sciences and which
featured quantitative analysis.

Q7. (6) Experimentation in Market Research

ANSWER -

An experiment involves the creation of a contrived situation in order that the

researcher can manipulate one or more variables whilst controlling all of the others
and measuring the resultant effects. For instance, when United Fruits were
considering replacing their Gros Michel variety of banana with the Valery variety, a
simple experiment was first carried out. In selected retail outlets, the two varieties
were switched on different days of the week and sales data examined to determine
what effect the variety had on sales volumes. That is, the variety was being
manipulated whilst all other variables were held constant. United Fruits found that
the switch back and forth between Gros Michel and Valery had no effect upon sales.
United Fruit were therefore able to replace Gros Michel with Valery.

Boyd and Westfall have defined experimentation as:

"...that research process in which one or more variables are manipulated under
conditions which permit the collection of data which show the effects, if any, in
unconfused fashion."

Experiments can be conducted either in the field or in a laboratory setting. When

operating within a laboratory environment, the researcher has direct control over
most, if not all, of the variables that could impact upon the outcome of the
experiment. For example, an agricultural research station may wish to compare the
acceptability of a new variety of maize. Since the taste characteristics are likely to
have a major influence on the level of acceptance, a blind taste panels might be set
up where volunteers are given small portions of maize porridge in unmarked bowls.
The participants would perhaps be given two porridge samples and the researcher
would observe whether they were able to distinguish between the maize varieties
and which they preferred. In addition to taste testing, laboratory experiments are
widely used by marketing researchers in concept testing, package testing,
advertising research and test marketing.

Experimentation offers the possibility of establishing a cause and effective

relationship between variables and this makes it an attractive methodology to
marketing researchers. An experiment is a contrived situation that allows a
researcher to manipulate one or more variables whilst controlling all of the others
and measuring the resultant effects on some independent variable.
 Experiments

Laboratory Field

Advertising Stimulated On - Air

Concept Taste Package Store Home Test
Copy test Advertising
tests tests test Audits use tests Markets
testing markers testing

Experiments are of two types: those conducted in a laboratory setting and those
which are executed in natural settings; these are referred to as field experiments.
Laboratory experiments give the researcher direct control over most, if not all, of the
variables that could affect the outcome of the experiment. The evidence for drawing
inferences about causal relationships takes three forms: associative variation,
consistent ordering of events and the absence of alternative causes.

There are a number of potential impediments to obtaining valid results from

experiments. These may be categorized according to whether a given confounding
factor has internal validity, external validity, or both. Internal validity is called into
question when there is doubt that the experimental treatment is actually responsible
for changes in the value of the dependent variable. External validity becomes an
issue when there is uncertainty as to whether experimental findings can be
generalized to a defined population. The impediments to internal validity are history,
pre-testing, maturation, instrumentation, sampling bias and mortality. Impediments
to external validity are: the interactive effects of testing, the interactive effects of
sampling bias and errors arising from making use of contrived situations.

The main forms of experimental design differ according to whether or not a measure
is taken both before and after the introduction of the experimental variable or
treatment, and whether or not a control group is used alongside the experimental
group. The designs are: after-only, before-after, before-after with control group,
after-only with control group and ex post facto designs.