Chapter 1: The role of marketing research and the research

process

1. Marketing research: the systematic and objective process of generating information to aid in
making marketing decisions.
- Marketing information is not intuitive or haphazardly gathered. Research is taking
another, more careful look at the data to discover all that is known about the subject.
- If the information or collected data is to be accurate, researcher must be objective. If bias
enters to the research process, the value of the research is reduced.
2. Types of researches
- Basic (pure) research: research conducted to explain the limits of knowledge, to verify the
acceptability of a given theory, or to learn more about certain concept.
- Applied research: research conducted when a decision must be made about a real-life problem.
- PRIMARY: Research commissioned and designed to your individual needs

QUALITATIVE QUANTITATIVE

- Ideas - Numbers
- Feelings - Counting
- Perceptions - Measuring
- Unstructured - Structured
- Exploratory - Conclusive
- Focus Groups - Surveys
- Depth Interviews - Experiments
- No Statistics - Observation
- No Samples - Statistics
- Samples

- SECONDARY: Research commissioned and conducted by another party in the past, now published
and available to buyers at a relatively cheaper cost (Government Publications, Academic Journals,
 Business & Trade Publications, Industry Association Publications, The Internet, On-line Databases,
Syndicated Sources)
- Exploratory research: initial research conducted to clarify and define a problem. Its purpose is to
progressively narrow the scope of the research topic and transform ambiguous problems into
well-defined ones that incorporate specific research objectives, by investigating any existing
studies in the subject, talking with knowledge individuals, and informally investigating the
situation.
- Descriptive research: research designed to describe characteristics of a population or
phenomenon, determine the answers to who, what, when where and how. Descriptive research
often helps segment and target markets. Its based on some previous understanding of the
nature of the problems and its necessary to determine the course of action need to be collected.
- Causal research: research conducted to identify cause and affect relationships among variables.
3. Determining when to conduct Marketing Research
 Chap 2: Problem definition and the research process

1. Research Brief:

o Background Information
The company and its marketplace.
o The marketing problem or opportunity to be studied.
Should be focused on one of the 4 or 7Ps or related marketing issues. Eg. Buyer
behavior, segmentation, positioning,
o Research Purpose
A clear definition of why marketing research is needed.
What are the general aims of the research?
What are the key decisions to be made?
o Research Objectives
A very specific list of questions to be answered by the research.
What specific issues should the research cover? What do you really need to know?
o Hypothesis
Do you think you already know some of the answers?
Use research to confirm or deny your hypothesis. A hypothesis is a declarative testable
statement.
o Decision Alternatives
What decision alternatives are you likely to be faced with when the research is
completed?
Outline all possible decision options.
What are the strategies you will need to decide between?
o Criteria for the Decisions
How will you know if the response to your new product is positive enough to launch?
What information will you use to make your decision or select one decision option
over another?
At what level of response will you decide to run your advertisement?
o Timing
When do you need your information?
Outline the full process.
o Budget
How much money is available to do the research?
What is the information worth to your company?
o Contact Name
Who will be the liaison person in your organisation for this project?
o Criterion for Choice of Supplier
If this brief is being put out for competitive tender, on what basis will you choose
between the competing research firms?
Consider ranking all the factors that you consider important in choosing a research
firm.
2. The research process: (6 stages)

1) Defining the problem

2) Planning a research design
3) Planning a sample
4) Collecting the date
5) Analysing the data
6) Formulating the conclusion and preparing the report

3. Stage 1: Problem Definition: (6 steps)

 1) Ascertain the decision-makers objectives managerial goals expressed in
measurable terms
2) Understand the background of the problem
3) Isolate and identify the problem, not the symptoms
4) Determine the unit of analysis the researcher must specify whether the
investigation will collect data about individuals, households, organisations,
departments, geographical areas or objects.
5) Determine the relevant variables a variable represents a quality that can exhibit
differences in value, usually in magnitude or strength.
6) State the research questions (hypothesis) and research objectives.

Chap 3: Exploratory research and qualitative analysis

1. Exploratory research: is initial research conducted to clarify and define the nature of a problem.
Exploratory research designs provide qualitative data. Usually, exploratory research provides greater
understanding of a concept or crystallized a problem rather than providing precise measurement or
quantification.
Purpose: intertwined with the need for a clear and precise statement of the recognized problem.
- Diagnosing a situation: to clarify a problems nature, to diagnose the dimension of
problem and to get some information on unfamiliar topic
- Screening alternatives: to screen new product ideas and to test the concept
- Concept testing: procedure that tests some sort of stimulus as a proxy for an idea about a
new, revised, or repositioned product, service or strategy
- Discovering new ideas: uncovering customer needs
Methods:
Experience survey : individuals who are knowledgeable about a particular research problem
are questioned

Secondary data analysis : analyse the data that has already existed
Case study method : intensively investigates one or few situations similar to the problem
situation
 Pilot study : collective term for any small-scale exploratory research project that uses
sampling but does not apply rigorous standards

2. Qualitative research:
Focus on words and observations: like stories, visual portrayals, meaningful characterizations,
interpretation and other expressive description, rather on numbers.
Purpose: exploratory
Uses:
Helping to define problems and objectives more fully
Identify and exploring product positioning platforms and communication concept
Understanding the target groups needs, wants, expectations, usage situations and
behavior, vocabulary
Learning the perspective and vocabulary of the consumers
Identify the key issues to be addressed in a future quantitative study
Help generate, evaluate, and clarify new product ideas

Techniques:
1. Focus group: An unstructured, free-flowing interview with a small group of people, allow
individuals to initiate and elaborate on the topics of discussion.

a. Group composition
- 6 to 10 people
- Relatively homogeneous
- Similar lifestyles and experiences
- Recruited to specific criteria
- Duration approx 1.5-2hr
- Moderator: the person who leads a focus group discussion
- One way mirror or video & audio tape
Advantages Disadvantages
Synergism: the combined effort of the group will produce Misuse
a wider range of information
Snowballing: a comment by one individual often triggers Misjudge
a chain of responses from the other participants

Stimulation: after a brief introductory period, the Moderation

respondents want to express their ideas and expose their
feelings as the general level of excitement over the topic
increases

Security: the individual usually can find some comfort in Messy

the fact that his or her feelings are similar to those of
others in the group.

Spontaneity: because no individual is required to answer Misrepresentation

any given question in a group interview, the individuals
responses can be more spontaneous and less
conventional
Serendipity: the group affords a greater opportunity to
develop an idea to its full potential

Scientific scrutiny: the group interview allows closer

scrutiny in several ways.

Structure: the group interview affords more control than

the individual interview with regard to the topics covered
and the depth in which they are treated.

Speed: the group interview permits securing a given

number of interviews more quickly than does
interviewing individual respondents

Specialization: the group interview allows the use of a more highly trained interviewer
(moderator the person who leads a focus group discussion).

Interactive media and online focus groups

Online focus group: members use Internet technology to provide unstructured
comments by entering their remarks into a computer.
Private chat rooms
Online moderator
Less interaction = less synergy and snowballing
Moderator cannot see body language and facial expressions
Security in anonymity

2. In-depth Interview: A relatively unstructured extensive interview in which the interviewer

asks many questions and probes for in-depth answers about an undisguised topic.
Face to face/one on one
Pre-arranged time & location
Office or home environment
Unstructured format
Duration 1-1.5 hrs
Executive interviewer or qualitative researcher

Advantages Disadvantages
Great depths of insight can be covered Skilled interviewers are expensive and
difficult to find.
It associates the response directly with the Lack of structure makes the results
respondent susceptible to interviewer b
There is no social pressure to conform to Quality and the completeness of the results
group norms depends on the interviewer
 Data is problematic to analyze and
interpret.

3. Projective techniques: an indirect means of questioning that enables a respondent to project

beliefs and feelings on to a third party, and inanimate object, or a task situation. (p.75)
a. Word association tests: a projective technique in which the subject is presented with
a list of words, one at a time, and asked to respond with the first words that comes to
mind.
b. Sentence completion method: A projective technique in which respondents are
required to complete a number of partial sentences with the first word or phrase that
comes to mind.
c. Third- person technique and role-playing: A projective technique in which the
respondent is asked why a third person does what he or she does or what he or she
thinks about a product. The respondent is expected to transfer his or her attitudes to
the third person.
d. Role playing technique: a projective technique that required the subject to act out
someone elses behavior in a particular setting.
e. Thematic apperception-test (TAT): a projective technique that presents a series of
pictures to research subjects and asks them to provide a description of or a story
about the pictures.

Projective techniques should overcome problems of

Awareness
Sub-conscious or repressed attitudes
Memory retrieval
Language difficulties
Articulation
Social Factors
 Chapter 4: Digital research using secondary data

I. Secondary data research:

a. Definition: are gathered and recorded by someone else prior to (and for purposes other than)
the current project. Secondary data is usually historical and already assembled. They require no
access to respondents or subjects.
b. Advantages:
- The primary advantage of secondary data comes from their availability
- Obtaining them is almost always faster and less expensive than acquiring primary data (save
money and time)
- Some data cannot be obtained using primary data collection procedures such as collecting the
number of population in the society.
c. Disadvantages:
- They were not designed specifically to meet the researchers needs. Researcher must ask how
pertinent (thi ch h p) the data are to their particular project.
- Even it is available; the secondary data do not adequately (y u ) satisfy research needs:
outdated information, variation in definition of terms, different units of measurement, and lack
of information to verify the datas accuracy.
- The user has no control over their accuracy. Research conducted by other persons may be
biased to support the vested interest of the source. If the possibility of bias exists, the
secondary data should not be used.
d. Data conversion (data transformation) is the process of changing the original form of the data
to a format suitable to achieve the research objective.
e. To evaluate secondary data research:
- The subject matter is consistent with our problem definition?
- The data applied to the population of interest
- The data applied to the time period of interest
- The secondary data appear in the correct units of measurement
- The data cover the subject of interest in adequate detail

II. Typical objectives for secondary data research designs:

a. Fact-finding:
i. Identification of consumer behavior for a product category: A typical objective for a secondary
research study might be to uncover all available information about consumption patterns for a
particular product category or to identify demographic trends that affect an industry.
ii. Trend analysis. Marketers watch for trends in the marketplace and the environment. Example:
finding a trend in online advertising in Australia.
iii. Environmental scanning: Information gathering and fact-finding that is designed to detect
indications of environmental changes in their initial stages of development.
b. Model building: The use of secondary data to help specify relationships between 2 or more
variables. Model building can involve the development of descriptive or predictive equations.
i. Estimating market potential for geographic areas. Marketers often estimate market potential
using secondary data. In many cases, exact figures may be published by trade association or another
source.
ii. Forecasting sales. Marketing managers need information about the future. For example,
Australian Recording Industry Association uses past sales to forecast future sales.
iii. Analysis of trade areas and sites.
Marketing managers examine trade areas and use site analysis techniques to select the best
locations for retail or wholesale operations. Secondary data research helps managers make these site
selection decisions.
c. Data mining:
The use of powerful computers to dig through volumes of data to discover patterns about an
organizations customers and products. It is a board term that applies to many different forms of
analysis.

III. Sources of secondary data:

a. Internal and proprietary data sources are more descriptive. Eg, Accounting
information, Sales information, Backorders, Customer complaints
b. External data: the distribution system - created, recorded, or generated by an entity
other than the researchers organization
i. Libraries
ii. The internet
 iii. Vendors
iv. Producers
v. Books and periodicals
vi. Government sources
vii. Media sources
viii. Trade association sources
ix. Commercial sources
 Chapter 5: Survey research

Survey: a method of collecting primary data in which information is gathered by communicating with a
representative sample of people.

Objectives of survey: identifying characteristics of target markets, measuring consumer

attitudes, and describing consumer-purchasing patterns.

Because most survey research is descriptive research, the term survey is most often associated
with quantitative findings.

Advantages of survey

Surveys provide a quick, inexpensive, efficient and accurate means of assessing information about
a population

Disadvantages of survey

Errors in survey research: The two major sources of survey error are random sampling error and
systematic error.
I. Random sampling error
A statistical fluctuation that occurs because of chance variation in the elements selected for a sample
II. Systematic error
Systematic error: Error resulting from some imperfect aspect of the research design that causes
respondent error or from a mistake in the execution of the research.
Sample bias: exists when the results of a sample show a persistent tendency to deviate in one
direction from the true value if the population parameter. The sources of this error can be divided
into two categories: respondent error and administrative error
 1. Respondent error: a category of sample bias resulting from some respondent action and
inaction such as nonresponse or response bias
a. Nonresponse error
Nonresponse error (especially acute in mail and Internet survey): the statistical differences
between a survey that includes those who responded and a perfect survey that would also include
those who failed to respond.
No contact: a person who is not at home or who is otherwise inaccessible on the first and
second contact
Refusal: a person who is unwilling to participate in a research project
Self-selection bias: a bias that occurs because people who feel strongly about a subject are
more likely to respond to survey questions than people who feel indifferent about it.
 b. Response bias: a bias that occurs when respondents either consciously and unconsciously
tend to answer questions with a certain slant that misrepresent the truth
Deliberate falsification: people misrepresent answers to appear intelligent, to conceal
personal information, to avoid embarrassment and so on.
Unconscious misrepresentation: respondent is consciously trying to be truthful and
cooperative, response bias can arise from the question format, the question content or some
other stimulus.
5 specific categories of response bias
Acquiescence bias: a category of response bias that results because some individuals tend to
agree with all questions or to concur with a particular position.
Extremity bias: a category of response bias that results because some individuals tend to use
extremes when responding to questions.
Interviewer bias: a response bias that occurs because the presence of the interviewer
influences respondents answers. The interviewers age, sex, style of dress, tone of voice, facial
expressions, or other nonverbal characteristics may have some influence on a respondents answer.
Auspices bias: bias in responses of subjects caused by their being influenced by the
organization conducting the study.
Social desirability bias: bias in responses caused by respondents desire, either conscious or
unconscious, to gain prestige or appear in a different social role.
2. Administrative error
Administrative error: an error caused by the improper administration or execution of the research
task
a. Data-processing error: a category of administrative error that occurs because of incorrect data
entry, incorrect computer programming, or other procedural errors during data analysis.
b. Sample-selection error: is systematic error that results in an unrepresentative sample because
of an error in either the sample design or the execution of the sampling procedure. For
example, stopping female respondents during daytime hours in shopping centers excludes
working people who shop by mail, Internet or telephone.
c. Internet error: mistakes made by interviewers failing to record survey response correctly
d. Interviewer cheating: the practice of filling in fake answers and falsifying questionnaires when
working as an interviewer.
 Maximizing response rates in survey research
Call backs
Incentives / run contests
Reply paid envelopes/ Reminder letters
Questionnaire resend
Gain survey permission first
Send with a novelty
Ask surveys at convenient times
Hire Interviewers that are friendly
Hire interviewers with friendly phone
voices
Automate the data collection process
as much as possible
Gain sponsorship. Eg. A noble cause.
Have different coloured paper
Personally signed letters/ addressed
Drop off the questionnaire/ vs mailed
out
Interesting questions

Survey method
A method of data collection in which a structured questionnaire is given to a sample of
respondents to get specific information.
Use of a formal questionnaire that asks questions presented in a prearranged order.
Survey methods can be classified on the basis of how they are administered as follows
- Telephone Interview
- Personal Interview
- Mail Survey.

Evaluation of survey method

Speed of data collection Degree of interviewer influence
Geographic flexibility Supervision of interviewers
Respondent co-operation Anonymity of respondents
Versatility of questioning Ease of follow-up
Questionnaire length Cost
Item non-response rate See page 240 for a comparison of all
Possibility for respondent techniques
misunderstanding
Classification of survey method

1. Telephone interviewing method

Advantages Disadvantages
Quick Turnaround No visual interaction
Representative Sample Can describe but not show marketing stimuli
Handles sensitive subjects Length
Usually automated CATI

Speed: one advantage of telephone interviewing is the speed of data collection. Whereas data
collection with mail or personal interviews can take several weeks, hundreds of telephone interviews
can be conducted literally overnight.
Cost: as the cost of personal interviews continues to increase, telephone interviews are becoming
relatively inexpensive
Absence of face-to-face contact: telephone interviews are more impersonal than face-to-face
interviews. Respondents may answer embarrassing or confidential questions more willingly in a
telephone interview than in a personal interview.
Cooperation: in some neighborhoods, people are reluctant to allow a stranger to come inside the
house or even stop on the doorstep. The same people, however, may be perfectly willing to
corporate with a telephone survey request. Likewise, interviewers ma be somewhat reluctant to
conduct face-to-face interviews, especially at evening hours. Telephone interviewing avoids these
problems. Finally, there is some evidence that the likelihood that a cal will go unanswered because a
respondent is not at home. Many people who own telephone answering machines will not return a
call to help someone conduct a survey.
Refusal to cooperate with interviews is directly related to interview length.
Representative samples: there are many people who do not have fixed line telephones due to two
reasons: because of mobility and by choice. Furthermore, there are unlisted phone numbers and
numbers too new to be printed.
Callbacks: an unanswered call, a busy signal or the respondent who is not at home requires a call
back. Telephone callbacks are much easier to make than call back in personal interviews.
Limited duration: respondents who run out of patience with the interview can merely hang up. To
encourage participation, interviews should be short.
Lack of visual medium
Concept tests that require visual material cannot be conducted by phone.

2. Face to face
Personal In-Home Survey
Involves asking questions of a sample of respondents face-to-face in or at their homes.
Central Location or Mall Intercept Survey is a survey method in which interviewers intercept
people passing a central area. The interview may be conducted in booths in a mall or in a special
survey room.
Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing.
The questionnaire is entered on a computer and the interviewer reads the questions from a screen
and records the respondents answers directly in to the computer through the keyboard or a touch
sensitive screen

3. Personal interviewing method

Advantages Disadvantages

High Response rate Respondent unwilling/unable to provide the info.

Visual aids are possible Interviewer bias
Flexible Cost is high
Can handle complex issue Time consuming
Allows for in-depth probing
3a) Advantages of personal interview

The opportunity for feedback

Personal interview provide the opportunity to give feedback to the respondent. Personal interviews
offer the lowest chances of misinterpretation of questions because the interviewer can clarify any
questions respondents have.
Probing (timkiem) complex answer
If a respondents answer is too brief or unclear, the researcher may probe for a more comprehensive
or clearer explanation.
Length of interview
If the research objective requires an extremely lengthy questionnaire, personal interview may be the
only option
Completeness of questionnaire
The social interaction between a well-trained interviewer and a respondent in a personal interview
increases the likelihood that the respondent will answer all the items on the questionnaire.
Props and visual aids
Interviewing respondents face-to-face allows the investigator to show them new product samples,
sketches of proposed advertising, etc.
High participation: although some people are reluctant to participate in a survey, the presence of an
interviewer general increases the percentage of people willing to complete the interview

2b) Disadvantages of personal interviews

Interviewer influence: Differential interviewer techniques may be a source of bias. The rephrasing of
a question, the interviewers tone of voice, and the interviewers appearance may influence the
respondents answer.
Lack of anonymity of respondent: the respondent may be reluctant to provide confidential
information for another person.
Cost: the geographic proximity of respondents, the length and the complexity of the questionnaire,
the number of non-respondent people because they could not be contacted will all influence the cost
of personal interview.

4. Email surveys

Advantages Disadvantages
Cost is the lowest Low response rate
Simple questions Requires follow up
No interviewer bias Slow
Allows self-completion and considered
responses

5. Internet survey

Speed and cost-effectiveness

Internet surveys allow marketers to reach a large audience, to personalize individual messages, and
to secure confidential answers quickly and cost-effectively
Visual appeal and interactivity
Surveys conducted on the Internet can be interactive. The researcher can use more sophisticated
lines of questioning based on the respondents prior answer. Many of these interactive surveys utilize
color, sound and animation, which may help to increase respondents corporation and willingness to
spend time answering the questionnaires.
Respondent participation and corporation
Participation in some Internet surveys occurs because computer users intentionally navigate to a
particular website where questions are displayed.
For many other Internet surveys, respondents are initially contacted via email. Often they are
members of consumer panels who have previously indicated their willingness to corporate.
Representative samples
A major disadvantage of Internet surveys is that many individuals in the general population cannot
access the Internet. And, all people with Internet access do not have he same level of technology.
Some individuals have minimal computer skills.
Accurate real-time data capture
The computer-to-computer nature of Internet surveys means that each respondents answers are
entered directly into the researchers computer as soon as the questionnaire is submitted.
Callbacks
When the sample is drawn from a consumer panel, it is easy to re-contact those who have not
completed they survey questionnaire
Respondent anonymity
Respondents are more like to provide sensitive or embarrassing information when they can remain
anonymous.
Response rates
People who have not participated in a survey in a pre-determined period of time can be sent a
friendly reminder asking them to participate before the study ends.
Unlike mail surveys, Internet surveys do not offer the opportunity to send a physical incentive, such
as an electronic shopping voucher, to the respondent.
Security concerns
Many organizations worry that hackers or competitors may access the websites to discover the to-
secret information. Respondents may worry whether personal information will remain private.

Common errors in Survey Research

Non Probability Sampling method Inter-respondent bias
implemented (See sampling lecture) Respondent fatigue
Non-response to whole questionnaire Question order bias
Item non-response Iffy and unfamiliar questions
Response by a non-targeted individual
(VN Airlines)

Pretesting: A trial run with a group of respondents to iron out fundamental problems in the
instructions of survey design
 Chapter 8: Measurement

1. Concept: a generalized idea about a class of objectives, attributes, occurrences or processes.

Operational definition: an explanation that gives meaning to a concept by specifying the activities or
operations necessary to measure it.
Conceptual definition: a verbal explanation of the meaning of a concept. It defines what the concept is
and what it is not.

2. Types of scales:
Nominal scale: a scale in which the numbers or letters assigned to objects serve as labels for
identification or classification.
o Eg: depicts horse by number 7, label to allow bettors and racing enthusiasts to identify the
horse.
Ordinal scale: a scale that arranges objects or alternatives according to their magnitude in an ordered
relationship.
o Eg: rate brand or company by excellent, good, fair, or poor.
Interval scale: a scale that both arranges objects according to their magnitudes and distinguishes this
ordered arrangement in units of equal intervals.
o Eg: Celsius temperature.
Ratio scale: a scale that has absolute rather than relative quantities and an absolute zero where there
is an absence of a given attribute.
o Eg: money & weight are measured with ratio scales that possess in absolute zero.

Index measures:
- Attribute: a single characteristic or fundamental feature of an object, person, situation, or issue.
- Index (or composite) measure: a composite measure of several variables used to measure a
single concept; a multi-item instrument.
- Measuring the same underlying concept using a variety of techniques is one method for
increasing accuracy. Asking different questions to measure the same concept provides a more
accurate cumulative measure than does a single-item estimate.

3. Good measurement:
 Reliability: the degree to which measures are free from random error and therefore yield
consistent results.
o Eg: Are the respondents answers the same/similar if the questions are conducted again?
o Repeatability:
Test-retest method: administering the same scale or measure to the same respondents at
two separate points in time to test for stability.
Problems: 1, the first measure may sensitize the respondents to their participation in the
research project and subsequently influence the results of the second measure. 2, time
between measure is long, there maybe attitude change or other maturation of the
subject.
o Internalconsistency:
Split-half method: a method for assessing internal consistency by checking the results
obtained from one-half of the scale items and checks them against the results from the
other half.
Equivalent-form method: a method that measure correlation between alternative
instruments, designed to be as equivalent as possible, administered to be same group of
subjects.

Validity: the ability of a scale to measure what was intended to be measure.

Face (content) validity: professional agreement that a scales content logically appears to
accurately reflect what was intended to be measured.
Criterion validity: the ability of a measure to correlate with other standard measure of the
same construct or established criterion. Is there another, external, criterion against which
the results can be compared?
Construct validity: the ability of a measure to provide empirical evidence consistent with a
theory based on the concepts.

Sensitivity: a measurement instruments ability to accurately measure variability in stimuli or

responses.
 Old rifle - Low New rifle high New rifle sunglare
reliability reliability reliable bit not valid

4. Attitude: an enduring disposition to consistently respond in a given manner to various aspects of

the world; composed of affective, cognitive, and behavioral components.
Hypothetical construct: a variable that is not directly observable bit is measurable through indirect
indicators, such as verbal expression of overt behavior.
Attitude-measuring:
- Ranking: a measurement task that requires respondents to rank order a small number of stores,
brands, or objects on the basis of overall preference or some characteristic of the stimulus.
- Rating: a measurement task that requires respondents to estimate the magnitude of a
characteristic or quality that a brand, store, or object possesses.
- Sorting: a measurement task that respondent with several objects or product concepts and
requires the respondent to arrange the objects into piles or classify the product concepts.
- Choice: a measurement task that identifies preferences by requiring respondents to choose
between two or more alternatives.

Attitude rating scale:

- Simple attitude scale: requires that an individual agree o disagree with a statement or respond to
a single question. Eg: agree or disagree with the statement.
o Related to nominal scale, type of mathematical analysis use will be limited.
o Use when questionnaire are extremely long, when respondents have little education,
or for other specific reasons.
- Category scale: a rating scale that consist of several response categories, often providing
respondents with alternatives to indicate positions on a continuum. Eg: exellent/ good/ fair/
poor.
o Provide more information.
o Question wording is extremely important in the usefulness of these scales.
- Likert scale: a measure of attitudes designed to allow respondents to rate how strongly they
agree or disagree with carefully constructed statements, ranging from very positive to very
negative attitudes toward some object; several scale items may be used to form a summated
index. Eg: 1, strongly disagree/ 2, disagree/ 3, uncertain/ 4, agree/ 5, strongly agree
o Usually 5 response alternatives; may range from 3 to 9.
o Related to ordinal scale.
o Several statements are assumed to represent an aspect of a common attitudinal
domain.
o Difficult to know what a single summated score means. Many different responses to
various statements can produce the same total score.
- Semantic differential: a measure of attitudes that consist of a series of 7 point rating scales, that
use bipolar adjectives to anchor the beginning and end of each scale. Traditional scores are: 7 6 5
4 3 2 1 or +3 +2 +1 0 -1 -2 -3. Eg: modern -:-:-:-:-:-:- old fashion
o Respondents are instructed to check the place that indicates that nearest appropriate
adjective.
o Related to interval scale
o Respondents are unwilling to use the extreme side of scale.
o Use image profile to illustrate. Image profile: a graphic representation of semantic
differential data for competing brands, products, or stores to highlight comparisons.
- Numerical scales: an attitudes rating scale similar to a semantic differential except that it uses
numbers, instead of verbal descriptions, as response options to identify response positions.
o Have 5 points scale, 7 points scale
- Stapel scale: a measure of attitudes that consists of a single adjective in the center of an even
number of numerical values. Eg:
Diamond Plaza
+3
+2
 +1
Wide Selection
-1
-2
-3

o Dis: results are very similar to those for a semantic differential

o Adv: tends to be easier to conduct and administer
- Constant-sum scale: a measure of attitudes in which respondents are asked to divide a constant
cum to indicate the relative importance of attributes; respondents often sort cards, but the task
may also be a rating task.
o Divide 100 points among several characteristics according to the important of each
characteristic.
o Work best with respondents who have high educational levels.
o Adv: if respondents follow the instructions correctly, the results will appropriate
interval measures.
o Dis: as the number of stimuli increases, the technique becomes increasingly complex
- Graphic rating scale: a measure of attitude that allows respondents to rate an object by choosing
any point along a graphic continuum.
o The scores are determined by measuring the length from one end to the point
marked.
o Related to interval scale
o Use for children: happy face scales.
o Adv: allowing the research to choose any interval desired for scoring purposes.
o Dis: there are no standard answers.
 Chapter 9: Questionnaire design
1. The major decisions
a) What should be asked?
- Relevancy: a questionnaire is relevant if no unnecessary information is collected and only the
information needed to solve the marketing problem is obtained.
Link the question with the objective
- Accuracy: the information is reliable and valid
To ensure accurate response use words that are:
o Understandable no jargon
o Unbiased dont impose your own opinion
o Unambiguous words have only one meaning (stocks)
o Non-irritating eg, dont use cool
Keep questions as short as possible
Not ego-threatening or too personal

b) How should the questions be phrased?

- Open-ended response question: a question that poses some problem and asks the respondent
to answer in his or her own words. Its good for measuring awareness, gathering exploratory,
quantitative data.
- Fixed-alternative question: a question in which the respondent is given specific, limited-
alternative responses and asked to choose the one closest to his or her own view point.
o Simple-dichotomy question: a fixed-alternative question that requires the respondent to
choose one of two alternatives (yes/no)
o Determinant-choice: a fixed-alternative question that requires the respondent to choose
one response from among multiple alternatives
o Frequency-determination: asks for an answer about general frequency of occurrence
(choose 1 alternative: everyday, 5-6 times a week, 2-4 times a week)
o Checklist: allows the respondent to provide multiple answers to a single question by
checking off items.
- Alternative should be mutually exclusive and exhaustive.
- Avoid complexity: use simple, conversational language
- Avoid leading and loaded questions:
o Leading question: a question that suggests or implies certain answers
Eg:Do you think you would get better service from an international bank like HSBC than
from a local bank?
o Loaded question: a question that suggests a social desirable answer or is emotionally
charged
Eg: Because of the poor reputation of Vietnamese banks, do you think your money would
be safer with a world-famous international bank?
A question statement maybe leading because it is phrased to reflect either the negative
or the positive aspects of an issue. To control this bias, use 2 techniques:
o Counter-biasing statement: a introductory statement or preamble to a potentially
embarrassing question that reduces a respondents reluctance to answer by suggesting
that certain behaviour is not unusual.
o Split-ballot technique: using two alternative phrasings of the same questions for
respective halves of a sample to elicit a more accurate total response than would a single
phrasing.
- Avoid ambiguity, be as specific as possible: avoid often, occasionally, regularly, frequently,
many, good, fair, poor
- Avoid double-barrelled items: a question that may include bias because it covers two issues at
once.
Eg:Do you think HSBC is successful because of its wide range of services and emphasis on
customer care?
- Avoid making assumptions: Eg: Do you think HSBC is successful because of its wide range of
services and emphasis on customer care?
- Avoid questions that mean the respondent has to remember past behavior. Eg: How many
times have you bought toothpaste in the last six months?

c) In what sequence should the questions be arranged?

- Warm-up questions:
o Dont ask for personal or embarrassing information at the start of the
interview/questionnaire
 o Seek your respondents views or opinions on a subject likely to interest them, eg
Govt regulations, the growth rate in the economy
- Order bias: bias caused by the influence or earlier questions in a questionnaire or by an
answers position in a set of answers.
o Dont ask a specific question followed by a general one
o Eg: How would you rate HSBCs customer service?
Which bank do you think offers the widest range of services?
- Funnel technique: asking general questions before specific questions in order to obtain
unbiased responses.
- Filter question: a question that screens out respondents who are not qualified to answer a
second question. (Yes/No question)
- Pivot question: a filter question to determine which version of a second question will be asked.
d) What questionnaire layout will best serve the research objectives?

- Depends if the questionnaire contains open-ended or fixed-alternative questions (look at

examples on pp 299-304)
- Cover Letter
- Depends on the Methodology. Eg. Mail, telephone, personal interview
- Depends on the chosen scaling method used for the question
- Multiple-grid format. Similar question types presented in a grid format
- Remember instructions for interviewers or respondents
- Traditional questionnaires: the layout is neat and attractive; the instructions for the
interviewer are easy to follow. Multiple-grid question presents several similar questions and
corresponding response alternatives arranged in a grid format.
Eg: multiple-grid
Yes No Not sure

1 hour longer?

2 hours longer?

3 hours longer?
- Internet questionnaires: should be easy to use, flow logically, and have a graphic look and
overall feel that motivate the respondent to cooperate from start to finish.
o Push button: o Check box
o Status bar o Open ended box
o Radio button o Pop up box
o Drop down box

e) How should the questionnaire be pretested? Does the questionnaire need to be revised?
- Pretesting process allows the researcher to determine whether respondents have any
difficulty understanding the questionnaire and whether there are any ambiguous or
biased questions.
- Consider initial response rates
- Question phrasing: how consumer understand the different nuance of each question
- How long does it take to complete?
- Does it flow with a consistent logic?
- Is it clear and easy to understand?
- Is it easy to answer?
- Are questions needed in alternative forms?
 Chapter 10 Sampling: Sample design and sample size

I. Sampling terminology
a. Sample is a subset, or some part, of a target population.
The purpose of sampling is to enable one to estimate some unknown characteristic of the
population.
b. A population: Any complete group of entities that share some common set of characteristics.
- Population element: An individual member of a population.
c. A census: is an investigation of all the individual elements that make up the population.
d. The sampling frame: A list of elements from which a sample may be drawn, also called
working population.
This is a list of elements representing the target population as closely as possible; the list of
operational work.
- Sampling frame error: An error that occurs when certain sample elements are not listed or
are not accurately represented in a sampling frame.
e. Sampling units: A single element or group of elements subject to selection in the sample. It
does not have to be person; it can be city, suburb, team.
f. Random sampling error: The difference between sample result and the result of a census
conducted using identical procedures, a statistical fluctuation that occurs because of chance
variations in the elements selected for a sample.
g. Systematic (non-sampling) errors: Error resulting from some imperfect aspect of the research
design, such as mistakes in sample selection, sampling frame error, or nonresponses from
persons who were not contacted or refused to participate.

II. Probability versus non-probability sampling

1. Probability sampling
A sampling technique in which every number of the population has a known, non-zero
probability of selection.
i. Simple random sampling
 A sampling procedure that assured each element in the population of an equal chance of being
included in the sample.
Eg: Drawing names from a hat and selecting the winning raffle ticket from a large drum.
ii. Systematic sampling
A sampling procedure in which s starting point is selected by a random process and then every
nth name/number on the list is selected.
The value for n is determined by dividing the sampling frame by required sample size.
iii. Stratified sampling
A sampling procedure in which simple random subsamples that are more or less equal on
some characteristic are drawn from within each stratum of the population.
- Proportional stratified sample: A stratified sample in which the number of
sampling units drawn from each stratum is in proportion to the population size of that stratum.
- Disproportional stratified sample: A stratified sample in which the sample size
for each stratum is allocated according to analytical considerations.
iv. Cluster sampling
An economically efficient sampling technique in which the primary sampling unit is not the
individual element in the population but a large cluster of elements; cluster are selected randomly
- The primary sampling unit is a larger cluster of elements located in proximity to one
another .
Eg: If a frozen pizza manufacturer assumes its product will taste the same in Brisbanes
southern suburbs as it does in Brisbanes northern suburbs, then cluster sampling may be used as
a more efficient alternative.
v. Multistage area sampling: combined all stages.

2. Non-probability sampling
A sampling technique in which units of the sample are selected on the basis of personal
judgment or convenience, the probability of any particular member of population being chosen is
unknown
vi. Convenience sampling
The sampling procedure of obtaining those people or units that are most conveniently
available.
 Eg: many Internest surveys are conducted with volunteer respondents who, either
intentionally or unintentionally, visit an organizations website.
vii. Quota sampling
A sampling procedure that ensures that various subgroups of a population will be presented
on pertinent characteristics to exact extent that the investigator desires.
Eg: an interviewer in a particular city may assigned 100 interviews, 35 with owners of Sony
DVD players, 30 with owners of Panasonic, 18 with owners of Samsung and the rest with owners
of other brands. The interviewer is responsible for finding enough people to meet the quota.
viii. Snow ball sampling
A sample procedure in which initial respondents are selected by probability methods and
additional respondents are obtained from information provided by the initial respondents.
ix. Judgment (purposive) sampling
A sampling technique in which an experienced individual selects the sample based on personal
judgment about some appropriate characteristic of the sample member.
Eg: CPI is based on a judgment sample of market-basket items, housing costs, and other
selected goods and services expected to reflected a representative sample of items cosumed.

III. What is the appropriate sample design?

a. Degree of accuracy
The degree of accuracy required or the researchers tolerance for sampling and non-sampling
error may vary from project to project, especially when cost savings or another benefit may be a
trade-off for reduction in accuracy.
b. Resources
Managers concerned with the cost of the research versus the value of the information often
will opt to save money by using a non-probability sampling design rather than make the decision
to conduct no research at all.
c. Time
A research who needs to meet a deadline or complete a project quickly will be more likely to
select a simple, less time-consuming sample design.
d. Advance knowledge of population
 A lack of adequate lists (list of population members) may automatically rule out systematic
sampling, stratified sampling, or other sampling designs.
e. National versus local project
Geographic proximity of population elements will influence sample size. When population
elements are unequally distributed geographically, a cluster may become much more attractive.
f. Need for statistical analysis
The need for statistical projections based on the sample often is a criterion. Non-probability
sampling techniques do not allow researchers to use statistical analysis to project data beyond
their samples.
 Chapter6: Observation
1. Definition: the systematic process of recording the behavioural patterns of people, object and
occurrence as they are perceived.

No communicating and questioning with people occurs.

2. When is observation scientific?

Serves a formulated research purpose
Is planed systematically
Recorded systematically and related to general propositions.
Is subjected to checks or controls on validity and reliability.

3. What can be observed?

Human behavior or physical action A shoppers movement in a store or television

viewing

Verbal behaviour Sales conversation

Statments made bu airlines travellers white
waiting in line

Expressive behavior Tones of voice and other forms of body language

Spatial relationship and locations Traffic patterns,

How close visitors at an art museum stand to
paintings

Physical object The amount of newspaper recycled,

What brandname items are stored in consumer
pantries

Tempoal patterns Amount of time spent shopping or driving

Verbal and pictorial records The content of advertisements

Bar codes on product packages.

Ko th observe nhng th thuc v attitudes, motivations and preferences.

 ko explain why a behavior occur or what action were intended.
Short duaration: behaviour occur long duration( neu theo thi costly or impossible to observe)

The nature of observation studies:

Human observation: dung khi ma not easily predictable in advance of the research.
Mechanical observation: record situations or types of behavior that is routine, repetitive or
programmatic.