Formulate the Research Problem In a Marketing Research

What is a Research Problem A research problem is a definite or clear expression [statement] about an area of concern, a condition to be improved upon, a difficulty to be eliminated, in theory, or within existing practice that points to a need for meaningful understanding and deliberate investigation. A research problem does not state how to do something, offer a vague or broad proposition, or present a value question.

Steps to Formulate The research problem 1. Specify the Research Objectives A clear statement of objectives will help you develop effective research. It will help the decision makers evaluate your project. It’s critical that you have manageable objectives. (Two or three clear goals will help to keep your research project focused and relevant.) 2. Review the Environment or Context of the Research Problem This will help you determine whether the findings of your project will produce enough information to be worth the cost. In order to do this, you have to identify the environmental variables that will affect the research project.

Steps to Formulate The research problem 3. Explore the Nature of the Problem Research problems range from simple to complex, depending on the number of variables and the nature of their relationship. To help you understand all dimensions, you might want to consider focus groups of consumers, sales people, managers, or professionals to provide what is sometimes much needed insight. 4. Define the Variable Relationships Marketing plans often focus on creating a sequence of behaviors that occur over time (as in the adoption of a new package design, or the introduction of a new product). Such programs create a commitment to follow some behavioral pattern in the future. Studying such a process involves: Determining which variables affect the solution to the problem. Determining the functional relationships between the variables and which variables are critical to the solution of the problem. Determining the degree to which each variable can be controlled.

Articulate the Research problem and Objectives

Conceptual framework Problem definition is about specifying first the decision problem and second the research problem. It is critical for the success of the study since wrong problem definition results in findings that may not be useful in decision making. Other stages in the sequence are directly derived from the research problem definition. 2. Developing an approach to the problem Involves identifying and specifying components of the research problem, i.e. research questions and hypotheses. This is also where variables of interest and their relationships are proposed in the form of an analytical model. The objective here is to break down the research problem into manageable pieces that will allow for easier selection of a research design and safeguard against omitting issues that could be critical for resolving the research problem. The most important output from this phase is a detailed and comprehensive list of all items of information that are to be collected if a satisfactory answer to the problem is to be found.

The Iceberg Principle

The Iceberg Principle in Marketing Research 10% of the problem is visible, the rest must be properly identified

To do that we must practice what is called The Iceberg Principle in Marketing Research What the chart presents as above-the-water signs can be treated as market performance metrics measuring various kinds of competences of the company like product features, brand image, efficiency and effectiveness of the distribution system and others corporate skills. To do that we must practice what is called CRITICAL THINKING

To do that we must practice what is called The Iceberg Principle in Marketing Research The role of the researcher is to help the manager find the factors that probably provide the best opportunities for augmenting the company’s competitive position, phrase them as a coherent research problem and design a study that will most likely provide adequate information to guide management decisions in this area. To do that we must practice what is called CRITICAL THINKING

Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking Critical thinking can be considered as a process containing the following three steps 1. Identifying the pre-existing assumptions held by company employees regarding the cause of a problem or a potential opportunity. 2. Using internal research data to examine whether these assumptions are accurate and based on facts. 3. Exploring new ideas about the actual source of a problem and its possible solutions At the problem definition stage it is vital to thoroughly look into secondary data, both internal and external to the company, and collect some additional material from primary sources through interviews with decision makers and other employees knowledgeable about the problem and its context.

Problem Audit

Problem Audit It is important to probe the following issues which collectively make up what is called the problem audit 1) The events that led to the decision that an action is needed or the history of the problem 2) The alternative courses of action available to the Decision Maker. It is a good habit to keep the scope of the project as focused as possible to investigate only a limited number of issues but with a great amount of detail 3) Criteria that will be used to evaluate the alternative courses of action. Design the study so that it provides information on the metrics necessary to assess available alternatives in line with managers’ criteria. 4) The information that is needed to answer the Decision Maker’s questions

Formulating research problem A single decision problem could be translated into numerous research problems centered on different possible ways of improving the firm’s market position. Below as an example there is a set of decision problems and corresponding research problems

The final set of possible actions can be summarized by several variations of the research problem statement, e.g. “What new markets and consumer segments should be targeted by the company with current products to achieve the highest growth of sales and profits within one year period?”

Defining hypothesis

Defining a Hypothesis Research questions attempt to capture the meaning of all important components of a research problem. By answering a research question a solution is found to a part of the research problem. A hypothesis is a possible – usually the most likely – answer to a research question. Hypothesis should be testable, which means that it ought to be possible to specify the conditions that must be met to consider the hypothesis false Examples of hypothesis If you get at least 6 hours of sleep, you will do better on tests than if you get less sleep. If you drop a ball, it will fall toward the ground. If you drink coffee before going to bed, then it will take longer to fall asleep. If you cover a wound with a bandage, then it will heal with less scarring.

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