Marketing Research,

Arab World Edition

Naresh K. Malhotra, Imad B. Baalbaki,
Nada Nasr Bechwati

Chapter 3: Research Design

Lecturer: Insert your name here

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 Chapter Outline

1) Objectives
2) Overview
3) Research Design: Definition
4) Research Design: Classification
5) Exploratory Research
6) Descriptive Research
i. Cross-Sectional Design
ii. Longitudinal Design
iii. Relative Advantages and Disadvantages of Longitudinal and
Cross-Sectional Designs
7) Causal Research
8) Relationships Among Exploratory, Descriptive and Causal
Research

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 Chapter Outline (cont’d)

9) Potential Sources of Error

i. Random Sampling Error
ii. Non-sampling Error
a. Non-response Error
b. Response Error
10) Budgeting and Scheduling the Project
11) Marketing Research Proposal
12) International Marketing Research
13) Ethics in Marketing Research
14) Summary

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 Research Design: Definition

A research design is a framework or blueprint for

conducting the marketing research project. It details
the procedures necessary for obtaining the information
needed to structure or solve marketing research
problems.

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 Components of a Research Design

1. Define the information needed

2. Design the exploratory, descriptive, and/or causal phases of
the research
3. Specify the measurement and scaling procedures
4. Construct and pretest a questionnaire (interviewing form) or
an appropriate form for data collection
5. Specify the sampling process and sample size
6. Develop a plan of data analysis

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 Uses of Exploratory Research

 Formulate a problem or define a problem more

precisely
 Identify alternative courses of action
 Develop hypotheses
 Isolate key variables and relationships for further
examination
 Gain insights for developing an approach to the
problem
 Establish priorities for further research

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 Methods of Exploratory Research

 Survey of experts
 Pilot surveys
 Secondary data analyzed in a qualitative way
 Qualitative research

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 Use of Descriptive Research

 To describe the characteristics of relevant groups, such

as consumers, salespeople, organizations, or market
areas
 To estimate the percentage of units in a specified
population exhibiting a certain behavior
 To determine the perceptions of product characteristics
 To determine the degree to which marketing variables
are associated
 To make specific predictions

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 Methods of Descriptive Research

 Secondary data analyzed in a quantitative, as opposed to a

qualitative, manner (discussed in Chapter 4)
 Surveys (Chapter 6)
 Panels (Chapters 4 and 6)
 Observational and other data (Chapter 6)

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 Cross-Sectional Designs

Involve the collection of information from any given sample of

population elements only once.

In single cross-sectional designs, there is only one sample of

respondents and information is obtained from this sample only
once.

In multiple cross-sectional designs, there are two or more

samples of respondents, and information from each sample is
obtained only once. Often, information from different samples is
obtained at different times.

Cohort analysis consists of a series of surveys conducted at

appropriate time intervals, where the cohort serves as the basic
unit of analysis. A cohort is a group of respondents who
experience the same event within the same time interval.

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 Longitudinal Designs

A fixed sample (or samples) of population elements is

measured repeatedly on the same variables.

A longitudinal design differs from a cross-sectional

design in that the sample or samples remain the same
over time.

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 Cross-Sectional vs. Longitudinal

Cross- Sample
Sectional Surveyed
Design at T1

Sample Same Sample

Longitudinal Surveyed at also Surveyed
Design T1
at T2

Time T1 T2
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 Uses of Causal Research

 To understand which variables are the cause

(independent variables) and which variables are the
effect (dependent variables) of a phenomenon

 To determine the nature of the relationship between

the causal variables and the effect to be predicted

 METHOD: Experiments

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 Alternative Research Designs

Exploratory Research
(a) • Secondary Data Analysis
Conclusive Research
•Descriptive/Causal
• Focus Groups

Conclusive Research
(b) •Descriptive/Causal

Exploratory Research
Conclusive Research
(c) •Descriptive/Causal
• Secondary Data Analysis
• Focus Groups

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 Errors in Marketing Research

The total error is the variation between the true mean value in
the population of the variable of interest and the observed mean
value obtained in the marketing research project.

Random sampling error is the variation between the true

mean value for the population and the true mean value for the
original sample.

Non-sampling errors can be attributed to sources other than

sampling, and they may be random or non-random: including
errors in problem definition, approach, scales, questionnaire
design, interviewing methods, and data preparation and analysis.
Non-sampling errors consist of non-response errors and
response errors.

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 Errors in Marketing Research

Non-response error arises when some of the

respondents included in the sample do not respond.

Response error arises when respondents give

inaccurate answers or their answers are misrecorded
or misanalyzed.

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 Budgeting and Scheduling the Project

Budgeting and scheduling help to ensure that the

marketing research project is completed within the available
resources—financial, time, personnel, and other.

Critical path method (CPM)

Management technique of dividing a research project into component
activities, determining the sequence of these components and the time
each activity will require.

Program evaluation and review technique (PERT)

A more sophisticated critical path method that accounts for the
uncertainty in project completion times.

Graphical evaluation and review technique (GERT)

A sophisticated critical path method that accounts for both the
completion probabilities and the activity costs.

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 Marketing Research Proposal

1. Executive Summary
2. Background
3. Problem Definition/Objectives of the Research
4. Approach to the Problem
5. Research Design
6. Fieldwork/Data Collection
7. Data Analysis
8. Reporting
9. Cost and Time
10. Appendices

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 International Market Research

Important considerations:

Research design appropriate for one country may not be

appropriate for another.
o For example – consider the problem of determining
household attitudes toward major appliances in the United
States and Saudi Arabia.

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