Marketing Research Exam 2

Survey Method

A structured questionnaire given to a sample of a population and designed to elicit specific information from respondents

- Variety of questions regarding their behavior, intentions, attitudes, awareness, motivations, and demographic and lifestyle characteristics

- Typically structured

Structured Data Collection

A formal questionnaire is prepared and the questions are asked in a prearranged order

- Process is direct

- Most popular data collection method

Fixed-Alternative Questions

Required the respondent to select from a predetermined set of responses

Advantages of Fixed-Alternative Questions

- Simple to administer

- Data obtained is reliable

- Reduces variability in the results

- Coding, analysis, and interpretation of data are relatively simple

Disadvantages of Fixed-Alternative Questions

- Respondents may be unable or unwilling to provide the desired information

- May result in loss of validity for certain types of data such as beliefs and feelings

- Wording questions properly is not easy

Survey Modes of Administration

- Telephone interviews (traditional or computer-assisted)

- Personal interviews (in home, mall intercept, or computer-assisted)

- Mail interviews (Mail, mail panel)

- Electronic interviews (email, internet)

Traditional Telephone Interviews

Involve phoning a sample of respondents and asking them a series of questions

- Interviewer uses paper questionnaire and records the responses with a pencil

- Central location is practical however interviewing has decreased in recent years

Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing

Uses a computerized questionnaire administered to respondents over the phone; may be generated using a mainframe computer, minicomputer, or personal computer

- Interviewing from a central location is far more popular than the traditional telephone method

- Computer replaces paper/pencil questionnaire and mini headset substitutes for a phone

- Computer systematically guides the interviewer

Advantages of Computer-Assisted Interviewing

- Time is reduced

- Data quality is enhanced

- The laborious steps in the data-collection process, coding questionnaires and entering the data into the computer are eliminated

- Results can be provided almost instantaneously

Personal In-Home Interviews

Respondents are interviewed face-to-face in their homes

- Interviewers task is to contact the respondents, ask the questions, and record their responses

- Use has declined due to high costs

- Used by syndicated firms

Mall-Intercept Personal Interviews

Respondents are intercepted while they are shopping in malls and brought to test facilities in the shopping center; then administered as an in-home personal survey

- More efficient for respondent to come to interviewer

- Increasingly popular

Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI)

Respondent sits in front of a computer terminal and answers a questionnaire on the computer screen by using the keyboard or mouse

- User friendly electronic packages that design questions that are easy for the respondent to understand

- Interviewer is usually present to serve as a host or hostess to guide the respondent if needed

- Administered through the use of kiosks

Mail Interviews

Questionnaires are mailed to preselected potential respondents; consists of the outgoing envelope, cover letter, questionnaire, return envelope, and possibly an incentive

- No verbal interaction between researcher and respondent

- Used for measurement of consumer preferences

- Respondents need to be broadly defined beforehand

Mail Panels

A large and nationally representative sample of households who have agreed to periodically participate in mail questionnaires, product tests, and telephone surveys

- Households are compensated with various incentives

- Used to obtain information from the same respondents repeatedly, thus can be used to implement a longitudinal design

E-Mail Interviews

Survey is written within the body of the message, sent out over the internet

- Respondents type the answers to either closed-ended or open-ended questions at designated places

- Responses are data entered and tabulated (data entry is required)

- Not the highest quality data and can require post-survey data cleaning

Internet Interviews

Uses HTML and are posted on a website; respondents may be recruited over the internet from potential respondent databases maintained by the marketing research firm, internet panel, or conventional methods (mail, telephone)

- Most times respondents are not recruited they just come across the surveys

- Data requires some processing before they can be tabulated or used in a statistical package, creates higher data quality

- Take less time and cost less to build and maintain as compared to mail

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

The language of the web

Task Factors

Relate to tasks that have to be performed to collect the data and to the topic of the survey

- Impact on the diversity of questions and flexibility, use of physical stimuli, sample control, quantity of data, and response rate

Sample Control

The ability of the survey mode to reach the units specified in the sample effectively and efficiently

- In-home personal interviews offer the best of this

- Able to control who is interviewed, the degree of participation of other members of the household, and many other aspects of data collection

Sampling Frame

A representation of the elements of the target population; consists of a list or set of directions for identifying the target population

- Telephone directories normally used

Random Digit Dialing (RDD)

A technique used to overcome the bias of unpublished and recent telephone numbers by selecting all telephone number digits at random

- Gives all households with telephones an approximately equal chance of being included in the sample but has limitations

- Costly, time-consuming to implement

Random Digit Directory Designs

Research design for telephone surveys in which a sample of numbers is drawn from the telephone directory and modified to allow unpublished numbers a chance of being included in the sample

- Adding a constant to the last digit, randomizing the r digits, a two-stage procedure

Response Rate

Broadly defined as the percentage of the total attempted interviews that are completed

- Personal, in-home, mall-intercept, and computer-assisted interviews yield highest rate

- Internet surveys have the lowest rates

Nonresponse Bias

When actual respondents differ from those who refused to participate

- Increases as the response rate decreases

Response Rates Increase With:

- Either prepaid or promised monetary incentives

- Increase in the amount of monetary incentive

- Non-monetary premiums and rewards (pens, pencils, books)

- Preliminary notification

- Foot-in-the-door techniques

Critical Request

The target behavior that is being researched

- Personalization (sending letters addressed to specific individuals)

- Follow up letters

Situational Factors

- Control of the data collection environment

- Control of field force

- Potential for interviewer bias

- Speed

- Cost

Control of Data Collection Environment

Degree of control a researcher has over the environment in which the respondent answers the questionnaire

- Personal interviews at central locations (mall) have the greatest degree of control

Field Force

Made up of both the actual interviewers and the supervisors involved in data collection

Control of Field Force

They require no such personnel, mail surveys, mail panels, e-mail, and internet surveys eliminate problems

- In home personal interviews are problematic

Potential for Interviewer Bias

Can occur in the results of a survey by the manner in which the interviewer selects respondents, asks research questions, or record answers

- In home and mall-intercept personal interviews are highly susceptible

- Mail surveys, mail panels, e-mail, and internet surveys are free of it

Speed

Internet is the fastest method of obtaining data from a large number of respondents

- Email is second fastest however data entry is required

Cost

Internet surveys are the lowest with a large sample; there are no printing, mailing, keying, and interviewer costs are eliminated

- Personal interviews tend to be most expensive

Respondent Factors

Perceived anonymity, social desirability, obtaining sensitive information, low incidence rate, and respondent control

Perceived Anonymity

The respondent's perceptions that their identities will not be discerned by the interviewer or the researcher

- High in mail surveys, mail panels, and internet surveys because there is no contact with an interviewer while responding

Social Desirability

The tendency of the respondents to give answers that may not be accurate but that may be desirable from a social standpoint

- Mail surveys, mail panels, and internet surveys are least susceptible due to no physical interaction

- Low when perceived anonymity is high

Incidence Rate

Refers to the rate of occurrence or the percentage of persons eligible to participate in the study

- Determines how many contacts need to be screened for a given sample size requirement

Observation

The recording of behavioral patterns of people, objects, and events in a systematic manner to obtain information about the phenomenon of interest

- Observer does not question or communicate with the people of interest

- Info may be recorded as events occur or from records of past events

- Structured, unstructured, direct, indirect, natural, or contrived

Structured Observation

Techniques where the researcher clearly defines the behaviors to be observed and the methods by which they will be measured

- Reduced the potential for observer bias and enhances reliability of data

- Appropriate when research problem is defined and specified; useful in conclusive research

Unstructured Observation

Involves a researcher monitoring all relevant phenomena without specifying the details in advance

- Appropriate when problem has yet to be formulated precisely and flexibility is needed in observation

- Potential for observer bias is high

- Findings should be treated as hypotheses rather than conclusive findings; useful in exploratory research

Disguised Observation

Respondents are unaware that they are being observed

- Enables respondents to behave naturally

- Accomplished through one-way mirrors, hidden cameras, or inconspicuous mechanical devices

Undisguised Observation

Respondents are aware they are under observation

Natural Observation

Observing behavior as it takes place in the environment

- Observed phenomenon will more accurately reflect the true phenomenon

- Cost of waiting for the phenomenon to occur and difficulty measuring in a natural setting

Contrived Observation

The behavior is observed in an artificial environment

Observation Methods

- Personal

- Mechanical

- Audit

- Content Analysis

- Trace Analysis

Personal Observation

Research strategy in which human observers record the phenomenon being observed as it occurs

- Observer does not attempt to control or manipulate the phenomenon being observed; observes what takes place

- Aids in designing store layout, shelf locations, merchandise displays etc

- Most flexible

Mechanical Observation

Research strategy in which mechanical devices rather than human observers record the phenomenon being observed

- Devices may or may not require the respondents direct participation; used for continuously recording ongoing behavior for later analysis

- Audimeter is best known

Types: eye-tracking, pupilometers, psychogalvanometers, voice pitch analyzers, devices measuring response latency

Psychogalvanometer

Measures galvanic skin response (GSR) or changes in the electrical resistance of the skin

- Based on strength of response, the researcher infers the respondent's interest level and attitudes toward the stimuli

Galvanic Skin Response (GSR)

Changes in the electrical resistance of the skin that relate to a respondents affective state

Voice Pitch Analysis

Measurement of emotional reactions through changes in the respondents voice

Response Latency

The amount of time it takes to respond

- Response time is directly related to uncertainty

- Increased popularity of computer-assisted data collection, allows this to be recorded accurately and without the respondents awareness

Audit

Researcher collects data by examining physical records or performing inventory analysis

- Data collected personally by researcher or data is based upon counts, usually of physical objects

- Most common at the retail and wholesale level

Pantry Audit

Researcher takes an inventory of brands, qualities, and package sizes in a consumers home, perhaps in the course of a personal interview

- Greatly reduce the problem of untruthfulness or other forms of response bias

- Fieldwork is expensive

Content Analysis

The objective, systematic, and quantitative description of the manifest content of a communication; observation as well as analysis

- Content of message of advertisements, newspaper articles, television and radio programs

Trace Analysis

An approach in which data collection is based on physical traces, or evidence of past behavior

- May be left intentionally or unintentionally by respondents

- Typically inexpensive

- Method of last resort

Relative Advantages of Observation

- They permit measurement of actual behavior rather than reports of intended or preferred behavior

- No reporting bias

- May be cheaper and faster than survey methods

Relative Disadvantages of Observation

- Reasons for observed behavior may not be determined because little is known about the underlying motives, beliefs, attitudes, and preferences

- Selective perception can bias the data

- Often time consuming and expensive

- Difficult to observe certain forms of behavior such as personal activities

- May be unethical in some cases such as monitoring behavior without knowledge or consent

Ethnographic Research

The study of human behavior in its natural context and involves observation of behavior and setting along with depth interviews

- Audio and visual recordings are also obtained

Mystery Shopping

Trained observers pose as consumers and shop at company or competitor owned stores to collect data about customer employee interaction and other marketing variables such as prices, displays, layouts, etc

- Question store employees, mentally taking note of answers

Causality

When the occurrence of X increases the probability of the occurrence of Y

- Scientific meaning is more appropriate to marketing research than is the every day meaning

Conditions for Causality

- Concomitant variation

- Time order of occurrence of variables

- Elimination of other possible causal factors

Concomitant Variation

A condition for inferring causality that requires that a cause, X, and an effect, Y, occur together or vary together as predicted by the hypothesis under consideration

- Can be qualitative or quantitative

Time Order of Occurrence of Variables

States that the causing event must occur either before or simultaneously with the effect, it cannot occur afterwards

- An effect cannot be produced by an event that occurs after the effect has taken place

- A variable can be both a cause and an effect in the same causal relationship

Absence of Other Possible Causal Factors

The factor or variable being investigated should be the only possible causal explanation

Role of Evidence

Concomitant variation, time order of occurrence of variables, and elimination of other possible causal factors do not conclusively demonstrate that a causal relationship exists; however if all evidence is strong and consistent it is reasonable to conclude there is a causal relationship

- Increases confidence

- Controlled experiments

Independent Variables

Variables that are manipulated by the researched and whose effects are measured and compared

- Also known as treatments; could include price levels, package designs, and advertising themes

Test Units

Individuals, organizations, or other entities whose response to independent variables or treatments is being studied

- May include consumers, stores, or geographic areas

Dependent Variables

Variables that measure the effect of the independent variables on the test units

- May include sales, profits, and market shares

Extraneous Variables

Variables, other than the independent variables, that influence the response of the test units

- Can confound the dependent variable measures in a way that weakens or invalidates the results of the experiment

- May include store size, store location, and competitive effort

Experiment

The process of manipulating one or more independent variables and measuring their effect on one or more dependent variables, while controlling the extraneous variables

Experimental Design

The set of experimental procedures specifying the test units and sampling procedures, independent variables or treatments are to be manipulated, dependent variables to be measured, and how to control the extraneous variables

Validity in Experimentation

Researcher has two goals: draw valid conclusions about the effects of independent variables on the study group (internal), and make valid generalizations to a larger population of interest (external)

Internal Validity

A measure of accuracy of an experiment; measures whether the manipulation of the independent variables or treatments actually caused the effects on the dependent variables

- If observed effects are influenced or confounded by extraneous variables, it is difficult to draw valid inferences about the causal relationship

- Basic minimum that must be present in an experiment before any conclusion about treatment effects can be made

- Must have control of extraneous variables

External Validity

A determination of whether the cause-and-effect relationships found in the experiment can be generalized

- Threats arise when the specific set of experimental conditions does not realistically take into account the interactions of other relevant variables in the real world

- Reduced by an artificial environment

Types of Extraneous Variables

- History

- Maturation

- Testing

- Instrumentation

- Statistical Regression

- Selection Bias

- Mortality

History

Specific events that are external to the experiment but occur at the same time as the experiment

- May affect the dependent variable

Maturation

An extraneous variable attributable to changes in the test units themselves that occur with the passage of time

- Tracking and market studies that span several months are vulnerable to this because it is difficult to know how respondents are changing over time

Testing Effects

The effects on the experiment of taking a measure on the dependent variable before and after the presentation of the treatment

- Main testing effect

- Interactive testing effect

Main Testing Effect

Occurs when a prior observation affects a latter observation

- May be reactive, causing the respondents to change their attitudes simply because these attitudes have been measured

- Compromises the internal validity of the experiment

Interactive Testing Effect

A prior measurement affects the test unit's response to the independent variable

- Measured effects are typically not generalizable to the population

- Influence the experiments external validity

Instrumentation

An extraneous variable involving changes in the measuring instrument or in the observers or scores themselves

- Could lead to variations in the responses obtained

- Likely when interviewers make pre and post treatment measurements

- Effectiveness of interviewers can be different at different times

Statistical Regression

An extraneous variable that occurs when test units with extreme scores move closer to the average score during the course of the experiment

- People with extreme attitudes have more room for change so variation is more likely

- Has a confounding effect on the experimental results

Selection Bias

An extraneous variable attributable to the improper assignment of test units to treatment conditions

- Occurs when selection or assignment of test units results in treatment groups that differ on the dependent variable before the exposure to the treatment condition

Mortality

An extraneous variable attributable to the loss of test units while the experiment is in progress

- Occurs due to test units refusing to continue in the experiment

- Confounds results because it is difficult to determine if the lost test units would respond in the same manner to the treatments as those that remain

Extraneous Variables

Represents alternative explanations of experimental results

- Pose as a serious threat to the internal and external validity of an experiment

- Also called confounding variables because they confound results

Confounding Variables

Synonymous with extraneous variables, used to illustrate that extraneous variables can confound the results by influencing the dependent variable

Forms of Controlling Extraneous Variables

- Randomization

- Matching

- Statistical control

- Design control

Randomization

Involves randomly assigning test units to experimental groups by using random numbers; treatment conditions are also randomly assigned to experimental groups

- Preferred procedure for ensuring the prior equality of experimental groups

- May not be effective by measuring the possible extraneous variables and comparing them across the experimental groups

Matching

Involves matching test units on a set of key background variables before assigning them to the treatment conditions

- Test units may be similar on variables selected but unequal on others

- If matched characteristics are irrelevant to the dependent variable then the effort has been futile

Statistical Control

Measuring the extraneous variables and adjusting for their effects through statistical methods

- Effects of the extraneous variable on the dependent variable are removed by an adjustment of the dependent variable's mean value within each treatment condition

Design Control

involves the use of experiments designed to control specific extraneous variables

Experimental Design Classifications

- Pre-experimental

- True experimental

- Quasi-experimental

- Statistical

Pre-experimental Designs

Designs that do not control for extraneous factors by randomization; characterized by an absence of randomization

- One-shot case study

- One-group pretest-posttest

- Static group

True Experimental Designs

Distinguished by the fact that the researcher can randomly assign test units to experimental groups and also randomly assign treatments to experimental groups

Researcher exercises a high degree of control

- Pretest-posttest control group

- Posttest-only control group

- Solomon four-group

Quasi-Experimental Designs

Designs that apply part of the procedures of true experimentation but lack full experimental control

- Time series

- Multiple time series

Statistical Design

Designs that allow for the statistical control and analysis of external variables

- Randomized Blocks

- Latin Square

- Factorial

One Shot Case Study

Pre-experimental design in which a single group of test units is exposed to a treatment, X, and then a single measurement on the dependent variable is taken

- No random assignment

- Does not provide basis of comparing the level if X was absent

- More appropriate for exploratory than conclusive

One Group Pretest Posttest Design

Pre-experimental design in which a group of test units is measured twice; no control group

- Validity is questionable because extraneous variables are largely uncontrolled

Static Group

Pre-experimental design in which there are two groups, the experimental group which is exposed to treatment, and the control group; measurements on both groups are made only after the treatment and test units are not assigned at random

- Selection bias may be present

- Control group is sometimes referred to as the group that receives the current level of marketing activity

Pretest-Posttest Control Group Design

True experimental design in which the experimental group is exposed to the treatment but the control group is not; pretest and posttest measures are taken on both groups

- Selection bias is eliminated by randomization