Descriptive Research

Types Of Research
Exploratory - Qualitative Research Conclusive Research - Descriptive Quantitative Research - Causal - Quantitative Research

Quantitative Research
Quantitative research (quant) is about getting the hard measures of a market - market share, how many people think... , how many people saw our advertising, how many people would buy...

. Quantitative surveys mean getting people to answer fixed questions in questionnaires. These questionnaires can be completed over the telephone, face-to-face, through the post or via the Internet. All people answer the same question. Quantitative interviewers are trained not to stray from the script and good questionnaire design is extremely important Analysis is done by frequency distributions, simple percentages, graphs and other QT tools.

Descriptive RD
Descriptions of characteristics of a population (who, what, where, when, how) Estimates of the proportions of populations having these characteristics Discovery of associations among different variables (correlational) Data collection may be spread over a large number of people over a large geographic area

Data collection methods 1. Survey 2. Observation

Descriptive Research 1. Surveys

To reveal summary statistics by showing responses to all possible questionnaire items. Often provide leads in identifying needed changes Well-designed data collection instruments May be used to explore relationships between 2 or more variables.

Descriptive Research Survey

Telephone interviews Personal interviews Mailed questionnaires
Factors to be considered Sampling Type of population Question Form Question Content Response rates Costs Available facilities

Descriptive Research -Survey

Telephone Interviewing - traditional - CATI (computer assisted telephone interviewing)

Descriptive Research Telephone Interview

Advantages Less expensive Less time-consuming Disadvantages Limited telephone access Lack of interviewers ability to observe the respondent and obtain visual cues

Descriptive research Personal Interviewing

- In home - Mall Intercept - CAPI (computer assisted personal interviewing kiosks, computers)

Case
Bayer consumer care got Aleve from P& G in 1996 - slow moving product. CLT Research Associates conducted in home interviews to with a random sample of 800 men and women aged between 18 & 75 who had used a nonprescription pain reliever in the past year. 24 % of these were heavy users (more than 1/3rd of these had tried Aleve)

Objective : identify a strategy so that these heavy users will choose Aleve 249 participants rated various statements about Aleve. Emotional triggers control over pain freedom to do the things you want Also, found out that Aleve users were more likely to be suffering from arthritis and back pain

liberation from tough pain, making a dramatic difference in the quality of life Next year sales 16 % + 2008 doubled the production of the drug

Descriptive Research Personal Interviews

More time efficient Allow the researcher to establish a rapport with the respondent Allow the acquisition of more in-depth information Allow for interviewer observation Allow the interviewer to obtain visual cues May be personal or telephone interviews

Descriptive Research Personal Interviews

Disadvantages Require more staff time Require more travel time

Mailed Questionnaires
Mail Interviewing - questionnaires are mailed Mail Panels - E mail Interviews - Internet Interviews ( go to a website )

Descriptive Research
Survey Form Mailed Questionnaires
Advantages
Ability to reach large number of people across a wide geographic area Ease and low cost of distribution Minimal amount of staff required Allows respondents to respond in their time frame

Disadvantages Lower response rate Need to design a survey instrument with a simple format

Descriptive Research
Survey Form Mailed Questionnaires
A letter of transmittal should accompany mailed questionnaires. Should state purpose and importance of research Should state importance of responding Should give a time frame to respond Should include a confidentiality statement Should include an offer to share results Should include a thank-you note to the respondent

Observation

Case
Domain (Domayne ) Stores 23 furniture stores Videotaped consumers in one of its stores Analysis : People shopped for furniture in twos Out of 1034 customers, 954 came in pairs Male customers were ill at ease amid fluffed pillows and floral duvets

the typical customer needs to be in the store for at least 9 minutes to feel comfortable enough to buy if the spouse or partner pulls her away, the sale is lost Result : The company revamped its 23 stores with entertainment centers where sports fans can watch live events

Descriptive Research Observational Research Methods

1. Naturally occurring behaviors observed in natural contexts 2. Contexts that are contrived to be realistic

Descriptive Research Observational Research Methods

Require direct observation of behavior Data gathered without intermediary instruments Can yield a wealth of invaluable information Can be a complicated process Can be used to determine how people interact with technology in various stages of design and implementation

Descriptive Research Observational Research Methods

2 Forms of Observational Research
Structured Unstructured

Descriptive Research Observational Research Methods

Structured Observations Rigid and controlled Predetermined methods Unstructured Observations
Used to determine unselective, detailed, continuous description of behavior. Detects unintended effects More time consuming because of time and labor required to collect and analyze sets of extensive observations

Descriptive Research Observational Research Methods

Develop observation form May be paper and pencil or electronic May use a rating scale to evaluate behavior A 3-point rating scale is sufficient

Descriptive Research Observational Research Methods

Newer Mediated Observation Techniques Audio Videotape Computers provide on-line monitoring (process of capturing characteristics of the human-computer interaction automatically)
Keystroke records Audit trails Logging data

Impact and Future of Descriptive Research

Descriptive Research methods have gained acceptance Number of descriptive studies published in research journals has increased Descriptive research leads to prescriptions that instructional designers and educators can heed as they consider future direction

Descriptive research
Cross sectional design : only one sample is drawn from the target population. Multiple Cross sectional design : two or more samples are drawn from the target population. Information is obtained once Longitudinal designs : a fixed sample (or samples) is measured over the same variables.