Week 4 REVIEW

Observation and Experimentation

OBSERVATION The systematic process of witnessing and recording behaviour – of people, objects and events

Seven Types of Observable Phenomena: Physical actions Verbal behaviour Expressive behaviour Spatial relations Time patterns Physical objects Pictorial records

Direct Observation Error Errors can occur due to: Observer bias Incomplete reporting Interpretation errors

Physical Trace Evidence: A visible mark of some past event e.g. University of Arizona garbage Project (see Zikmund)

Content Analysis: Systematic observation and quantitative description of content of communications

Mechanical Observation Includes: Television Monitoring (Nielsen PeopleMeter) Website Monitoring (Jupiter Media Metrix) Scanner Research (Universal Product Code) Physical measurement (eye-tracking/voice pitch analysis)

Experimentation

Experiments Investigate and evaluate causal relationships between variables Differs from other methods in the degree of control

Experiments in Marketing include: Test Marketing Blind testing Extended User Testing Pilot Trials

Experiment Design Issues include: Manipulation of Independent Variable Selection and Measurement of Dependent Variable Selection of Test Units Control of Extraneous Variables

SURVEY RESEARCH (re: Zikmund, Chapter 7)

Survey Research A method of collecting primary data by communicating with a representative sample of people

Based on simple idea: “”… the best way to find out what consumers think is to ask them.” Zikmund

Properly conducted Surveys can be: Quick Inexpensive Efficient Accurate Flexible

Problems with Surveys come from: Nonresponse error Response bias Administrative error

Types of Sampling: Personal Interviews Intercepts Telephone interviews Self administered questions Mail questionnaires Email

Attitude Scaling (Zikmund, Chapter 10)

Attitude:  An enduring disposition to consistently respond in a given matter

Three Components of an Attitude:  Affective Cognitive Behavioural

Affective :  The feelings or emotions toward an object Cognitive :  Knowledge and beliefs Behavioural:  Predisposition to action

Measuring Attitudes   Ranking Rating Sorting Choice

The Attitude Measuring Process:  Ranking - Rank order preference Rating - Estimates magnitude of a characteristic Sorting - Arrange or classify concepts Choice - Selection of preferred alternative

Simple Attitude Scaling:  In its most basic form, attitude scaling requires that an individual agree with a statement or respond to a single question. This type of self-rating scale merely classifies respondents into one of two categories;

Method of Summated Ratings: The Likert Scale: An extremely popular means for measuring attitudes. Respondents indicate their own attitudes by checking how strongly they agree or disagree with statements. Response alternatives: “strongly agree”, “agree”, “uncertain”, “disagree”, and “strongly disagree”.

Semantic Differential:  A series of seven-point bipolar rating scales. Bipolar adjectives, such as “good” and “bad”, anchor both ends (or poles) of the scale