Text 2. Types of Research

Having decided to go ahead with a market research study, the next step is to determine what type of research would be best. It is important, first of all, to make sure that the right issue is being investigated. For example, a problem of declining sales could be due to any number of reasons connected with the quality of the product itself, the price that is set, the places through which it is distributed, or the way in which it is promoted. Alternatively, the falling sales could simply be a result of competitors having lowered their prices.

(a) Qualitative research. It would obviously be a huge waste of time and money for the firm to embark on a research project looking into the effectiveness of their own advertising, for example, if the real problem lies elsewhere. This is why research campaigns generally start with a small scale qualitative research study, in order to establish the true nature of the problem or issue that needs to be explored by the later statistical study.

Table .1 Marketing research activities

Research Activity
Sales and market research	Business economics and corporate research	Product research	Advertising research
measurement of market potential market share analyses determination of market characteristics sales analysis	short-range forecasting long-range forecasting studies of business trends pricing	new product acceptance and potential competitive product studies testing of existing products packaging research	motivation research copy research media research studies of ad effectiveness

Source: Survey of Marketing Research, American Marketing Association Chicago, 1983.

There are two forms of qualitative research:

(i) Individual depth interview. These are detailed one-to-one interviews be­tween the researcher and consumer or organizational buyer. They are used in situations where the subject matter is such that consumers are unlikely to express their true views in front of others or where in-depth probing is required to discover underlying motivations.

(ii) Group discussions. These are discussions involving a small group of six to eight people of similar backgrounds and interests brought together to discuss a particular product or issue. A researcher will moderate and guide the discus­sion to ensure that the relevant points are covered. Discussion groups are often watched through a one-way mirror by marketers from the firm which commis­sioned the research. Focus groups are smaller versions of group discussions where the number of participants is limited to three or four.

Qualitative research is aimed at getting consumers to reveal their true feelings which often lie buried in the subconscious of their minds. According to Eric Clark in his book “The Want Makers”, ‘Groups are sometimes encouraged not only to talk, but to act, to play, even to paint or to model. They are urged to pretend to be salesmen or creators of adverts, or even to be the brand itself which has sprung into walking and talking life. They may be asked to finish stories that begin with openings such as "x (the brand) went to a party one day and . . .". Consumers may be asked to link brands or products with pieces of music or pretty pictures.’

These are called protective techniques, where the image or opinion that a con­sumer has of a product is 'projected' onto another object or situation. Respondents often find it much easier to express their opinions in these ways rather than by trying to explain what they think or feel in words.

Both types of qualitative research are conducted by trained interviewers who are skilled at probing consumers' thought processes. Opinions and attitudes are often revealed more freely in these loosely structured situations. These are then interpreted by the interviewers in their reports, which tend to include many direct quotes from comments made during the interviews or the group discussions.

Qualitative research is exploratory in nature. It provides useful pointers which help to identify and clarify the exact nature of the issue or problem that needs to be investigated. The insights gained also shape the design of the later quantitative study since it is important to know what type of questions to ask and how to ask them.

(b) Quantitative research. A full scale quantitative research study is based on a statistically valid sample of a target market. The results should predict how the entire market will behave (to within a small margin of error). Quantitative research is therefore confir­matory in nature, providing the hard statistical data that managers need to make sound commercial decisions. For this reason, quantitative research is often described as the 'counting noses' part of market research, in contrast to qualitative research which can be defined as the process of 'getting into people's heads' in order to discover their true attitudes and feelings.

2. Using the information of the text fill in the table.

Qualitative research
1. 2.
is aimed at	is based on

Read text 3 and answer the question: What is the difference between production orientation and marketing orientation?