1. Essentials of Marketing Research
Exploratory Research
Chapter 5:
Audhesh Paswan, Ph.D.

2. Research Design - I Exploratory Research:
Objective: Discovery of ideas and insights.
Characteristics: Flexible, Versatile, Unstructured,
Often the Front End of total Research Design,
Small Non-representative Sample,
Analyses typically qualitative.
Findings: Tentative, typically followed by further
exploratory, descriptive or causal research.
Methods: Literature Search, Focus Groups, Experience
Surveys, Pilot Surveys, Expert Interviews, Case
Studies, Reliance on Secondary Data.

3. EXPLORATORY RESEARCH
INITIAL RESEARCH CONDUCTED TO CLARIFY AND DEFINE THE NATURE OF A PROBLEM
DOES NOT PROVIDE CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE
SUBSEQUENT RESEARCH EXPECTED

4. Exploratory Research Unstructured, informal, and sometimes intuitive
Used for -
Gain background information.
Define terms.
Clarify problems and hypotheses.
Establish research priorities.
Diagnose a situation
Screening of alternatives
Discover new ideas

5. WHAT IS EXPLORATORY RESEARCH?
QUANTITATIVE
DATA
QUALITATIVE
DATA

6. Exploratory Research Techniques
Qualitative Research
Experience surveys
Case analysis
Pilot Studies:
Projective techniques.
Focus groups
Depth Interview.
Other qualitative techniques (secondary data & observation, etc.)??

7. “Knowing when to use qualitative research, and importantly when not to is a crucial skill in a research manager’s judgment.”
Malcolm Baker, President
The B/R/S Group, Inc.

8. EXPERIENCE SURVEYS ASK KNOWLEDGEABLE INDIVIDUALS
ABOUT A PARTICULAR RESEARCH PROBLEM
MOST ARE QUITE WILLING

9. “If you wish to know the road up the
mountain, you must ask the man who
goes back and forth on it.”
-- Zenrinkusi

10. CASE STUDY METHOD
INTENSELY INVESTIGATES ONE OR A FEW SITUATIONS SIMILAR TO THE PROBLEM
INVESTIGATE IN DEPTH
CAREFUL STUDY
MAY REQUIRE COOPERATION

11. PILOT STUDY A COLLECTIVE TERM
ANY SMALL SCALE EXPLORATORY STUDY THAT USES SAMPLING
BUT DOES NOT APPLY RIGOROUS STANDARDS

12. PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES
WORD ASSOCIATION TESTS
SENTENCE COMPLETION METHOD
THIRD-PERSON TECHNIQUE
ROLE PLAYING
T.A.T (and PICTURE FRUSTRATION VERSION OF TAT)

13. “A man is least himself when he talks
in his own person; when given a mask
he will tell the truth.”
--Oscar Wilde

14. WORD ASSOCIATION SUBJECT IS PRESENTED WITH A LIST OF WORDS
ASKED TO RESPOND WITH FIRST WORD THAT COMES TO MIND

15. WORD ASSOCIATION EXAMPLES
GREEN
CHEESE
MONEY
KRAFT

16. SENTENCE COMPLETION People who drink beer are ______________________
A man who drinks light beer is ___________________
Imported beer is most liked by ___________________
The woman in the commercial ____________________

17. THEMATIC APPERCEPTION TEST
TAT

18. FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEWS
UNSTRUCTURED
FREE FLOWING
GROUP INTERVIEW
START WITH BROAD TOPIC AND FOCUS IN ON SPECIFIC ISSUES

19. GROUP COMPOSITION 6 TO 10 PEOPLE RELATIVELY HOMOGENEOUS
SIMILAR LIFESTYLES AND EXPERIENCES

20. Focus groups
Small group of people brought together and guided by a moderator through an unstructured, spontaneous discussion about some topic.
Goal is to draw out ideas, feelings, and experiences about a certain issues that would be obscured by more structured methods.

21. Focus Group Objectives
To generate ideas.
To understand consumer vocabulary.
To reveal consumer needs, motives, perceptions, and attitudes.
To understand findings from quantitative studies.

22. Focus Group Moderator The “Man (or woman) with the plan”!
Conducts the entire session and guides the flow of group discussion.
Must have excellent observation, interpersonal, and communication skills, Interacts, listens, develops rapport.
Must be sensitive to participants situations and comments, promotes interaction.
Must be prepared.

23. Reporting and Use of Focus Group Results
Some sense must be made by translating the qualitative statements of participants into categories.
Demographic and buyer behavior characteristics should be judged against the target market profile.

24. Focus Group Pros and Cons
Advantages
Generate fresh ideas
Allow clients to observe the group
Generally versatile
Works well with special respondents.
Disadvantages
May not represent the population
Interpretation is subjective
Expensive

25. Exploratory Research Techniques
Quantitative Research
Secondary data analyses
Observation
Physiological measurement

26. Observation Techniques
Observation methods - researcher relies on his or her powers of observation rather than communicating with respondent
Direct versus Indirect
Disguised versus Undisguised
Structured versus Unstructured
Human versus Mechanical

27. Direct or Indirect Direct observation Indirect observation
Observing behavior as it occurs
Indirect observation
Observe effects or results of behavior
Use archives or physical traces
Archives - secondary data
Physical traces - tangible evidence of some event (e.g., garbology)

28. Disguised or Undisguised
Disguised - unaware of observation
“Secret shopper”
One-way mirrors
Hidden cameras
Undisguised
Laboratory settings
“Ride withs”
“Knowing” may bias the responses.

29. Structured or Unstructured
Structured - researchers agree beforehand which behaviors are to be observed and recorded.
Unstructured - No restrictions, all behavior is observed.
Observer must be thoroughly briefed on the areas of general concern.

30. Human or Mechanical Human - a person observes
Mechanical - a machine observes
turnstiles, scanners, people meters, etc.

31. When to use observation
Short time interval - involves activities that generally occur over a short time span.
Public behavior - setting where researchers can readily observe.
Faulty recall - when actions or activities are so repetitive that the respondent cannot recall specifics.

32. Advantages . . . Subjects are unaware* React in a natural manner*
No chance for recall error
Less costly and more accurate * Assuming disguised observation.

33. Limitations . . .
Only a small number of subjects are studied (Dracula Syndrome - suck too much out of a few subjects).
Is sample representative?
Motivations, attitudes, and internal conditions are not observed.
Multiple observers (inconsistency)
Subjective Interpretation

34. Other Techniques Depth interviews
Protocol analysis - Decision maker’s view
Projective techniques
Shopping basket
Personality completion
Cartoon or balloon test
Role-playing activity
Physiological measurement - Galvanometer, Pupilometer, etc.

35. SECONDARY DATA ANALYSIS
DATA COLLECTED FOR A PURPOSE OTHER THAN THE PROJECT AT HAND
ECONOMICAL
QUICK SOURCE FOR BACKGROUND INFORMATION

36. Next Stage - Quantitative Research
involves structured questions
predetermined response options
large number of respondents involved.
Sizable representative sample of the population
Formalized data gathering procedure
Specific purpose

37. Qualitative or Quantitative Research?
Does it have to be one or the other?
It depends . . .maybe both - Pluralistic Research.