Chapter 5: Marketing Research Flashcards
Marketing research
The process of planning, collecting, and analyzing data relevant to a marketing decision.
Marketing research objective
Specific statement about the information needed to solve the research question.
Research design
A plan that specifies how to answer the research question and achieve the research objectives by laying out the research tools and techniques necessary to collect and analyze data.
Exploratory research
An informal discovery process that attempts to gain insights and a better understanding of the management and research problems.
Conclusive research
A more specific type of research that attempts to provide clarity to a decision maker by identifying specific courses of action.
Descriptive research
A type of conclusive research that attempts to describe marketing phenomena and characteristics.
Causal research
A type of conclusive research that focuses on the cause and effect of two variables and attempts to find some correlation between them.
Secondary data
Data previously collected for any purpose other than the one at hand.
Primary data
Information that is collected for the first time and is used for solving the particular problem under investigation.
Depth interview
An interview that involves a discussion between a well-trained researcher and a respondent who is asked about attitudes and perspectives on a topic.
Focus group
A small group of recruited participants engaged in a non-structured discussion in a casual environment.
Survey research
The most popular technique for gathering primary data, in which a researcher interacts with people to obtain facts, opinions, and attitudes.
Mall intercept interviews
Interviewing people in the common areas of shopping malls.
Computer-assisted personal interviewing
A technique in which the interviewer reads the questions from a computer screen and enters the respondent’s data directly into a computer.
Computer-assisted self-interviewing
A technique in which the respondent reads questions on a computer screen and directly keys his or her answers into a computer.
Central-location telephone (CLT) facility
A specially-designed phone room used to conduct telephone interviewing.
Open-ended question
An interview question that encourages an answer phrased in the respondent’s own words.
Closed-ended question
An interview question that asks the respondent to make a selection from a limited list of responses.
Scaled-response question
A closed-ended question designed to measure the intensity of a respondent’s answer.
Observation research
Watching people or phenomena in a controlled manner, through either human or machine methods.
Mystery shoppers
Researchers posing as customers who gather observational data about a store.
Ethnographic research
The study of human behaviour in its natural context; involves observation of behaviour and physical setting.
Experiment
A method a researcher uses to gather primary data to determine cause and effect.
Sample
A subset from a larger population.
Probability sample
A sample in which every element in the population has a known statistical likelihood of being selected.
Random sample
A sample arranged in such a way that every element of the population has an equal chance of being selected as part of the sample.
Nonprobability sample
Any sample in which little or no attempt is made to have a representative cross-section of the population.
Convenience sample
A form of nonprobability sample using respondents who are convenient, or readily accessible, to the researcher - for example, employees, friends, or relatives.
Measurement error
An error that occurs when the information desired by the researcher differs from the information provided by the measurement process.
Sampling error
An error that occurs when a sample does not represent the target population.
Frame error
A sample drawn from a population that differs from the target population.
Random error
A type of sampling error in which the selected sample is an imperfect representation of the overall population.
Cross-tabulation
A method of analyzing data that shows the analyst the responses to one question in relation to the responses to one or more other questions.
Big data
Large amounts of data collected from interactions with customers that reveal trends and patterns.
Competitive intelligence
An intelligence system that helps managers assess their competition and vendors in order to become more efficient and effective competitors.
Six steps in marketing research process
Identify the problem. Design the research. Collect the data. Analyze the data. Present the report. Provide followup.
