Research Method
Prof. UN Kothari
Prepared by: Sudhanshu Shekhar Chaudhary (GAPR10ACFB111)
Class-1
Some interesting observations through market research:
· People in team functions best if they can do some work collaboratively and some privately
· Privacy and security concerns have deterred many physicians from using online services
· The higher the intended level of achievement, the higher the level of performance
· Customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction are closely linked (Ryder and Ryder found a high correlation between the way employees viewed and organization and the way customers think about it)
Now in marketing, advertising may be cut for budgets but not research unlike old days. Reason - Research is needed for sound decision making where facts are proven and not placed on gut feelings)
Course Structure -
· 15% - designing a questionnaire
· 10% - CP
· 15% - Quiz (Only 1)
· 30% - Group project
· 30% - Final Exam – Open Book (Focus on application)
Research helps to gather data, but it doesn’t end there - it helps data to convert data into information via insights, value addition and interpretation which best helps in taking business decision.
Why Research is important –
1) To survive cut throat competition
2) To find whether there is niche or a mass market for the brand
3) To understand whether brand’s offering(s) are in line with customer’s needs and expectations
4) To decide when to launch the idea (1st mover advantage) – Time to market / time to offer to customer is very important
Explanation –
1) One must survive the cut throat competition in order to stand out from the others. Example(s) of high competition -
a. 52 banks in UAE – most bankable region in Middle-East (Meena Park region). Total population is 4.6 million for UAE of which 2.1 million is bankable. It implies 1 single individual can bank with 3 banks. Hence, a bank can achieve max of 33% market share in this country. But to get that, banks have to put in a lot of effort else competition will snatch their share. That’s the scenario of competition in banking sector in UAE.
b. Number of brands of juices that exist in the UAE market – 55-60 brands (very fragmented market), Milco & Lacknor are largest brands with market share of 27%. Al Rawabi has marker share of 4%. Masafi has market share of 2%. Caprison has market share of 0.6%. But does that mean that these brands don’t need to advertise or carry out research (though they might have a low / fragmented market share).
i. Why do a person consumes juice – It is perceived as healthy over carbonated soft drinks though they do not have more than 80% fruit juice (which are especially kept in fridge for immediate consumption).
4) Bank on the 1st mover advantage –Idea needs to be implemented & that too on time (within an appropriate range). Example - Emaar properties took the 1st position as most of their projects were delivered on time, but Nakeel lost it (no credibility) as none of the projects were delivered on time.
Managerial Value of Business Research (Zikmund): Reduces uncertainty by providing information that improves the decision making process.
Research at Chrysler Corporation - No Sweat at Jeep: Chrysler Corporation, Jeep’s parent company asked about 380 paint line workers who wash, wipe and prepare Jeep-Cherokees (an SUV) for painting to stop using the antiperspirants as part of the company’s total quality management effort.
The market research showed that antiperspirants worn the workers flaked and fell onto the paint. Antiperspirants contain chemicals such as zinc-zirconium that can damage paint. The paint flows away from a fallen flake of these chemicals, causing a depression about a size of a baby’s fingertip.
Management is trying to persuade the workers to switch to deodorants, which control odor but do not stop sweating.
Busniess / Market / Organizational Research
Definition of Research (American Marketing Association definition) –
· Systematic & objective process of generating information to aid in business decisions
ü Systematic – Follows a set pattern; unbiased in nature. The research information is neither intuitive nor haphazardly gathered.
ü Objective – SMART goal (Systematic, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bound)
§ Processed data is Information; processed information is called knowledge; processed knowledge is called wisdom. To analyze the above data, the researcher must be objective & he/she should be detached or impartial rather than engaging in a biased attempt to prove preconceived ideas.
ü Aid – Helps / inputs to business decision. The research process facilitates the managerial decision making process for all aspects of business (Finance, marketing, personnel etc.), It is an aid to managerial decision and not a substitute for it.
ü Business decision - Non business decisions are not covered here.
It is a function that relates the consumer, customer & public to the decision maker through information which helps to -
1. Identify opportunities and issues
2. Evaluate & refine business performance
3. Monitor business performance.
4. Improve business understanding
Business research helps decision makers shift from intutive information gathering system to systematic and objective investigation.
Why Called as Business Research: Because all research techniques are applicable to business settings.
Ø Limitation of Research - Research is only means to an end and not the end itself. Pressure on researcher to exactly pin-point and say – What needs to be done, how it needs to be done & by when it needs to be done.
Ø Trend change - Researcher now-a-days sits with clients in the board meeting along with the advertising agencies.
Types of Research - Basic Research & Applied Research
Basic / Pure Research: It is conducted to verify the acceptability of a given theory or to discover more about a certain concept.
It is a research that is intended to expand the boundaries of knowledge itself or to verify the acceptability of a given theory.
In basic research, first testing the conceptions and hypothesis and then making inferences and conclusions about the phenomenon lead to establishment of general laws about the phenomenon.
Applied Research: It is conducted when a decision must be made about a specific real-life problem. Example: An organization aiming a paperless office and a networking system for the company’s personal computers may conduct research to learn the amount of time it spend at personal computers in an average week.
1) Basic is broad based / generic (is not inferior to applied research) & applied is very specific / narrow.
2) Basic research has immense data / information available, hence, user might face difficulty to take decision (when, where, how to take the decision). Applied research takes specific decision at that particular point in time for that problem only.
3) Basic Research happens less frequently (once in 3 years), whereas applied research happens more frequently.
| Basic Research | Applied Research |
| Generates broad based decisions | Generates focussed decision |
| Conducted less frequently (in 2-3 years) | Conducted more frequently |
| Contains immense information, hence, becomes difficult to know how much and when to take action | Aims at specific decision at specific point in time & addresses that decision only |
| Example: Setting up of chewing gum factory in Iran (Has to know political stability in Iran, feasilbity of setup at a location etc) | Example: Flavor / colour of gum (what customer wants in his / her gum based on market research) |
Ex – Which is basic and which is applied research?
· Rigleys wants to go to Iran to offer its product offerings there – Basic (Macro decisions – Legal / political setup, competition etc. as Iran is involved as a country)
· Rigleys wants to find out whether an orange color bubble gum will work or not – Applied (Micro decisions – Whether company can offer such product & services based on current competitors performance etc.)
1) Whether Ad should be aired or not – Applied
2) What should be the composition of the ad (when / where / how it should be aired) – Basic
Managerial Value of Business Research: Reduces uncertainty by providing information that improves the decision making process.
Research at Chrysler Corporation - No Sweat at Jeep: Chrysler Corporation, Jeep’s parent company asked about 380 paint line workers who wash, wipe and prepare Jeep-Cherokees (an SUV) for painting to stop using the antiperspirants as part of the company’s total quality management effort.
The market research showed that antiperspirants worn the workers flaked and fell onto the paint. Antiperspirants contain chemicals such as zinc-zirconium that can damage paint. The paint flows away from a fallen flake of these chemicals, causing a depression about a size of a baby’s fingertip.
Management is trying to persuade the workers to switch to deodorants, which control odor but do not stop sweating.
Whether Research should be carried out or NOT (Tree Diagram) / Preliminary conditions to be fulfilled before carrying out research
Following conditions should be fulfilled (all) post which research can be carried out.
· Whether time available is sufficient for managerial decision?
· Whether information available (secondary data) is sufficient for a decision?
· Is the decision of high strategic / tactical importance?
· Does Value / Benefit of research overweighs cost of research?
Conduct research (only if all the above 4 criterion is fulfilled). The sign off from client needs to be taken first (official signoff on papers), post which the task of the Research should start.
Syndicated Research – Here, same data is used to fulfill different objectives of different client for similar type of research. Cost effective measure for all clients as base data collected is same.
6 Stages of Research
1) Problem discovery and definition – Sit with client across table and agree, decide, discuss what it takes to formulate an objective / to agree on the problem / to agree on the need for doing research.
2) Designing the Research – Using best tools and techniques to design the research.
3) Sampling method employed – Probabilistic / Non-probabilistic method - Best method for gathering the data
4) How will the data is processed
5) How the data is analyzed
6) How researcher is going to communicate back to the client about the findings.
Bible Statement of RM (at the end of Research methodology tree, to be followed for the whole tree)- All stages in the research process are linked (inter-related to each-other) & equally important & no stage should be given importance / should be compromised at the cost of the other stage (Equal weight age, (1/6) to all stages of the research process). No more than 5 objectives should be present in a research project.
Participants of Research Process –
· Researcher – Client interface, designs the questionnaire, instructs field person how much and what kind of sample is needed & by when the same should be completed,
· Field person – He / She goes in the field and gathers data, after that it is sent to the analysis department for further analysis (based on instruction given by researcher).
· Analyst - Once data reaches researcher, it is task of the researcher (analyst here) to make sense out of the data, prepare presentations and communicate to the client. Hence, a researcher need not be a statistician, but how good he / she can make sense of the data.
In west, the researcher does not give / show any data to the client (no graphs). The presentation lasts for 30 – 40 minutes. Everything is focused on conclusion and recommendation.
Role of a researcher - Align the data and present a recommendation for implementation of the client. This will make researcher converted to a business partner (information getting converted to knowledge).
Who decides whether research carried out is right or wrong / How much is still left etc / Rights and responsibilities of researcher / client (Any cultural restriction for a region)?
Certain code of conduct is written down and needs to be carried out by the researcher (To be followed by client, researcher, agency and respondents)
· MRSI – Market research society of India (based on European Model)
·
ESOMAR is involved in setting up code of conduct for a research project carried out in a market. In India, this profile is taken up by Market Research Society of India.
Highlights of Code of Ethics –
· Maintain confidentiality of the respondent which is conveyed to him / her while conducting the interview or take permission of the respondent & then pass on his information to the client.
· Client can also accompany the agency when the field work is carried out
· In case client has provided names of the interviewees and in return asked for names and responses of each respondent, then also, without respondents consent, the same can’t be passed on to the client (even if it is an internal survey within the company). Ex - Mystery shopping to evaluate staff’s performance (to gauge whether they are adhering to certain norms) – Names can only be given if the client gives the undertaking to the agency / researcher that the responses will be used for training their staff members being interviewed & not for sacking / firing / embarrassing the employees.
· After the survey is completed and report is submitted to the client, till what time the client can ask for further analysis / can come back with further queries – 6 months(Researcher / agency should though maintain the questionnaire / data till 1 year after the report is submitted)
· Research is not used as a tool to sell the client’s products, but just to obtain feedback from the respondents
How to make Boss wrong without being noticed:
· Let’s put it in the parking lot (Old Way)
· Correct me if I am wrong (New Way)
Stage 1 – Problem discovery and definition
Discovery is in understanding the symptoms and Definition is finding the actual issue. Exploratory research, which is optional, is used to convert problem discovery into definition. Exploratory research is qualitative in nature.
Problem discovery - Understanding the presence of problem / identifying the problem
Problem definition – It is the true problem, which will be used to formulate the objective.
Discovery is the symptom, definition is the actual problem.
Example –
· Symptom – Membership is declining for the Al Nasir leisure club & increasing for the water park.
· Definition – Why membership is declining and why people prefer water-park over club.
About the case discussed in class –
· Give information to client not just from the obvious which he / she can easily see / observe. (Question to be answered - Why membership is declining/ when this trend has started / where are those members going / why are they going there).
· Answer found – People (kids) have now grown up in age and now prefer to go to water park instead of club with their parents.
· True problem definition – Should understand the needs and preferences of this segment whose taste has now changed (Target group – 21-30 years). Where does this group prefer to go and why they prefer to go there. Hence, I can suggest the client whether they can adapt / how much they need to change etc / client should switch the business to something else.
· The above is an initial research & consulted with client (validate a hypothesis with the initial research)
· Client normally gives the symptom (hockey viewership is declining). Researcher has to come with true problem (Which sports then these audiences are now watching and why). Hence, more sessions are required with the client to convert this symptom / problem discovery into problem definition.
Exploratory Research – Initial research carried out to convert symptom / problem discovery into a true problem definition
1. Initial research conducted to clarify and define the nature of the problem
2. Does not provide conclusive evidence
3. Subsequent research is expected
4. Why Exploratory Research
a. Diagnose a situation
b. Screening of alternatives
c. Discover new ideas
Types of Exploratory Research –
1) Experience survey – One should talk to industry experts and ask them what could be the reason for decline / what could be the challenges in the market & get some feelers / feeders from them.
2) Secondary data / historical analysis – Using own organization’s data to observe any trend from the same.
3) Case Study Method – A similar thing happened elsewhere and they did this to resolve it.
4) Projective technique – Understanding mindset of target audience.
a. Word association Test – Respondent is given a subject and is asked to respond with the 1st word that comes to mind. Example – Sweet – Honey, Chocolate, Indian traditional sweets, sugar.
i. About Chocolates –
1. Chocolate eating trend has changed in India over the past 10 – 15 years. Earlier, up to age 10 years children were expected to eat chocolate. Adults would have to justify why they were buying chocolate to the cashier (though they would anyway eat it themselves afterwards). This habit was understood and were changed by companies over due course of time. How it was done – Chocolate and Cricket ad showing chocolate is impulsive (no plan to purchase, feel the need and one eats it). Similarly, cricket is impulsive, one claps / cheers for his / her team even while watching a match with a stranger. Ad did well and adult population hence, accepted chocolate. Also, perk ad shows that one should eat a chocolate as snack. Occasions were created out of the ordinary. Other ads – Bride coming down from stage to have a chocolate and then going back. (Need for eating chocolate was created by understanding the barriers which kept adults stay away from chocolates).
2. Chocolate slabs were seen as unhealthy due to its size, hence, bite (small) size came into picture, though it is more unhealthy one wants to try all the flavors in a box of chocolates, ending up eating all.
3. Chocolate is treated as a mood enhancer.
4. Now, chocolates are given as festival sweets also. Now, a person is seen as a conservative person if he / she give a traditional sweet during festival.
ii. Making statement in front of client while ordering drink(s) in a restaurant – Mineral water was earlier, then came diet soda, now it is freshly squeezed orange juice.
iii. Correct me if I am wrong – How to pin point boss’s wrong decision without agitating him / her. Use this phrase in a meeting to comment on someone whom it can’t be made in a normal one to one meeting. Let’s put in the parking lot – old way of saying the same.
iv. Red color – Negative connotation was associated with red. Red now indicates that one is vibrant, dynamic, young, lively and attractive. Red is more used color for packaging these days.
b. Sentence completion test – How high can a person talk about a brand (good/better/best), when they give their feedback / opinion via sentence completion test. These attributes mentioned in the sentence completion will be used to highlight company / brand traits when they talk to their customers.
i. Cool (Carefree attitude) does not exist in the Arab world. Hence, it is not shown in advertisements over there. Nivea did a lot of research to find what beauty means. Hence, it is seen in many Nivea ads that beauty means…….. (Based on the feedbacks received from the customer). Similarly, Nestle spent a good amount of money to understand what nutrition means to people – What is the meaning of these words for your target audience and how can company use them to their benefit; which is why sentence completion test is used.
c. TAT – Thematic Apperception Test – Gives an opportunity to spot what the target audience is looking at, which can in turn be used to formulate the objectives.
i. Golfer indicates successful person and one having time for himself as per responses received from Men
ii. Women (not married) are also supporting golfer – successful, rich, famous (adjectives given)
iii. Married women preferred the other person (kids hugging), who will take care of her kids.
Studied till now / Revision – How do one frame the objective, what goes behind formulating the objective from a discovery to a definition (Discovery being symptom and definition being true problem). What converts discovery into definition is exploratory research. Various exploratory research techniques are also discussed.
Objective - Now problem definition needs to be converted into an objective. An objective always starts with a verb like to do something (To measure / analyze / determine / understand). Ideally, research will never have more than 5 objectives.
How & with whom to conduct exploratory research – Researcher will do the exploratory research within the agency (with experienced staff) & then with touch points from the client’s side (division heads, departmental heads, cross functional teams, frontline staff – all people who are going to help you understand the problem better). In case problem is very well articulated at the 1st place, then it is not required to be converted into definition, hence, no exploratory research is required. Hence, exploratory research is optional.
3 most dumb question (never to be asked)
1) Have you understood everything? (Answer – Yes)
2) What price are you going to pay for this product (Answer – Nothing)
3) Where would you like the location of this outlet (Answer – Below my building, most convenient)
Time of research can be cut down by investing in more resources. (8 weeks project to 7 / 6.5 weeks project)
Question - When a client says that he wanted more out of the research (but never stated them), and rates the researcher below par, how researcher should tackle the situation?
Answer – “Sir, you are free to give feedback / opinion as per your choice, but nobody under the sun – neither I nor my competitors can address implied objectives. If you wish to spell out something, unless we do not discuss it / unless it is not acknowledged / unless it is not recognized, it will never get addressed (& you can choose to do what you want)”.
With next client, ask him / her upfront, if he / she is thinking something but not spelling out.
Hence, objective setting is important because both implied and stated objectives are articulated in research (Not articulated, may not get addressed). Out of 10 research, in 6, client may require hand-holding as he / she does not know what they want (objective is unclear).
Types of Exploratory Research (Kotler & Zikmund)
1. Experience surveys: Ask knowledgeable persons about a particular research problem, most are quite willing to answer.
2. Secondary Data Analysis: Preliminary review of the data collected for another purpose to clarify issues in the early stages of research effort.
3. Case study method: An exploratory research technique that intensively investigates one or few situations similar to the researcher’s problem situation.
4. Pilot Study: A small scale exploratory research project that uses sampling but does not apply rigorous standards (Quantitative estimates from large, representative samples are relaxed)
1. Projective techniques: It is an indirect means of questioning a respondent to “project” beliefs and feelings onto a third party, an inanimate object, or a task situation.
2. Word association test: Respondent is asked to respond with the 1st word that comes to mind. Example: Red – Rose, Blood, Heart
3. Sentence completion test: It is a projective technique in which respondents are required to complete a number of partial sentences with the first or phrase that comes to their mind. Example -
a. People who drink bear are _____________
b. A man who drinks light bear is __________
c. Imported bear is most liked by __________
d. A woman will drink beer when __________
4. Thematic Apperception Test: A test consisting of a series of pictures shown to research subjects who are then asked to provide a description of the pictures. The researcher analyses the content of these descriptions in an effort to clarify a research problem.
Disadvantages of exploratory research: Exploratory research can’t take place of quantitative, conclusive research.
· Most of them provide qualitative information and interpretation of the findings is typically judgmental.
· Most exploratory research utilizes small sample sizes which may not be representative because they do not have been selected on probability basis.
Exploratory research generates insights and clarifies the business problems for hypothesis testing in future research. One can’t determine the most important attributes of a new program or policy until those attributes have been identified, which illustrates the importance of exploratory research.
Example - Want to find out about off-shore banking; target audience is people with investible assets $200,000 and above – Sample size is undecided as finding such people is difficult; this condition has to be agreed upfront with client.
When are above research conducted:
Exploratory research is conducted during the early stages of decision making when the decision is ambiguous and management is uncertain about the nature of the problem.
When management is aware of the problem, but not completely knowledgeable about the situation, descriptive research is usually conducted.
Causal studies can only be conducted when a problem is sharply defined.
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