AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

Research Design I
Jacob Eskildsen Joachim Scholderer

QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
The marketing research process Problem identification and elaboration Formulation of research questions Developing a research design

QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

OVERVIEW

THE MARKETING RESEARCH PROCESS

QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

MARKETING RESEARCH IN CONTEXT

QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

THE RESEARCH PROCESS

QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

STAGE 1

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION AND ELABORATION

QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

The formulation of the problem is often more essential than its solution
Albert Einstein

QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

DEFINING THE PROBLEM AND DEVELOPING A RESEARCH APPROACH

QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

DECISION PROBLEM VS. RESEARCH PROBLEM

QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

QUESTIONS?

??
QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

STAGE 2

FORMULATION OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS

QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

The wise man doesnt give the right answers, he poses the right questions
Claude Levi-Strauss

QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

FORMULATING RESEARCH QUESTIONS

State the scientific, managerial or policy problem the research is to help solve
What is the problem? Who faces the problem? Where does the problem occur? What is the extent of the problem? Who is supposed to act upon it? What is the desired outcome?
QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

FORMULATING RESEARCH QUESTIONS

State the scientific, managerial or policy problem the research is to help solve Structure the problem
How can the problem be conceptualized in scientific terms? What are the constructs involved? What is known about their relationships? What are the possibilities to influence them? What would be the result?
QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

FORMULATING RESEARCH QUESTIONS

State the scientific, managerial or policy problem the research is to help solve Structure the problem Identify information needs
Which answers to the above questions are known? Which answers are unknown? Which answers do we really need to solve the problem?

QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

FORMULATING RESEARCH QUESTIONS

State the scientific, managerial or policy problem the research is to help solve Structure the problem Identify information needs Translate into research questions
Specify which of these really needed answers the research aims to provide

QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

QUESTIONS?

??
QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

STAGE 3

DEVELOPING A RESEARCH DESIGN

QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

You can't fix by analysis what you bungled by design

Light, Singer and Willett (1990)

QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

WHAT IS RESEARCH DESIGN?

A research design is a plan that guides the investigator in the process of collecting, analysing, and interpreting observations It is a logical model of proof that allows the researcher to draw inferences concerning relations among the variables under investigation The research design also defines the domain of generalisability, that is, whether the obtained interpretations can be generalised to a larger population or to different situations
QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

COMPONENTS OF A RESEARCH DESIGN

Objectives/problem formulation Research questions Hypotheses Units of observation Measures/operationalisation Units of analysis Statistical procedures Criteria for interpreting the results
QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

BASIC TYPES OF RESEARCH DESIGNS

Case-based designs Cross-sectional designs Longitudinal designs Panel designs Retrospective designs Time series designs Experimental designs Laboratory experiments Field experiments Quasi experiments

QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

CASE-BASED DESIGNS
Case-based designs aim at a thorough understanding of a particular unit of analysis (e.g., a company, a product, a brand, or an event) Examples:
Effect of negative press coverage on Nestls share price Satisfaction of students with ASBs Summer University Consumer associations with Arlas Minimlk brand
QUANTS AU

Slide 24 AARHUS

UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

CROSS-SECTIONAL DESIGNS
The purpose of crosssectional designs is to assess covariation between variables across units of analysis Examples:
Relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty in Danish retail banking Relationship between trust, relationship strength and transaction volume in buyer-seller dyads
QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

LONGITUDINAL DESIGNS
The purpose of longitudinal designs is to assess (and explain) change in variables over time, but within units of analysis Examples:
Trends in the market share of private-label products Relationship between disconfirmation of expectations and future purchase likelihood in fast moving consumer goods markets
QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS
The aim of experimental designs is to assess causal effects of one or more independent variables on one or more dependent variables Examples:
Effects of subliminal advertising exposure on accessibility of brand attitudes Effects of involvement, number of arguments, and quality of arguments on message elaboration and attitude change
QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

CRITERIA FOR GOOD RESEARCH DESIGNS

Internal validity: a good design tests exactly the hypothesis you want to test, and rules out alternative explanations for the effect External validity: a good design lets you generalise from the sample and the research setting of your study to the population and the real-life situation you are actually interested in (population validity and situation validity) Efficiency: a good design does not test a large number of peripheral hypotheses you are not really interested in
QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

QUESTIONS?

??
QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

REVIEW
The marketing research process Problem identification and elaboration Formulation of research questions Developing a research design

QUANTS AU

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Research Methods

REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING

de Vaus, D. (2006). Editors introduction. In D. de Vaus (Ed.), Research Design (Vol.1). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Yin, R. (2006). Research designs. In D. de Vaus (Ed.), Research Design (Vol.1). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Stinchcombe, A. L. (2006). Fundamental forms of scientific inference. In D. de Vaus (Ed.), Research Design (Vol.1). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Malhotra, N.K. & Birks, D.F. (2006). Marketing research: An applied approach (2nd European Ed.). Harlow: Pearson Education.
QUANTS AU