Exploratory, Descriptive, and Causal Flashcards
Exam_1_Study
Types of Research Design
Exploratory:
Discover ideas and insight
Descriptive:
Describing a population with respect to important variables
Causal:
Used to establish cause-and-effect relationships between variables
Exploratory Research
Discover ideas and insight
Is conducted to describe and provide a better understanding of a particular situation
Not designed to come up with answers
Typical leads researchers to a hypothesis
Types of Exploratory Research
Literature Search
Depth Interviews
Focus Groups
Case Analysis
Descriptive Research
Describing a population with respect to important variables
Describes the characteristics of certain groups
Determine the proportion of people who behave in a certain way
Make specific predictions
Determine relationships between variables
Key questions descriptive research should attempt to answer:
Who, what, when, where, why, and how.
Literature Search
Search of popular press, trade, and academic literature or published statistics from research firms or governmental agencies.
Fast and Inexpensive
All Projects should Start Here
Depth (In-Depth) Interviews
Interview with people knowledgeable about the general subject being investigated.
Current Customer, Sales Rep., Retailers, Wholesalers, and so on.
Expensive and Time-Consuming
Require well trained interviewers → High Salaries
–Neutral probes and questions should be used.
Require Researchers with expertise to analyze the data.
Focus Groups
Small Group Interviews rely on group discussion
Very commonly used
Interactive in nature and allow group discussion
Internet based focus groups
Well Trained Moderator
2 Pitfalls of Focus Groups
It is easy for managers to see what they expect to see in focus group results
Focus groups are one form of exploratory research and should not be expected to deliver final results or answers to a decision problems
Case Analysis
Intensive study of selected examples of phenomenon (event).
Example: Eye Track Tech to observe purchase behavior.
2 Common Types Techniques Used of Case Studies
Benchmarking: observing the behavior of a competitor, reverse engineering.
Ethnography: observing consumers during the course of their daily life. (P&G in China)
2 Descriptive Pathways
Longitudinal Analysis
Repeated Measures, over time, of a fixed sample
Continuous Panel and Discontinuous Panel
Cross-Sectional Study
Single point inn time measures of a sample selected from a population.
Causal Research
Used to establish cause-and-effect relationships between variables
Condition X causes Event Y
Field and Lab
Laboratory Experiment
Includes a situation with exact conditions → Chemistry Lab
Control of variables other than X and Y is maximized → Labs are Sterile
X variables are manipulated
Field Experiment
Includes a situation with fluid conditions → Retail Store
Control of variables other than X or Y is challenging → Store Conditions Vary
X variables are manipulated
