A. EXPLORATORY
RESEARCH:
The primary
objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into, and an
understanding of, the problem confronting the researcher. Exploratory research
is used in cases when you must define the problem more precisely, identify
relevant courses of action, or gain additional insights before an approach can
be developed. The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and
the research process that is adopted is flexible and unstructured.
For example,
it may consist of personal interviews with industry experts. The sample,
selected to generate maximum insights, is small and non representative. The
primary data are qualitative in nature arid are analyzed accordingly. Given
these characteristics of the research process, the findings of exploratory
research should be regarded as tentative or as input to further research.
Typically,
such research is followed by further exploratory or conclusive research.
Sometimes, exploratory research, particularly qualitative research, is all the
research that is conducted. In these cases caution should be exercised in
utilizing the findings obtained.
A manager may
choose from four general categories of exploratory research methods: (1) Experience
Surveys, (2) Secondary Data Analysis, (3) Case Studies/Analysis, (4) Focus
Group and (5) Projective Techniques. Each category provides various alternative
ways of gathering information.
Methods/Classification
of exploratory research:
1)
Experience
Surveys:
In attempting
to understand the problems at hand, managers may discuss issues and ideas with
top executives and knowledgeable managers who have had personal experience in
the field. This constitutes an informal experience survey.
2)
Secondary
Data Analysis:
Another
economical and quick source of background information is trade literature in
the public library. Searching through such material is exploratory research by
means of secondary data analysis. Basic theoretical research is rarely
conducted without extensive reviews of the literature in the field or similar
research. Using secondary data may be equally important in applied research.
3)
Case
Studies/Analysis:
The purpose of the case
study method is to obtain information from one or a few situations that are
similar to the researcher’s problem situation.
For example, a bank in
U.S.A. may intensively investigate the computer-security activities of an
innovative bank in California. An academic researcher interested in doing a
nationwide survey among union workers-may first look at a few union locals to
identify the nature of any problems or topics that should be investigated. A
business research manager for Atlas bicycles used observation techniques to
conduct an exploratory case study analysis.
4)
Focus
Group:
Focus groups
are small groups of people brought together and guided by a moderator
throughout unstructured, spontaneous discussion for the purpose of gaining
information relevant to the research objective.
5)
Projective
Techniques:
Projective
techniques seek to explore hidden consumer motives for buying goods &
services by asking participants to project themselves into a situation and then
to respond to specific question regarding that situation. Sentence completion,
cartoon test, word association etc. are such type of techniques.
B.
CONCLUSIVE
RESEARCH:
Conclusive
research is typically more formal and structured than is exploratory research.
It is based on large, representative samples, and the data obtained are
subjected to quantitative analysis. The findings from this research are
considered to be conclusive in nature in that they are used as input into
managerial decision making.
1)
Descriptive
research:
As the name
implies, the major objective of descriptive research is to describe something-usually
market characteristics or functions. Descriptive research is undertaken to
obtain answers to questions of who, what, where, when and how. Examples of
descriptive studies are: 1) Market studies, which describe the size of the
market, buying power of the consumer’s availability of distributors, and
consumer profiles. 2) Market share studies, which determine the proportion of
total sales received by a company and its competitors.
There are two
types of descriptive research: a) Cross-sectional design and b) Longitudinal
design.
a)
Cross-Sectional
Design:
The
cross-sectional study is the most frequently used descriptive design in
marketing research. Cross-sectional designs involve the collection of
information from any given sample of population elements only once. The
cross-sectional studies are often described as ‘Snapshots’ of the
population. They may be either single cross-sectional or multiple
cross-sectional. eg. a study measuring students’ attitude towards adding
required internship course in BBA degree program
·
In single
cross-sectional designs only one sample of respondents is drawn from the
target population, and information is obtained from this sample only once.
These designs are also called sample survey research designs.
·
In multiple
cross sectional designs, there are two or more samples of respondents, and
information from each sample is obtained only once. Often, information from
different samples is obtained at different times.
b)
Longitudinal
designs:
In longitudinal designs, a fixed sample (or
samples) of population elements is measured repeatedly. A longitudinal design
differs from a cross sectional design in that the sample or samples remain the
same over time. In other words, the same respondents are studied over time. A
longitudinal study provides a series of pictures that give an in-depth view of
the situation and the changes that take place over time. That’s why they are
described as ‘Movies’ of the population. While cross-sectional
studies are more relevant, longitudinal studies are used by 50% of
businesses in marketing research.
Often, the
term panel is used interchangeably with the term longitudinal
design. A panel consists of a sample, of respondents, generally households hat
have agreed to provide information at specified intervals over an extended period.
Panels are maintained by syndicated firms, and panel members are compensated
for their participation with gifts coupons, information, or cash.
2)
Causal
Research:
Causal research is used
to obtain evidence of cause-and-effect (causal relationships) Managers
continually make decisions based on assumed causal relationships e.g. ‘if-then’
statement. These assumptions may not be justified, and the validity of the
causal relationships should be examined via formal research. For example, the
common assumption that a decrease in price will lead to increased sales and
market share does not hold in certain competitive environments. Causal research
is appropriate for the following purposes:
1. To understand which
variables are the causes (independent variables) and which variables are the
effects (dependent variables) of a phenomenon.
2. To
determine the nature of the relationship between the causal variables and the
effect to be predicted.
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