Chapter 2Introducing types of research

Suggested solutions to end of chapter questions

1. In what ways can research be classified?

Research can be described or classified according to: the nature of the research enquiry – exploratory, descriptive and explanatory or causal

research; the mode of data collection – continuous and ad hoc research; the type of data – qualitative and quantitative research; the status or source of the data – primary and secondary research; the method of data collection – face-to-face, telephone, postal and Internet research; the way in which the research is bought or sold – syndicated or customised research;

and the nature of the market or population under investigation – for example, consumer,

industrial, business-to-business or social research.

2. Describe briefly what is meant by the terms exploratory, descriptive and causal research.

Exploratory researchExploratory research is, as its name suggests, research undertaken to explore an issue or a topic. It is particularly useful in helping to identify a problem, clarify the nature of a problem or define the issues involved. It can be used to develop propositions and hypotheses for further research, to look for new insights or to reach a greater understanding of an issue. For example, you might conduct exploratory research to understand how consumers react to new product concepts or ideas for advertising, or what business executives mean when they talk about ‘entrepreneurship’, or to help define what is meant by the term ‘elder abuse’.

Descriptive researchA lot of market and social research is about description as well as exploration – finding the answers to the Who? What? Where? When? How? and How many? questions. While exploratory research can provide description, the purpose of descriptive research is to answer more clearly defined research questions. Descriptive research aims to build a picture – of a market, a set of customers, a social phenomenon, a set of experiences, for example. It aims to identify, describe and in some cases count things. It can be used to examine some of the key issues facing marketers and policy makers.

Causal or explanatory researchCausal or explanatory research addresses the why questions: Why do people choose brand A and not brand B? Why are some customers satisfied with our service and others not? Why do some prisoners use drugs and others not? What might explain this? We design

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explanatory or causal research to answer these types of questions, to allow us to rule out rival explanations and come to a conclusion, to help us develop causal explanations.

3. Describe what is meant by the terms primary and secondary research. Give examples of the use of each type.

Primary research is designed to generate or collect data for a specific problem; the data collected – primary data – do not exist prior to data collection. Secondary data are data that were originally collected for a purpose other than the current research objectives – in revisiting them you are putting the data to a second use. Searching for, analysing and using secondary data is called secondary research.

The role of primary research is to generate data to address the information needs in relation to a specific problem or issue. If there are no pre-existing data available, you need to conduct primary research. For example, say that you have just devised a new advertisement for your product, you will need to conduct primary research to understand how it is working. Or say that you have introduced a health screening service and you want to find out how satisfied users are with it, then you need to conduct primary research. No data exist which will address either of these issues.

The role of secondary research is very often exploratory and/or descriptive. For example, secondary research might be used to explore the background to a problem or issue, to describe its wider context, to help define the problem or issue, or to generate hypotheses or ideas. For example, consulting the data from a study you conducted the last time you made changes your product or service – to help you understand or set in context issues related to current changes – is a form of secondary research. Analysing sales data to determine the impact of the changes is secondary research. Searching the literature on a topic to reach a greater understanding of the issues involved, or to help develop interview questions or a framework for analysis is secondary research.

4. What are the main differences between qualitative and quantitative research? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each type? For what sorts of research enquiry is qualitative research most useful? Give examples.

The main differences between qualitative and quantitative research are summarised in the Table 2.1 below.

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Table 2.1 Differences between quantitative and qualitative research

Quantitative research Qualitative researchResearch enquiry Exploratory, descriptive and

causalExploratory and descriptive

Nature of questions and responses

Who, what, when, where, how many?Relatively superficial and rational responsesMeasurement, testing and validation

Why?

Below the surface and emotional responsesUnderstanding, exploration and idea generation

Sample size Relatively large Relatively smallData collection Not very flexible

Interviews and observation Standardised More closed questions

FlexibleInterviews and observation Less standardisedMore open-ended questions

Data Numbers, percentages, meansLess detail or depthNomothetic descriptionContext poorHigh reliability, low validityStatistical inference possible

Words, pictures

Detailed and in-depthIdeographic descriptionContext richHigh validity, low reliabilityStatistical inference not possible

Cost Relatively low cost per respondent but relatively high project cost

Relatively high cost per respondent but relatively low project cost

Neither qualitative nor quantitative research is inherently better than the other. One or other may be better suited to addressing a particular research problem, however. For example, a strength of qualitative research is in providing rich and detailed description (ideographic), understanding and insight; a strength of quantitative research is in addressing the ‘how many’ type questions, in measuring and providing accurate estimates of population parameters. The less structured and less standardised approach taken in qualitative research can mean that findings are relatively low in reliability (this is something that qualitative researchers acknowledge and take steps to address). Also, because of the small sample sizes common in qualitative research, findings are not representative in the statistical sense, although it is possible to generalise the findings from the sample to the wider population. Quantitative research is not as flexible as qualitative. The structured, standardised approach can produce superficial rather than detailed description and understanding. There is a risk of losing out on ‘real’ responses as well as context and detail through the use of closed questions; with standardisation

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there is a chance of missing slight differences in response between respondents. Both of these can contribute to low validity.

Qualitative research is most useful in exploratory and descriptive research enquiries. It is useful in developing ideas for products, services and advertising, for example, and for understanding social issues. It is useful in providing information to help guide and develop policy and strategy – for business, for marketing, advertising and communications, and for development of social policy. It is useful for evaluating policies and strategies, and the implementation of them. It is also useful when used in conjunction with quantitative research, to generate and develop ideas or hypotheses; to define the issues under investigation; and to find out how people think and feel and behave, how they talk about an issue or a product. It is also useful in exploring the findings of a quantitative study in greater depth, providing a wider context in which to understand and interpret them.

5. Describe what is meant by the following terms, giving examples of the use of each type of research:

(a) continuous researchContinuous research, as its name suggests, is research done on a continuous basis or at regular intervals in order to monitor changes over time, for example, in a particular market or among a particular population. The most common way of conducting continuous research is to use a panel of respondents chosen to represent the target population; data are collected from panel members at regular intervals. The panel can be made up of individuals or households, often called consumer panels, or it can be made up of businesses or other organisations, for example, retail panels are made up of a sample of retail outlets.

Continuous data can also be derived from independent samples of the same population, samples that are recruited anew for each round of fieldwork. For example, omnibus studies and advertising tracking studies, or product tests where the same methodology is used on similar or identical samples, can provide continuous data. Examples of this type of continuous or regular research include the General Household Survey and the National Food Survey, both conducted on behalf of the UK Government.

(b) ad hoc researchAd hoc (Latin for 'this special purpose’) research is conducted on a ‘one-off’ basis, to provide a snapshot at a particular point in time. It is usually designed to address a specific problem or to help understand a particular issue at a certain point in time. For example, you might commission ad hoc research among employees to determine satisfaction with their new office accommodation, or to understand the issues faced by overseas students in their first few months at university, or to gauge whether your latest television advertisement is communicating key product messages to the target market. The types of studies that come under the heading ‘ad hoc research’ include advertising

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pre-tests and communication testing, usage and attitudes studies, hall tests, store tests, market mix tests and brand/price trade-off research.

(c) syndicated researchSyndicated or multi-client research refers to research that has been put together by an organisation (usually a specialist research organisation) and sold to a number of different clients, to whom it may be equally relevant. For example, a financial services organisation with a small research budget may buy into a syndicated advertising tracking study along with several other financial services organisations as a cost effective way of finding out how its advertising is playing with its target market. Omnibus surveys are a form of syndicated research, with clients buying space for their questions (for which it may not be feasible to conduct an ad hoc survey) alongside questions placed by other clients. Continuous research can be expensive and is often syndicated in order to spread the cost.

(d) customised researchCustomised research is research that is commissioned by a single organisation, usually to meet their research objectives alone. Most ad hoc projects are customised. For example, a product or advertising test is classed as an ad hoc project; the evaluation of a pilot program for the provision of a new service is an ad hoc project.

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