Chapter 3 - Research Options Flashcards
Three types of research (by research objective)
Exploratory
Descriptive
Causal
Exploratory Research
Gathers preliminary information
Defines equity considerations of the program
Descriptive Research
Research that describes the phenomena of interest. Includes two forms: cross-sectional (data collection of a sample at a specific point in time), longitudinal (data collection of the same sample over a long-period of time)
Causal research
Attempt to uncover what factor or factors cause some event
4 types of research (by stage in planning) (FPME)
Formative research
Pretest research
Monitoring research
Evaluation research
Formative research
Helps form strategies
Includes primary or secondary research (start with secondary, cheaper and lots of information already available)
Pretest research
Evaluates alternative strategies
Fine-tunes the approaches that appeal
Monitoring research
Measures outputs and outcomes
Provides input indicating course corrections
Evaluation research
Short term: measures and reports outcomes
Long term: measures and reports impacts
2 types of research (by information souce)
Secondary research
Primary research
Research types (by approach to primary data collection)
Key informant interviews
Projective tests
Focus groups
Crowdsourcing
Participatory action
Human-centered
Experimental
Observational
Ethnographic
Mystery shopper
Mobile tech
ZMET
Key informant interviews
Conducted with decision makers
Interpret secondary data, reveal barriers to audience behaviours
Projective tests
A technique to tap into respondents’ deepest feelings by having them project those feelings into an unstructured situation
Focus groups
Used to gain insights into priority audiences’ thoughts
Barriers, benefits, and motivators
Focus group primer
Planning: to establish purpose of the group
Participants: ideally between 8 and 12
Recruitment: 10-14 participants recruited
Discussion guide: detailed outline of topics
Moderator: the group facilitator
Facility: designated rooms and/or online
Incentive: monetary or opportunity based
Analysis: identifying themes versus priorities
Surveys
Uses a variety of contact methods
Findings are typically quantitative in nature (should be at least 30)
Crowdsourcing
Crowd research from online communities
Participatory action research
Participants are regarded as experts
Studies are conducted to test approaches
Various methods are used
Human-centered design research
Priority audiences develop interventions
Audience are considered an advisory group
Feedback of effort is provided
Experimental research
Controlled experiments, also called pilot
Captures cause-and-effect relationships
Observational research
Measures actual versus self-reported behaviours
Machine observation
Such as eye tracking, in-store tracking, gender and age recognition systems, traffic counters, etc
Ethnographic research
Provides researchers with immersion in their natural environment
Includes observation and face-to-face interviews
Advantages of ethnographic research
Reality-based: shows exactly how consumers live with a product, not just what they say about it or how they remember using it
Can reveal product problems
Can show how, when, where, why people shop for brands
See other advantages in slides
Mystery shoppers
Posing as customers to test responses
eg: if you work at walmart, you can fake return an item to see how the service is
Mobile technology
Using cell phones for surveying
Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique
Tapping the brain to explore deep metaphors
2 types of research (by rigor)
Qualitative
Quantitative
Qualitative research
Relatively small samples
Identifying and seeking clarity on issues
Focus groups, personal interviews, observations used
Quantitative Research
Large sample sizes, rigorous sampling procedures
Beliefs predictive of behavioural change
Data analysis within the theoretical framework
Steps in developing a research plan
- Purpose
- Audience
- Informational objectives
- Respondents
- Technique/survey instrument
- Sample size, source, and selection (550 people fully captures sample)
- Pretest and fielding
- Analysis
- Report
Distribution of data terms
Mode, median, mean, range
*always use mode, not mean. Mean can be misleading due to outliers
Measures of variability terms
Margin of error: measure of sample representing population
Confidence interval: statistic plus or minus a margin of error
Confidence level: probability associated with a confidence interval
Standard deviation: the spread of dispersion of a set of data
Analytical technique terms
Cross-tabs: two-way tables of data
Factor analysis: determines what variables contribute to results
Cluster analysis: used to identify segments
Conjoint analysis: explores how options affect intent
Discriminant analysis: used to find the differentiating variables
Cost-efficient research
Use available data (secondary)
Conduct systematic observations (volunteer forms)
Low-cost experimentations (pilots)
Using quota sampling instead of probability sampling
Shared cost studies
Professors/students
Social media listening
A process of monitoring social media channels for mentions of brands, competitors, products, and other information
Reasons to collect social media data
Acquire real time insights
Optimize marketing and ad strategies
Develop content strategies
Measure campaign effect
Find people to engage with
Track KPIs
Monitor competitors
Triangulation
Process of checking findings against what other people say and against similar research conducted
