The Language Of

Research

Scientific Method
Rationalism
Empirical
Verifiable
Cumulative
Deterministic
Ethical and Ideological Neutrality
Statistical Generalization

DISCOURSE
Argument

Exposition

Type I:
Inductive

Type II:
Deductive

Double Movement Of Reflective

Thought

Why didnt sales increase?

Induction
Fact1:
We promote a product
but sales did not
increase.

Why?

Deduction1: Ineffective promotion

will not increase sales

Fact2:
We run an effective
promotion and sales
increase.

Hypothesis:
The promotion was
poorly executed.

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Concepts
Concepts are generally accepted collection of

meanings associated with certain events,

objects, conditions, situations and behaviors.
Concepts are mental representations and are

typically based on experience.

Classifying and categorizing objects or events

beyond any single observation creates concept.

Construct
A construct is an image or an abstract idea .
Constructs are built when the idea or image

we intend to convey is not subject to direct

observation.

Customer satisfaction
Logical reasoning
Emotional intelligence
Loyalty
Service quality

How to measure (or manage)?

What cant be measured, cant be

managed.

Deconstruct
Customer Behavioural Intentions
I want to tell other people positive things about this retail
store.
I want to recommend this retail store to my friends and
relatives.
I have a strong intention to visit this store again.
I consider this retail store as my first choice as compared
to others.

Variable- which helps in

measuring
Symbol of an event, act, characteristic , trait, or

attribute that can be measured and to which we

assign values.
Independent variable (predictor variable)
Dependent variable (criterion variable)
Moderating variable
Extraneous variable
Intervening variable

PROPOSITION AND HYPOTHESES

A proposition is a statement about observable phenomenon
that may be judged as true or false.
When a proposition is formulated for empirical testing, it is
called a hypotheses.

Role of Hypothesis

It guides the direction of the study.

It identifies facts that are relevant and those that are not.
It suggests which form of research design is likely to be most
appropriate.
It provides a framework for organizing the conclusions that result.

Model
A representation of a system constructed to study some
aspect of that system or the system as a whole.
A models purpose is to increase our understanding,
prediction, and control of the complexities of the
marketing environment.

Research Model

Gronross Service Quality Model

Theory
A set of systematically interrelated concepts, definitions,
and propositions that are advanced to explain and predict
phenomenon.
Theories are generalizations we make about variables and
the relationships among them.

GAP Theory Of Service Quality

SQi = (Pij Eij)
where: SQi = perceived service quality of individual i.
K = number of service attributes/ items
P = perception of individual i with respect to performance of
a service firm attribute j.
E = service quality expectation for attribute j that is the
relevant norm for individual i.

The Research Process

Problem Discovery and Definition

A Problem Well Defined Is

A Problem Half Solved
The formulation of a problem is often more essential than
its solution. Albert Einstein
Too often managers concentrate on finding the right
answer than asking the right question.
Defining a problem may be more difficult than solving it.

Ha-Psu-Shu-Tse
The owner of this brand of Indian fried bread mix,
thought his product, one of the few American food
products available in the United States, was not
selling, because it was not highly advertised. He
wanted a management consulting group to
conduct some research concerning advertising
themes.

 The management consultants pointed out to the

Ha-Psu-Shu-Tse family that the brand name on
the bread might be the foremost source of
concern.
It was suggested that investigating the brand
image and consumer behaviour research might
be the starting point, rather the advertising copy
research.

Management Research Question Hierarchy

Discover
Management
Dilemma
Exploration

Define
Management
Question

Exploration
Define
Research
Question

Covering Kids
Millions of children in the country go without basic health
care. The government decides to establish the State
Childrens Health Insurance Program to provide health care
to the children of working parents without insurance.

 What must be done to enroll the largest percentage of

eligible children in Health Program?

 What keeps eligible families from taking advantage of

health program?
Is a negative stigma attached to participation in
government health care programs?

 Research revealed that most working parents did not

realize their children were eligible for a government program.

What must be communicated to the parents of eligible

children to get them to enroll their children in these
programs?

Proposing Research

Research
Question
Revise
Question
Propose
Research

Budget and Value Assessment

Value> Cost
Issue
Request
For
Proposal

Obtain
Budget &
Design
approval

Cost> Value

Rejected
Approved

Execute
Research Design

Management
Decision
without
Research

Designing the Research Project

A master plan specifying the methods and procedures for
collecting and analyzing needed information.
A framework of the research plan or action. It depends on:
Objectives of the study
Available data sources
Urgency of the decision
Cost of obtaining data

Gathering The Data

Primary data
Secondary data

Processing & Analyzing The Data

Editing
Omissions, legibility and consistency in classification
Coding
Meaningful categories and character symbols
Facilitated hand or computer tabulation
Analysis
determining consistent patterns
Summarizing the appropriate details revealed

Covering Kids
Ultimately a creative combination of research design and
data analysis revealed
The winning communications framework: Being a Good
Parent means raising happy, healthy children and enrolling in
a program offering low cost or free health is a smart choice
for families.
Every communication must give working parents easy,
foolproof way of determine if their children were eligible
while reinforcing the logic that making the call to enroll their
children would address parents innate desire to be good
parents.

Formulating Conclusions And

Preparing The Report

Interpret the information

Make conclusions for managerial decisions

Research Process Problems

The favored-Technique Syndrome
Company Database Mining
Unsearchable Questions
Ill-Defined Management Problems
Politically Motivated Research