Market Research (data collection) Flashcards
Contact methods
mail, telephone, personal, online
Research approaches
observation, survey, experiment
Sampling plan
sampling unit, sample size, sampling procedure
Research instruments
questionnaire, mechanical instruments
Observations
gathering primary data by observing relevant people, actions, and situations; researchers often observe consumer behavior to gain customer insights they can’t obtain by simply asking customers questions
Ethnographic research
a form of observational research that involves sending trained observers to watch and interact with consumers in their “natural environments”
Netnography
observing consumers in a natural context on the internet and mobile space
Surveys
gathering primary data by directly asking people questions about their knowledge, attitudes, preferences and buying behavior; lots of flexibility -> can be used to obtain many different kinds of information in many different situations
Experiments
gathering primary data by selecting matched groups of subjects, giving them different treatments, controlling related factors, and checking for differences in group responses; experimental research tries to explain cause-and-effect relationships
Individual interviewing
involves talking with people in their homes or offices or on the street; very flexible; interviewers can show subjects actual products and observe real time reactions; costs 3 to 4x more than phone
Group interviewing
aka focus groups; consists of a grouping of invited subjecs to meet with trained moderator to talk about product, service, or organization; participants are typically compensated; moderator encourages free and easy discussion but simultaneously ‘focusses’ discussion; able to observe facial expressions, body movement, group interplay, conversational flows
Steps of focus groups
define research problem and aims; prepare guidelines for conducting interview; identify moderator; recruit participants; perform focus group recording participants’ verbalism; analyze and interpret results; write down final report
Online (contact methods)
use as survey medium- can include questionnaire on web or social media sites, use email or mobile devices to invite people to answer questions; create online panels that provide feedback, conduct live discussions, or online focus groups; online experiments- different prices, headlines, product features
Advantages of online research
speed- can quickly and easily distribute surveys to thousands of respondents simultaneously via email or posting on selected sites; cost saving- usually costs much less than research conducted through mail, phone or personal interviews; interaction- internet based surveys also tend to be more interactive and engaging
Sampling plan
a segment of population selected for marketing research to represent population as a whole; sampling should be representative as yo make more accurate estimates of thoughts and behaviors of larger population; who? how many? how (sampling procedure)?
Probability sample
each population member has known chance of being included in sample and researchers can calculate confidence limits for sampling error
Non-probability sample
preferred when probability sampling costs too much or takes too much; sampling error cannot be measured
Questionnaires
by far most common instrument; can be administered in person, by phone, by email, or online; very flexible; made up of close-ended questions or open-ended questions
Closed-ended questions
include all possible answers, and subjects make choices among them; examples include multiple choice questions and scale questions; multiple choice, ordering, scale (Likert); ex. ‘what is the highest level of education you have completed?’
Open-ended questions
allow respondents to answer in their own words; ex. ‘in one word, why did you choose this supermarket?’ (word cloud)
Other research instruments
mechanical instruments- instruments to monitor consumer behavior; ex. check out scanners, facial expressions sensors/software, eye tracking, neurosciences
