An Introduction to

Research

The Research Process: 11 Steps

Step One:
Step Two:
Step Three:
Step Four:
Step Five:

Step Six:

Establishing the Need for Research

Defining the Problem
Establishing Research Objectives
Determining Research Design
Identifying Information Types and
Sources
Determining Methods of Accessing
Data

The Research Process: 11 Steps cont

Step Seven:
Step Eight:
Step Nine:
Step Ten:
Step Eleven:

Designing Data Collection Forms

Determining Sample Plan and Size
Collecting Data
Analyzing Data
Preparing and Presenting the Final
Research Report

The Research Process

Step One: Establish the Need for Research

Research is not needed when the:

required information is already available
decisions need to be made now
organization cant afford the research
costs outweigh the value of the research

The Research Process

Step Two: Define the Problem

The most important step in the Research process

is defining the problem.

The Research Process

Step Three: Establish Research Objectives

What information is needed in order to solve the

problem?

The Research Process

Step Four: Determine Research Design

Exploratory Research: collecting information in

an unstructured and informal manner
Descriptive Research: refers to a set of methods
and procedures describing marketing variables
Causal Research (experiments and other
approaches): allows isolation of causes and
effects

The Research Process

Step Five: Identify Information Types and Sources

Secondary Data: information that has been

collected for some purpose other than the
research at hand
Primary Data: information that has been gathered
specifically for the research objectives at hand

The Research Process

Step Six: Determine Methods of Accessing Data

Secondary Data: accessing data through sources such as

the Internet and library
Primary Data: collecting data from participants through
methods such as telephone, mail, online, and face-to-face
(quantitative), and observation studies and focus groups
(qualitative)

The Research Process

Step Seven: Design Data Collection Forms

The design of the data collection form that is

used to ask or observe and record information in
Research projects is critical to the success of the
project.
It is easy to write a set of questions but very
difficult to construct a questionnaire.
General types of instruments (forms)
Questionnaires
Observation Study forms (protocols)

The Research Process

Step Eight: Determine Sample Plan and Size

Sample plan: refers to the process used to select

units from the population to be included in the
sample
Sample size: refers to determining how many
elements (units) of the population should be
included in the sample

The Research Process

Step Nine: Collect Data

Sound data collection is very important because,

regardless of the data analysis methods used,
data analysis cannot fix bad data. 12
Nonsampling errors may occur during data
collection. These are related to poor design
and/or execution of the data gathering.
Sampling errors may occur based purely on
chance

The Research Process

Step Ten: Analyze Data

Data analysis: involves entering data into

computer files, inspecting data for errors (data
cleaning), running tabulations (frequencies), and
conducting various statistical tests

The Research Process

Step Eleven: Prepare and Present the Final
Research Report

Findings are presented, often by research

objective, in a clear and concise way.
The need for a good report cannot be overstated.
It is the report, and/or its presentation, that
properly communicates the results to the client.

Challenges faced in India

Countrys vast size

Diversity in the population
Infrastructure problem
Literacy Issues
Attitudinal problems

Research Design
A Statement of Objectives
Data inputs required on the basis of which the
research problem has to be solved
Method of Analysis
Simply a BluePrint!

Exploratory Research Design

Provides info to enable a more precise problem
definition or hypothesis formulation
Establishing research priorities
Gives researched a feel of the problem
Good start
Methods Used
Survey of literature
Survey of experienced individuals
Analysis of selected case situations

Descriptive Research Designs

Most commonly used
Combination of qualitative and quantitative
More formal as compared to Exploratory
Types
Panel Discussion
Focus Groups
Cross Sectional Designs

Casual Research

It is the testing of a hypothesis on the cause and effect within a given

market.
Casual Research explores the effect of one thing on another and more
specifically, the effect of one variable on another. The research is used
to measure what impact a specific change will have on existing norms
and allows market researchers to predict hypothetical scenarios upon
which a company can base its business plan. For example, if a clothing
company currently sells blue denim jeans, casual research can
measure the impact of the company changing the product design to the
colour white. Following the research, company bosses will be able to
decide whether changing the colour of the jeans to white would be
profitable. To summarise, casual research is a way of seeing how
actions now will affect a business in the future

Primary Versus Secondary Data

Primary data: information that is developed or

gathered by the researcher specifically for the
research project at hand
Secondary data: information that has previously
been gathered by someone other than the
researcher and/or for some other purpose than
the research project at hand

Classification of Secondary Data

Internal secondary data: data that have been

collected within the firm
Internal databases: databases (collection of data
and information describing items of interest)
consisting of information gathered by a company
typically during the normal course of business
transactions

Classification of Secondary Datacont.

External secondary data: data obtained from

outside the firm
Types:
Published
Syndicated Services Data
External Databases

Advantages of Secondary Data

Obtained quickly (compared to primary data

gathering)
Inexpensive (compared to primary data gathering)
Usually available
Enhances existing primary data

Disadvantages of Secondary Data

Mismatch of the units of measurement

Need daily data yet only monthly available, need incomes
of $75,000 and over only available $50,000 and over

Differing class definitions used Need users in

between heavy, medium or light users
Timeliness (how current is the secondary data)
Lack of information needed to assess the
credibility of the reported data (next slide)

Evaluating Secondary Data

What was the purpose of the study?

Who collected the information and when was this
done?
What information was collected (questions,
scales, etc.)?
How was the information obtained (sampling
frame, method of sample draw, communication
method, resulting sample, etc.)?
How consistent is the information with other
published information?

Sources of Error in Data Collection

Investigator
Personal Bias
Misinterpretation

Respondent
Ambiguity
Not true feedback provided

Probability Sampling

Simple Random sampling

Systematic sampling
Stratified sampling
Multistage Sampling

Non-probability Sampling Methods

Convenience:
100 stores in one location
50 students in a class
One state in a country
Judgment: Researcher draws a sample that he thinks is the
representation of the population
Quota Sampling: Like Stratified sampling but the difference is
that the selection of sample in the quota is not random (but
judgment of researcher) the way it is with Stratified sampling
Snowball Sampling

Thank You