Quantitative

research
NGHIÊN CỨU ĐỊNH LƯỢNG 

TRONG QUYẾT ĐỊNH KINH DOANH

Nguyễn Chí Thiện

@ Senior Research Manager at GCOMM
AGENDA
I. Market Research Overview
• Role of Market Research in Business
• Characteristics of Qualitative & Quantitative Research

II. Quantitative Research Process

III. Quantitative Research Methods & Applications
• Door-to-Door Interview
• Central Location Test
• Home Placement Test
• Telephone Interview
• Online Survey
• Others

IV. Questionnaire Design & Important Notes 

V. Sample Design & Important Notes
I.
Market Research
Overview
Role of Market Research in Business
 exercise
The X brand would like to play in toothpaste market.
They decided to launch product for elder to care their
oral. Would they win market?
 PRODUCT CYCLE

Idea Generation
Market Feasibility Concept Development

Line Extension 
 CONSUMER NEEDS

& MOTIVATIONS Concept Refinement
Re-launch

Market Mix COSTUMER LOYALTY BRAND HEALTH NEW PRODUCT

DEVELOPMENT
Product Evaluation
Refinement & RETENTION MANAGEMENT

Market & Customer MARKETING MIX Pricing Strategy

Monitoring MANAGEMENT

Advertising &
Product Launch Design & Packaging
Communication
Development
 PRODUCT CYCLE

360 STRATEGIC
PLANNING
Idea Generation
Market Feasibility Concept Development CUSTOMER

Line Extension 
 CONSUMER NEEDS

Re-launch & MOTIVATIONS Concept Refinement

COSTUMER BRAND HEALTH NEW PRODUCT

Market Mix Refinement LOYALTY & RETENTION MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT Product Evaluation

SHOPPER
Market & Customer MARKETING MIX
Monitoring MANAGEMENT Pricing Strategy

Product Launch Advertising &

Design & Packaging
Communication
Development

RETAILER
 RESEARCH APPROACH

CATEGORY

BRAND CHANNEL SHOPPER
STRATEGY
Research Approach:
Category Strategy
• Market/category landscape
• Customer segmentation
• Competitor understanding
Research Approach:
Brand
• U&A understanding
• Product concept test
• Product test
• Packaging
• Communication test
• Campaign effectiveness review
• Brand health tracking
• Customer satisfaction
Research Approach:
Channel
• Channel landscape
• Channel segmentation
• Retail census
• Retail audit
• Retailer satisfaction
• In-store execution tracking
Research Approach:
Shopper
• Shopper understanding
• In-store communication testing
• Campaign evaluation
 RESEARCH APPROACH

Category strategy Brand Channel Shopper

• Market/category • U&A understanding • Channel landscape • Shopper understanding

landscape • Product concept test • Channel segmentation • In-store communication
• Customer segmentation • Product test • Retail census testing
• Competitor • Packaging test • Retail audit • Campaign evaluation
understanding • Communication test • Retailer satisfaction
• Campaign effectiveness • In-store execution
review tracking
• Brand health tracking
• Customer satisfaction
I.
Market Research
Overview
Characteristics of Qualitative Research
& Quantitative Research
 QUALITATIVE VS. QUANTITATIVE INTERVIEW

Conducted very differently

• Small no.’s of respondents • Large no.’s of respondents

• Sampled for range of views • Sampled to be representative
WHAT
• Discussion guide • Questionnaire
• Researcher is interviewer • Researcher is not interviewer

• To explore • To compare
• To investigate • To confirm
• To understand • To justify and validate
WHAT FOR
• To expand the focus of the inquiry • To measure and assess
• To answer WHY consumers do what • To ‘close down’ the inquiry
they do
 exercise
A large corporation plans to open a pharmacy chain.
They need to know:
• Overview of market potential
• Target customers
• Direction for product portfolio
• Direction for customer experience design

Which research methods should they take?

 exercise
Brand A wants to launch a seaweed snack but is
confused between two product formats.

Which research method should they apply to get a

satisfactory answer?
II. 

QUANTITATIVE
RESEARCH PROCESS
 Quantitative research process

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Research
Identify
design
business Identify • Interview
issues 
 specific method Finalize
Question- Data Data
that need questions to • Sample Pilot question- Analysis
naire design collection processing
support be design naire
from answered (criteria,
research sample
size)
 Quantitative research process

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Research
Identify
design
business Identify • Interview
issues 
 specific method Finalize
Question- Data Data
that need questions to • Sample Pilot question- Analysis
naire design collection processing
support be design naire
from answered (criteria,
research sample
size)
III. 

Quantitative
Research Methods
& APPLICATIONS
 Quantitative Research Methods

Face to face interview Telephone interview Self completion

• Door-to-door interview (including mail/web)
• Central location test
• Home placement test
• Exit interview
III. 

Quantitative
Research Methods
& APPLICATIONS
Door-to-Door Interview
 WHAT is DOOR-TO-DOOR INTERVIEW?
Door-to-door interview is a form of information gathering in which interviewers will bring
prepared questionnaires to consumers / customers' homes. They will screen to find suitable
respondents and conduct interviews (maximum 45 minutes).

Which research approaches can apply Door-to-door interview?

Category strategy Brand Channel Shopper

• Market/category • U&A understanding • Channel landscape • Shopper

landscape • Product concept test • Channel segmentation understanding
• Customer • Product test • Retail census • In-store
segmentation • Packaging test • Retail audit communication testing
• Competitor • Communication test • Retailer satisfaction • Campaign evaluation
understanding • Campaign • In-store execution
effectiveness review tracking
• Brand health tracking
• Customer satisfaction
 DOOR-TO-DOOR INTERVIEW PROCESS

01 02 03 04 05

Screen Interview Check Import & Analyze

respondents respondents respondent processing research
quality data results
 Sampling in DOOR-TO-DOOR INTERVIEW

K≥3

Success Success
Starting point
• For each area, the interviewer picks the starting point at the
corner of the street (intersection)
Random Sample • Interviewer applies the "right hand" rule with step K ≥ 3 Success
• When reaching the end of the road, interviewer continues
applying the "right hand" rule and starts from the opposite side
• Keep doing until reaching the quota for that area

Stop here because there are

enough samples for a area
Success Success

Convenience Sample Identify individuals with profiles that meet requirements for respondents and
(Purposive) conduct the interview, regardless of house location
 exercise
For an English center, which research needs can be
answered by Door-to-door interview?

• Measure and estimate market capacity

• Explore motivations and barriers to learning
• Quantify motivation, barriers to learning
• Find out unfulfilled needs
• Measure customer satisfaction with existing
brands in the market
III. 

Quantitative
Research Methods
& APPLICATIONS
Central Location Test (CLT)
 WHAT is CENTRAL LOCATION TEST (CLT)?
Central Location Test (CLT) is a form of information gathering in which respondents are
recruited based on target customers' profile. Then, they are invited to a certain location to be
interviewed with the available questionnaire.

Which research approaches can apply Central Location Test?

Category strategy Brand Channel Shopper

• Market/category • U&A understanding • Channel landscape • Shopper

landscape • Product concept test • Channel segmentation understanding
• Customer • Product test • Retail census • In-store
segmentation • Packaging test • Retail audit communication testing
• Competitor • Communication test • Retailer satisfaction • Campaign evaluation
understanding • Campaign • In-store execution
effectiveness review tracking
• Brand health tracking
• Customer satisfaction
 CENTRAL LOCATION TEST (CLT) PROCESS

01 02 03 04 05

Recruit Check Interview Import & Analyze

respondents respondent respondents process data research
quality at central results
location
 COMMON TYPES OF CLT METHODS

Evaluation criteria
Method Execution Applications
(Applicable to most F&B products)

• In-depth product review (which takes

• Respondents time to evaluate) • Overall liking & purchase
Monadic
evaluate one • No need of comparison with other intention >75%
product test
product in isolation products (i.e. other distinct products, • Negative feedback <10%
products with highly interactions)

• Each respondent • Overall liking & purchase

Sequential • Define the product acceptance level
tries and evaluates intention >75%
monadic • Evaluate similar products to select
at least 2 products • Negative feedback <10%
product test right products (overall)
sequentially • Product preference > 60%
 COMMON TYPES OF CLT METHODS

Evaluation criteria
Method Execution Applications
(Applicable to most F&B products)

• Try and evaluate 2 • Direct comparison between 2 products

Pair test products at the on each factor • Product preference > 60%
same time • Evaluate current product replacement

• Each respondent
• Differentiated products must
Triangle test rated 3 products at • Define the extent of difference
be recognized by at least 40%
a time, including 2 between products
of the respondents
identical products
 NOTES for clt

• Check temperature, light, smell, atmosphere & standard

CLT ROOM drinking water
• Ensure interview area is separate among respondents

AREA • Divide area to check respondent quality and interviews,

product sample area, ...

• Train FI carefully through steps of briefing, pilot,

mocking-up
INTERVIEWER
• Ensure FS follow the interview process closely, check
interview logic

• Check respondent quality

INTERVIEW PROCESS
• Interview and check all answers before finishing the
interview
 exercise
Which products is NOT suitable for CLT evaluation?
• Instant noodle (phở)
• Instant coffee
• Shampoo
• Lotion
• Diaper
III. 

Quantitative
Research Methods
& APPLICATIONS
Home Placement Test (HPT)
 WHAT IS HOME PLACEMENT TEST (HPT)?
Home placement test (HPT) is a form of information gathering in which respondents are
recruited based on target consumers' profile. Then, the interviewer will place sample product
at respondents’ home for trial usage (3-5 days /product) and interview them about product
usage experience.

Which research approaches can apply Home Placement Test (HPT)?

Category strategy Brand Channel Shopper

• Market/category • U&A understanding • Channel landscape • Shopper

landscape • Product concept test • Channel segmentation understanding
• Customer • Product test • Retail census • In-store
segmentation • Packaging test • Retail audit communication testing
• Competitor • Communication test • Retailer satisfaction • Campaign evaluation
understanding • Campaign • In-store execution
effectiveness review tracking
• Brand health tracking
• Customer satisfaction
 HOME PLACEMENT TEST (HPT) PROCESS

01 02 03 04 05 06

Recruit Check Place Collect Import & Analyze

respondents respondent products for feedback on process data research
quality respondents’ products results
trial usages
 comparing product evaluation methods
CLT HPT FGD/ (FGD + HPT)
Method Quantitative Quantitative Qualitative
• Place products at
• Invite respondents to the
respondents’ home for trial • Invite respondents to evaluate the
Execution same location for an
usage 3 - 5 days before the product in a group discussion
interview
interview
• Have consistent product
• See how respondents • Dig deep to find consumer opinion on
preparation, product
Pros prepare and use products the product
evaluation conditions
by themselves as usual • Save time
• Save time

• Do not reflect completely

• The output may provide direction for
the way of preparing & using • Take a long time
product improvement, but may not be
Cons products of respondents • No deep dive into product
reliable enough to make final decision
• No deep dive into product features
on large scale
features
 exercise
Which product is NOT suitable for HPT evaluation?
• Bouillon powder
• Fish sauce
• Powder laundry detergent
• Sanitary pad
III. 

Quantitative
Research Methods
& APPLICATIONS
Telephone Interview
 WHAT IS TELEPHONE INTERVIEW?
Telephone interview is a form of information gathering in which interviewers rely on the list of
respondents (data of market research company or brand's customers) to call and get
customer opinions.

Which research approaches can apply Telephone Interview?

Category strategy Brand Channel Shopper

• Market/category • U&A understanding • Channel landscape • Shopper

landscape • Product concept test • Channel segmentation understanding
• Customer • Product test • Retail census • In-store
segmentation • Packaging test • Retail audit communication testing
• Competitor • Communication test • Retailer satisfaction • Campaign evaluation
understanding • Campaign • In-store execution
effectiveness review tracking
• Brand health tracking
• Customer satisfaction
 TELEPHONE INTERVIEW PROCESS

01 02 03 04 05

Filter Screen Interview Import & Analyze

respondent respondents process data research
lists results
 DO & DON'T IN TELEPHONE INTERVIEW

DO DON'T

• Respondent lists must be accurate • Respondent lists lacks of information,

(phone number, name) not an actual phone number

• Length of interview should be less than • Length of interview is too long (over 5
3 min, or not longer than 5 min min)

• Selection criteria (screening) of • Many criteria to screen respondents

respondents should be simple

• Questions should be short & clear • Question is too long

• Each answer should have 2-3 options • Many options so the respondent must
for respondents to select consider & choose haphazardly

• Do not ask too many open-ended • Open-ended questions required

questions (maximum of 1-2 questions) respondents to think
 exercise
Which cases can apply telephone interviews?
• Evaluate new product ideas
• Measure the satisfaction level of customers just
using the service
• Evaluate products placed at home
III. 

Quantitative
Research Methods
& APPLICATIONS
Online Survey
 WHAT IS ONLINE SURVEY?
Online survey is a form of information gathering in which respondents are screened and fill in
the online survey themselves.

Which research approaches can apply Online Survey?

Category strategy Brand Channel Shopper

• Market/category • U&A understanding • Channel landscape • Shopper

landscape • Product concept test • Channel segmentation understanding
• Customer • Product test • Retail census • In-store
segmentation • Packaging test • Retail audit communication testing
• Competitor • Communication test • Retailer satisfaction • Campaign evaluation
understanding • Campaign • In-store execution
effectiveness review tracking
• Brand health tracking
• Customer satisfaction
 ONLINE SURVEY PROCESS

01 02 03 04 05

Design Screen Survey Process data Analyze

survey link respondents research
results
 PROS & CONS OF ONLINE SURVEY

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

• Ease of data gathering • Absence of interviewer

• Minimal costs • Inability to reach challenging
• Automation in data input and population
handling • Survey fraud
• Increase in response rates
• Flexibility of design

Source> https://explorable.com/online-surveys
 ONLINE SURVEY VS. TELEPHONE INTERVIEW

ONLINE SURVEY TELEPHONE INTERVIEW

• All are quantitative research

• Short questionnaire (3 - 5 minutes)
Similarities
• Short questions, easy to understand
• Results less able to represent overall

• Respondents are likely to give up • Respondents are interested in answering

Differences halfway because of two-way interaction
• The process is shorter • The process is longer

Online survey & Call center can be combined: Use Online survey to get generic information from
respondents quickly and conveniently; then contact respondents by phone to deep dive into
feedback & reviews.
III. 

Quantitative
Research Methods
& APPLICATIONS
Other Methods
 OBSERVATION

• Measurement of execution at point of sale/transaction point (process, display, etc.)

• Interaction between retailers and customers
• Shopper interaction
 BIG DATA ANALYTICS

• Social listening
• Sales data
• Machine learning
 EMOTION TRACKING
The set of emotions will be recorded to define the outstanding expression which refers to their reaction
towards media content.

Source> http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services/cognitive-services/emotion/
IV.
Questionnaire Design
& important notes
 Good Questionnaire Design is vital

! ! !
If a survey is worth doing, it is Badly constructed The questionnaire has a
worth doing well questionnaires are a major major impact on project 

- Garbage in, garbage out. source of non-sampling error cost and time
 Types of questionnaires

Screening questionnaire Main questionnaire Integrated questionnaire

• Questionnaires are used to
screen respondents based on
pre-defined criteria
• Used in qualitative and CLT
projects
• Questionnaires are used to
gather research contents of
the project
• Used in CLT projects
• Including the screening and
the main, these 2 parts may
not be separated in the
questionnaires
• Used in D2D, F2F projects
OPEN-ended OR CLOSE-ended QUESTIONs

Open-ended questions
allow the respondent to answer more fully and freely in their own
way and often leave a space of several lines for this purpose.

Close-ended questions
are those where the respondent is given a number of alternative
answers to choose from.
 CLOSE-endeD QUESTION
We use close-ended question when we have already had some ideas for the answers. And the
purpose is to produce statistical data for graphs and charts.

Advantages Disadvantages

• Simple factual information. • Close-ended questions are useful only

• Involve minimum effort on the part of the
respondents.
• Easy to evaluate the information that has
been obtained.
• Save time => ask more questions
• Provide better information when
respondents are not highly motivated.
• Easy to count up different answers;
especially when we need to number or
code the answers
when the set of possible answers is known
and are clear-cut.
• Questions may have answers other than
those listed.
• Hard to find deep or detailed information.
• May prevent people from expressing their
complete feelings, experience, or attitudes
 OPEN-ended QUESTION
We use open-ended question when we want to uncover attitudes and genuine feelings, or we
have no idea about the answer.
Advantages
• They are very flexible.
• The respondent can answer in any way
that they wish.
• They are better means of finding out true
opinions and identifying how strongly
attitudes are held.
Disadvantages
• Require more thought and time on the
part of both respondents and interviewers
• Reduce the number of questions that the
questionnaire can realistically ask.
• Difficulty to standardize opinion.
• Interviewers may record wrong idea of
respondents
• Respondents may have trouble expressing
themselves accurately.
• Respondents may give wrong answers for
the question.
 SCALES
Four different types of scales usually used in a questionnaire:

Nominal scale

Ratio scale Ordinal scale

Interval scale
 Nominal Scale
Nominal scale consists of assigning items to group or categories, without any order or structure

Gender record:
Male
Female
Have you ever been invited to participate in a survey for the last 6 months?
Yes
No
Please tell us the flavor of milktea you like most?
Matcha
Chocolate
Original
Cheese
 Nominal Scale

We have some statements about the product as below.

For each statement, please evaluate your idea about it with 1 being “Agree” & 2 being “Disagree”

Agree Disagree
Statement A 1 2
Statement B 1 2
Statement C 1 2
 Ordinal scale
Rank-ordering data simply puts the data on an ordinal scale. Ordinal measurements describe
order, but not relative size or degree of difference between the items measured

What are three most important things when you decide to buy cookies in order “The most
important”, “The second important”, and “The third important”

The most important The second important The third important

A
B
C

Please evaluate the tested products in order “1st like”, “2nd like”, “3rd like
1st like 2nd like 3rd like
1st product
2nd product
3rd product
 Interval scale
Data is also put on an ordinal scale but the distances between these points are equal, or run on a
linear scale. The "zero point" on an interval scale is not true; and negative values can be used

In general, which answer below best describes your like or dislike about this product ?
1. Dislike very much
2. Dislike
3. Neutral/Neither
4. Like
5. Like very much
 Interval scale
Please rate your agreement with following statements on scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is strongly
disagree and 5 is strongly agree

1 2 3 4 5
Statement A
Statement B
Statement C

For each of the following features, please indicate their importance to you on scale of 

-3 to 3 with -3 being “unimportant” and 3 being “important”.

-3 -2 -1 1 2 3
Feature A
Feature B
Feature C
 Ratio scale
Ratio scale is like Interval scale except they have true zero

Approximately, what is the total income of household per month?

…………….…………….…………….…………….…………….…………….
How old are you?
……….…………….…………….…………….…………….………………….
Tips for
questionnaire design
• Ask single questions
• Avoid asking leading questions
• Use a unified scales between questions
• Avoid asking open-ended questions
• Avoid using abbreviations
 ASK SINGLE QUESTIONS

How do teachers feel about the quality of How do teachers & students feel about the
canteen meals? quality of canteen meals?
Dissatisfied Dissatisfied
Neutral Neutral
Satisfied Satisfied

How do students feel about the quality of

canteen meals?
Dissatisfied
Neutral
Satisfied
 AVOID LEADING QUESTIONS

How do you feel about the quality of our store's Our store is one of the top 3 stores with best
service? service quality in the city. How do you feel about
Dislike very much the quality of our store's service?
Dislike Dislike very much
Neutral Dislike
Like Neutral
Like very much Like
Like very much
 USE A UNIFIED SCALES BETWEEN QUESTIONS

Q1. Which answer below best describes the level of Q1. Which answer below best describes the level of
LIKE/DISLIKE about this packaging pattern? LIKE/DISLIKE about this packaging pattern?
Strongly dislike Strongly dislike
Dislike Dislike
Like Slightly dislike
Strongly like Slightly like
Like
Q2. Which answer below best describes the level of Strongly like
LIKE/DISLIKE about this product?
Strongly dislike Q2. Which answer below best describes the level of
Dislike LIKE/DISLIKE about this product?
Like Strongly dislike
Strongly like Dislike
Like
Strongly like
 AVOID ASKING OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS

What points do you like when you come to our Please list what do you like when coming to our
store? [MA] store?
Quality products
Dedicated service
Beautiful displays
Wifi availability
Goods classified clear
Other reasons: ………

Open-ended questions have disadvantages in Online survey:

• The logic of open-ended questions cannot be checked
• The percentage of respondents giving shallow answers for open-ended questions would be high
• The questionnaire time will be extended but the quality might not be high
 AVOID USING ABBREVIATIONS

How much do you care about Vietnam's How much do you care about Vietnam's
accession to the World Trade Organization accession to the WTO?
(WTO)? Not interested
Not interested Neutral
Neutral Interested
Interested
 HOW TO DESIGN SCREENING QUESTIONNAIRE

01 02 03 04 05

Design Listing details Ask questions Arrange the Remove

standard of the to cover the questions in duplicate
questions of respondent respondent proper order questions,
screening criteria criteria group
questionnaire questions,
add routes
 HOW TO DESIGN MAIN QUESTIONNAIRE

01 02 03 04 05

Business Research Information Flow of Detailed

objectives objectives needs questions questions &
Answer
V. 

Sample Design

& important notes
 METHODS OF SELECTION OF THE SAMPLE 

ARE APPLIED IN MARKETING PRACTICES

Random Sampling Convenience Sampling (Purposive Sampling)

SAMPLING LEVEL 1 SAMPLING LEVEL 2 SAMPLING LEVEL 3

• Cover all households • Gap among successful Identify individuals with profiles that meet
• Apply in census to get households is step K requirements for respondents and conduct
accurate estimation of • Apply to study the usage the interview, no need to follow sampling
penetration rates rate of category, selection rules (In some cases, quota/rank
among fiercely interaction level with can be applied to ensure sample
competitive industries brands (with sampling characteristics will be representative for
(minimal error, almost error) market or not too biased towards certain
absolute accuracy) groups of respondents to avoid bias in
results)
 Random SAMPLING METHOD: SAMPLING LEVEL 2
DOOR TO DOOR - Interview at
K≥3 home using random sampling
method (with step K)
• The home interview is based on a
Success Success
designed questionnaire with
• For each area, the interviewer picks the starting point at the maximum interview duration of 60
corner of the street (intersection). minutes.
• Interviewer applies the "right hand" rule with step K ≥ 3
Success • Sampling method:
• When reaching the end of the road, interviewer continues
applying the "right hand" rule and starts from the opposite side. ‣ Apply probability sampling
• Keep doing until reaching the quota for that area. method (level 2) with step K≥3 to
Stop here because ensure research result is
there are enough
samples for a area
representative for universe.
Success Success
‣ Select samples by brands to
ensure minimum sample size for
analysis by each group of
consumers.
 Margin ERROR in relation to sample size
50.0%
Margin error

37.5%

25.0% 19.6%
Margin error
13.9%
11.3%
12.5% 9.8%
8.8%
8.0% 7.4%
6.9% 6.2% 5.7% 5.2% 4.9% 4.6% 4.4%

0.0%
0 125 250 375 500

Sample size

Source> GCOMM, 2019