Transcript Problem Formulation and Approach

What Have We Covered So Far?
Problem Formulation and Approach
 Understanding the managerial decision
problem/opportunity
 Translate into research objective
 Pose the right research questions
 State questions in terms of hypotheses
 Know what information is needed
Weyerhaeuser
1. What marketing mix elements discussed in the case history led
Weyerhaeuser to act.
2. What industry and economic background information is relevant
in this case?
3. What is Weyerhaeuser’s management decision problem?
4. What courses of action were open to Weyerhaeuser?
5. What were the events that led Weyerhaeuser to decide to act?
6. What criteria will be used to evaluate these alternatives?
7. How important is the information gained from the focus group
studies in formulating the marketing decision.
8. What information does Weyerhaeuser need to make a decision?
9. What was Weyerhaeuser marketing research problem?
10. What are some research questions that could be asked and what
hypotheses could you make.
11. What are some of the components of the Research Approach?
The Marketing Research Process
PROBLEM FORMULATION
DEVELOP AN APPROACH
Today’s
Focus
RESEARCH DESIGN
•Exploratory, Descriptive, Causal
•Primary/Secondary data
•Sample plan/measurement issues
DATA COLLECTION
DATA ANALYSIS
RESEARCH REPORT
Research Design
 Definition
• A framework for conducting the marketing research project
 Components
• Information needed
• Data collection methods
• Measurement and scaling procedures
• Sampling process and sample size
• Data analysis procedures
A Broad Classification of Marketing
Research Designs
Research Design
Exploratory
Research
Design
Secondary
Research
Qualitative
Research
Conclusive
Research
Design
Descriptive
Research
Causal
Research
Exploratory Research: Overview
 Characteristics
• flexible, versatile, but not conclusive
 Useful for
• discovery of ideas and insights
• Formulating problems more precisely
• Identifying alternative courses of action
• Establishing priorities for further research
 Methods Used
• case studies
• secondary data
• focus groups
• qualitative research
Exploratory Research Cont’d
 When done?
• Generally initial research conducted to clarify and
define the nature of a problem
 Does not provide conclusive evidence
•
Subsequent research expected
Conclusive Research
 Characteristics
•inflexible, versatile
•Results conclusive
•Research formal and structured
Used
• to provide decision maker with the information
needed to make sound decision
•Testing hypotheses and examining relationships
•When information needs clearly defined
Conclusive
Research
Design
Descriptive
Research
Causal
Research
Descriptive Research: Overview
 Characteristics
• Describes characteristics of a population or
phenomenon
• Some understanding of the nature of the problem
• preplanned, structured, conclusive
 Useful for
• describing market characteristics or functions
 Methods Used
• Surveys (primary data)
• panels
• scanner data (secondary data)
Descriptive Research
 When Used:
• Often a follow-up to exploratory research
 Examples include:
• Market segmentation studies, i.e., describe
characteristics of various groups
• Determining perceptions of product characteristics
• Price and promotion elasticity studies
• Sale potential studies for particular geographic
region or population segment
Descriptive Research Designs
 Two types of designs
• Cross-sectional designs
•
•
•
•
Involves collection of information from sample
of respondents only once
Could have a single cross-sectional design (only
one sample) or multiple cross-sectional design
(many samples of respondents)
Most popular design in marketing research
Example: Sample surveys
Descriptive Research Designs
(contd.)
 Longitudinal Designs
• A fixed sample of the population is measured
repeatedly, i.e., same respondents studied over
time
• Useful for tracking changes in consumer attitudes
and behavior over time
• Example: Dairy panel data
 Mixed Designs:
•
Example: US Bureau of Labor Statistics follows a consumer
panel for five quarters, then switches to a new panel of
consumers
Examples of Descriptive Studies
•Market studies that describe the size of the market, buying power of the
consumers, availability of distributors, and consumer profiles
•Market share studies that determine the proportion of total sales perceived by a
company and its competitors
•Sales analysis studies that describe sales by geographic region, product line,
type of account size of account
•Image studies that determine consumer perceptions of the firm and its products
•Product usage studies that describe consumption patterns
•Distribution studies that determine traffic flow patterns and the number and
location of distributors
•Pricing studies that describe the range and frequency of price changes and
probable response to proposed price changes
•Advertising studies that describe media consumption habits and audience
profiles for specific television programs and magazines
Causal Research: Overview
 Characteristics
• causal (independent) variables be
manipulated in a controlled fashion
 Useful for
• determining cause and effect relationships
 Methods Used
• Experiments
• Primary data
Summary
 After formulating the problem, getting
the design right is the most important
step
 Three main types of research design
types: Generally combinations of all
three employed in the research process
 Need to worry about various sources of
error in research design
Degree of Problem Definition
Exploratory Research
(Unaware of Problem)
“Our sales are declining and
we don’t know why.”
“Would people be interested
in our new product idea?”
Descriptive Research
(Aware of Problem)
Causal Research
(Problem Clearly Defined)
“What kind of people are buying “Will buyers purchase more of
our product? Who buys our
our products in a new package?
competitor’s product?”
“Which of two advertising
“What features do buyers prefer campaigns is more effective?”
in our product?”
Tasks Involved in Formulating a Research design
1. Specify the information needed
2. Design the exploratory, descriptive and/or causal
phases of the research
3. Specify the measurement and scaling procedures
4. Construct an pretest a questionnaire (interview
form) or an appropriate for data collection
5. Specify the sampling process and sample size
6. Develop a plan of data analysis
I keep six honest serving
men, (they taught me all I
knew), their names are what
and why, and when, and
how, and where and who”
--Rudyard Kipling
WestJet wants to know whether it should expand its flight
offerings into the International Market. In designing a
market research project to provide WestJet with
information to help them decide, answer the following
six questions.
1. Who should be considered?
2. Where should the respondents be contacted to obtain the right
information?
3. When should the information be obtained from respondents
4. What information should be obtained?
5. Why are we obtaining the information from the respondents
6. What Way are we going to obtain information
Sources of Error in Research Design
 Total Error: Difference between true mean
value of variable in population, and observed
mean value obtained. Can be split into two
main types:
•
•
Random Sampling Error: Occurs because
particular sample selected is imperfect
representation of the population of interest
Non-sampling Error: Due to sources other than
sampling, e.g., errors in problem definition
questionnaire design, data analysis.
Critical Path Method (CPM)
INPUTS
• List of project activities
• Precedence relationship among activities
• Estimate of each activity’s duration
CPM processing procedures
OUTPUTS
• Estimated duration of project
• Identification of critical activities
• Amount of slack for each activity
CPM Terminology
 Path
• A connected sequence of activities leading from
the starting event to the ending event
 Critical Path
• The longest path (time); determines the project
duration
 Critical Activities
• All of the activities that make up the critical path
Steps in CPM Analysis
 Draw the CPM network
• A graphic view of the relationships among the
required activities
 Analyze the paths through the network
• Determine the length of each path (the time
required to complete each path)
• Starting at the beginning of the network and
working toward the end (from left to right),
determine the estimated start and estimated finish
for each activity
Steps in CPM Analysis
 Path analysis (continued)
• Identify the critical path(s) (the longest
path[s] through the network)
• The critical path(s) determines how long
the project will take
Marketing Research Proposal
See page 98-99 Malhotra