Advertising and Marketing Research Semester-VI- TYBMM

By: M H Lakdawala hani lakdawala!gmail"c#m

BY: M H Lakdawala

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Research in common parlance refers to a search for knowledge. One can also define research as a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic. In fact, research is an art of scientific in estigation. !he "d anced Learner#s $ictionary of %&rrent 'nglish lays down the meaning of research as a caref&l in estigation or in(&iry especially thro&gh search for new facts in any )ranch of knowledge. Redman and Mory define research as a *systemati+ed effort to gain new knowledge., -ome people consider research as a mo ement from the known to the &nknown. It is act&ally a oyage of disco ery. .e all possess the ital instinct of in(&isiti eness for, when the &nknown confronts &s, we wonder and o&r in(&isiti eness makes &s pro)e and attain f&ll and f&ller &nderstanding of the &nknown. !his in(&isiti eness is the mother of all knowledge and the method, which man employs for o)taining the knowledge of whate er the &nknown, can )e termed as research.

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!he p&rpose of research is to disc#ver answers thro&gh the application of scienti ic -r#ced.res. !he main aim of research is to find o&t the tr&th which is hidden and which has not )een disco ered as yet. !ho&gh each research st&dy has its own specific p&rpose, we may think of research o)/ecti es as falling into n&m)er of )road gro&ping: !o gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights into it 0st&dies with this o)/ect in iew are termed as e1ploratory or form&lati e research st&dies. !o portray acc&rately the characteristics # a -artic.lar individ.al/ sit.ati#n #r a gr#.- 0st&dies with this o)/ect in iew are known as descripti e research st&dies23 !o determine the re0.ency with which something occurs or with which it is associated
with something else (studies with this object in view are known as diagnostic research studies). To test a hypothesis of a casual relationship between variables (such studies are known as hypothesis-testing research studies).

Research -r#cess:
1" 6" 8" 9" :" ;" <" =" >" )e ine Research 2r#3lem4#35ective )etermine $7-ected val.e # -er ect in #rmati#n Research techni0.e and )etermine )ata %#llecti#n meth#d )etermine the meas.rement techni0.es Research )esign4 Sam-ling )ata 2r#cessing and Analysis )etermine Time And c#st )e ine the ethics # research 2re-are the research re-#rt

BY: M H Lakdawala

Ste-1: )e ine Research 2r#3lem4#35ective

-tate the research (&estions and research o)/ecti es a. PROBLEM DISCOVERY 4irst thing a researcher sho&ld do is identifying the symptoms or signs which will point o&t the pro)lem. " symptom is a condition that indicates the e1istence of a pro)lem, and we, m&st )e caref&l not to conf&se this with a pro)lem. -ymptoms occ&py an essential place in the pro)lem5sol ing process, for the &nderlying pro)lem. " problem e1ists whene er one faces a (&estion whose answer 6 or a need whose f&lfilment 6 in ol es do&)t and &ncertainty. B&siness pro)lems are not fo&nd )y s&rprise or accidental circ&mstances. "lways there are signs, and e idence that re eals the e1istence of the pro)lem. O&r a)ilities can go )eyond int&ition or a si1th sense.
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!he ne1t step in any marketing research pro/ect is to define the pro)lem. 7ro)lem definition in ol es disc&ssion with the decision5makers, inter iews with ind&stry e1perts, analysis of secondary data, and, perhaps, some (&alitati e research, s&ch as foc&s gro&ps. Once the pro)lem has )een precisely defined, the research can )e designed and cond&cted properly. c. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES !he research o)/ecti e is a statement, in as precise terminology as possi)le, of what information is needed what will )e the practical &tility of the research. !he research o)/ecti e sho&ld )e framed so that o)taining the information will ens&re that the research p&rpose is satisfied. )" HY2+TH$S$S )$V$L+2M$(T " hypothesis is a proposed e1planation for an o)ser a)le phenomenon. " hypothesis is a tentati e statement that proposes a possi)le e1planation to some phenomenon or e ent. " &sef&l hypothesis is a testa)le statement which may incl&de a prediction. " hypothesis sho&ld not )e conf&sed with a theory. !heories are general e1planations )ased on a large amo&nt of data. Hy-#thesis )e initi#n: !entati e theory or s&pposition pro isionally adopted to e1plain certain facts and g&ide the in estigation of others. Hypothesis is tentati e and declarati e statement form&lated to )e tested descri)ing relationship )etween concepts. " good hypothesis is set d&ring e1ploratory research and tested d&ring concl&si e research. H#w Are Hy-#theses ?ritten@ %hocolate may ca&se pimples. -alt in soil may affect plant growth. 7lant growth may )e affected )y the color of the light. Bacterial growth may )e affected )y temperat&re. 8ltra iolet light may ca&se skin cancer. !emperat&re may ca&se lea es to change color. "ll of these are e1amples of hypotheses )eca&se they &se the tentati e word 9may.9. Howe er, their form is not partic&larly &sef&l. 8sing the word may does not s&ggest how yo& wo&ld go a)o&t pro ing it. If these statements had not )een written caref&lly, they may not ha e e en )een hypotheses at all. 4or e1ample, if we say 9!rees will change color when it gets cold.9 we are making a prediction. Or if we BY: M H Lakdawala

write, 98ltra iolet light ca&ses skin cancer.9 co&ld )e a concl&sion. One way to pre ent making s&ch easy mistakes is to formali+e the form of the hypothesis. &#rmaliAed Hy-#theses e7am-le: If skin cancer is related to &ltra iolet light, then people with a high e1pos&re to & light will ha e a higher fre(&ency of skin cancer. If leaf color change is related to temperature, then exposing plants to low temperatures will result in changes in leaf color. Notice that these statements contain the words, if and then. !hey are necessary in a formali+ed hypothesis. B&t not all if5then statements are hypotheses. 4or e1ample, "If I play the lottery, then I will get rich." This is a simple prediction. In a formali+ed hypothesis, a tentati e relationship is stated. 4or e1ample, if the fre(&ency of winning is related to fre(&ency of )&ying lottery tickets. 9!hen9 is followed )y a prediction of what will happen if yo& increase or decrease the fre(&ency of )&ying lottery tickets. If yo& always ask yo&rself that if one thing is related to another, then yo& sho&ld )e a)le to test it. 4ormali+ed hypotheses contain two aria)les. One is 9independent9 and the other is 9dependent.9 !he independent aria)le is the one yo&, the 9scientist9 control and the dependent aria)le is the one that yo& o)ser e and:or meas&re the res&lts. In the statements a)o e the dependent aria)le is )l&e and the independent aria)le is red. !he &ltimate al&e of a formali+ed hypothesis is it forces &s to think a)o&t what res&lts we sho&ld look for in an e1periment. .e ha e two types of hypothesis: (.ll Hy-#thesis Ho: represents the stat&s (&o, the conser ati e theory from pre io&s e1perience that we accept &ntil pro en false. 0!rial defendant ass&med not g&ilty &nless otherwise pro ed2 Ho always contains the ; sign. .e always ass&me that Ho is tr&e. It states that there is no difference )etween a parameter and a hypothesi+ed al&e Ho: : ; :o or Ho: p ; po

Alternative Hy-#thesis Ha: a theory that contradicts the n&ll hypothesis, )y specifying a $I44'R'<%' )etween the parameter and the hypothesi+ed al&e. It contains the claim, or what the researcher wants to pro e. or Ho: : = :o or Ho: : > :o

Ho: : :o

'1ample: " chemical company claims its prod&cts will increase the life of car )atteries. !he mean lifetime of cars# )atteries is ?@ months........!est the company#s claim.

Ste-6: )etermine $7-ected val.e # -er ect in #rmati#n BY: M H Lakdawala

Areater the information a aila)le the )etter the management is poised to take a decision. Howe er care sho&ld )e taken to note that the so&rcing of the information sho&ld not cost the Management greater than the al&e of the information generated.

The Val.e # In #rmati#n

Information can )e &sef&l, )&t what determines its real al&e to the organi+ationB In general, the al&e of information is determined )y: !he a)ility and willingness to act on the information. !he acc&racy of the information. !he le el of indecisi eness that wo&ld e1ist witho&t the information. !he amo&nt of ariation in the possi)le res&lts. !he le el of risk a ersion. !he reaction of competitors to any decision impro ed )y the information. !he cost of the information in terms of time and money.

%haracteristics # Val.a3le In #rmati#n Relevance B.ality Timeliness %#m-leteness Basic B.esti#ns How m&ch will the st&dy costB Is the time frame accepta)leB Is o&tside help neededB .ill this research design attain the stated research o)/ecti esB .hen sho&ld the research )e sched&led to )eginB

Ste-8: Research Techni0.e and )etermine )ata %#llecti#n meth#d

Basic Ty-es # Research A--r#aches #r Research Techni0.e
!here are two )road categories of research: qualitative research and quantitative research" C. B.alitative Research- D&alitati e Research is generally &ndertaken to de elop an initial &nderstanding of the pro)lem. It is non statistical in nat&re. It &ses an ind&cti e method, that is, data rele ant to some topics are collected and gro&ped into appropriate meaningf&l categories. !he e1planations are emerged from the data itself. It is &sed in e1ploratory research design and descripti e research also. D&alitati e data comes into a ariety of forms like inter iew transcripts3 doc&ments, diaries and notes made while o)ser ing. !here are two main methods for collecting D&alitati e data a. $irect %ollection Method5.hen the data is collected directly, it makes &se of disg&ised method. 7&rpose of data collection is not known. !his method makes &se of5 a. 4oc&s Aro&ps

BY: M H Lakdawala

). $epth Inter iew c. %ase -t&dy ). Indirect %ollection5Method a. 7ro/ecti e !echni(&es E. B.antitative Research- D&antitati e Research (&antifies the data and generali+es the res&lts from the sample to the pop&lation. In D&antitati e Research, data can )e colleted )y two methods a. -&r ey Method ). O)ser ation Method )i erence 3etween B.alitative CB.antitative research !he n&m)er of people yo& speak to determines whether the research is considered (&alitati e or (&antitati e. In a (&alitati e research st&dy, s&ch as a foc&s gro&p, yo& are gathering information from a small n&m)er of people 0typically &nder CFF2. On the other hand, in a (&antitati e st&dy, s&ch as a telephone s&r ey, yo& are gaining inp&t from a large n&m)er of people 0normally at least EFF2. D&alitati e research is &sed when it is important to &nderstand why someone does something, s&ch as respond fa ora)ly to an ad ertisement. D&antitati e research is &sed when yo& are seeking to learn how many people in a pop&lation are likely to respond a certain way, s&ch as ote. ". D&alitati e Research 5 &ses words, rather than n&m)ers, to e1plain research findings. B. D&antitati e Research 5 &ses n&m)ers in a form of mathematical analysis to e1plain research findings. S#me e7am-les # when 0.alitative research is hel- .l incl.de: !esting response to ad ertising messages and concepts "naly+ing response to prod&cts and feat&res '1ploring what iss&es sho&ld )e tested d&ring (&antitati e research B.antitative research is the meth#d t# .se when: Meas&ring market si+e "naly+ing demand of a new prod&ct $etermining how many people e1hi)it a partic&lar attit&de or )eha ior Meas&ring the si+e of partic&lar market segments B.antitative research is the meth#d t# .se when: Meas&ring market si+e "naly+ing demand of a new prod&ct $etermining how many people e1hi)it a partic&lar attit&de or )eha ior Meas&ring the si+e of partic&lar market segments

B.alitative meth#ds have at least #.r disting.ishing characteristics: C. Small n.m3ers # res-#ndents" !he idea is to de ote a considera)le amo&nt of time on each inter iew to get to the heart of a matter.

BY: M H Lakdawala

E. 'nstr.ct.red 0.esti#n #rmats" !hat is, the (&estions are not completely predetermined and the inter iewer is free to pro)e for all details and &nderlying feelings. ?. Indirect meas.rement # res-#ndentsD eelings and 3elie s" Respondents pro ide descripti e information a)o&t their tho&ght and feelings. !hese are not easily pro/ected to the pop&lation. G. )irect #3servati#n" !he inter iewer not only records answers )&t o)ser es how (&estions affect inter iewees. Hesitant answers, agitation, smiling, sweating, calmness, )oredom etc. are all o)ser a)le and all tell &s something a)o&t the indi id&als# state of mind.

)ata c#llecti#n techni0.e #r research Techni0.e:

$ata play an important role in research. 4acts, information or premises systematically collected and formally presented for the p&rpose of drawing inferences may )e called data. S#.rces # )ata - 2rimary and Sec#ndary !here are two main so&rces of data 5 primary and secondary. 7rimary research is cond&cted from scratch. It is original and collected to sol e the pro)lem in hand. -econdary research, also known as desk research, already e1ists since it has )een collected for other p&rposes.

A" Meth#d # c#llecting -rimary data

1" S.rvey Meth#d
!he -&r ey method is the techni(&e of gathering data )y asking (&estions to people who are tho&ght to ha e desired information. " formal list of (&estionnaire is prepared. Aenerally a non disg&ised approach is &sed. !he respondents are asked (&estions on their demographic interest opinion. Advantages of Survey Method C. "s compared to other methods 0direct o)ser ation, e1perimentation2 s&r ey yield a )roader range of information. -&r eys are effecti e to prod&ce information on socio5economic characteristics, attit&des, opinions, moti es etc and to gather information for planning prod&ct feat&res, ad ertising media, sales promotion, channels of distri)&tion and other marketing aria)les. E. D&estioning is &s&ally faster and cheaper that O)ser ation. ?. D&estions are simple to administer. G. $ata is relia)le H. !he aria)ility of res&lts is red&ced. @. It is relati ely simple to analy+e, (&ote and interrelate the data o)tained )y s&r ey method Disadvantages of Survey Method C. 8nwillingness of respondents to pro ide information5 !his re(&ires salesmanship on the part of the inter iewer. !he inter iewer may ass&re that the information will )e kept secret or apply the techni(&e of offering some presents. E. Ina)ility of the respondents to pro ide information5 !his may )e d&e to a. Lack of knowledge ). Lapse of memory c. Ina)ility to identify their moti es and pro ide *reasons whyB, for their actions ?. H&man Biases of the respondents are there, for eg: *'go,

BY: M H Lakdawala

G. -ymantec diffic&lties are there 6 it is diffic&lt, if not impossi)le, to state a gi en (&estion in s&ch a way that it will mean e1actly same thing to each respondent. -imilarly two different wordings of the same (&estion will fre(&ently prod&ce (&ite different res&lts.

Ty-es # S.rveys:
!here are mainly G methods )y which we can collect data thro&gh the -&r ey Method C. !elephonic Inter iew E. 7ersonal Inter iew ?. Mail Inter iew G. %omp&ter or Internet or 'lectronic Inter iew 1" Tele-h#nic Interview !elephone Inter iewing stands o&t as the )est method for gathering (&ickly needed information. Responses are collected from the respondents )y the researcher on telephone. Advantages of Telephonic Interview a. It is ery fast method of data collection. ). It has the ad antage o er *Mail D&estionnaire, of permitting the inter iewer to talk to one or more persons and to clarifying his (&estions if they are not &nderstood. c. Response rate of telephone inter iewing seems to )e a little )etter than mail (&estionnaires d. !he (&ality of information is )etter e. It is less costly method and there are less administration pro)lems Disadvantages of Telephonic Interview f. !hey cant handle inter iew which need props g. It cant handle &nstr&ct&red inter iew h. It cant )e &sed for those (&estions which re(&ires long descripti e answers i. Respondents cannot )e o)ser ed /. 7eople are rel&ctant to disclose personal information on telephone k. 7eople who don#t ha e telephone facility cannot )e approached 6" 2ers#nal Interviewing It is the most ersatile of the all methods. !hey are &sed when props are re(&ired along with the er)al response non5 er)al responses can also )e o)ser ed. Advantages of Personal Interview a. !he person inter iewed can ask more (&estions and can s&pplement the inter iew with personal o)ser ation. ). !hey are more fle1i)le. Order of (&estions can )e changed c. Inowledge of past and f&t&re is possi)le. d. In5depth research is possi)le. e. Jerification of data from other so&rces is possi)le. BY: M H Lakdawala

f. !he information o)tained is ery relia)le and dependa)le and helps in esta)lishing ca&se and effect relationship ery early. Disadvantages of Personal Interview g. It re(&ires m&ch more technical and administrati e planning and s&per ision h. It is more e1pensi e i. It is time cons&ming /. !he acc&racy of data is infl&enced )y the inter iewer k. " n&m)er of call )anks may )e re(&ired l. -ome people are not approacha)le 8" Mail S.rvey D&estionnaires are send to the respondents, they fill it &p and send it )ack. Advantages of Mail Survey a. It can reach all types of people. ). Response rate can )e impro ed )y offering certain incenti es. Disadvantages of Mail Survey c. It can not )e &sed for &nstr&ct&red st&dy. d. It is costly. e. It re(&ires esta)lished mailing list. f. It is time cons&ming. g. !here is pro)lem in case of comple1 (&estions.

9" %#m-.ter #r Internet #r $lectr#nic Interview

'lectronic inter iewing is a process of recogni+ing and noting people, o)/ects, occ&rances rather than asking for information. 4or e1ample5.hen yo& go to store, yo& notice which prod&ct people like to &se. !he 8ni ersal 7rod&ct %ode 087%2 is also a method of o)ser ing what people are )&ying. Advantages of Electronic Interview a. !here is no relying on willingness or a)ility of respondent. ). !he data is more acc&rate and o)/ecti e. Disadvantages of Electronic Interview c. "ttit&des can not )e o)ser ed. d. !hose e ents which are of long d&ration can not )e o)ser ed. e. !here is o)ser er )ias. It is not p&rely o)/ecti e. f. If the respondents know that they are )eing o)ser ed, their response can )e )iased. g. It is a costly method.

6" +BS$RVATI+(

I. !he <at&re of O)ser ation Research

BY: M H Lakdawala

A" +3servati#n Research - O)ser ing cons&mers witho&t comm&nicating with them. It is the systematic process of recording the )eha io&ral patterns 0or e ents2 of people, o)/ects, and occ&rrences witho&t (&estioning or comm&nicating with them. K K O)ser ational methods are tools to gather information on c&rrent )eha io&r. " wide ranging set of research techni(&es aimed at o)ser ing cons&mers interacting nat&rally with their s&rro&ndings incl&ding prod&cts and ser ices in &se.

" wide ranging set of research techni(&es aimed at o)ser ing cons&mers interacting nat&rally with their s&rro&ndings incl&ding prod&cts and ser ices in &se. " key ad antage of o)ser ation research is that often the respondent or cons&mer is &naware that they are )eing o)ser ed, allowing their )eha ior to )e o)ser ed nat&rally.

%onditions for 8sing 9O)ser ations9 in Research: 0all three m&st )e present2 C. !he desired information m&st )e infera)le from o)ser ation of s&)/ectsL )eha ior3 E. !he )eha ior of interest m&st )e fre(&ent, repetiti e, or predicta)le3 and ?. !he )eha ior of interest m&st )e of relati ely short d&ration.

Observation Research
Peo!(e Peo!(e #atchin' #atchin' Peo!(e Peo!(e
M ster Sho!!ers One"#a Mirrors

T T !es !es o$ o$ Observation Observation Research Research

Peo!(e Peo!(e #atchin' #atchin' an anActivit Activit Machines Machines #atchin' #atchin' Peo!(e Peo!(e

A%&its

Tra$$ic Co%nters Passive Peo!(e Meter

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Advantages of Observation Method

C. If the researcher o)ser es and record e ents, it is not necessary to rely on the willingness and a)ility of respondents to report acc&rately. E. !he )iasing effect of inter iewers is either eliminated or red&ced. $ata collected )y o)ser ation are, th&s, more o)/ecti e and generally more acc&rate. BY: M H Lakdawala

Disadvantages of Observation Method

C. !he most limiting factor in the &se of o)ser ation method is the ina)ility to o)ser e s&ch things s&ch as attit&des, moti ations, c&stomers:cons&mers state of mind, their )&ying moti es and their images. E. It also takes time for the in estigator to wait for a partic&lar action to take place. ?. 7ersonal and intimate acti ities, s&ch as watching tele ision late at night, are more easily disc&ssed with (&estionnaires than they are o)ser ed. G. %ost is the final disad antage of o)ser ation method. 8nder most circ&mstances, o)ser ational data are more e1pensi e to o)tain than other s&r ey data. !he o)ser er has to wait doing nothing, )etween e ents to )e o)ser ed. !he &nprod&cti e time is an increased cost.

Ty-es # #3servati#n research

I. H&man O)ser ations
5 refers to people 0rather than machines2 watching other people. !ypes incl&de: A" Mystery Sh#--ers 5 people that are employed )y a firm to pose as cons&mers and shop at competitorsL stores to compare prices, displays, ser ice performances, cleanliness, and the like. B" +ne-?ay Mirr#r +3servati#ns 5 !he practice of watching &nseen from )ehind a one5way mirror. Often &sed for prod&ct testing and with foc&s gro&ps. %" Sh#--er 2atterns 5 refers to drawings that record the footsteps of a shopper thro&gh a store. !hey show the flow of a representati e sample of shoppers thro&gh a store. M"lso &sed to st&dy the effect of m&sic on shopper )eha ior. 4or instance, we know that slow m&sic makes them stay longer and )&y more.N )" %#ntent Analysis 5 " techni(&e &sed to st&dy written material, &s&ally ad ertising copy, )y )reaking it into meaningf&l &nits, &sing caref&lly applied r&les. %#ntent Analysis attempts to determine what is )eing comm&nicated to a target a&dience )y o)/ecti ely and systematically descri)ing the comm&nicationLs content. $" H.manistic In0.iry 5 " method of in(&iry in which the researcher is immersed in M)ecomes a part ofN the system or gro&p &nder st&dy, rather than &sing the scientific method of standing apart from the system )eing st&died. &" A.dits 5 are e1aminations and erifications of the sales of s&)/ect prod&cts. !here are two general categories: Retail a&dits meas&re sales to final cons&mers, and wholesale a&dits determine the amo&nt of prod&ct mo ement from wareho&ses to retailers. Retail distri)&tion a&dits are similar to store a&dits howe er these a&dits do not meas&re in entory sales: instead they are o)ser ational st&dies at the retail le el. 4ield agents enter stores &nanno&nced and witho&t permission. !hey o)ser e and record the )rands present, price, shelf facings and other rele ant data for selected prod&ct categories.

BY: M H Lakdawala

"&dits pro ide relati ely precise information on the mo ement of many different types of goods. -ince most prod&cts are not sold directly to the end &ser, )&t to retailers, wholesalers and distri)&tors, the man&fact&rer does not ha e information on sales at the retail le el. ' en tho&gh information on factory shipments are a aila)le, wareho&se stocks might )e acc&m&lating )eca&se of limited retail sales. Moreo er, a&dits gi e information on how competing prod&cts are faring in the marketplace.

II. 2e#-le ?atching an Activity

"&dits: 5 are e1aminations and erifications of the sales of s&)/ect prod&cts. "&dits in ol e the physical inspection of in entories, sales receipts, shelf facings, prices, and other aspects of the marketing mi1 to determine sales, market share, relati e price, distri)&tion, or other rele ant information.

III. Machine O)ser ation !ypes:

A" Tra ic %#.nters 5 Machines &sed to meas&re ehic&lar flow o er a partic&lar stretch of roadway. B" 2hysi#l#gical Meas.rement 5 refers to meas&ring the le el of in ol&ntary change in a personLs acti ation )ased &pon the stim&li of interest. "cti ation 5 refers a personLs feeling of aro&sal, inner tension, or alertness. "cti ation is stim&lated ia a s&)cortical &nit, called the retic&lar acti ation system 0R"-2, which is located in the h&man )rainstem. 8" $E2$RIM$(TATI+( K

'1periment 55 refers to a research pro/ect '1periments are defined as st&dies in which conditions are
controlled so that one or more independent aria)le0s2 can )e manip&lated to test a hypothesis a)o&t a dependent aria)le0s2.

constr&cted s&ch that the researcher 0e1perimenter2 changes one element 0an e1planatory or independent aria)le2 to o)ser e the effect of that change on another element 0the dependent aria)le2. "n e1periment meas&res the change in the dependent aria)le created )y a specific, controlled change in another aria)le0s2 which is called the independent aria)le0s2. !his is done )y controlling or holding constant the other independent aria)les while manip&lating the independent aria)le0s2 of interest, and meas&ring the change created in the dependent aria)le. !h&s, the researcher is an acti e participant in the research process instead of a passi e collector of data as with the s&r ey or o)ser ation methods of research. '1amples i. !he effect of price changes on sales ol&me of a partic&lar prod&ct can )e e1amined )y act&ally arying the price of the prod&ct ii. "d ertising '1periment: .ill replacing commercial " with commercial B lead to a marked increase in cons&mer preference for a company#s )randB

BY: M H Lakdawala

iii. 7ricing '1periment: %an a company impro e the profita)ility of its fashion clothing line )y increasing its price )y CF percentB i . -ales 7rod&cti ity '1periment: .ill an increase in the a erage n&m)er of sales calls per c&stomer from si1 to eight per year significantly impro e salesB

'1perimental -ettings 5 are three ty-es:

1" La3#rat#ry $7-eriments 5 !ests done in a sterile en ironment in which the researcher can control almost all possi)le ca&sal factors. Howe er, while the la)oratory allows the researcher to control the aria)les in ol ed, the la) may not acc&rately represent the real marketplace. !h&s, the research res&lts my not hold &p when transferred to 0generali+ed to2 the act&al marketplace. !h&s, la) res&lts are said to ha e good internal alidity, )&t often lack e1ternal alidity. !his s&ggests that la) res&lts are more likely to )e statistically correct than res&lts from field e1periments, )&t less likely to )e generali+a)le to the pop&lation of interest which is always located o&tside of the la)oratory. 6" &ield $7-eriments 5 !ests cond&cted o&tside the la)oratory in an act&al market en ironment. " test market is a good e1ample. !his sol es the pro)lem of realism of the test en ironment, )&t factors other than the independent aria)le0s2 of interest may infl&ence the o)ser ed changes in the dependent aria)le of interest )eca&se the researcher cannot control all other independent aria)les that may affect the dependent aria)le. 4or instance, the researcher cannot control nor e en precisely meas&re the effects of competiti e actions, the weather, the economy, societal trends, the political climate, nor other elements of the &ncontrolla)le en ironment. !h&s, field e1periments often lack internal alidity, while ha ing )etter e1ternal alidity. !his s&ggests that the res&lts ha e a )etter chance of )eing statistically wrong, )&t they are more likely generali+a)le to other similar market sit&ations, if they are statistically correct. K K K " ma/or difference )etween the two approaches is the degree of control a aila)le d&ring the manip&lation and meas&rement process. " la)oratory e1periment clearly offers )etter control than a field e1periment with respect to e1traneo&s factors capa)le of infl&encing cons&mer preferences. " laboratory experiment is a research st&dy cond&cted in a contri ed setting in which the effect of all, or nearly all, infl&ential )&t irrele ant independent aria)les is kept to a minim&m. " field experiment is a research st&dy cond&cted in a nat&ral setting in which the e1perimenter manip&lates one or more independent aria)les &nder conditions controlled as caref&lly as the sit&ation will permit. !he alidity of e1perimental res&lts is &s&ally e al&ated on two dimensions: e1ternal alidity and internal alidity. Internal validity is the e1tent to which o)ser ed res&lts are solely d&e to the e1perimental manip&lation.

K K

BY: M H Lakdawala

K K K K

External validity is the e1tent to which o)ser ed res&lts are likely to hold )eyond the e1perimental setting. "n ideal e1periment is one whose res&lts will ha e high internal as well as e1ternal alidity, altho&gh there is &s&ally a trade5off )etween these two forms of alidity. La)oratory e1periments generally ha e an ad antage o er field e1periments in terms of internal alidity )&t not e1ternal alidity. 4ield e1periments generally ha e an ad antage o er la)oratory e1periments in terms of e1ternal alidity )&t not internal alidity.

?. %#ntin.#.s research: " s&r ey cond&cted on a reg&lar and fre(&ent )asis among parallel samples within the same pop&lation or a s&r ey in which the inter iews are spread o er a long period of time. In this way, a pict&re of market trends can )e )&ilt &p. !his type of longit&dinal research is often f&nded on a syndicated )asis. -yndicated research &s&ally in ol es an independent research company collecting data and s&pplying it sim&ltaneo&sly to a n&m)er of clients. i" %#ns.mer -anels %ons&mer panels are formed )y recr&iting large n&m)ers of ho&seholds who pro ide information on their )&ying o er time. Research agency "% <ielsen has one of the largest cons&mer panels in the world, contin&o&sly inter iewing CEH,FFF ho&seholds in CO co&ntries. !he main competitor for "% <ielsen is !<which r&ns panels in EF co&ntries.

Types of Panels

COPYRIGHT TE R RY L. CHILDE RS

Advantages # c#ns.mer 2anels Can rovide Information !n"

BY: M H Lakdawala

"ggregate -ales "cti ity Brand -hares -hifts in B&yer %haracteristics -hifts in Retail O&tlets Limitations of %ons&mer 7anels 7ossi)ility of -election Bias Mortality 'ffect

ii" Retail A.dits By gaining the cooperation of retail o&tlets, sales of )rands can )e meas&red 0&sing )ar coded sales data2 to track changes in )rand loyalty, market share and effecti eness of different retail formats. iii" Televisi#n Viewer shi- 4 Radi# Listening 2anels !hese panels aim to meas&re Jiewer ship or listening min&te )y min&te. !his data is critical information for )roadcasters to determine their programme strategy 0what kinds of programmes to prod&ce and when to )roadcast them2 as well as for ad ertisers 0who is watching, listening, and whenB2. In the 8I, the main so&rce of s&ch data is prod&ced )y the BroadcastersL "&dience Research Board 09B"RB92.

*. +oc%s 'ro%! &isc%ssions ,+.-.Ds./

!he standard foc&s gro&p inter iew in ol es O and CE indi id&als and lasts a)o&t E ho&rs. <ormally each gro&p is designed to reflect the characteristics of a partic&lar market segment. !he respondents are selected according to the rele ant sampling plan and meet at a central location that generally has facility for taping and: or filming the inter iews. In '&rope, foc&s tend to consist of @ to O respondents, ary in length from C.H to G ho&rs and are often cond&cted in the home of the recr&iter. Otherwise the inter iewers are similar. !he disc&ssion itself is *led, )y a moderator. !he moderator attempts to progress thro&gh three stages d&ring the inter iewer: 0C2 esta)lish rapport with the gro&p, str&ct&re the r&les of gro&p interaction, and set o)/ecti es3 0E2 pro oke intense disc&ssion in the rele ant areas3 and 0?2 s&mmari+e the gro&p#s responses to determine the e1tent of agreement. !he general either the moderator or a second person prepares a s&mmary of each session after analy+ing the session#s transcript. &#c.s *r#.- Interviews can 3e a--lied t#: C. Basic5 need st&dies for prod&ct idea creation, E. <ew prod&ct idea or concept e1ploration, ?. 7rod&ct positioning st&dies, G. "d ertising and comm&nications research, H. Backgro&nd st&dies on cons&mer#s frames or reference, @. 'sta)lishment of cons&mer oca)&lary as a preliminary step in (&estionnaire de elopment and, P. $etermination of attit&des and )eha ior.

Advantages
C. 'ach indi id&al is a)le to e1pand and refine their opinions in the interaction with the other mem)ers. !his process pro ides more detailed and acc&rate information than co&ld )e deri ed from each separately. E. " gro&p inter iew sit&ation is generally more e1citing and offers more stim&lation to the participants than the standard depth inter iews.

BY: M H Lakdawala

?. !he sec&rity of )eing in a crowd enco&rages some mem)ers to speak o&t when they otherwise wo&ld not. G. "s the (&estions raised )y the moderator are addressed to the entire gro&p rather than an indi id&al the answer contains a degree of spontaneity that is not prod&ced )y other techni(&es. H. 4oc&s gro&ps can )e &sed s&ccessf&lly with children o er fi e. !hey are also ery &sef&l with ad&lts in de eloping co&ntries where literacy rates are low and s&r ey research is diffic&lt. OO @. " final ma/or ad antage of foc&s gro&ps is that e1ec&ti es often o)ser e the inter iew 0from )ehind mirrors2 or watch films of the inter iew.

)isadvantages
C. -ince foc&s gro&p inter iews last C.H to ? ho&rs and take place at a central location, sec&ring cooperation from a random sample is diffic&lt. E. !hose who attend gro&p inter iews and acti ely participate in them are likely to )e different in many respects from those who do not. ?. !here are chances that participants may go along with the pop&lar opinion instead of e1pressing their own which may )e contrary to the pop&lar opinions. G. !he presence of a one5way mirror and :or an o)ser er0s2 has )een fo&nd to distort participant#s responses. H. !he moderator can introd&ce serio&s )iases in the inter iew )y shifting topics too rapidly er)ally or non er)ally enco&raging certain answers, failing to co er specific areas, and so forth. @. 4oc&s gro&ps are e1pensi e on a per respondent )asis.

:" )e-th interviews F

Depth interviews are fre(&ently &sed )y marketing researchers when direct (&estioning is impractical, more costly, or less acc&rate. !hese techni(&es generally referred to as ualitative research" )e-th Interviews 5 0&nstr&ct&red one5on5one inter iews intended to disco er deep seated moti ations2 55 One5on5one inter iews that pro)e and elicit detailed answers to (&estions, often &sing clinical nondirecti e techni(&es to &nco er hidden moti ations. !h&s, psychologists and people with $octorates in Marketing 0which is a com)ination of applied psychology and applied economics2 are often called &pon to cond&ct $epth Inter iews, as well as <ominal Aro&ping -essions. Indi id&al depth inter iews typically re(&ire ?F5GHmin&tes. !he inter iewer does not ha e a specific set of pre5specified (&estions that m&st )e asked according to the order imposed )y a (&estionnaire. Instead, there is freedom to create (&estions, to pro)e those responses that appear rele ant, and generally to try to de elop the )est set of data in any way practical. Howe er the inter iewer m&st follow one r&le3 one m&st not conscio&sly try to affect the content of the answers gi en )y the respondents. !he respondent. !he respondent m&st feel free to reply to the ario&s (&estions, pro)es, and other, s&)tler, ways of enco&raging responses in the manner deemed most appropriate. -&)/ect of interest is disc&ssed in detail. !here is no fi1ed pattern for eliciting information from the respondents. Aenerally cond&cted )y highly trained inter iewers. !hey m&st )e thoro&gh in pro)ing the respondents. !he inter iewee is asked a)o&t the s&)/ect of his choice, coffee, for e1ample, and an attempt is made to e1plore the respondents# attit&des in depth )y pro)ing e1tensi ely into any other areas which may come &p.

BY: M H Lakdawala

 Inter iewers ha e a general series of topics that they will introd&ce 6 perhaps s&ch topics as coffee, or sleep, and will introd&ce them from time to time if the respondent does not )ring them &p. !one of the inter iew is permissi e and the respondent is allowed to talk as m&ch as he likes. !he inter iewer m&st not infl&ence the answers of the respondent. !he interpretation of the answers is ery s&)/ecti e and knowledge of h&man )eha ior is re(&ired to analy+e the information recei ed. Indi id&al depth inter iews &ses three (&estioning techni(&es namely: C. !addering" *!he laddering method of inter iewing is techni(&e to &nderstanding people#s core al&es and )eliefs. !he techni(&e is powerf&l, )eca&se it pro ides a simple and systematic way of esta)lishing an indi id&al#s core set of constr&cts on how they iew the world Laderring !echni(&e is &se to descri)e the linkages )etween c&stomers# al&es and their o erall p&rchasing )eha ior: the #eans End Chain theory. !his theory pro ides )oth a framework for capt&ring (&alitati e laddering research data in the cons&mer space and a model for assessing cons&mer al&es and )eha iors. "ccording to the Means 'nd %hain theory, there is a hierarchy of cons&mer perceptions and prod&ct knowledge that ranges from attri)&tes 0"2 to cons&mption conse(&ences 0%2 to personal al&es 0J2, as follows:

"ttri)&tesQ"t the top le el of this hierarchy, attri)&tes are most recogni+a)le )y indi id&als. Indi id&als recogni+e the attri)&tes of a prod&ct or system easily. 4or e1ample, *I like this car, )eca&se it is a con erti)le., %onse(&encesQIn t&rn, the attri)&tes ha e conse$uences for the indi id&al. 4or e1ample, the con erti)le makes its dri er feel yo&ng and free. 'ach attri)&te may ha e one or more conse(&ences for any gi en indi id&al. %ore al&esQfinally, each conse(&ence are linked to a core value of the person#s life. 4or e1ample, the sense of yo&th makes that dri er feel attracti e.

7&rpose is to &nco er the *network of meanings, associated with the prod&ct, )rand, or concept. E. #idden$issue questioning foc&ses on indi id&al respondents feelings a)o&t sensiti e iss&es. "nalysis on foc&s on common &nderlying themes across respondents. !hese themes can then )e &sed to g&ide ad ertising de elopment. ?. Sy%bolic questioning re(&ires respondents to descri)e the opposites of the prod&ct: acti ity of interest or a specific attri)&te of the prod&ct: acti ity. Indi id&al depth inter iews ha e )een fo&nd to generate more and higher (&ality ideas on a per respondent )asis than either foc&s or minigro&ps. !hey are partic&larly appropriate when: C. $etailed pro)ing of an indi id&al#s )eha ior, attit&de or needs is re(&ired3 E. !he s&)/ect matter &nder disc&ssion is likely to )e of a highly confidential nat&re 0e. g. personal in estment2 ?. !he s&)/ect matter is of an emotionally charged or em)arrassing nat&re3 G. %ertain strong, socially accepta)le norms e1ist 0e.g. )a)y feeding2 and the need to conform in a gro&p disc&ssion may infl&ence responses3 H. .here highly detailed &nderstanding of complicated )eha ior or decision5 making pattern 0e.g. planning the family holiday2 are re(&ired3 or BY: M H Lakdawala

!he inter iews are with professional people or with people on the s&)/ect of their /o)s R e.g. finance directors2

B" Meth#d # c#llecting sec#ndary data

So%rces o$ Secon&ar Data

Interna( Cor!orate In$or0ation -overn0ent A'encies Tra&e an& In&%str Associations Mar1etin' Research +ir0s Co00ercia( P%b(ications 2e3s Me&ia
CP

-econdary data were collected for some p&rpose other than helping to sol e the c&rrent pro)lem. .here as primary data are collected e1pressly to help sol e, the pro)lem at hand. -econdary data is data which has )een collected )y indi id&als or agencies for p&rposes other than those of o&r partic&lar research st&dy. 4or e1ample, if a go ernment department has cond&cted a s&r ey of, say, family food e1pendit&res, then a food man&fact&rer might &se this data in the organisationLs e al&ations of the total potential market for a new prod&ct. <o marketing research st&dy sho&ld )e &ndertaken witho&t a prior search of secondary so&rces 0also termed desk research2. !here are se eral gro&nds for making s&ch a )old statement. -econdary data may )e a aila)le which is entirely appropriate and wholly ade(&ate to draw concl&sions and answer the (&estion or sol e the pro)lem. -ometimes primary data collection simply is not necessary. It is far cheaper to collect secondary data than to o)tain primary data. 4or the same le el of research )&dget a thoro&gh e1amination of secondary so&rces can yield a great deal more information than can )e had thro&gh a primary data collection e1ercise. BY: M H Lakdawala

!he time in ol ed in searching secondary so&rces is m&ch less than that needed to complete primary data collection. -econdary so&rces of information can yield more acc&rate data than that o)tained thro&gh primary research. !his is not always tr&e )&t where a go ernment or international agency has &ndertaken a large scale s&r ey, or e en a cens&s, this is likely to yield far more acc&rate res&lts than c&stom designed and e1ec&ted s&r eys when these are )ased on relati ely small sample si+es. It sho&ld not )e forgotten that secondary data can play a s&)stantial role in the e1ploratory phase of the research when the task at hand is to define the research pro)lem and to generate hypotheses. !he assem)ly and analysis of secondary data almost in aria)ly impro es the researcherLs &nderstanding of the marketing pro)lem, the ario&s lines of in(&iry that co&ld or sho&ld )e followed and the alternati e co&rses of action which might )e p&rs&ed. -econdary so&rces help define the pop&lation. -econdary data can )e e1tremely &sef&l )oth in defining the pop&lation and in str&ct&ring the sample to )e taken. 4or instance, go ernment statistics on a co&ntryLs agric&lt&re will help decide how to stratify a sample and, once sample estimates ha e )een calc&lated, these can )e &sed to pro/ect those estimates to the pop&lation. S#.rces # in #rmati#n -econdary so&rces of information may )e di ided into two categories: internal so&rces and e1ternal so&rces. Internal sources of secondary infor%ation Sales data: "ll organi+ations collect information in the co&rse of their e eryday operations. Orders are recei ed and deli ered, costs are recorded, sales personnel s&)mit isit reports, in oices are sent o&t, and ret&rned goods are recorded and so on. M&ch of this information is of potential &se in marketing research )&t a s&rprising amo&nt of it is act&ally &sed. Organi+ations fre(&ently o erlook this al&a)le reso&rce )y not )eginning their search of secondary so&rces with an internal a&dit of sales in oices, orders, in(&iries a)o&t prod&cts not stocked, ret&rns from c&stomers and sales force c&stomer calling sheets. 4or e1ample, consider how m&ch information can )e o)tained from sales orders and in oices: -ales )y territory -ales )y c&stomer type 7rices and disco&nts " erage si+e of order )y c&stomer, c&stomer type, geographical area " erage sales )y sales person and -ales )y pack si+e and pack type, etc.

!his type of data is &sef&l for identifying an organi+ation#s most profita)le prod&ct and c&stomers. It can also ser e to track trends within the enterpriseLs e1isting c&stomer gro&p. &inancial data: "n organi+ation has a great deal of data within its files on the cost of prod&cing, storing, transporting and marketing each of its prod&cts and prod&ct lines. -&ch data has many &ses in marketing research incl&ding allowing meas&rement of the efficiency of marketing operations. It can also )e &sed to estimate the costs attached to new prod&cts &nder consideration, of partic&lar &tilisation 0in prod&ction, storage and transportation2 at which an organi+ation#s &nit costs )egin to fall.

BY: M H Lakdawala

Trans-#rt data: %ompanies that keep good records relating to their transport operations are well placed to esta)lish which are the most profita)le ro&tes, and loads, as well as the most cost effecti e ro&ting patterns. Aood data on transport operations ena)les the enterprise to perform trade5off analysis and there)y esta)lish whether it makes economic sense to own or hire ehicles, or the point at which a )alance of the two gi es the )est financial o&tcome. St#rage data: !he rate of stockt&rn, stock handling costs, assessing the efficiency of certain marketing operations and the efficiency of the marketing system as a whole. More sophisticated acco&nting systems assign costs to the c&)ic space occ&pied )y indi id&al prod&cts and the time period o er which the prod&ct occ&pies the space. !hese systems can )e f&rther refined so that the profita)ility per &nit, and rate of sale, are added. In this way, the direct prod&ct profita)ility can )e calc&lated. E&ternal sources of secondary infor%ation !he marketing researcher who serio&sly seeks after &sef&l secondary data is more often s&rprised )y its a)&ndance than )y its scarcity. !oo often, the researcher has secretly 0sometimes s&)conscio&sly2 concl&ded from the o&tset that his:her topic of st&dy is so &ni(&e or specialised that a research of secondary so&rces is f&tile. %onse(&ently, only a specified search is made with no real e1pectation of so&rces. %&rsory researches )ecome a self5f&lfilling prophecy. Large n&m)ers of organi+ations pro ide marketing information, incl&ding national and local go ernment agencies, (&asi5go ernment agencies, trade associations, &ni ersities, research instit&tes, financial instit&tions, specialist s&ppliers of secondary marketing data and professional marketing research enterprises. $illon et al f&rther ad ice that searches of printed so&rces of secondary data )egin with referral te1ts s&ch as directories, inde1es, hand)ooks and g&ides. !hese sorts of p&)lications rarely pro ide the data in which the researcher is interested )&t ser e in helping him:her locate potentially &sef&l data so&rces. !he main so&rces of e1ternal secondary so&rces are 0C2 go ernment 0federal, state and local2 0E2 trade associations 0?2 commercial ser ices 0G2 national and international instit&tions. Ao ernment statistics These may include all or some of the following" S 7op&lation cens&ses S -ocial s&r eys, family e1pendit&re s&r eys S Import:e1port statistics S 7rod&ction statistics S "gric&lt&ral statistics. !rade associations !rade associations differ widely in the e1tent of their data collection and information dissemination acti ities. Howe er, it is worth checking with them to determine what they do p&)lish. "t the ery least one wo&ld normally e1pect that they wo&ld prod&ce a trade directory and, perhaps, a year)ook. %ommercial ser ices 7&)lished market research reports and other p&)lications are a aila)le from a wide range of organisations which charge for their information. !ypically, marketing people are interested in media statistics and cons&mer information which has )een o)tained from large scale cons&mer or farmer panels. !he commercial organi+ation f&nds the collection of the data, which is wide ranging in its content, and hopes to make its money from selling this data to interested parties. <ational and international Bank economic re iews, &ni ersity research reports, /o&rnals and articles instit&tions are all &sef&l so&rces to contact. International agencies s&ch as .orld Bank, IM4, I4"$, 8<$7, I!%, 4"O and ILO prod&ce a plethora of BY: M H Lakdawala

secondary data which can pro e e1tremely &sef&l to the marketing researcher. .

Ste- #.r: Select the Meas.rement Techni0.e:

There are #.r 3asic meas.rement techni0.es .sed in marketing research:

AG B.esti#nnaires )esign BG Attit.de scales/ %G 2r#5ective techni0.es

AG B.esti#nnaires

4%estionnaire constr%ction
D&estionnaires are fre(&ently &sed in (&antitati e marketing research. !hey are a al&a)le method of collecting a wide range of information from a large n&m)er of respondents. Aood (&estionnaire constr&ction is critical to the s&ccess of a s&r ey. Inappropriate (&estions, incorrect ordering of (&estions, incorrect scaling, or )ad (&estionnaire format can make the s&r ey al&eless. " &sef&l method for checking a (&estionnaire for pro)lems is to pretest it. !his &s&ally in ol es gi ing it to a small sample of respondents, then inter iewing the respondents to get their impressions and to confirm that the (&estions acc&rately capt&red their opinions.

4%estionnaire Desi'n
O!en"En&e& O!en"En&e& 4%estion 4%estion

An An intervie3 intervie3 5%estion 5%estion that that enco%ra'es an ans3er !hrase& enco%ra'es an ans3er !hrase& in in res!on&ent6s res!on&ent6s o3n o3n 3or&s. 3or&s.

An An intervie3 intervie3 5%estion 5%estion that that as1s as1s C(ose&"En&e& C(ose&"En&e& the res!on&ent to 0a1e a se(ection the res!on&ent to 0a1e a se(ection 4%estion 4%estion $ro0 $ro0 a a (i0ite& (i0ite& (ist (ist o$ o$ res!onses. res!onses.

Sca(e&" Sca(e&" Res!onse Res!onse 4%estion 4%estion

A "" en&e& A c(ose& c(ose& en&e& 5%estion 5%estion &esi'ne& &esi'ne& to to 0eas%re 0eas%re the the intensit intensit o$ o$ a a res!on&ent6s res!on&ent6s ans3er. ans3er.
??

STR'%T'R$) Vs '(STR'%T'R$) )ATA %+LL$%TI+( !he data collection thro&gh (&estionnaires can )e done thro&gh fo&r ways as follows3 BY: M H Lakdawala

C. E. ?. G.

-tr&ct&red disg&ised -tr&ct&red 5 nondisg&ised <on5str&ct&red 5 disg&ised <on str&ct&red 5 nondisg&ised

(#te : non disg&ised data collection is also called as direct method T disg&ised is also called as indirect method . Str.ct.red data c#llecti#n " str&ct&red data collection is a formal list of (&estions framed so as to get the facts. !he inter iewer asks the (&estions strictly in accordance with pre5 arranged order. 4or e.g. this method can )e &sed when the information is )ased on the e1pendit&res of the cons&mer on different types of clothing like. %otton woolen or synthetic, etc. !his str&ct&red (&estionnaire can )e of two types, disg&ised and non5 disg&ised, )ased on whether the o)/ect or the p&rpose of the s&r ey is re ealed to the respondent. !he main ad antage of this method is that, the information can )e collected in a systematic and orderly manner. Howe er when it comes to personal (&estions, this method seems to )e less effecti e. -tr&ct&red disg&ised: 5 in this case the researcher does not disclose the o)/ect of the inter iew, )eca&se he feels that )y re ealing that the ery p&rpose of the inter iew will get defeated. Str.ct.red - n#ndisg.ised: - in this case the e erything is pre5 arranged and the researcher re eals the o)/ecti e of the s&r ey to the respondent. !his is the most widely followed approach in market research. !his is )eca&se it is generally felt that the respondent sho&ld )e taken into confidence, so that he can reali+e the rele ance and gi e desired information. (#n-str.ct.red data c#llecti#n It is a kind of data collection method where the data to )e collected is not pre5 arranged or not listed in a proper str&ct&red format. !herefore the entire responsi)ility is left on the researcher to ask the respondent, in the way he feels fit. !he researcher only has certain main points on which he de elops the (&estions to )e asked. -&ch a method is de oid of rigidity and the researcher has s&fficient amo&nt of freedom to collect the data in the order he wants. <ormally this kind of method is &sed in e1ploratory research !his kind of data collection is most s&ita)le when it comes to personal or moti ational factors. Again here there are tw# main ty-es # n#n-str.ct.red meth#ds # data c#llecti#n" H1G (#n str.ct.red disg.ised: 5 again here the o)/ecti e of inter iew is not descri)ed to the respondent H6G (#n str.ct.red - n#n-disg.ised: - like in case of str&ct&red non5 disg&ised, the respondent is taken into confidence )y re ealing the p&rpose of the s&r ey. %+(%L'SI+(: !he researcher sho&ld &se the already ia)le data only when he finds them relia)le, s&ita)le and ade(&ate. B&t he sho&ld not )lindly discard the &se of s&ch data if they are readily a aila)le from a&thentic so&rces and are also s&ita)le and ade(&ate for in that case it will not )e economical to spend time and energy in field s&r eys for collecting information. "t times there may )e wealth of &sa)le information in the already a aila)le data which m&st )e &sed )y an intelligent researcher )&t with d&e preca&tion.

BY: M H Lakdawala

*.idelines #r )evising a *##d B.esti#nnaire

C. E. ?. G. H. @.

P.

O. R. CF. CC.

CE. C?. CG. CH.

C@. CP.

!he wording m&st )e kept simple : no technical or speciali+ed words. 8se short sentences. .riting style sho&ld )e con ersational, yet concise and acc&rate. !he meaning sho&ld )e clear. " oid am)ig&o&s words and e(&i ocal sentence str&ct&res. " oid do&)le negati es. ' en single negati es sho&ld )e reworded as positi es. " oid )iasing the responses. " )iased (&estion or (&estionnaire enco&rages respondents to answer one way rather than another. " oid *loaded, (&estions. "sk one (&estion at a time. " oid comple1 (&estions. If more than one (&estion is hidden in a s&r ey (&estion, the researcher will not know which one the respondent is answering. " oid personal or intimate (&estions. Most people will not answer them. %onsider the respondent#s frame of reference. .hat is their )ackgro&nd, and how will this effect their interpretation of the (&estionsB $o respondents ha e eno&gh information or e1pertise to answer the (&estionB "sk yo&rself if each (&estion is really necessary. 8nneeded (&estions are an e1pense to the researcher and an &nwelcome imposition on the respondents. !o answer this (&estion, yo& m&st consider the o)/ecti e0s2 of the research. "sk yo&rself what type of data analysis techni(&es are a aila)le for ario&s kinds of (&estions. .ill the (&estion pro ide yo& with the statistical analysis that yo& wantB .hat type of content will responses to the (&estion yieldB .ill the (&estion responses pro ide facts, )eliefs, feelings, descriptions of past )eha ior, or standards of actionB .hat type of scale, inde1, or typology sho&ld )e &sedB How sho&ld the (&estions )e presented on the page 0or comp&ter screen2B How m&ch white spaceB How many colo&rsB $o yo& &se pict&res, charts, or other graphicsB It sho&ld )e colo&rf&l eno&gh to gain and maintain respondent interest, )&t not so graphic as to distract from the of the (&estions. -ho&ld (&estions )e open5ended or sho&ld respondents# answers )e limited to a fi1ed set of responsesB .hat order sho&ld the (&estions )e inB Is there a *nat&ral, gro&ping to the (&estionsB .ill pre io&s (&estions )ias later (&estionsB -ho&ld the (&estions )e n&m)eredB Aenerally this is a good idea. "re possi)le responses m&t&ally e1cl&si eB !he respondent sho&ld not find themsel es in more than one category, for e1ample in )oth the *married, category and the *not li ing with spo&se, category. %ategories sho&ld not o erlap. Is the list of possi)le (&estion responses incl&si eB !he respondent sho&ld not find themsel es with no category that fits their sit&ation. Is the (&estionnaire going to )e administered )y research staff, or will it )e self5administered )y the respondents. -elf administered (&estionnaires m&st gi e clear, detailed instr&ctions. Principles of Developing uestions

C. E. ?. G. H. @. P.

Be clear and precise. Response choices sho&ld not o erlap. 8se nat&ral and familiar lang&age. $o not &se words or phrases that show )ias. " oid do&)le5)arreled (&estions. -tate e1plicit alternati es. D&estions sho&ld meet criteria of alidity and relia)ility.

BY: M H Lakdawala

4%estionnaire Desi'n
C(ear C(ear an& an& Concise Concise 2o 2o A0bi'%o%s A0bi'%o%s Lan'%a'e Lan'%a'e 4%a(ities 4%a(ities o$ o$ -oo& -oo& 4%estionnaires 4%estionnaires 7nbiase& 7nbiase&

Reasonab(e Reasonab(e Ter0ino(o' Ter0ino(o'

?G

Ty-es # B.esti#ns
C. %#ntingency 0.esti#ns - " (&estion that is answered only if the respondent gi es a partic&lar response to a pre io&s (&estion. !his a oids asking (&estions of people that do not apply to them 0for e1ample, asking men i they have ever 3een -regnantG" E. Matri7 0.esti#ns - Identical response categories are assigned to m&ltiple (&estions. !he (&estions are placed one &nder the other, forming a matri1 with response categories along the top and a list of (&estions down the side. !his is an efficient &se of page space and respondents# time. ?. Scaled 0.esti#ns - Responses are graded on a contin&&m 0e1ample : rate the appearance of the prod&ct on a scale from C to CF, with CF )eing the most preferred appearance2. '1amples of types of scales incl&de the Likert scale, semantic differential scale, and rank5order scale G. %l#sed ended 0.esti#ns - Respondents# answers are limited to a fi1ed set of responses. Most scales are closed ended. Other types of closed ended (&estions incl&de: U $ichotomo&s (&estions 5 !he respondent answers with a *yes, or a *no,. U M&ltiple choice 5 !he respondent has se eral option from which to choose. H. +-en ended 0.esti#ns - <o options or predefined categories are s&ggested. !he respondent s&pplies their own answer witho&t )eing constrained )y a fi1ed set of possi)le responses. '1amples of types of open ended (&estions incl&de: @. %#m-letely .nstr.ct.red - 4or e1ample, *.hat is yo&r opinion of (&estionnairesB,

Question Sequence
C. E. ?. G. H. @. D&estions sho&ld flow logically from one to the ne1t. !he researcher m&st ens&re that the answer to a (&estion is not infl&enced )y pre io&s (&estions. D&estions sho&ld flow from the more general to the more specific. D&estions sho&ld flow from the least sensiti e to the most sensiti e. D&estions sho&ld flow from fact&al and )eha io&ral (&estions to attit&dinal and opinion (&estions. D&estions sho&ld flow from &naided to aided (&estions

BY: M H Lakdawala

P. "ccording to the three stage theory 0also called the sandwich theory2, initial (&estions sho&ld )e screening and rapport (&estions. !hen in the second stage yo& ask all the prod&ct specific (&estions. In the last stage yo& ask demographic (&estions.

B Meas.rement Scales
)e initi#n # attit.de: "ttit&de has )een defined )y Aene 4. -&mmers as a predisposition to respond to an idea or an o)/ect. In marketing, this refers to the cons&mer#s predisposition a)o&t the prod&ct or ser ice. If it is fa ora)le, then the cons&mer is likely to p&rchase the prod&ct or ser ice. "ttit&des a)o&t prod&cts or ser ices are composed of three elements: Belie s s&ch as the prod&ct#s strength or the economy of the prod&ct or ser ice $m#ti#nal eelings s&ch as likes or dislikes Readiness t# res-#nd to the prod&ct or ser ice, i.e. to )&y it. !hese three elements com)ine together to form an image of the prod&ct or ser ice in the mind of the cons&mer. .hen the car man&fact&rer, the mo ie prod&cer or the ins&rance company refers to the company#s image, they are referring to some general a erages of many indi id&als# attit&des towards the company. "ttit&de meas&rement is commonly referred to as scaling" Meas.rement Scales -caling is the meas&rement of a aria)le in s&ch a way that it can )e e1pressed on a contin&&m. Rating yo&r preference for a prod&ct from C to CF is an e1ample of a scale. Attri3.tes can 3e meas.red #n n#minal/ #rdinal/ interval/ and rati# scales:

Nominal Data
" set of data is said to )e nominal if the al&es : o)ser ations )elonging to it can )e assigned a code in the form of a n&m)er where the n&m)ers are simply la)els. Yo& can co&nt )&t not order or meas&re nominal data. 4or e1ample, in a data set males co&ld )e coded as F, females as C3 marital stat&s of an indi id&al co&ld )e coded as Y if married, < if single.

Ordinal Scales
!hey are the simplest attit&de meas&ring scales &se din marketing research. !hey ser e to rank respondents according to some characteristics s&ch as fa ora)iliy to a certain )rand, or to rank items s&ch as )rands in order of cons&mer preference. !hey do not meas&re the degree of fa ora)ility of the different rankings. "ll the scale tells is that the indi id&al or item has more, less, or the same amo&nt of the characteristic )eing meas&red as some other time. !hey are the most widely &sed type of scales in marketing research. " set of data is said to )e ordinal if the al&es : o)ser ations )elonging to it can )e ranked 0p&t in order2 or ha e a rating scale attached. Yo& can co&nt and order, )&t not meas&re, ordinal data. !he categories for an ordinal set of data ha e a nat&ral order, for e1ample, s&ppose a gro&p of people were asked to taste arieties of )isc&it and classify each )isc&it on a rating scale of C to H, representing strongly dislike, dislike, ne&tral, like, strongly like. " rating of H indicates more en/oyment than a rating of G, for e1ample, so s&ch data are ordinal. Howe er, the distinction )etween neigh)oring points on the scale is not necessarily always the same.

BY: M H Lakdawala

4or instance, the difference in en/oyment e1pressed )y gi ing a rating of E rather than C might )e m&ch less than the difference in en/oyment e1pressed )y gi ing a rating of G rather than ?.

Interval Scales
!hey separate indi id&als or items )y rank order )&t meas&re the distance )etween rank positions in e(&al &nits. -&ch a scale permits the researcher to say that the position G is a)o e position ? on the scale, and also the distance from position H to G is same as from G to ?. -&ch a scale howe er does not permit concl&sions that position @ is twice as strong as position ? )eca&se no +ero position has )een esta)lished. "n inter al scale is a scale of meas&rement where the distance )etween any two ad/acent &nits of meas&rement 0or Linter alsL2 is the same )&t the +ero point is ar)itrary. -cores on an inter al scale can )e added and s&)tracted )&t cannot )e meaningf&lly m&ltiplied or di ided. 4or e1ample, the time inter al )etween the starts of years CROC and CROE is the same as that )etween CRO? and CROG, namely ?@H days. !he +ero point, year C "$, is ar)itrary3 time did not )egin then. Other e1amples of inter al scales incl&de the heights of tides, and the meas&rement of longit&de.

Ratio Scales
If one meas&res the distance )etween two points as fo&r feet and )etween two other points as two feet, it is possi)le say that one distance is twice that of the other )eca&se each distance is meas&red from an a)sol&te +ero. " scale that permits s&ch meas&rements is called ratio scale. .hile ratio scales are common in physical science, the meas&rement of attit&des is still so cr&de that they are of little significance in marketing research. Ty-es # scale .sed #r Meas.ring Attit.des: 1" Ranking - Rank #rder -re erence

6" Rating - $stimates magnit.de # a characteristic Rating asks the respondent to estimate the magnit&de of a characteristic, or (&ality, that an o)/ect possesses. !he respondent#s position on a scale0s2 is where he or she wo&ld rate an o)/ect.

BY: M H Lakdawala

8" S#rting - Arrange #r classi y c#nce-ts -orting might present the respondent with se eral concepts typed on cards and re(&ire that the respondent arrange the cards into a n&m)er of piles or otherwise classify the concepts. 9" %h#ice - Selecti#n # -re erred alternative %hoice )etween two or more alternati es is another type of attit&de meas&rement 5 it is ass&med that the chosen o)/ect is preferred o er the other.

Attit.de Meas.rement
Many of the (&estions in a marketing research s&r ey are designed to meas&re attit&des. "ttit&des are a personLs general e al&ation of something. %&stomer attit&de is an important factor for the following reasons: C. "ttit&de helps to e1plain how ready one is to do something. E. "ttit&des do not change m&ch o er time. ?. "ttit&des prod&ce consistency in )eha ior. G. "ttit&des can )e related to preferences.

Attit.des can 3e meas.red .sing the #ll#wing Techni0.es:

1" Sim-le Attit.de Scaling In its most )asic form, attit&de scaling re(&ires that an indi id&al agree with a statement or respond to a single (&estion. !his type of self5rating scale merely classifies respondents into one of two categories3 Sim-li ied Scaling $7am-le TH$ 2R$SI)$(T SH+'L) R'( &+R R$-$L$%TI+( IIIIIII A*R$$ IIIIII )ISA*R$$

BY: M H Lakdawala

6" %ateg#ry Scales " category scale is a more sensiti e meas&re than a scale ha ing only two response categories 5 it pro ides more information. D&estions working are an e1tremely important factor in the &sef&lness of these scales.

E8a0!(e o$ Cate'or Sca(e

How important were the following in your decision to visit Ooty (check one for each item)
VERY IMPORTA2T CLIMA ! CO# O$ %A&!L $AMIL' O%I!( !) !)*CA IO(AL+ HI# O%ICAL A#,!C $AMILIA%I ' -I H A%!A """"""""""" """"""""""" """"""""""" # """"""""" """"""""""" SOME#HAT IMPORTA2T """"""""""" """"""""""" """"""""""" """"""""""" """"""""""" 2OT TOO IMPORTA2T """"""""""" """"""""""" """"""""""" """"""""""" """""""""""

8" Meth#d # S.mmated Ratings: The Likert Scale "n e1tremely pop&lar means for meas&ring attit&des. Respondents indicate their own attit&des )y checking how strongly they agree or disagree with statements. Response alternati es: *strongly agree,, *agree,, *&ncertain,, *disagree,, and *strongly disagree,. '1ample: Likert Scale #r Meas.ring Attit.des T#ward Tennis It is more f&n to watch a to&gh, competiti e EF:EF cricket match than to watch a test match. VVV-trongly "gree VVV"gree VVV<ot -&re VVV$isagree VVV-trongly $isagree !o analy+e a Likert -cale, each response category is assigned a n&merical al&e. !hese e1amples co&ld )e assigned al&es s&ch as -trongly "gree;C, thro&gh -trongly $isagree;H or the scoring co&ld )e re ersed., or a 6E thro&gh WE system co&ld )e &sed. !hey can )e analy+ed on an item5)y5item )asis, or they can )e s&mmed to form a single score for each indi id&al.

A&vanta'es
C. It is relati ely easy to constr&ct and administer.

BY: M H Lakdawala

E. Instr&ctions that accompany the scale are easily &nderstood3 hence it can )e &sed for mail s&r eys and inter iews with children.

Disa&vanta'es
C. It takes a longer time to complete as compared to -emantic $ifferential -cales, etc. E. %are needs to )e taken when &sing Likert -cales in cross c&lt&ral research, as there may )e c&lt&ral ariations in willingness to e1press disagreement. 9" Semantic )i erential It is a special type of graphic scale, which is increasingly )eing &sed, in marketing research. It esta)lishes a connection )etween the )rand and company image st&dies and also permits the de elopment of descripti e profiles that facilitates comparison of competiti e items. !he &ni(&e characteristics of semantic differential is the &se of )ipolar scales to rate any prod&ct, company or concept of interest. Respondents are gi en a gro&p of these scales and asked to check on each one point that indicates their opinion of the s&)/ect in (&estion. 'ach scales consist of two opposing ad/ecti es s&ch as good:)ad, clean:dirty, most pop&lar: least pop&lar, etc. which are separated )y a contin&&m di ided into se en segments. Respondents are asked to check the segment that represents the degree of the characteristics in ol ed that most closely coincided with their opinion of the prod&ct or item )eing rated. It is )est when &sed for image descripti e p&rposes and is not recommended for o erall attit&de meas&rement. !he ad antage of &sing semantic differential is its simplicity, while prod&cing res&lts compara)le with those of the more comple1 scaling methods !he method is easy and fast to administer, )&t it is also sensiti e to small differences in attit&de, highly ersatile, relia)le and generally alid.

4or e.g.: C. 7erception of national )rands and pri ate )rands: High (&ality Lower price Higher al&e "ttracti e 7ackaging ? ? ? ? E E E E C C C C F F F F C C C C E E E E ? ? ? ? Low (&ality High price Low al&e 8nattracti e 7ackaging

BY: M H Lakdawala

:" (.merical Scales <&merical scales ha e n&m)ers as response options, rather than *semantic space# or er)al descriptions, to identify categories 0response positions2. ;" Sta-el Scales Modern ersions of the -tapel scale place a single ad/ecti e as a s&)stit&te for the semantic differential when it is diffic&lt to create pairs of )ipolar ad/ecti es. !he ad antage and disad antages of a -tapel scale, as well as the res&lts, are ery similar to those for a semantic differential. Howe er, the -tapel scale tends to )e easier to cond&ct and administer. A Sta-el Scale #r Meas.ring a St#reJs Image $epartment -tore <ame W? WE WC .ide -election 5C 5E 5? -elect a pl&s n&m)er for words that yo& think descri)e the store acc&rately. !he more acc&rately yo& think the work descri)es the store, the larger the pl&s n&m)er yo& sho&ld choose. -elect a min&s n&m)er for words yo& think do not descri)e the store acc&rately. !he less acc&rately yo& think the word descri)es the store, the large the min&s n&m)er yo& sho&ld choose, therefore, yo& can select any n&m)er from W? for words that yo& think are ery acc&rate all the way to 5? for words that yo& think are ery inacc&rate.

Sta!e( Sca(e
he Sta!e( sca(e is a unipolar rating scale wit h ten categories num.ered from /0 to 102 without a neutral point (3ero)4 his scale is usually presented vertically4
#!A%# 10 15 16 17 19 HI:H ;*ALI ' /9 /7 /6 /5 8 /0 10 15 16 17 8 19 ,OO% #!%&IC! /9 /7 /6 /5 /0

he data o.tained .y using a #tapel scale can .e analy3ed in the same way as semantic differential dat a4

BY: M H Lakdawala

%. Thurstone Scale It is one of the #ulti Item &cales de eloped )y L.L. !h&rstone#s method of E$ual 'ppearing Intervals on the concept that, e en tho&gh people co&ld not assign (&antitati e meas&res to their own attit&des, they co&ld tell the difference )etween the attit&de represented )y two different statements and co&ld identify items that were appro1imately halfway )etween the two. !he proced&re is as follows C. %ollect a large n&m)er of statements 0perhaps as may as se eral h&ndred2 related to the attit&de in (&estion E. Ha e a n&m)er of /&dges 0perhaps EF or more2 sort the statements independently into CC piles that ary from the most fa ora)le statement to ne&tral statements to most &nfa ora)le statements. ?. -t&dy the fre(&ency distri)&tion of ratings for each statement and eliminate those statements that the different /&dges ha e gi en widely scattered ratings 6 that are in a n&m)er of different piles G. $etermine the scale al&e of each of the remaining statements 6 that is, the n&m)er of the pile in pile in which the median of the distri)&tion falls H. -elect one of the two statements from each of the CC piles for the final scale. !hose statements with the narrowest range of rating are preferred as the most relia)le. Advantages It is important to note that there are CC attit&de positions )eca&se in a scale with odd n&m)er of parameters, it is easier to identify a ne&tral position. C. E. ?. G. )isadvantages !h&rstone scales are not widely &sed for Marketing Research )eca&se the are time cons&ming d&ring preparation !he ratings may )e infl&enced )y the X&dges# personal attit&de $ifferent indi id&als can o)tain e1actly the same score from agreeing with (&ite different items. It does not o)tain information a)o&t the intensity of agreement with the ratings

Comparison of Thurstone and Likert Scale

It is o) io&s that these two scales ha e a lot in common. !hey ha e )een widely &sed in the past. $&e to the ordinal nat&re of the Likert scales, many indi id&als feel they it may )e more relia)le that the !h&rstone -cale.

8 The Constant Sum Scale

!he constant s&m scale re(&ires the respondent to di ide a constant s&m, generally CF or CFF, among two or more o)/ects or attri)&tes on order to reflect the respondent#s relati e preference for each o)/ect, the importance of the attri)&te, or the degree to which an o)/ect contains each attri)&te. !he constant s&m scale can )e &sed in two cases: C. 4or two o)/ects at a time 0paired comparison2 or E. More than two o)/ects at a time 0(&adric comparison2 " constant s&m meas&re of the importance of the same attri)&tes co&ld )e o)tained from the following proced&re: $i ide CFF points among the characteristics listed so that the di ision will reflect how important each characteristic is to yo&r selection of a new a&tomo)ile. 7rice VVVV

BY: M H Lakdawala

'conomy VVVV $ependa)ility VVVV -afety VVVV %omfort VVVV -tyle VVVV !otal CFF "ll three of the following gro&ps# a erage responses to the constant s&m scale wo&ld )e consistent with the rank order res&lts /&st descri)ed:
Group A 35 30 20 10 3 2 100 Group B 20 18 17 16 15 14 100 Group C 65 9 8 7 6 5 100

Price Economy Dependability Safety Comfort Style

.ith rank order scale the researcher has no way of knowing if price is of importance 0ARO87 %23 part of a general, strong concern for o erall cost 0ARO87 "23 or not m&ch important than the other attri)&tes 0ARO87 B2. %onstant -&m -cale pro ides s&ch e idence. !i"ure # 8 Constant Sum Scalin"
$ i u g r e < = 4 C o n t s a n t # u m # c l a i n g

Instr%ctions >elow are eight attri.utes of .athing soaps4 ,lease allocate 9?? points among the attri.utes so that your allocation reflects the relative importance you attach to each attri.ute4 he more points an attri.ute receives2 the more important the attri.ute is4 If an attri.ute is not at all important2 assign it 3ero points4 If an attri.ute is twice as important as some other attri.ute2 it should receive tw ic e as many points4 +or0 A&!%A:! %!#,O(#!# O$ H%!! #!:M!( # Attri.ute #egment I #egment II 94 Mildness = 7 74 Lather 7 5 64 #hrinkage 6 < 54 ,rice 06 9@ 04 $ragrance < ? A4 ,ackaging @ 0 @4 Moisturi3ing 0 6 =4 Cleaning ,ower 96 A? #um 9?? 9?? #egment III 5 9@ @ < 9< < 7? 90 9??

BY: M H Lakdawala

>" *ra-hic Rating Scales " graphic rating scale presents respondents with a graphic contin&&m.

-ra!hic Ratin' Sca(e Stressin' Pictoria( Vis%a( Co00%nications

6 &ery :ood

9 &ery ,oor

CF. M#nadic Rating Scale " M#nadic Rating Scale asks a)o&t a single concept <ow that yo&# e had yo&r a&tomo)ile for a)o&t C year, please tell &s how satisfied yo& are with its engine power and pick&p. %#m-letely Satis ied Very Satis ied &airly ?ell Satis ied S#mewhat )issatis ied Very )issatis ied

CE. A 'o%parative (ating Scale " %#m-arative Rating Scale asks respondents to rate a concept )y comparing it with a )enchmark 7lease indicate how the amo&nt of a&thority in yo&r present position compares with the amo&nt of a&thority that wo&ld )e ideal for this position. T++ M'%H AB+'T RI*HT T++ LITTL$

C?. An )nbalanced Scale "n 'n3alanced Scale has more responses distri)&ted at one end of the scale How satisfied are yo& with the )ookstore in the -t&dent 8nionB Satis ied (either Satis ied (#r )issatis ied B.ite Satis ied Very )issatis ied

BY: M H Lakdawala

$i u r g e 9? 5 4 >a d l d n e c n *n . a n l ce d #c e s l a

!i"ure $% & 'alanced and (n)alanced Scales

Ba(ance& Sca(e
S%r$in' the Internet is """" !Btremely :ood """" &ery :ood """" :ood """" >ad """" &ery >ad """" !Btremely >ad

7nba(ance& Sca(e
S%r$in' the Internet is """" !Btremely :ood """" &ery :ood """" :ood """" #omewhat :ood """" >ad """" &ery >ad

19" *.ttman scale

(escription " A&ttman scale presents a n&m)er of items to which the person is re(&ested to agree or not agree. !his is typically done in a LYes:<oL dichotomo&s format. It is also possi)le to &se a Likert scale, altho&gh this is less commonly &sed. D&estions in a A&ttman scale grad&ally increase in specificity. !he intent of the scale is that the person will agree with all statements &p to a point and then will stop agreeing. !he scale may )e &sed to determine how e1treme a iew is, with s&ccessi e statements showing increasingly e1tremist positions. If needed, the escalation can )e concealed )y &sing intermediate (&estions. '1ample 7lace a check5mark against all statementsY with which yo& agree I like eating o&t I like going to resta&rants I like going to themed resta&rants I like going to %hinese resta&rants I like going to Bei/ing5style %hinese resta&rants M N M N M N M N M N

BY: M H Lakdawala

Validity and Relia3ility

" research has alidity when the same res&lt can )e achie ed independent of what research method is &sed. !he researcher has an o)/ecti e to achie e a high le el of alidity to ass&re that the information gathered and meas&red act&ally is what was intended to )e meas&red. !his is also known as internal alidity. !he a)ility to generali+e the res&lts and to )e a)le to apply the res&lts on a whole pop&lation is called e1ternal alidity. Relia)ility is a re(&irement for alidity. If the relia)ility is low, one cannot know that one meas&res what one intended to meas&re. High le els of relia)ility pro ide a fair and tr&stworthy portrait of reality. !his is achie ed when the same answers and res&lts are o)tained from se eral independent so&rces. 4&rthermore, how the research is cond&cted and the le el of acc&racy and precision while treating the information infl&ences the le el of relia)ility. .o&ld the same res&lt )e achie ed if the research was cond&cted again with the same pro)lemB One way to achie e o)/ecti ity and relia)ility is )y &sing str&ct&red (&estionnaires with gi en and pre determined answer alternati es.

Ty-es # Validity:
K K K K %#nstr.ct validity addresses the (&estion of what constr&ct or characteristic the scale is, in fact, meas&ring. %onstr&ct alidity incl&des con ergent, discriminant, and nomological alidity. %#nvergent validity is the e1tent to which the scale correlates positi ely with other meas&res of the same constr&ct. )iscriminant validity is the e1tent to which a meas&re does not correlate with other constr&cts from which it is s&pposed to differ. (#m#l#gical validity is the e1tent to which the scale correlates in theoretically predicted ways with meas&res of different )&t related constr&cts.

%" 2r#5ective Techni0.es

ro)ective Techni$ues are )ased on the theory that the description of ag&e o)/ects re(&ires interpretation and this interpretation can only )e )ased on the indi id&al#s own )ackgro&nd, attit&des, and al&es. !he more ag&e or am)ig&o&s the o)/ect to )e descri)ed the mo e one m&st re eal of oneself in order to complete the description. !he following general categories of pro/ecti e techni(&es are descri)ed: association, completion, construction and expression.

1" Ass#ciati#n Techni0.es

"ssociation techni(&es re(&ire the s&)/ect to respond to the presentation of a stim&l&s with the first things that come to mind. a" ?#rd ass#ciati#n: !he word association techni(&e re(&ires the respondent to gi e the first word or tho&ght that comes to mind after researcher presents a word or phrase. In free association only the first word or tho&ght is re(&ired. One of the oldest and simplest pro/ection techni(&es. Respondents are presented with a n&m)er of different words, one at a time. "fter each word, they are asked to gi e the first word that comes to mind.

BY: M H Lakdawala

 !he ass&mption here is that thro&gh free words, the respondents will indicate their inner feelings a)o&t the s&)/ect. Responses are timed so that those responses that respondents *reason o&t, are identified and taken into acco&nt in the analysis. !he time limit is &s&ally H seconds. !he &s&al way of constr&cting s&ch a test is to choose many stim&lating and *ne&tral, words. !he words are read o&t to the respondent one at a time, and the inter iewer essentially records the *first word, association )y the respondent. Respondents sho&ld not )e asked to write their responses )eca&se then the inter iewer will not know if the responses were spontaneo&s or whether the respondent took time to think o&t the responses. "n e1ample of s&ch a test is: who wo&ld eat a lot of oatmealB !he first response is *athletes,. !his means that the respondent feels that the prod&ct is more s&ited for sportspersons. More words on the same topic will re eal more a)o&t the respondent#s attit&de a)o&t the prod&ct. .hile analy+ing the res&lts of word5association tests, responses are arranged along s&ch lines as *fa ora)le 5 &nfa ora)le, and *pleasant 6 &npleasant,. 3" S.ccessive w#rd ass#ciati#n: In s&ccessi e word association, the respondent is asked to gi e a series of words or tho&ghts that occ&r after hearing a gi en word. !he respondent is generally read a n&m)er of relati ely ne&tral terms to esta)lish the techni(&e. !hen the words of interest to the researcher are presented, each separated )y se eral ne&tral terms. !he order of presentation of the key words is randomi+ed to pre ent any position or order )ias from affecting the res&lts. !he most common approach to analy+ing the res&lting data is to analy+e the fre(&ency with a partic&lar word or category or word is gi en in response to the word of interest to the researcher. .ord association techni(&es are &sed in testing potential )rand names and occasionally for meas&ring attit&des a)o&t partic&lar prod&cts, prod&ct attri)&tes, )rands, packages or ad ertisements.

6" %#m-leti#n Techni0.es

!his techni(&e re(&ires the respondent to complete an incomplete stim&l&s. !wo types of completion are of interest to marketing researchers5 sentence completion and story completion. a* Sentence co%pletion, as the name implies, in ol es re(&iring the respondent to complete a sentence. In most sentence completion tests the respondents are asked to complete the sentence with a phrase. Aenerally they are told to &se the first tho&ght that comes to their mind or *anything that makes sense,. Beca&se the indi id&al is not re(&ired directly to associate himself or herself with the answer conscio&s or s&)conscio&s defences are more likely to )e rela1ed and allow a more re ealing answer. !he respondent is gi en a n&m)er of incomplete sentences and asked to complete them. !he r&le here too, is that respondent m&st fill in the first tho&ght that comes to mind. Responses are timed. Here the inter iewer gets more information than the word association techni(&e. Howe er, it is diffic&lt to disg&ise the moti e of the st&dy from the respondent, who is &s&ally a)le to diagnose the in estigator#s p&rpose of st&dy. 4or e1ample, *a man who reads -portstar is 555555555555555555555555555555555555555555., !he sentences can )e worded in either first or third person. <o e idence s&ggests that one of these approaches co&ld )e )etter than the other. b* Story co%pletion is an e1panded ersion of sentence completion. "s the name s&ggests part of a story is told and the respondent is asked to complete it. BY: M H Lakdawala

 Respondents are gi en a half5completed story. !his is eno&gh to draw their attention to a partic&lar iss&e, )&t the ending is left ag&e, so that responses can )e aried. !his techni(&e is ery ersatile and has n&mero&s applications to marketing pro)lems. !he findings a)o&t prod&cts: ser ices gi e companies inp&ts to determine ad ertising and promotional themes and prod&ct characteristics.

8" %#nstr.cti#n Techni0.es

!his techni(&e re(&ires the respondent to prod&ce or constr&ct something generally a story, dialog&e, or description. !hey are similar to completion techni(&es e1cept that less initial str&ct&re is pro ided. a* Picture response+ another &sef&l constr&ction techni(&e, in ol es &sing pict&res to elicit stories. !hese pict&res are &s&ally relati ely ag&e, so that the respondent m&st &se his or her imagination to descri)e what is occ&rring. !hese are similar to story completion method, e1cept that here pict&res are &sed as the stim&li. !he two main methods &sed here are i. !hematic "pperception !ests 0!"!2 ii. %artoon method

i" TAT
%linical psychologists ha e long &sed this method. Here the respondent is shown many am)ig&o&s pict&res and he is asked to spin stories a)o&t them. !he inter iewer may ask (&estions to help the respondent to think. 4or e1ample *what is happening hereB, makes the answer foc&sed towards an action. Or *which one is the aggressorB, makes the respondent think a)o&t the pict&re as one of aggression. !he reason that respondents m&st )e asked s&ch prompting (&estions is that the pict&res are ery a)stract and general and as s&ch are open to ery )road and irre erent interpretations. -o some amo&nt of foc&s is needed to channel the respondent#s thinking. 'ach s&)/ect in the pict&res is a medi&m thro&gh which the respondent pro/ects his feelings, ideas, emotions and attit&des. !he respondent attri)&tes these feelings to the characters )eca&se he sees in the pict&re something related to himself. Responses differ widely and analysis depends &pon the am)ig&ity of the pict&re, the e1tent to which the respondent is a)le to g&ess the concl&sions and the ag&eness of the s&pport (&estions asked )y the inter iewer.

ii" %art##n Tests

!hey are a ersion or modification of the !"!, )&t they are simpler to administer and analy+e. %artoon %haracters are shown in a specific sit&ation pertinent to a pro)lem. One or more *balloons, indicating the con ersation of the characters is left open. !he respondent has to then fill these )alloons and then analy+ed. Instead of ha ing the )&))le show replies or comments, it can )e drawn to indicate the &nspoken tho&ghts of one or more of the characters. !his de ice allows the respondent to a oid any restraints that might )e felt against ha ing e en a carton character spea* as opposed to thin* certain tho&ghts. BY: M H Lakdawala

b* ,antasy scenario re(&ires the respondent to make &p a fantasy a)o&t the prod&ct or )rand. c* Personification asks the respondent to create a personally for the prod&cts or )rands. .ith the pict&res and words techni(&e, the s&)/ects are gi en a n&m)er of words and pict&res and are asked to choose those they associate with a )rand or prod&ct and to e1plain their choice. !his allows the researcher to disco er the more emotional responses to )rands and imagery. !he prod&ct or )rand )ecomes a person 0or ice ersa2 Helps )ring )rands to life 4eeling, tho&ght, character etc 0like )rand al&es2 Or respondents can pro/ect themsel es into the roles of &ser and non5&sers Making &p e&logies or o)it&aries can help

9" $7-ressive Techni0.es

a" R#le--laying is the only e1pressi e techni(&e &tili+ed to any e1tent )y marketing researchers. In role playing the cons&mer is asked to ass&me the role or )eha ior of an o)/ect or another person, s&ch as a sales representati e for a partic&lar department store. !he role5playing c&stomer can then )e asked to try to sell a gi en prod&ct to a n&m)er of different *cons&mers, who raise arying o)/ections. !he means )y which the role player attempts to o ercome these o)/ections can re eal a great deal a)o&t his or her attit&des. "nother ersion of the techni(&e in ol es st&dying the role5player#s attit&des on what type of people ,sho&ld, shop at the store in (&estion. 3" Third--ers#n techni0.e: !he respondent is presented with a er)al or is&al sit&ation and the respondent is asked to relate the )eliefs and attit&des of a third person rather than directly e1pressing personal )eliefs and attit&des. !his third person may )e a friend, neigh)or, colleag&e, or a *typical, person

Advantages # 2r#5ective Techni0.es

C. !hey may elicit responses that s&)/ects wo&ld )e &nwilling or &na)le to gi e if they knew the p&rpose of the st&dy. E. Helpf&l when the iss&es to )e addressed are personal, sensiti e, or s&)/ect to strong social norms. ?. Helpf&l when &nderlying moti ations, )eliefs, and attit&des are operating at a s&)conscio&s le el. G. $isad antages of 7ro/ecti e !echni(&es H. -&ffer from many of the disad antages of &nstr&ct&red direct techni(&es, )&t to a greater e1tent. @. Re(&ire highly trained inter iewers. P. -killed interpreters are also re(&ired to analy+e the responses. O. !here is a serio&s risk of interpretation )ias. R. !hey tend to )e e1pensi e. CF. May re(&ire respondents to engage in &n&s&al )eha ior. CC. A&idelines for 8sing 7ro/ecti e !echni(&es CE. 7ro/ecti e techni(&es sho&ld )e &sed )eca&se the re(&ired information cannot )e acc&rately o)tained )y direct methods.

BY: M H Lakdawala

C?. 7ro/ecti e techni(&es sho&ld )e &sed for e1ploratory research to gain initial insights and &nderstanding. CG. Ai en their comple1ity, pro/ecti e techni(&es sho&ld not )e &sed nai ely.

)isadvantages # 2r#5ective Techni0.es

C. E. ?. G. H. @. -&ffer from many of the disad antages of &nstr&ct&red direct techni(&es, )&t to a greater e1tent. Re(&ire highly trained inter iewers. -killed interpreters are also re(&ired to analy+e the responses. !here is a serio&s risk of interpretation )ias. !hey tend to )e e1pensi e. May re(&ire respondents to engage in &n&s&al )eha ior.

*.idelines #r 'sing 2r#5ective Techni0.es

C. 7ro/ecti e techni(&es sho&ld )e &sed )eca&se the re(&ired information cannot )e acc&rately o)tained )y direct methods. E. 7ro/ecti e techni(&es sho&ld )e &sed for e1ploratory research to gain initial insights and &nderstanding. ?. Ai en their comple1ity, pro/ecti e techni(&es sho&ld not )e &sed nai ely.

Ste-: &ive: Research )esign4 Sam-ling

Meaning # Research )esign: "fter deciding the )asic aspects of research pro/ect 0i.e. form&lating research pro)lem, o)/ecti es of research, data re(&irement, sample design, etc2 and )efore the commencement of work of research pro/ect, the researcher has to prepare research design. It is a ma/or step in the research process :proced&re. !he research work will )e cond&cted 0i.e. data collection, etc2 as per the research design prepared. Research design means to prepare detailed plan and proced&res for the cond&ct of the research pro/ect. It is like preparing a master plan:)l&e print for the cond&ct of formal in estigation. It is the )asic plan that g&ides researcher in the e1ec&tion of the research pro/ect &ndertaken. It is like road map which ena)les the researcher to cond&ct ario&s acti ities for the completion of research pro/ect. In short, research design is a systematic planning, organising and e1ec&ting a research pro/ect within specified time limit and reso&rce allocation. Research design tells the type of data to )e collected, the so&rces of data and the proced&res to )e followed in data collection. Research design pro ides s&ita)le framework that g&ides the collection and analysis of data. )e initi#ns # Research )esign: 1" Acc#rding t# )avid , L.ck and R#nald S R.3in/ *" research design is the determination and statement of the general research approach or strategy adopted for the partic&lar pro/ect. It is the heart of planning. If the design adheres to the research o)/ecti e, it will ens&re that the client#s needs will )e ser ed.

BY: M H Lakdawala

6" Acc#rding t# Kerlinger/ *Research in the plan, str&ct&re and strategy of in estigation concei ed so as to o)tain answers to research (&estions and to control ariance. 8" Acc#rding t# *reen and T.ll, * " research design is the specification of methods and proced&res for ac(&iring the information needed. It is the o er5all operational pattern or framework of the pro/ect that stip&lates what information is to )e collected from which so&rce )y what proced&res. Ste- in -lanning the Research design C. $etermining work in ol ed in the pro/ect. E. 'stimating costs in ol ed ?. 7reparing time sched&le G. Jerifying res&lts Im-#rtance4.tility # research design Research design is important as it prepares proper framework within which the research work:acti ity will )e act&ally carried o&t. Research design acts as a )l&e print for the cond&ct of the whole. Ty-es # Research design: On the )asis of information to )e collected, research designs can )e classified into the following three categories: aG $7-l#rat#ry research 3G )escri-tive research cG %a.sal research

BY: M H Lakdawala

1" L$7-l#rat#ry Research i. '1ploratory research aims to de elop initial h&nches or insights and pro ide direction for any f&rther research needed. ii. !he primary p&rpose of e1ploratory research is to shed light on the nat&re of a sit&ation and identify any specific o)/ecti es or data needs to )e addressed thro&gh additional research. iii. '1ploratory research is most &sef&l when a decision maker wishes to )etter &nderstand a sit&ation and:or identify decision alternati es. i . '1ploratory research is cond&cted when decision makers sense a need for marketing research )&t are &ns&re of the specific direction the research sho&ld take.

BY: M H Lakdawala

%#nd.cting $7-l#rat#ry ResearchL a+. ,ey-Informant Techni$ue %ond&cting e1ploratory research )y inter iewing knowledgea)le indi id&als is sometimes called the *ey-informant techni$ue. It is also known as an expert-opinion survey or a lead-user survey. "n effecti e way to do e1ploratory research is to seek o&t and talk to indi id&als with e1pertise in areas related to the sit&ation )eing in estigated. !he techni(&e is necessarily a ery s&)/ecti e and fle1i)le proced&re with no standard approach. In today#s fast5changing technological world, ery few indi id&als possess all of the rele ant information a)o&t the market. %aref&l attention m&st )e gi en to the selection of knowledgea)le people. !his o)ser ation is not limited to )&siness5to5)&siness market settings3 it is rele ant in almost e ery conte1t re(&iring e1ploratory research. .hen properly &sed, the key5informant techni(&e can )e ery prod&cti e in sit&ations where a decision maker senses the need for research )&t lacks well5defined research o)/ecti es. b+. .ocus /roup Interviews In a foc&s gro&p inter iew, an o)/ecti e disc&ssion leader introd&ces a topic to a gro&p of respondents and directs their disc&ssion of that topic in a non5str&ct&red and nat&ral fashion. !his is sometimes simply called a focus group. Respondents 0typically a)o&t O to CE2 disc&ss a gi en topic in a fairly informal fashion. " well5trained researcher, called a moderator, leads the disc&ssion. !he moderator#s primary tasks are to ens&re that key aspects of the topic are disc&ssed and to o)ser e or record the participants# reactions. 4oc&s gro&ps are &sed in a ariety of sit&ations.

BY: M H Lakdawala

c. 'nalysis of &econdary (ata '1amining appropriate secondary data is a fast and ine1pensi e way of cond&cting e1ploratory research that can generate al&a)le insights. -&ch insights, in t&rn, will pro ide a proper foc&s for concl&si e research. -ometimes the insights re ealed )y secondary5data analysis may e en eliminate the need for concl&si e research. d+. Case &tudy #ethod !he case study method is an in5depth e1amination of a &nit of interest. !he &nit can )e a c&stomer, store, salesperson, firm, market area, we)site, and so on. By irt&e of its insight5generating potential, the case st&dy method is a &sef&l form of e1ploratory research. !his method is s&ita)le in a research setting in which the company has a general research o)/ecti e )&t is &ns&re of e1actly what it is looking for. It in ol es collecting in5depth data on a ariety of important dimensions or factors for the &nit of interest. Only the in estigator#s time and imagination limit the n&m)er and types of factors to )e e1amined. !he analysis of case data is non(&antitati e and primarily in ol es n&mero&s comparisons and contrasts of the data. It re(&ires an alert in estigator capa)le of recogni+ing e en s&)tle differences across cases as well as possi)le relationships among factors within a case. e. !bservational #ethod !he observational method in ol es h&man or mechanical o)ser ation of what people act&ally do or what e ents take place d&ring a )&ying or cons&mption sit&ation. In this method of data collection, researchers or mechanical:electronic de ices witness and record information as e ents occ&r or compile e idence from past e ents. It is &sef&l to assess )eha ior s&ch as &se of prod&cts, fre(&ency of store isits, teens shopping with and witho&t s&per ision, &se of media, and time spent on specific we)sites. It is partic&larly &sef&l in researching yo&ng children, a gro&p that is typically not amena)le to many research techni(&es. '1ploratory research is not limited to the fi e methods /&st descri)ed, altho&gh they are the most fre(&ently &sed methods. Jariations or com)inations of these methods can also )e employed in an e1ploratory research pro/ect. Insights gained thro&gh e1ploratory research pa e the way for concl&si e research. Many research pro/ects in ol e an e1ploratory phase followed )y a concl&si e phase.

6" )escri-tive Research !he goal of descripti e research, as the name implies, is essentially to descri)e something. It is intended to generate data descri)ing the composition and characteristics of rele ant gro&ps of &nits s&ch as c&stomers, salespeople, organi+ations, and market areas. $ata collected can pro ide al&a)le information a)o&t the st&dy &nits along rele ant characteristics and a)o&t associations among those characteristics.

BY: M H Lakdawala

" draw)ack of descripti e research is that it generally cannot pro ide the type of e idence necessary to make ca&sal inferences a)o&t relationships among aria)les.

%#nd.cting )escri-tive Research $escripti e research is )y far the more fre(&ently &sed form of concl&si e research. $escripti e research st&dies are classified into two )asic types: cross5sectional st&dies and longit&dinal studies. i. Cross-&ectional &tudies %ross5sectional st&dies are one5time st&dies in ol ing data collection at a single period in time. !hey pro ide a *snapshot, of a sit&ation )eing researched. %ross5sectional st&dies can also )e &sed to o)tain data pertaining to different periods in time. " cross5sectional st&dy makes &se of a cross5sectional sample or a gro&p of &nits 0e.g., cons&mers, stores, organi+ations2 selected specifically and solely for the one5time data collection. !he sample is dis)anded after the data are collected. -e eral firms maintain omni)&s panels as a so&rce of samples for cross5sectional st&dies. -&ch samples are composed of panel mem)ers who are ret&rned to the panel after participating in a cross5sectional st&dy. .ithin the domain of descripti e research the cross5sectional st&dy is the most pop&lar method. %ross5sectional st&dies acco&nt for the ma/ority of formal research pro/ects in ol ing primary5data collection. ii. +. 0ongitudinal &tudies Longit&dinal st&dies are repeated5meas&rement st&dies that collect data o er se eral periods in time. !he primary p&rpose of longit&dinal st&dies is to monitor changes o er time. " longit&dinal st&dy prod&ces a *motion pict&re, 0or a series of snapshots2 of a sit&ation o er time. In general, longit&dinal st&dies are more informati e than cross5sectional st&dies, /&st as motion pict&res are more re ealing than still pict&res. Longit&dinal st&dies are also more e1pensi e than cross5sectional st&dies. " longit&dinal st&dy typically employs a panel, or a gro&p of &nits recr&ited to pro ide meas&rements o er a period of time. "t the concl&sion of each meas&rement phase, a panel is maintained intact for f&t&re &se. -&ccessi e meas&rements in longit&dinal st&dies can )e o)tained from a physically different )&t representati e sample of &nits or from the same sample of &nits each time. "ltho&gh )oth sample options will yield longit&dinal data, the nat&re of the findings and the implications can differ. iii. F. True anel &tudies " longit&dinal st&dy &sing the same sample of respondents will pro ide richer information than one &sing a series of different samples. !he dynamics of changes )etween meas&rements can )e capt&red only )y &sing the same panel of respondents.

BY: M H Lakdawala

-&ch a panel has )een la)eled a true panel to disting&ish it from omni)&s panels &sed to generate different cross5sectional samples at ario&s periods in time " tr&e5panel st&dy, compared with a longit&dinal st&dy &sing different samples for the ario&s meas&rements, is also capa)le of generating more data directly pertaining to the research p&rpose, for the following reasons: " tr&e panel is a capti e sample of willing respondents who are likely to tolerate e1tended inter iews or fill o&t lengthy (&estionnaires. Backgro&nd data s&ch as demographic and lifestyle data need not )e collected from panel respondents d&ring each meas&rement. !herefore, for a gi en inter iew or (&estionnaire length, more data of primary research interest can )e collected. K !ypes of 7anels 6 6 OM<IB8- 7"<'L: different s&)/ects are p&lled from the panel for each time period K K $raw)acks: data is not as relia)le $raw)acks: mem)ers sometimes e ol e o&t of the desired st&dy gro&p or are ind&ced )y the st&dy to change their practices th&s tainting the data !R8' 7"<'L: the same s&)/ects are &sed for the panel e ery time data is collected

(rawbac*s of Consumer anels " ma/or diffic&lty in setting &p a panel is identifying a representati e sample of respondents who are willing to cooperate o er a long period of time. %ertain types of cons&mer gro&ps are especially hard to recr&it for panels. '1amples of s&ch gro&ps incl&de nonwhites, homemakers &nder EH, and illiterate persons. "nother potential pro)lem with cons&mer panels is that the m&ltiple5s&r ey participation )y panel mem)ers may, o er a period of time, ind&ce them to alter their nat&ral or &s&al )eha ior. !his is la)eled panel conditioning. Researchers may )e wise to restrict their &se to sit&ations where periodic monitoring of the same respondents is essential. 8" %a.sal #r $7-erimental Research '1perimental research 0also known as causal research2 allows one to make ca&sal inferences 0e.g., how aria)le Z affects aria)le Y2. !o )e a)le to say that Z has a ca&sal infl&ence on Y, we m&st gather data &nder controlled conditionsQthat is, holding constant, or ne&trali+ing the effect of, all aria)les other than Z capa)le of infl&encing Y and systematically manip&lating the le els of Z to st&dy its impact on Y. Manip&lation of the pres&med ca&sal aria)le and control of other rele ant aria)les are distinct feat&res of e1perimental research. )i erences Between descri-tive and ca.sal research design

BY: M H Lakdawala

$ata collected thro&gh e1perimental research can pro ide m&ch stronger e idence of ca&se and effect than can data collected thro&gh descripti e research. !his does not necessarily mean that analysis of descripti e research data cannot s&ggest possi)le ca&sal linkages among aria)les, especially when the effects of &ncontrolled aria)les are filtered thro&gh certain analysis techni(&es a aila)le for that p&rpose. Jiewing descripti e ers&s e1perimental research is not a clear5c&t dichotomy. %oncl&si e pro/ects ary from *p&rely descripti e with no control, at one e1treme to *p&rely e1perimental with strict control and manip&lation, at the other e1treme. %#nd.cting %a.sal #r $7-erimental Research %a&sal or '1perimental research is intended to generate the type of e idence necessary for confidently making ca&sal inferences a)o&t relationships among aria)les. !o make ca&sal inferences with confidence, then, we m&st manip&late the ca&sal aria)le and effecti ely control the other aria)les. "nother condition is that the ca&sal aria)le and effect aria)le m&st occ&r in the proper time se(&ence. )etermining ?hich Ty-e # Research t# %#nd.ct %hoosing the most appropriate type of research in a sit&ationQe1ploratory or concl&si eQis somewhat s&)/ecti e. '1ploratory research is most appropriate in sit&ations where the research o)/ecti es are general and data re(&irements are &nclear. Insights gained thro&gh e1ploratory research typically form the fo&ndation for more formal concl&si e research. Occasionally, e1ploratory research res&lts may strongly s&ggest that f&rther research of a concl&si e nat&re may )e &nnecessary or &nprod&cti e. In sit&ations calling for concl&si e research, the choice of the type depends on whether testing ca&sal relationships among aria)les is the primary research p&rpose. If so, some form of e1perimental research is appropriate. If not, descripti e research will s&ffice. !he descripti e5 ers&s5e1perimental distinction e1ists more along a research contin&&m than as a clear5 c&t dichotomy. "t times tentati e ca&sal statements can )e made on the )asis of data from a well5designed and cond&cted descripti e research st&dy. 7&re e1perimental research st&dies are rare.

)i erent ty-es # -anels Same -e#-le )i erent -e#-le

Same 0.esti#ns

Tr.e -anel

%#h#rt -anel

BY: M H Lakdawala

)i erent 0.esti#ns

+mni3.s -anel

%r#ss-secti#nal s.rvey

Sa0!(in' Desi'ns An& Sa0!(in' Proce&%res

The Sam-ling 2r#cess -tep C. $efine the pop&lation E. -pecify sampling frame ?. -pecify sampling &nit G. -pecify sampling method H. $etermine sample si+e @. -pecify sampling plan P. -elect the sample $escription !he pop&lation is defined in terms of a2 element, )2 &nits, c2 e1tent and d2 time. !he means of representing the elements of the pop&lation 6 for e1ample telephone )ook, map, or city directory 6 are descri)ed. !he &nit for sampling 6 for e1ample, city )lock, company, or ho&sehold 6 is selected. !he sampling &nit may contain one or se eral pop&lation elements. !he method )y which sampling &nits are to )e selected is descri)ed. !he n&m)er of elements of the pop&lation to )e sampled is chosen. !he operational proced&res for selection of the sampling &nits are selected. !he office and fieldwork necessary for the selection of the sample are carried o&t.

Ste- 1: )e ine the -#-.lati#n It is the aggregate of all elements defined prior to selection of sample. " pop&lation m&st )e defined in terms of elements, sampling &nits, e1tent and !ime. 'liminating any one of these specifications lea es an incomplete definition of the pop&lation that is to )e sampled. Ste- 6: S-eci y the Sam-ling rame If a pro)a)ility sample is to )e taken, a sampling frame is re(&ired. " sampling frame is a means of representing the elements of the pop&lation. " sampling frame may )e a telephone )ook, city directory, an employee roster, a listing of all st&dents attending a &ni ersity, or a list of possi)le phone n&m)ers. BY: M H Lakdawala

Maps also ser e fre(&ently as sampling frames. " sample of areas within a city may )e taken and another sample of ho&sehold then )e taken within each area. %ity )locks are sometimes sampled and all ho&seholds on each sample )lock are incl&ded. " sampling of street intersections may )e taken and inter iewers gi en instr&ctions as to how to take *Random walks,. 4rom the intersection and select the ho&seholds to )e inter iewed. " perfect sampling frame is one in which every element of the population is represented once but only once. One does not need a sampling frame to take a non5pro)a)ility sample. Ste- 8: S-eci y the sam-ling 'nit The sampling unit is the basic unit containing the elements of the population to be sampled. It may )e the element itself or a &nit in which the element is contained. 4or e1ample, if one wanted a sample of males o er C? years of age, it might )e possi)le to sample them directly. In this case, the sampling &nit wo&ld )e identical with the element. Howe er, it might )e easier to select ho&seholds as the sampling &nit and inter iew all males o er C? years of age in each ho&sehold. Here the sampling &nit and the pop&lation element are not the same. Ste- 9: S-eci y the Sam-ling Meth#ds It indicates how the sample &nits are selected. One of the most important decisions in this regard is to determine which of the two 6pro)a)ility and non5pro)a)ility sample 6is to )e chosen. 7ro)a)ility samples are also known as random samples and non5pro)a)ility samples as non5random samples. !here are ario&s types of sample designs, which can )e co ered &nder two )road gro&ps 6 random or pro)a)ility samples and non5random, or non5pro)a)ility samples. Ste- :: )eterminati#n # the Sam-le siAe !raditional sampling theory generally ignores the concept of the cost ers&s the al&e of the information to )e pro ided )y ario&s si+ed samples.. Ste- ;: S-eci y the Sam-ling 2lan !he sampling plan in ol es the specification of how each of the decisions made th&s far is to )e implemented. It may ha e )een decided that the ho&sehold will )e the element and the )lock the sampling &nit. How is a ho&sehold defined operationallyB How is the inter iewer to )e instr&cted to disting&ish )etween families and ho&seholds in instances where two families and some distant relati es of one of them are sharing the same apartmentB How is the inter iewer to )e instr&cted to take a systematic sample of ho&seholds on the )lockB .hat sho&ld the inter iewer do when a ho&sing &nit selected is acantB .hat is the call)ack proced&re for ho&seholds at which no one is at homeB .hat age respondent speaking for the ho&sehold is accepta)leB Ste- <: Select the Sam-le !he final step in the sampling process is the act&al selection of the sample elements. !his re(&ires a s&)stantial amo&nt of office and fieldwork partic&larly if personal inter iew are in ol ed. %haracteristics # a g##d Sam-le )esign " good sample design re(&ires the /&dicio&s )alancing of fo&r )road criteria 6goal orientation, meas&ra)ility, practicality and economy. C. Aoal orientation: !his s&ggests that a sample design *sho&ld )e oriented to the research o)/ecti es, tailored to the s&r ey design, and fitted to the s&r ey conditions,. If this is done, it sho&ld infl&ence the choice of the pop&lation, the meas&rement as also the proced&re of choosing a sample. E. Meas&ra)ility: " sample design sho&ld ena)le the comp&tation of alid estimates of its sampling aria)ility. <ormally, this aria)ility is e1pressed in the form of standard errors in s&r eys. Howe er,

BY: M H Lakdawala

this is possi)le only in the case of pro)a)ility sampling. In non5pro)a)ility samples, s&ch a (&ota sample, it is not possi)le to know the degree of precision of the s&r ey res&lts. ?. 7racticality: !his implies that the sample design can )e followed properly in the s&r ey, as en isaged earlier. It is necessary that complete, correct, practical, and clear instr&ctions sho&ld )e gi en to the inter iewer so that no mistakes are made in the selection of sampling &nits and the final selection in the field is not different from the original sample design. 7racticality also refers to simplicity of the design, i.e. it sho&ld )e capa)le of )eing &nderstood and followed in act&al operation of the field work. G. 'conomy: 4inally, economy implies that the o)/ecti es of the s&r ey sho&ld )e achie ed with minim&m cost and effort. -&r ey o)/ecti es are generally spelt o&t in terms of precision, i.e. the in erse of the ariance of s&r ey estimates. 4or a gi en degree of precision, the sample design sho&ld gi e the minim&m cost. "lternati ely, for a gi en per &nit cost, the sample design sho&ld achie e ma1im&m precision 0minim&m ariance2. It may )e pointed o&t that these fo&r criteria come into conflict with each other in most of the cases, and the researcher sho&ld caref&lly )alance the conflicting criteria so that he is a)le to select a really good sample design. Advantages # Sam-ling C. -ampling is cheaper than a cens&s s&r ey. It is o) io&sly more economical, for instance, to co er a sample of ho&seholds than all ho&seholds in a territory altho&gh the cost per &nit of st&dy may )e higher in a sample s&r ey than in a cens&s. E. -ince magnit&de of operations in ol ed in a sample s&r ey is small, )oth the e1ec&tion of the fieldwork and the analysis of the res&lts can )e carried o&t speedily. ?. -ampling res&lts in greater economy of effort as relati ely small staffs is re(&ired to carry o&t the s&r ey and to ta)&late and process the s&r ey data. G. " sample s&r ey ena)les the researcher to collect more detailed information than wo&ld otherwise )e possi)le in a cens&s s&r ey. "lso, information of a more specialised type can )e collected, which wo&ld not )e possi)le in a cens&s s&r ey on acco&nt of a aila)ility of a small n&m)er of specialists. H. -ince the scale of operations in ol ed in a sample s&r ey is small, the (&ality of inter iewing, s&per ision and other related acti ities can )e )etter than the (&ality in a cens&s s&r ey. Limitati#ns # Sam-ling C. .hen the information is needed on e ery &nit in the pop&lation s&ch as indi id&als, dwelling &nits or )&siness esta)lishments, a sample s&r ey cannot )e of m&ch help for it fails to pro ide information on indi id&al co&nt. E. -ampling gi es rise to certain errors. If these errors are too large, the res&lts of the sample s&r ey will )e of e1tremely limited &se. ?. .hile in a cens&s s&r ey it may )e easy to check the omissions of certain &nits in iew of complete co erage, this is not so in the case of sample s&r ey. Sam-ling Techni0.es -ampling techni(&es may )e )roadly classified as non5pro)a)ility and pro)a)ility sampling techni(&es. <on5pro)a)ility sampling techni(&es: C. It relies on the personal /&dgment of the researcher rather than t he chance to select sample elements. E. !he researcher can ar)itrarily or conscio&sly decide which element to incl&de in the sample.

BY: M H Lakdawala

?. <on5pro)a)ility may yield good estimates of the pop&lation characteristic. Howe er they do not allow for o)/ecti e e al&ation of the precision of the sample res&lts. G. -ince there is no way of determining the pro)a)ility of selecting any partic&lar element for incl&sion in the sample, the estimates o)tained are not statistically pro/ecta)le to the pop&lation. 2r#3a3ility sam-ling techni0.es: C. -ampling &nits are selected )y chance. E. It is possi)le to pre5specify e ery potential sample of a gi en si+e that co&ld )e drawn from the pop&lation, as well as the pro)a)ility of selecting each sample. ?. ' ery potential sample need not ha e the same pro)a)ility of selection, )&t it is possi)le to specify the pro)a)ility of selecting any partic&lar sample of a gi en si+e. G. !his re(&ires not only a precise definition of the target pop&lation, )&t also a general specification of the sampling frame. Beca&se sample elements are selected )y chance. H. It is possi)le to determine the precision of the sample estimated of the characteristics of interest. %onfidence inter als, which contain the tr&e pop&lation al&e with a gi en le el of certainty, can )e calc&lated. !his permits the researcher to make inferences of pro/ections a)o&t the target pop&lation from which the sample was drawn. 7ro)a)ility sampling techni(&es are classified )ased on : 'lement ers&s cl&ster sampling '(&al &nit pro)a)ility ers&s &ne(&al pro)a)ilities 8nstratified ers&s stratified selection Random ers&s systematic selection -ingle5stage ers&s m&ltistage techni(&es )iagrammatic re-resentati#n # the sam-ling techni0.es"

Sam-ling techni0.es

(#n -r#3a3ility sam-ling techni0.es %#nvenience ,.dgmental B.#ta

2r#3a3ility sam-ling techni0.es

-imple

#ystematic #ampling

-tratified -ampling

Cluster #ampling

M&ltistage -ampling

Random (#n--r#3a3ility techni0.es: %#nvenience Sam-ling -ampling Definition

BY: M H Lakdawala

" non5pro)a)ility sampling techni(&e that attempts to o)tain a sample of con enient elements. !he selection of sampling &nits is left primarily to the inter iewer. '1planation C. It is a form of <on57ro)a)ility sampling. E. It is mainly &sed for $ipstick st&dies. !his type of sampling is normally &sed to get )asic information to take elementary decisions. ?. %on enience samples are often &sed in e1ploratory sit&ations when there is a need to get only an appro1imation of the act&al al&e (&ickly and ine1pensi ely. G. %ommonly &sed %on enience samples are associates and *the man on the street,. -&ch samples are often &sed in the pre5test phase of the st&dy, s&ch as pre5testing of a (&estionnaire. '1amples: 8se of st&dents, ch&rch gro&ps, and mem)ers of social organi+ations, Mall5intercept inter iews witho&t (&alifying the respondents, $epartment stores &sing charge acco&nt lists !ear o&t (&estionnaire incl&ded in a maga+ines, and 7eople on the street inter iews 'dvantages %on enience sampling is the least e1pensi e and least time cons&ming of all sampling techni(&es. !he sampling &nits are accessi)le, easy to meas&re and co5operati e. !his techni(&e is &sed in e1ploratory research for generating ideas, insight or hypothesis. (isadvantages %on enience samples contain &nknown amo&nts of )oth aria)les and systematic selection errors. !hese errors can )e ery large when compared to the aria)le error in a simple random sampling of the same si+e. %on enience samples are not representati es of any defina)le pop&lation. -o they are not recommended for descripti e or cas&al research. ,.dgmental sam-ling )e initi#n " form of con enience sampling in which the pop&lation elements are p&rposi ely selected )ased on the /&dgment of the researcher. $7-lanati#n " /&dgment sample is one in which there is an attempt to draw a representati e sample of the pop&lation &sing /&dgmental selection proced&res. X&dgment samples are common in ind&strial market research. $7am-le " sample of addresses taken )y the m&nicipal agency to which (&estionnaires on )icycle riding ha)its were sent. " /&dgment sample was taken after researchers looked at traffic maps of the city, considered the ta1 assessment on ho&ses and apartment )&ildings 0per &nit2, and kept location of schools and parks in mind. Advantages ,.dgmental sam-ling is l#w c#st/ c#nvenient and 0.ick" ,.dgmental sam-ling is s.35ective and its val.e de-ends entirely #n the researchers 5.dgment/ e7-ertise and creativity" It is .se .l i 3r#ad -#-.lati#n in erences are n#t re0.ired"

BY: M H Lakdawala

)isadvantage It does not allow direct generali+ation to a specific pop&lation, &s&ally )eca&se the pop&lation is not defined e1plicitly.

B.#ta Sam-ling $efinition " non pro)a)ility sampling techni(&es that is a two stage restricted /&dgmental sampling. !he first stage consists of de eloping control categories or (&otas of pop&lation elements. In the second stag, sample elements are selected )ased on con enience or /&dgment. '1planation It is a form of <on57ro)a)ility sampling. In D&ota -ampling, the samples are selected in s&ch a way that the interest parameters represented in the sample are in the same proportion as they are in the &ni erse: pop&lation. D&ota -ampling is widely &sed in cons&mer panels. !he following aspects m&st )e kept in mind while choosing the control aria)les: !he aria)les m&st )e a aila)le and sho&ld )e recent. !hey sho&ld )e easy for the inter iewer to classify. !hey sho&ld )e closely related to the aria)le )eing meas&red in the st&dy. !he n&m)er of aria)le m&st )e kept to a reasona)le n&m)er so as to a oid conf&sion while analy+ing the data !he cost of sample per &nit is directly proportional to the n&m)er of control aria)les. In order to ha e a check mechanism a)o&t the (&ality of samples taken so as to red&ce the selection errors, D&ota -amples are *validated1 after they are taken. !he process of alidation in ol es a comparison of the sample and the pop&lation with respect to characteristics not &sed as control aria)les. 4or e.g. in a (&ota sample taken from a cons&mer panel for which income, ed&cation, and age gro&p are &sed as control aria)les. If the comparison of this panel and the pop&lation might )e made with respect to s&ch characteristics as a erage n&m)er of children, occ&pation of the chief wage earner and home ownership. !hen if the panel differed significantly from the pop&lation with respect to any of these characteristics, it wo&ld )e an indication of the potential )ias in the selection proced&res. It sho&ld )e noted that the similarity does not necessarily mean the a)sence of )ias. '1ample If one wants to select a D&ota sample of persons for a test of fla ored tea and wants to control 0control aria)les are the parameters )ased on which he wo&ld like to classify the &ni erse2 it )y ethnic )ackgro&nd, income )racket, age gro&p and geographical area. !hen the sample taken wo&ld ha e the same proportion of people in each ethnic )ackgro&nd, income )racket, age gro&p and geographical area as the pop&lation. $isad antages -cope for high ariances -cope for si+a)le selection errors.

BY: M H Lakdawala

-election errors arise from the way inter iewers select the persons: aria)les to fill the (&ota. Incorrect information of the proportions of the pop&lation in each of the control aria)les, )iases in the relationship of the control aria)les to the aria)les )eing meas&red, and from other so&rces. +ther ty-es # n#n rand#m sam-les: 9" Sn#w3all Sam-ling " ariety of proced&res. Initial respondents are selected )y pro)a)ility methods. "dditional respondents are o)tained from information pro ided )y the initial respondents. :" 2.r-#sive sam-le -&)/ects selected on the )asis of specific characteristics or (&alities. 8sers of a partic&lar technology. -&ch as Yo&ng mothers with small children, doctors, mem)ers of a fan cl&), target market mem)ers. 2r#3a3ility Techni0.es: 7ro)a)ility sampling techni(&es ary in terms of sampling efficiency. -ampling efficiency is a concept that reflects a trade5offs )etween sampling cost and precision. 7recision refers to the le el of &ncertainty a)o&t the characteristic )eing meas&red. !he greater the precision, the greater the cost and most st&dies re(&ire trade5 off. Sim-le Rand#m Sam-ling $efinition " pro)a)ility sampling techni(&e in which each element in the pop&lation has a known and e(&al pro)a)ility of selection is known as simple random sampling 0-R-2. ' ery element is selected independently of e ery other element and the sample is drawn )y a random proced&re from a sampling frame. '1planation In random sampling, each element in the pop&lation has a known and e(&al pro)a)ility of selection. 4&rthermore, each possi)le sample of a gi en si+e 0n2 has a known and e(&al pro)a)ility of )eing the sample act&ally selected. !his implies that e ery other element is selected independently of e ery other element. !he sample is drawn )y a random proced&re from a sampling frame. !his method is e(&i alent to a lottery system in which names are placed in a container, the container is shaken, and the names of the winners are then drawn o&t in an &n)iased manner. !o draw a simple random sample, the researcher first compiles a sampling frame in which each element is assigned a &ni(&e identification n&m)er. !hen random n&m)ers are generated to determine which element to incl&de in the sample. !he random n&m)ers may )e generated with a comp&ter ro&tine or a ta)le. "d antages It is easy to &nderstand !he sample res&lt may )e pro/ected to the target pop&lation. (isadvantages It is often diffic&lt to constr&ct a sampling frame that will permit a simple random sample to )e drawn. -R- can res&lt in samples that are ery large or spread o er large geographic areas, th&s increasing the time and cost of data collection. -R- often res&lts in lower precision with larger standard errors than other pro)a)ility sampling techni(&es.

BY: M H Lakdawala

-R- may or may not res&lt in a representati e sample. "ltho&gh samples drawn will represent the pop&lation well on a erage, a gi en simple random sample may grossly misrepresent the target pop&lation. !his more likely if the si+e of the sample is small.

Systematic sam-ling $efinition " pro)a)ility sampling techni(&e in which the sample is chosen )y selecting a random starting point and then picking e ery ith element in s&ccession from the sampling frame. '1planation In systematic sampling, the sample is chosen )y selecting a random starting point and then picking e ery ith element in s&ccession from the sampling frame. !he sampling inter al, i, is determined )y di iding the pop&lation si+e < )y the sample si+e n and ro&nding to the nearest integer. '1ample It#s a three step process: K C. 4ind o&t -ampling Inter al -ampling inter al ; 7op&lation:sample si+e K E. !o select random starting point thro&gh simple random process K ?. !o select the sample -&ppose there are CFF,FFF elements in the pop&lation and a sample of CFFF desired. In this case the sampling inter al, i, is CFF. " random n&m)er )etween C to CFF is selected. If say n&m)er E? is selected, the sample will then consists of elements E?, CE?, EE?, ?E?, GE?, HE?, and so on. -ystematic sampling is similar to -R- in that each pop&lation element has a known and e(&al pro)a)ility of selection. Howe er, it is different from -R- in that only the permissi)le samples of si+e n that can )e drawn ha e a known and e(&al pro)a)ility of selection. !he remaining samples of si+e n ha e a +ero pro)a)ility of )eing selected. 4or systematic sampling, the researcher ass&mes that the pop&lation elements are ordered in some respect. In some cases the ordering 0alpha)etic listing in a telephone )ook2 is &nrelated to the characteristic of interest. In other instances, the ordering is directly related to the characteristic &nder in estigation. 0%redit card c&stomers may )e listed in order of o&tstanding )alances. If the pop&lation elements are arranged in a manner &nrelated to the characteristic of interest, systematic sampling will yield res&lt (&ite similar to -R-. On the other hand, when the ordering of the element is related to the characteristic of interest, systematic sampling increases the representati es of the sample. "d antages -ystematic sampling is less costly and easier that -R-, )eca&se random selection is done only once. !he random n&m)ers do not ha e to )e matched with indi id&al element as in -R-. -ince some lists contains millions of elements, considera)le time can )e sa ed. !his in t&rn again red&ces the cost. If the information related to the characteristic of interest is a aila)le for the pop&lation, systematic sampling can )e &sed to o)tain a more representati e and relia)le sample than -R-. -ystematic sampling can e en )e &sed witho&t knowledge of the composition 0elements2 of the sampling frame.

BY: M H Lakdawala

Strati ied Rand#m Sam-ling $efinition " pro)a)ility sampling techni(&e that &ses a two5step process to partition the pop&lation into s&)pop&lations, or strata is known as stratified random sampling. 'lements are selected from each strat&m )y a random proced&re. '1planation K " pro)a)ility sampling techni(&e that &ses a two5step process to partition the pop&lation: It#s a two step process: i. (ivide the populations into subpopulations, or strata based on well defined criteria. i. Elements are selected from each stratum or group based on the proportionate representation by a random procedure.

-tratified Random -ampling emerges from the word &tratum. " -trat&m in a pop&lation is a segment of that pop&lation ha ing one or more characteristics. '.g. people in the age strata of ?H5GF, people in the income strata to Rs. EFFFF p.m. etc -tratified -ampling in ol es treating each strat&m as a separate s&)pop&lation for sampling p&rposes, and from each strat&m sampling &nits wo&ld )e drawn randomly. !he reasons for cond&cting -tratified Random -ampling are: !o red&ce sampling error )y ens&ring representation from the pop&lation. !he re(&ired sample si+e for the same le el of sampling error will &s&ally )e smaller. "s compared to other methods of sampling, in -tratified Random -ampling representati eness to a certain degree is forced. !he greater degree to which there is similarity within strat&m, smaller is the sample si+e re(&ired to pro ide information a)o&t that strat&m. !h&s the more homogeneo&s each strat&m is with respect to the aria)le of interest the smaller is the sample re(&ired. '1ample If the head of the ho&sehold age strata 0CO5?G, ?H5GR, HFW2 are of interest in a st&dy on ho&sehold spending ha)its on ho&sehold f&rnishings, then each of these gro&ps wo&ld )e taken separately for sampling p&rposes. !hat is, the total pop&lation co&ld )e di ided into age gro&ps and a separate sample is drawn from each gro&p. %l.ster Sam-ling (efinition !he target pop&lation is di ided into m&t&ally e1cl&si e and collecti ely e1ha&sti e s&)pop&lation called cl&sters. !hen a random sample of cl&sters is selected )ased on pro)a)ility sampling techni(&es s&ch as simple random sampling. 4or each selected cl&sters, either all the elements are incl&ded in the sample or a sample of elements is drawn pro)a)ilistically. '1planation If all the elements in each selected cl&ster are incl&ded in the sample, the proced&re is called one stage cl&ster sampling.

BY: M H Lakdawala

If a sample of elements is drawn pro)a)ilistically from each selected cl&ster, the proced&re is called two5 stage cl&ster sampling. !he key distinction )etween cl&ster sampling and stratified sampling is that in cl&ster sampling only a sample of s&)pop&lations 0cl&sters2 is chosen, whereas in stratified sampling all the s&)pop&lations are selected. !he o)/ecti e of the cl&ster sampling is to increase the sampling efficiency )y decreasing costs.

'1ample If the st&dy re(&ires st&dying the ho&seholds in the city then in cl&ster sampling the whole city is di ided into Blocks and to take each ho&sehold on each )lock selected. !h&s to get a representati e whole of the &ni erse. "d antages Low pop&lation heterogeneity : high pop&lation homogeneity Low e1pected cost of errors. !he main ad antage of cl&ster sampling is the low cost per sampling &nit as compared to other sampling methods.

$isad antage High potential of sampling error as compared to other methods. 4or eg: !he lower cost per &nit and higher sampling error potential of a cl&ster sample is ill&strated )y considering a sample of CFF ho&seholds to )e selected for personal inter iews from a partic&lar city. In this method the city wo&ld )e di ided in )locks and CF ho&seholds from CF selected )locks wo&ld )e selected and inter iewed. !h&s the cost of personal inter iew per &nit will )e low )eca&se of the close pro1imity of the &nits in the cl&ster. !his sample may not )e the e1act representation of the entire city. !h&s there is a possi)ility of sampling error.

Ste-: Si7: )ata 2r#cessing and Analysis

DATA PROCESSI2$ata processing#s total task in carrying o&t the analytical program is to con ert cr&de fragments of o)ser ation and responses into orderly statistics for interpretation. !here are three preparation stages necessary in either man&al or comp&ter processing: editing, classifying and coding. "n additional stage with comp&ters is card p&nching. )ATA A(ALYSIS "fter the data ha e )een collected, the researcher t&rns to the task of analy+ing them. !he analysis of data re(&ires a n&m)er of closely related operations s&ch as esta)lishment of categories, the application of these categories to raw data thro&gh coding, ta)&lation and then drawing statistical inferences. !he &nwieldy data sho&ld necessarily )e condensed into as few managea)le gro&ps and ta)les for f&rther analysis. !h&s, researcher sho&ld classify the raw data into some p&rposef&l and &sa)le categories. %oding operation is &s&ally done at this stage thro&gh which the categories of data are transformed into sym)ols that may )e ta)&lated and co&nted. 'diting is the proced&re that impro es the (&ality of the data for coding. .ith coding the stage is ready for ta)&lation. !a)&lation is a part of the technical proced&re wherein the classified data are p&t in the form of ta)les. !he mechanical de ices can )e made &se of at this /&nct&re. %omp&ters ta)&late a BY: M H Lakdawala

great deal of data, especially in large in(&iries. %omp&ters not only sa e time )&t also make it possi)le to st&dy large n&m)er of aria)les affecting a pro)lem sim&ltaneo&sly. "nalysis work after ta)&lation is generally )ased on the comp&tation of ario&s percentages, coefficients etc., )y applying ario&s well5defined statistical form&lae. In the process of analysis, relationships or differences s&pporting or conflicting with original or new hypothesis sho&ld )e s&)/ected to tests of significance to determine with what alidity data can )e said indicate any concl&sions. 4or instance, if there are two samples of weekly wages, each sample )eing drawn from factories in different parts of the same city, gi ing two different al&es, then o&r pro)lem may )e whether the two mean al&es are significantly different or the difference is /&st a matter of chance. !hro&gh the &se of statistical tests we can esta)lish whether s&ch a difference is a real one or is the res&lt of random fl&ct&ations. If the difference happens to )e real, the inference will )e that the two samples come from different &ni erses and if the difference is d&e to chance, the concl&sion wo&ld )e that the two samples )elong to the same &ni erse. -imilarly, the techni(&e of analysis of ariance can help &s in analy+ing whether three or more arieties of seeds grown on certain fields yield significantly different res&lts or not. In )rief, the researcher can analy+e the collected data with the help of ario&s statistical meas&res.

Ste-: Seven: )etermine Time and c#st

+verall $val.ati#n C. How m&ch will the st&dy costB E. Is the time frame accepta)leB ?. Is o&tside help neededB G. .ill this research design attain the stated research o)/ecti esB H. .hen sho&ld the research )e sched&led to )eginB

Ste-: $ight:
)e ine the ethics # research $thics: Moral principles or al&es generally go erning the cond&ct of an indi id&al or gro&p. <ot a one5way relationship. A&idelines researchers follow to protect the rights of h&mans who participate in st&dies. -ome common g&idelines incl&de: K 7rotection from harm K Informed consent K %onfidentiality K Inowledge of res&lts K $eception, if &sed, m&st )e e1plained f&lly A3.se # res-#ndents C. Most common pro)lem: lengthy inter iews E. Ref&sal rate now a erages @F percent" ?. -elling &nnecessary research G. Jiolating client confidentiality %lient $thics C. Re(&esting when a s&pplier has )een predetermined BY: M H Lakdawala

E. O)taining free ad ice and methodology ia )id re(&ests ?. Making false promises G. 8na&thori+ed re(&est for proposals

Ste-: (ine: 2re-are the research re-#rt

R$S$AR%H R$2+RT &+RMAT i. ii" iii. i . v" vi" vii" viii" i7" 1. 1i. Title: Be specific. !ell what, when, where, etc. In one main title and a s&)title, gi e a clear idea of what the paper in estigated. Inde7 Intr#d.cti#n: -ections may )e com)ined in short reports. Statement # the 2r#3lem: !his is a general introd&ction to the topic. )ata %#llecti#n techni0.e Research design4 Sam-ling Meth#d Ma5#r &inding Rec#mmendati#n %#ncl.si#n Bi3li#gra-hy #r Literat.re %ited: !hese are the )i)liographic reference for each of the works cited in the 'nd <otes. A--endi7: "ny ta)les, fig&res, forms, or other materials that are not totally central to the analysis )&t that need to )e incl&ded are placed in the "ppendi1.

%ha-ter 6

1" 2R+)'%T R$S$AR%H

!he p&rpose of prod&ct research is to de elop a prod&ct line which meets the needs of cons&mers in general.

BY: M H Lakdawala

7rod&ct research facilitates the process of making prod&cts more attracti e, &sef&l and agreea)le to cons&mers. Meaning # 2r#d.ct Research: 7rod&ct research is one ma/or area of MR. It is concerned with different aspects of a prod&ct which incl&de name, feat&res, &ses, package &sed, )rand name gi en, price, cons&mer s&pport and so on. !he term prod&ct research co ers all aspects relating to man&fact&ring and marketing of a prod&ct. 7rod&ct planning and de elopment, prod&ct inno ation and modification, prod&ct pricing, prod&ct life cycle st&dies )randing, la)elling, packaging, etc. are the different areas aspects2 of prod&ct research 7ackaging and )randing are treated as two components of prod&ct research. !his is )eca&se they are closely connected with the prod&ct itself. Moreo er, sale depends on the prod&ct as well as on its packaging and )randing. In prod&ct research, e1isting prod&cts of the company are made s&perior 0in (&ality2 and agreea)le to cons&mers. In addition, new prod&cts with promising market demand are de eloped. !his is called new prod&ct research. 7rod&ct research is directly related to prod&ct5mi1 which is one component of )asic marketing mi1. There are #.r c#m-#nents # -r#d.ct mi7" !hese are: C. 7rod&ct range E. Brand, ?. 7ackage and G. -er ice after sale. 2r#d.ct research has tw# im-#rtant as-ects" !hese are: a. !echnical aspect of a prod&ct, and ). Marketing aspect of a prod&ct. !echnical research of a prod&ct is cond&cted in the la)oratory in order to de elop a prod&ct with latest design and feat&res at the lowest possi)le cost. 7rod&cts marketing research relates to the attit&des of cons&mers and their preferences towards the specific prod&ct. 7rod&ct research is necessary at the prod&ct planning stage. !his is )eca&se marketing will )e easy and (&ick when the prod&ce man&fact&red is as per the needs and e1pectations of cons&mers. 4or this, prod&ct opport&nities m&st )e st&died and prod&ct m&st )e ad/&sted accordingly. Marketing efforts will not )e rewarded if the prod&ct to )e sold is not as per the needs and e1pectations of cons&mers. !his s&ggests that marketing research sho&ld start at the prod&ct promotion stage. !he researcher sho&ld s&ggest the details of prod&ct 0nat&re, feat&res, packaging, etc.2 which can )e marketed effecti ely. !his creates proper )ackgro&nd for s&ccess in marketing efforts ($$) +& 2R+)'%T R$S$AR%H: 7rod&ct research acts as an ins&rance against risk of o)solescence of e1isting prod&cts of the company. In addition, prod&ct research is needed in order to de elop new prod&cts which will ha e good demand o er a long period. In sh#rt/ the #ll#wing -#ints s.ggest45.sti y the need # -r#d.ct research: 0C2 !o assist in the setting &p of o)/ecti es towards which the research and de elopment department will ha e to work in order to de elop and )ring o&t a new prod&ct in the market.

BY: M H Lakdawala

0E2 !o pinpoint the needs and wants of cons&mers which the proposed prod&ct is e1pected to satisfy. 0?2 !o estimate the sales potential of the new prod&ct 0G2 !o erify the )enefits of the new prod&ct to the cons&mers. 0H2 !o find o&t the possi)le impact of the new competiti e prod&cts on the sales potential of the e1isting prod&ct of the company. 0@2 !o test prototypes of the prod&ct. 0P2 !o predict the possi)le s&ccess or fail&re of the prod&ct once it is introd&ced in the market. 0O2 !o red&ce the chances of prod&ct fail&re after its modification or after its entry in the new market and also to increase the possi)ilities of prod&ct s&ccess. 0R2 !o introd&ce cons&mer friendly prod&cts as cons&mer preferences are dynamic. 7R is needed on contin&o&s )asis for ad/&sting the prod&cts as per the needs:e1pectations of cons&mers. to introd&ce attracti e package and )rand name to the prod&ct for sales promotion. ?H$( 2R+)'%T R$S$AR%H IS ($%$SSARY@ 0C2 Introd&ction of new prod&ct:modifications in the e1isting prod&ct: 7rod&ct research is necessary when company de elops a new5prod&ct or desires to introd&ce an e1isting prod&ct with s&ita)le modifications as per the re(&irements of cons&mers. Here, the o)/ecti e is to raise the pop&larity of e1isting prod&cts and to red&ce the new prod&ct fail&re rate thro&gh e1tensi e research and testing of a new prod&ct )efore its introd&ction in the market. 2r#d.ct testing is a val.a3le t##l in marketing research" -&ch testing is )efore la&nching a new prod&ct in the market. -&ch prod&ct testing incl&des technical testing and cons&mer testing. 0E2 Introd&ction of new prod&ct )y competitor: 7rod&ct research is necessary when a competitor introd&ces a new prod&ct or impro ed ersion of the e1isting one in the market. IM2+RTA(%$4A)VA(TA*$S +& 2R+)'%T R$S$AR%H: 7rod&ct research is important as it offers the following ad antages: C. 7rod&ct research helps to e1plain the feat&res of the prod&ct. E. It helps to simplify the prod&ct line. ?. It ena)les a man&fact&rer to de elop new prod&cts with good market demand in the e1isting prod&ct line. G. 7rod&ct research )rings )est sales ret&rns. H. It widens market for the prod&ct and also creates goodwill for the prod&ct and its man&fact&rer. @. It facilitates appropriate price fi1ation of the prod&ct. 0P2 7rod&ct research )rings to the limelight the different &ses of the prod&ct for effecti e p&)licity for sales promotion. P. It facilitates modification and reno ation of e1isting prod&cts so as to make them highly competiti e and agreea)le to cons&mers. O. It ena)les a man&fact&rer to introd&ce attracti e package and )rand name to the prod&ct for sales promotion. M$TH+)S +& %+()'%TI(* 2R+)'%T R$S$AR%H: There are three meth#ds .sed #r the c#nd.ct # -r#d.ct research as e7-lained 3el#w: 7rod&ct !esting 1G 2aired %#m-aris#n Testing F %ons&mers are not told a)o&t the )rand )eing tested and are gi en a new and an old prod&ct and are asked to choose. !he samples know that they are testing and are therefore aware a)o&t a pro)a)le difference. 4M%A#s wo&ld often do this since there are so many prod&cts. !his is like the %lassic %oke !est %ase. !his

BY: M H Lakdawala

kind of testing tells &s a)o&t )randing 6 the strength of )randing 6 are cons&mers aware of prod&ct ariationsB $o people really &nderstand the style that a fashion ho&se stands for. Response rates for distinctions wo&ld )e high )eca&se people know that there is a test happening. 7lace)o !esting also has an effect here )eca&se the palette ass&mes that there are differences 6 and th&s the palette e1pects change and there is a false perception of things )eing different. 6G Staggered %#m-aris#n Test F Respondents !est E Brands with a time lag with the identities masked. One half of the respondents recei e Brand " and the other half recei es Brand B. !he respondents are then gi en the same prod&cts in re erse and are asked to note any difference in the )rands. !his kind of comparison tests the ideas of respondents with respect to their infl&ence )y peer press&re and their association with a prod&ct with respect to how their choices are dictated. 8G )isg.ised %#m-aris#n Test: !his d&plicates the act&al market where for different )rands, the same packaging is &sed and the respondents are told that they will )e asked a)o&t their reactions later. In this case, the respondents are st&died in order to recogni+e if they ha e noticed any difference at all. 4&rther, they are not aware of the test )eing taken and )elie e the prod&cts to )e free samples !his is the opposite of the E a)o e. !he sample does not know they are part of the test. !hey are /&st gi en free samples. !hey /&st think that they are getting E free samples. !hey don#t know that they are getting test. -ometimes they don#t reali+e that its different. !hey think it#s the same prod&ct.

(ew 2r#d.ct research:

7rod&ct definition is a critical starting point in the de elopment of any new prod&ct. Yet for its importance, there are a n&m)er of common shortcomings to the process of prod&ct definition in many companies: " company doesnLt )lindly respond to c&stomer needs and opport&nities. " )&siness strategy which defines c&stomers and markets to )e ser ed, competitors, and competiti e strengths pro ides a framework from which to e al&ate potential opport&nities. !he res&lt of this e al&ation of opport&nities is e1pressed in a prod&ct plan. (ew 2r#d.ct 2lanning !he new prod&ct plan helps resol e iss&es related the markets, the types of prod&cts and the opport&nities that the company will in est in and the reso&rces re(&ired to s&pport prod&ct de elopment. M#re s-eci ically/ the new -r#d.ct -lan is .sed t#: $efine an o erall strategy for prod&cts to g&ide selection of de elopment pro/ects3 $efine target markets, c&stomers, competiti e strengths, and a competition strategy 0e.g., competing head5on or finding a market niche23 7osition planned prod&cts relati e to competiti e prod&cts and identify what will differentiate or disting&ish these prod&cts from the competition3 Rationali+e these competing de elopment pro/ects and esta)lish priorities for de elopment pro/ects3 7ro ide a high5le el sched&le of ario&s de elopment pro/ects3 and

BY: M H Lakdawala

 'stimate de elopment reso&rces and )alance pro/ect reso&rce re(&irements with a )&dget in the o erall )&siness plan. 4ew companies ha e a formal new prod&ct planning process, let alone a rigoro&s process. .hile a new prod&ct plan is generally prepared on an ann&al )asis, it sho&ld )e re iewed and &pdated at least (&arterly, if not monthly. Market conditions will change, new prod&ct opport&nities will )e identified, and new prod&ct technology will emerge all ca&sing a potential impact to the prod&ct plan. Once a new prod&ct plan is esta)lished which defines the target market and c&stomers, the ne1t step is to plan how to capt&re these c&stomerLs needs for each de elopment pro/ect. !his incl&des determining how to identify target c&stomers, which c&stomers to contact in order to capt&re there needs, what mechanisms to &se to collect their needs, and a sched&le and estimate of reso&rces to capt&re the oice of the c&stomer 0pro/ect plan for prod&ct definition phase2. "s opport&nities are identified, appropriate techni(&es are &sed to capt&re the oice of the c&stomer. !he techni(&es &sed will depend on the nat&re of the c&stomer relationship as ill&strated )elow. !here is no one monolithic oice of the c&stomer. %&stomer oices are di erse. In cons&mer markets, there are a ariety of different needs. ' en within one )&ying &nit, there are m&ltiple c&stomer oices 0e.g., children ers&s parents2. !his applies to ind&strial and go ernment markets as well. !here are e en m&ltiple c&stomer oices within a single organi+ation: the oice of the proc&ring organi+ation, the oice of the &ser, and the oice of the s&pporting or maintenance organi+ation. !hese di erse oices m&st )e considered, reconciled and )alanced to de elop a tr&ly s&ccessf&l prod&ct. !raditionally, Marketing has had responsi)ility for defining c&stomer needs and prod&ct re(&irements. !his has tended to isolate 'ngineering and other de elopment personnel from the c&stomer and from gaining a first hand &nderstanding of c&stomer needs. "s a res&lt, c&stomerLs real needs can )ecome somewhat a)stract to other de elopment personnel. 7rod&ct de elopment personnel need to )e directly in ol ed in &nderstanding c&stomer needs. !his may in ol e isiting or meeting with c&stomers, o)ser ing c&stomers &sing or maintaining prod&cts, participating in foc&s gro&ps or rotating de elopment personnel thro&gh marketing, sales, or c&stomer s&pport f&nctions. !his direct in ol ement pro ides a )etter &nderstanding of c&stomer needs, the c&stomer en ironment, and prod&ct &se3 de elops greater empathy on the part of prod&ct de elopment personnel, minimi+es hidden knowledge, o ercomes technical arrogance, and pro ides a )etter perspecti e for de elopment decisions. !hese practices ha e res&lted in f&ndamental insights s&ch as engineers of highly technical prod&cts recogni+ing the importance to c&stomers of ease of &se and d&ra)ility rather than the latest technology. .here a company has a direct relationship with a ery small n&m)er of c&stomers, it is desira)le to ha e a c&stomer representati e0s2 on the prod&ct de elopment team. "lternately, mechanisms s&ch as foc&s gro&ps sho&ld )e &sed where there are a larger n&m)er of c&stomers to ins&re on5going feed)ack o er the de elopment cycle. %&rrent c&stomers as well as potential c&stomers sho&ld )e considered and incl&ded. !his c&stomer in ol ement is &sef&l for initially defining re(&irements, answering (&estions and pro iding inp&t d&ring de elopment, and criti(&ing a design or prototype. $&ring c&stomer disc&ssions, it is essential to identify the )asic c&stomer needs. 4re(&ently, c&stomers will try to e1press their needs in terms of HO. the need can )e satisfied and not in terms of .H"! the need is. !his limits consideration of de elopment alternati es. $e elopment and marketing personnel sho&ld ask .HY &ntil they tr&ly &nderstand what the root need is. Breakdown general re(&irements into more specific re(&irements )y pro)ing what is needed. %hallenge, (&estion and clarify re(&irements &ntil they make sense. BY: M H Lakdawala

$oc&ment sit&ations and circ&mstances to ill&strate a c&stomer need. "ddress priorities related to each need. <ot all c&stomer needs are e(&ally important. 8se ranking and paired comparisons to aid to prioriti+ing c&stomer needs. 4&ndamentally, the o)/ecti e is to &nderstand how satisfying a partic&lar need infl&ences the p&rchase decision. In addition to o)taining an &nderstanding of c&stomer needs, it is also important to o)tain the c&stomerLs perspecti e on the competition relati e to the proposed prod&ct. !his may re(&ire follow5&p contact once the concept for the prod&ct is determined or e en a prototype is de eloped. !he (&estion to resol e is: How do competiti e prod&cts rank against o&r c&rrent or proposed prod&ct or prototypeB

Ty-es # (ew -r#d.ct Research

1" (ew Markets4 $7isting 2r#d.cts research: ' ery company has a prod&ct that can tra el. It can tra el to new geographical markets or to new ind&stry segments that ha e not )een tapped )efore. <ew markets where er they are 5 new co&ntries or new segments 5 carry risk. <ew Markets: '1isting 7rod&cts research help collect information on potential c&stomers and markets where er they are in the world. .ith this knowledge a company can )&ild growth and al&e more (&ickly and more sec&rely than )y working from g&esswork. 6" $7isting Markets4$7isting 2r#d.cts research: 4or many companies, the first place to look for more sales is amongst e1isting c&stomers. %&rrent c&stomers ha e already made the &ltimate gest&re of appro al and paid money to )&y yo&r prod&cts. " )it more pers&asion and they may )&y more. Howe er, how many companies know their c&stomer so well that they know if they ha e e ery a aila)le piece of )&sinessB "sk yo&rself the following (&estions: a. How m&ch is each c&stomer )&ying of the prod&cts 0or ser ices2 I sell to themB ). .hat share do my competitors and I ha e of each c&stomerLs acco&ntB c. .hat does the c&stomer think of me against the other s&ppliers it co&ld or does &seB d. .hat wo&ld make each c&stomer )&y more '1isting Markets:'1isting 7rod&cts research answer these (&estions. !his can )e achie ed )y relati ely straightforward research. "ll that re(&ire is a c&stomer list and a good )riefing. "n appropriate (&estionnaire is designed3 inter iews are carrying o&t and report on how to win more )&siness. 8" (ew Markets4(ew 2r#d.cts research: !he most dangero&s territory of all is that of new markets and new prod&cts. Here market research is a m&st. 9" $7isting Markets4(ew 2r#d.cts research: !he assets of e ery company are its c&stomers. '1isting c&stomers know and tr&st the company s&fficiently well to do )&siness. -o m&ch so, they may gi e serio&s consideration to )&ying a new prod&ct or ser ice from the company. In the research researcher find the opport&nities for new prod&cts or ser ices with e1isting c&stomers as part of its new markets programme. In this method researcher take a )rief d&ring which he wo&ld disc&ss the prod&cts company want to sell and learn a)o&t their c&rrent c&stomer. Researcher wo&ld then design a programme of inter iews that co&ld incl&de face to face and telephone contacts to determine how m&ch )&siness company co&ld win and at what price. BY: M H Lakdawala

2r#d.ct s-eci icati#n:

Organi-ing 'usto%er .eeds Once c&stomer needs are gathered, they then ha e to )e organi+ed. !he mass of inter iew notes, re(&irements doc&ments, market research, and c&stomer data needs to )e distilled into a handf&l of statements that e1press key c&stomer needs. "ffinity diagramming is a &sef&l tool to assist with this effort. Brief statements which capt&re key c&stomer needs are transcri)ed onto cards. " data dictionary which descri)es these statements of need are prepared to a oid any mis5interpretation. !hese cards are organi+ed into logical gro&pings or related needs. !his will make it easier to identify any red&ndancy and ser es as a )asis for organi+ing the c&stomer needs. In addition to 9stated9 or 9spoken9 c&stomer needs, 9&nstated9 or 9&nspoken9 needs or opport&nities sho&ld )e identified. <eeds that are ass&med )y c&stomers and, therefore not er)ali+ed, can )e identified thro&gh preparation of a f&nction tree. '1citement opport&nities 0new capa)ilities or &nspoken needs that will ca&se c&stomer e1citement2 are identified thro&gh the oice of the engineer, marketing, or c&stomer s&pport representati e. !hese can also )e identified )y o)ser ing c&stomers &se or maintain prod&cts and recogni+ing opport&nities for impro ement. %omprehensi e -pecification !hese c&stomers needs then ha e to )e translated into a set of prod&ct re(&irements 0more technical e1pressions of c&stomer needs2 that can )e acted &pon )y 'ngineering. D&ality f&nction deployment 0D4$2 is an e1cellent methodology to s&pport this o)/ecti e while considering the competiti e sit&ation. D4$ is a str&ct&red planning and decision5making methodology for capt&ring c&stomer needs and translating those re(&irements into prod&ct re(&irements, part characteristics, process plans and (&ality:prod&ction plans thro&gh a series of matrices. !hese prod&ct re(&irements are often e1pressed in the form of a prod&ct specification, f&nctional specification, or marketing re(&irements specification. !he degree of formality in e1pressing these re(&irements will ary depending on the comple1ity of the prod&ct, the si+e of the de elopment pro/ect, and the organi+ation str&ct&re and its comm&nication re(&irements. .ith a less comple1 item, the D4$ prod&ct planning matri1 is &s&ally s&fficient. .ith a more comple1 item, a larger de elopment pro/ect, and critical interfaces )etween m&ltiple teams responsi)le for indi id&al s&)systems, the need for a formal specification increases. In addition to performance re(&irements and technical characteristics, a comprehensi e specification wo&ld also address ease of &se3 ergonomics3 styling and aesthetics3 ro)&stness, relia)ility and ser icing3 the prod&ct operating en ironment or conditions of &se3 life cycle costs3 and packaging. -e eral iss&es can arise with a prod&ct specification that can delay time5to5market: an incomplete, am)ig&o&s, or conflicting specification and:or de elopment proceeding prior to completion of a specification. In these sit&ations, de elopment often proceeds with ass&mptions made a)o&t re(&irements that may or may not )e alid. If the ass&mptions are not alid, the prod&ct may )e off5target or there may )e f&rther prod&ct definition and redesign iterations. .hen specification am)ig&ity or conflicts are recogni+ed )efore design proceeds, there are f&rther prod&ct definition iterations that re(&ire additional time )efore de elopment proceeds. !his is the lesser of the two e ils. It is more appropriate to take additional time than risk a prod&ct that misses the mark in meeting c&stomer needs. Howe er, to the degree that all team mem)ers are in ol ed with capt&ring the oice of the c&stomer and with translating those needs into technical characteristics or re(&irements with D4$, it is less likely that the

BY: M H Lakdawala

res&lting specifications will )e incomplete, am)ig&o&s, or conflicting. !eam mem)ers will more readily recogni+e these sit&ations and recogni+e the additional information that m&st )e o)tained or the iss&es that m&st )e resol ed m&ch earlier. 4&rther, if there is a well5defined de elopment process with this team5)ased en ironment, it is less likely that de elopment will proceed &ntil specifications are completed. Once re(&irements for a prod&ct are defined, they m&st )e managed and kept sta)le. .hen re(&irements are a mo ing target, the redesign iterations se erely impact time5to5market. !o minimi+e the impact on time5to5 market and more rigoro&sly manage re(&irements or specifications, esta)lish realistic re(&irements at the start and make needed trade5offLs. " oid a tendency to proceed with the design )efore re(&irements are completely defined. $oc&ment re(&irements to comm&nicate and de elop a consistent &nderstanding. " oid creeping elegance and caref&lly consider the need to change re(&irements after de elopment has started. ' ol&tionary $e elopment !he classic approach to prod&ct de elopment in ol es significant effort defining re(&irements &p front followed )y c&stomer e al&ation and feed)ack of prototypes to refine the re(&irements and design. "n alternati e approach of 9e ol&tionary prod&ct de elopment9 has emerged, largely )ased on the res&lts of some Xapanese companies. !his approach in ol es reg&lar, on5going assessment of c&stomer needs and c&stomer feed)ack, shorter de elopment cycles with a more limited set of new re(&irements or capa)ilities, and planned e ol&tionary &pgrades or impro ements )ased on c&stomer feed)ack.

6" Branding Research:

Man&fact&rers, traders and cons&mers s&pport )randing practice as it is &sef&l to them in different ways. Large n&m)er of prod&cts is sold in the market )y )rand name as cons&mers de elop affinity to s&ch )rands and refer to them when they isit retail shops. In order to sec&re these ad antages, )rand selected sho&ld )e promising. "n ideal )rand needs certain (&alities. 4or e1ample, it sho&ld )e )rief, simple and easy to remem)er and prono&nce. -imilarly, it sho&ld )e s&ggesti e, decent, attracti e and as per the c&rrent tests and fashions accepted )y cons&mers. Research department s&ggests appropriate )rand names to the prod&cts of the company. 4or this, s&r eys are cond&cted and information is collected thro&gh inter iews, etc. -&ch st&dies offer s&ita)le g&idance to management for the introd&ction of appropriate )rand name for the prod&ct. !he research team will pro ide necessary information on the )asis of which the management will ha e to take final decision regarding )rand name. !his decision is critical as the res&lts 0good or )ad2 will )e a aila)le only when the )rand is act&ally introd&ced in the market. /randing (esearch can be done at every stage of /rand building process+ the various researches related to /rands are" 1" Brand %haracter Research: !he )rand character research can )e done &sing )oth (&alitati e and (&antitati e techni(&es. B.alitative research inv#lves the .nderstanding # :

BY: M H Lakdawala

7ersonality of each option 4it with the name of each option 4it with the )rand association of each option 4it on the pack 4it with the proposed role in ad ertising of each option %omparison among the character options 4it with specific )rand e1tension options D&antitati e research foc&ses on ascertaining the following information: !ho&ghts e oked )y each options, and gro&ping of these tho&ghts as positi e and negati e Likea)ility of each option -pecific likes and dislikes of each option 8ni(&eness of each option %omparison of each option with the sym)ols of the competition Rating of each option#s fit with the pack 7reference amongst sym)ol options 7reference amongst name options

6" Brand L#g# Research: .hen a new logo is to )e chosen it is always ad isa)le to e al&ate it among two independent sets of people one to e al&ate the logo in isolation and the other to e al&ate the logo on the pack. ' al&ation of logo in isolation looks at its likea)ility, distincti eness, comprehension of message con eyed, )y logo options, preference among logo options, and preference of logo among key competition. ' al&ation of logo on the pack also looks at the same alternati es along with the speed with which the respondent wo&ld identify the test logo pack among a cl&tter of other similar packs. !his helps to e al&ate how the logo wo&ld stand o&t in the shelf. 8" Brand (ame Research: " Brand name research is important for any )rand thro&gho&t its lifecycle. It in ol es personal inter iews in which some )asic concept statements may )e e1posed to respondents along with the name. then the respondent are asked to recall the name after ha ing read the same. !his indicates the names notice a)ility and ease of recall. !hen spontaneo&s responses are ascertained to name in terms of: 0atent 'ssociation .hat tho&ghts come to mind &pon hearing this nameB .hat negati e and positi e associations e1ist with new corporate name, prod&ct name or ser ice nameB .hat )arriers ha e to )e o ercome with negati e latent associationsB How does so&nd sym)olism or phonosemantics 0the meaning of so&nds2 affect the e al&ation of a nameLs latent associationB .hat does the name mean to yo&B How wo&ld yo& prono&nce this nameB .hat do yo& partic&larly like:dislike a)o&t this nameB .hich prod&ct the name s&itB Or not s&itB .hich name yo& like the most and whyB

BY: M H Lakdawala

"fter the ascertaining the responses to these, a preference ranking is done of the names and the )est among them is chosen. !his methood also helps in ascertaining the names a)ility to comm&nicate to the respondent, the )arriers to comprehension, descripti eness of the name etc. 9" Brand Ass#ciati#n Research: 4or e1isting )rands or e1isting competition of new )rands, respondents mind wo&ld already ha e )rand associations. In s&ch cases, the e al&ation sho&ld incl&de the following (&estions: "scertain the c&rrent state of affairs, witho&t e1posing the respondents to the new concepts '1pose new concepts "scertain the response to new concepts %ompare the responses generated )efore and after e1pos&re of new concepts to &nderstand their effects. :" Brand L#yalty Research: Brand Loyalty research e1plore the relationship among )rand tr&st, )rand affect, and )rand performance o&tcomes 0market share and relati e price2 with an emphasis on &nderstanding the linking role played )y )rand loyalty. Brand Loyalty research generate )oth statistical and (&alitati e data Q )enchmarked, comparati e and e al&ati e meas&res. !hese, com)ined with specific diagnostic data, pro ide the tools to effect impro ements: O erall satisfaction Ratings of performance on specific aspects of the prod&ct:ser ice Reasons for lack of satisfaction:poor ratings -alience and hierarchy of needs:preferences:e1pectations Aap "nalysis:-trategic 7riority "nalysis Loyalty and propensity to recommend:re5p&rchase $ri ers of satisfaction and loyalty Rep&tation:image of the )rand Jal&e for money %&stomer -egmentation and incl&de, where feasi)le, lapsed and potential c&stomers ;" Brand Health research: !he health of a )rand is meas&red )y its )rand e(&ity. Brands with high e(&ity can command and s&stain price premi&ms and are more s&ccessf&l with line e1tensions and new category entries. Brand Health research allows companies to set competiti e )rand strategies and pro ides )rand with a Brand '(&ity Inde1. !he B'I can )e analysed in relation to the )rand#s market share and will help determine whether the )rand#s share gain is at the e1pense of long5term )rand e(&ity or whether the )rand has the potential to e1pand its market share. <" Brand awareness research: Market awareness and perceptions of )rand can rise and fall (&ickly in a changing market. !he first step is to o)tain a systematic &nderstanding of the shape of market perception of )rand thro&gh s&r ey research. Ty-ical Brand Awareness Research 0.esti#ns incl.de: .hich single company comes to mind first as a pro ider for I! sol&tionsB .hich other companies come to mindB .hat (&alities does the market leader possess that the other companies do notB .hat factors dro e yo&r decision to select yo&r primary endorB

BY: M H Lakdawala

 !o what degree are yo& aware of the company#s capa)ilities in the area of I! sol&tionsB .hat three words )est descri)e the company#s position in the ind&stryB .hat is yo&r perception of the company#s prod&ctsB '1perienceB !echnologyB -er iceB -ales processesB Based on &nderstanding of the company#s direction how do it percei e its position o er the ne1t CE6EG monthsB In the fast mo ing technology ind&stry in which companies are la&nched, merged, ac(&ired, and morphed into new )&siness, Brand "wareness research is critical to esta)lishing and maintaining the desired market awareness and perceptions of yo&r company.

8" 2ricing Research

7ricing research in ol es first a pricing strategy assessment s&pported )y strong pricing research capa)ilities. -o&nd pricing market research re(&ires a )road strategic perspecti e together with a foc&s on yo&r pricing decision options. 7ricing research finds optim&m price5prod&ct5feat&re config&rations in the conte1t of market positioning opport&nities. 7ricing st&dies, we employ )oth (&alitati e research and (&antitati e research tools. 7ricing research &s&ally concentrates on c&stomersL sensiti ity to pricing. !his price sensiti ity is dri en )y the nat&re of the market, the target within that market, the differentiation le el of prod&ct or ser ice, and the al&e of )rand. 7ricing is one of the more technical areas of market research. 2ricing research C 7ricing research in ol es:

7ricing strategy assessment s&pported )y strong pricing research capa)ilities. -o&nd pricing market research re(&ires a )road strategic perspecti e together with a foc&s on pricing decision options. 2ricing research .s.ally c#ncentrates #n c.st#mersD sensitivity t# -ricing" !his price sensiti ity is dri en )y the nat&re of the market, the target within that market, the differentiation le el of prod&ct or ser ice, and the al&e of )rand. 7ricing is one of the more technical areas of market research. There are #.r main a--r#aches: C -e eral different research methods are commonly &sed in pricing researchQeach with their own strengths and weaknesses. !here are fo&r techni(&es that are commonly &sed the fo&r techni(&es are: 1" *a3#r-*ranger #r Van ?estend#r- 2rice Sensitivity Meter 6" %#nce-t Test 8" %#n5#int Analysis 9" )iscrete %h#ice M#deling 1" *a3#r-*ranger #r Van ?estend#r- 2rice Sensitivity Meter H2SMG

BY: M H Lakdawala

!he 7rice -ensiti ity Meter 07-M2 is &sed fer ently )y some researchers. !he premise of the 7-M is to ask respondents fo&r price5related (&estions and then e al&ate the c&m&lati e distri)&tions for each (&estion. S-eci ically/ res-#ndents are asked: C. 't what price would you consider the product to be so expensive that you would not consider buying it2 3Too expensive4 E. 't what price would you consider the product to be priced so low that you would feel the $uality couldn5t be very good2 3Too cheap4 ?. 't what price would you consider the product starting to get expensive, so that it is not out of the $uestion, but you would have to give some thought to buying it2 3Expensive4 G. 't what price would you consider the product to be a bargain6a great buy for the money2 3Cheap4 In this method, the optimal price point for a prod&ct is the point at which the same n&m)er of respondents indicate that the price is too e1pensi e as those who indicate that the price is too cheap. Many pricing researchers (&estion that this is the definiti e optimal price for a prod&ct %#nce-t Test4%#nce-t $val.ati#n !he standard p&rchase intent (&estion from a concept test is also commonly &sed for pricing research. Respondents are presented with a prod&ct concept and asked how likely they wo&ld )e to p&rchase this prod&ct at a specific price. !ypically the researcher will e1pose independent samples of respondents to different prices. !he standard p&rchase intent (&estion is shown )elow.

C C C C C C C C C

3'fter introducing the product concept4 H#w likely/ w#.ld y#. 3e t# -.rchase this -r#d.ct in the ne7t 16 m#nths i it c#sts Rs >LLL@ (efinitely would purchase robably would purchase #ight or might not purchase robably would not purchase (efinitely would not purchase

!o e al&ate price sensiti ity &sing this e1ample, a sample of respondents e al&ates this concept at Rs RFFF, a different sample of respondents e al&ates the same concept at RsHFFF, and another sample of respondents e al&ates the concept at Rs CGFFF. " demand c&r e is constr&cted )y e al&ating p&rchase intent at each price 8" %#n5#int analysis: Like concept tests, con/oint analysis presents concepts to respondents. Howe er, instead of e1posing each respondent to a single concept, in con/oint analysis each respondent is e1posed to many concepts. 4or each treatment, respondents are asked to make hypothetical trade5offs )etween config&red prod&cts. 4or e1ample, a respondent might )e asked to e1press his preference )etween two J%R alternati es, as follows: BY: M H Lakdawala

In con/oint analysis, respondents are forced to make trade5offs )etween prod&cts and prod&ct feat&res, m&ch as )&yers are forced to do when act&ally shopping. 'ach respondent answers a series of trade5off (&estions3 in each (&estion the com)ination of feat&res shown together changes. In this way, a large n&m)er of prod&ct feat&res can )e e al&ated. 'ach respondent pro ides eno&gh information thro&gh his or her trade5offs that the &tility of each prod&ct characteristic 0incl&ding price2 can )e estimated for each respondent. !his indi id&al5le el estimation allows for the identification of indi id&al differences that can lead to a market segmentation scheme and can )e &sed to help predict acceptance of prod&cts )y different indi id&als in a heterogeneo&s market. !hese &tilities also allow prediction of preference for any prod&ct that can )e defined &sing the prod&ct characteristics in the st&dy. !hese preferences can )e modeled in a market sim&lator. " market sim&lator allows *what5if, analysis for any config&ration of prod&cts in any competiti e en ironment. " demand c&r e can )e prod&ced from these sim&lations. )iscrete %h#ice $iscrete choice modeling, referred to )y some as choice5)ased con/oint, en/oys many of the )enefits of con/oint analysis 0e.g., competiti e prod&cts, a)ility to incl&de a large n&m)er of feat&res, sim&lation capa)ility2, )&t it also incl&des a more realistic respondent task. In discrete choice, the respondent is presented with a set of prod&cts and the respondent is asked to pick one, as ill&strated )elow

BY: M H Lakdawala

!he res&lts from discrete choice modeling are ery similar to those from con/oint. 4or instance, )oth approaches are a)le to prod&ce &tilities at the indi id&al le el, and )oth discrete choice and con/oint allow what5if sim&lations. $iscrete choice modeling has )een &sed with great s&ccess in pricing research

9" 2ackaging Research

M$A(I(* +& 2A%KA*I(* R$S$AR%H: 7ackaging research is one aspect of prod&ct research. It deals with the needs and e1pectations of cons&mers a)o&t the package 0si+e, shape,colo&r com)ination, d&ra)ility, material &sed, etc.2 &sed. 7ackaging research is &sef&l for making prod&ct packages sec&red, attracti e and agreea)le to cons&mers. 7ackaging research plays a positi e role in modem marketing. It acts as a sales promotion techni(&e. It makes the prod&ct attracti e and agreea)le to cons&mers. 7ackaging needs constant changes as per the e1pectations of cons&mers and also as per the c&rrent trends in packaging designs. 4or achie ing these o)/ecti es, packaging research is &sef&l. Moreo er, the ad antages of packaging 0as noted a)o e2 indicate the importance and need of packaging and packaging research. 4or large5scale marketing, attracti e packaging is a m&st. It sho&ld )e &sed for esta)lished as well as for new prod&cts. In addition, reno ations sho&ld )e made in the packages after some inter al. 4or this package research is &sef&l. Man&fact&rers, in India, now take acti e interest in package research. "s a res&lt, we o)ser e new packages of aried si+es, shapes and colo&r com)inations in the market for all types of prod&cts partic&larly cons&mer items s&ch as soaps, cosmetics and oils.

BY: M H Lakdawala

7ackaging research has special significance in e1port marketing as packaging of e1port items needs to )e safe, sec&red, and also attracti e to foreign )&yers. 7ackaging needs to )e as per the standard packaging norms &sed in different co&ntries. In addition, packaging of e1port items needs to )e as per the legal pro isions made in different co&ntries. Moreo er, packaging r&les and proced&res are ery strict in '&ropean co&ntries. ?HY 2A%KA*I(* R$S$AR%H '()$RTAK$(@ 7ackaging research is &ndertaken in order to find o&t reasona)ly correct and relia)le answers to the following packaging pro)lems:iss&es: 0C2 .hether the e1isting package &sed for the specific prod&ct is attracti e and agreea)le to cons&mers and is also as per the c&rrent trends in the field of packaging. 0E2 .hether certain modifications:alterations are necessary in the e1isting packages 0&sed )y the company2 so as to make them attracti e and as per the tastes and re(&irements of cons&mers. 0?2 .hether the e1isting packages are eco5friendly 0in regard to material &sed and colo&r5com)ination2 and to introd&ce s&ita)le modifications in them so as to make them eco5friendly. 0e.g., a oiding the &se of thin plastic )ag or replacement of plastic containers thro&gh the &se of thick paper, wood, etc.2 0G2 .hether the packaging material &sed is safe, d&ra)le and gi es f&ll protection to the prod&ct against moist&re, light, high temperat&re and shock and whether any other material which is more economical and safe can )e &sed:introd&ced. 0H2 .hether the e1isting package gi es clearly isi)le identity to the prod&ct and its )rand. 0@2 .hether the cost of packaging is high and how to )ring down the packaging cost and there)y to make the prod&ct competiti e as well as attracti e in the market. 0P2.hether the e1isting package facilitates proper disposal or re&se of the packaging material after the &se of the prod&ct. 0O2 .hether there is scope for impro ement in the packaging so as to make it attracti e, eco5friendly and easily:(&ickly salea)le. 7ackage graphics and copy are critical marketing aria)les in many prod&ct categories, partic&larly for non ad ertised or &nder ad ertised )rands in self5ser e shopping en ironments. !he package on a retail shelf is the last opport&nity to infl&ence cons&mers )efore they decide to )&y. It#s the final sales pitch at the *moment of tr&th,, when the )rand5choice decision is made. !he )etter the package design and copy, the greater the likelihood that cons&mers will choose that )rand. "ny new package design, or significant change in an e1isting package, sho&ld always )e s&)/ected to the scr&tiny of o)/ecti e cons&mer feed)ack. &#ll#wing are the -ackaging research meth#ds: C. 7ackage -creen E. 7ackage %heck ?. 7ackage !est G. %&stom:"d Hoc 7ackaging Research 1" 2ackage Screen $arly-Stage 2ackage )esigns the package design process typically )egins with the creation of a large n&m)er of *ro&gh, or early5stage designs. !en to twenty package designs, or more, are common at this )eginning stage. !he research o)/ecti e is to identify the package designs that resonate with cons&mers, so that creati e efforts can )e foc&sed on

BY: M H Lakdawala

f&rther de elopment of the )etter designs. 7ackage -creen is an Internet5)ased system to accomplish this winnowing task. H#w )#es 2ackage Screen ?#rk@ " representati e sample of EFF to ?FF target a&dience cons&mers are recr&ited from a panel. !hese participants are in ited to come to a location and iew the early5stage package designs. 'ach respondent sees all of the package designs one at a time 0front panel only2 on his:her comp&ter monitor, in randomi+ed order. !hen, each person iews the package designs a second time and answers fo&r (&estions a)o&t each design. !he answers to these fo&r (&estions are fed into a mathematical model to calc&late an o erall score for each design. !he highest5rated designs are recommended for f&rther de elopment. 6" 2ackage %heck $iagnostic 4eed)ack !he ne1t step in the design process is to learn more a)o&t the )etter designs so that f&rther impro ements can )e made. 7ackage %heck is, designed to pro ide this diagnostic feed)ack. H#w )#es 2ackage %heck ?#rk@ " representati e sample of target5a&dience cons&mers are recr&ited to as a panel and iew each package design. !he respondents see only one package design 0i.e., a monadic test2 and then answer a series of (&estions a)o&t their reactions, incl&ding a series of open5ended (&estions. !he report incl&des answers to standard (&estions, compared to the organi+ations action standards, as well as er)atim responses to open5ended (&estions. !he er)atim detail is al&a)le to creati e teams as they stri e to impro e the graphic design, as well as the copy, on the package. " typical 7ackage%heck st&dy is )ased on PH completed inter iews 8" 2ackage Test 4inished Or <ear54inished 7ackage $esigns "s packages near the end of the design process, a more complete e al&ation is re(&ired, with comprehensi e meas&rements to assess all of the important elements of package design. 7ackage !est is comprehensi e, testing system to e al&ate finished 0or near5finished2 package designs. " representati e sample is recr&ited from one of o&r worldwide Internet the panels, and (&alified respondents are in ited to e al&ate the package design. Respondents first see the package#s front panel, and later iew the other panels. !he research design is monadic. !he report incl&des answers to standard (&estions, as well as the coded responses to all open5ended (&estions, along with o&r analysis and interpretation. " mathematical model, )ased on a n&m)er of key aria)les, calc&lates an o erall score for the package design and compares it to action standards. " typical 7ackage !est pro/ect is )ased on CHF completes. 9" %.st#m4Ad H#c 2ackaging Research 7ackage %omm&nication .hat is the package comm&nicatingB .hat is the package failing to comm&nicateB $epth inter iews are typically &sed to e1plore package comm&nication iss&es. 8s&ally, the test package is shown at different time e1pos&res 0C:HFF of a second, C:EFF of a second, etc.2 &sing a tachistoscope. "t each e1pos&re le el, package recognition and comm&nication are e1amined. !hen the respondents are asked to e1amine and to read the package in detail, with no time limits.

BY: M H Lakdawala

!he cons&mer#s reactions to e ery detail of package graphics and copy are e1plored in the inter iew. !he p&rpose of this research is to learn how to impro e )rand recognition and package comm&nication. :" Shel Im-act $oes the a erage cons&mer notice the package on the shelfB !o e al&ate shelf impact, we typically )&ild representati e displays of the test package in a competiti e en ironment. !hese displays are photographed from angles representati e of the cons&mer#s perspecti e. !he test package is rotated within the display. !he )est photographs 0with correct rotations2 are shown to a representati e sample of cons&mers, at ario&s time e1pos&res 0C:EFF of a second, C:CFF of a second, and so on2 with a tachistoscope. !he respondents are (&estioned a)o&t what they see and what they &nderstand, as the length5of5time e1pos&re increases. !his methodology helps determine the isi)ility 0or attention al&e2 of a test package, relati e to competiti e packages. ;" Sim.lated )is-lay !he &ltimate test of a package is whether it stim&lates trial of a prod&ct. !o meas&re a package#s trial potential, a representati e display of a prod&ct category 0with all ma/or competiti e )rands2 is assem)led. Matched samples of cons&mers are instr&cted to *shop, the display. !heir )rand decisions, and the reason for those decisions, are e1plored in post5shopping inter iews. -im&lated display allows &s to meas&re a package#s trial potential and helps &s learn how to impro e its trial potential.

BY: M H Lakdawala

%ha-ter 8 There are #.r stages where c#-y testing can take -lace:
C. Beginning of creation process E. 'nd of creation process ?. 'nd of the prod&ction stage G. "fter the campaign has )een la&nched

%ha-ter 8 %#-y Research

It starts with the )eginning of creation process. "cco&nt team wants ass&rance that the ad does what it is s&pposed to do. !he client wants to see how well a partic&lar ad scores against the a erage commercial of its type. %opy research is a good idea most of the time55it can yield important data that management can &se to determine the s&ita)ility of an ad concept and )asic idea. 2.r-#ses # %#-y Research C. Idea *enerati#n" "n agency is often called on to in ent new, meaningf&l, ways of presenting a )rand to a target a&dience. E. %#nce-t Testing seeks feed)ack designed to screen the (&ality of new ideas or concepts. ?. A.dience )e initi#n" Once a target segment ha e )een identified, ad ertising planning can proceed with a de eloping a message that will )e meaningf&l to the cons&mers. G. A.dience 2r# iling" %reati e need to know as m&ch as they can a)o&t the people to whom their ads will speak. $val.ative %riteria in %#-y Research K M*etting It"N 6 $o cons&mers &nderstand the adB K Kn#wledge 6 !ests of recall and recognition K Attit.de change 6 $etermine where a )rand stands K &eelings and em#ti#ns K 2hysi#l#gical changes 6 %hanges in eye mo ements or respiration K Behavi#ral intent 6 $o people say they will )&y the prod&ct K Act.al Behavi#r 6 $id people )&y the prod&ctB

BY: M H Lakdawala

%#-y Research Meth#ds 1" %#nce-t Testing %#nce-t testing %oncept testing in ol es testing the *idea, of something, rather than the act&al thing itself. !he concept is comm&nicated with a ro&gh ill&stration or photograph, along with a written description. !hink of a concept as a ro&gh print ad, altho&gh concepts can )e presented in story)oard or ideo form. %oncept testing is widely &sed to e al&ate new prod&ct ideas, so that potentially s&ccessf&l new prod&cts can )e identified early on. !hen limited research and de elopment reso&rces 0and limited marketing reso&rces2 can )e foc&sed on the new prod&ct concepts with the greatest pro)a)ility of cons&mer acceptance in the marketplace. %oncept testing can also )e &sed to help e al&ate ad ertising concepts, promotional concepts, packaging concepts, and strategy concepts. %oncept testing is &sed to generate comm&nication designed to alter cons&mer attit&des toward e1isting prod&cts. !hese methods in ol e the e al&ation )y cons&mers of prod&ct concepts ha ing certain rational )enefits, s&ch as 9a detergent that remo es stains )&t is gentle on fa)rics,9 or non5rational )enefits, s&ch as 9a shampoo that lets yo& )e yo&rself.9 -&ch methods are commonly referred to as concept testing and ha e )een performed &sing field s&r eys, personal inter iews and foc&s gro&ps, in com)ination with ario&s (&antitati e methods, to generate and e al&ate prod&ct concepts. !he concept generation portions of concept testing ha e )een predominantly (&alitati e. "d ertising professionals ha e generally created concepts and comm&nications of these concepts for e al&ation )y cons&mers, on the )asis of cons&mer s&r eys and other market research, or on the )asis of their own e1perience as to which concepts they )elie e represent prod&ct ideas that are worthwhile in the cons&mer market. !he (&antitati e portions of concept testing proced&res ha e generally )een placed in three categories: H1G c#nce-t eval.ati#ns: where concepts representing prod&ct ideas are presented to cons&mers in er)al or is&al form and then (&antitati ely e al&ated )y cons&mers )y indicating degrees of p&rchase intent, likelihood of trial, etc., H6G 2#siti#ning: which is concept e al&ation wherein concepts positioned in the same f&nctional prod&ct class are e al&ated together, and H8G -r#d.ct4c#nce-t tests: where cons&mers first e al&ate a concept, then the corresponding prod&ct, and the res&lts are compared. !ypes of %#nce-t Testing: a" %ard c#nce-t testF %reati e strategies are presented to respondents in the form of headline, followed )y )ody copy placed on a white card for re iew. 'ach concept is placed n the separate card.

BY: M H Lakdawala

3" 2#ster test: !his is similar to card test )&t e1pands ill&strations and copy and places them on a large poster instead of a white card. c" Lay#.t test: Layo&t test in ol es showing a ro&gh copy of a print ad or artwork for a !J ad. Layo&t tests are more finished than a poster tests in that they &se the total copy and ill&stration as they will appear in the finished ad. "dditionally, whereas a card or poster test meas&res the appeal of the )asic concept, the p&rpose of the layo&t test may e to meas&re more s&)tle effects s&ch as comm&nication, &nderstanding and conf&sion. 6" (ame testing -tarting with the right name 0and logo2 is the cornerstone of )rand )&ilding. " good name to identify a company or disting&ish its prod&cts from others m&st )e &ni(&e and original, yet capa)le of carrying a fa ora)le message to moti ate the c&stomer to ha e dealings with that company. %reating s&ch a name is an art as well as a science with r&les and g&idelines rooted in sociology, psychology, semantics, and the law. -imply p&t, a good )rand name gi es a good first impression and e okes positi e associations with the )rand. 8" Sl#gan testing: " slogan, a tagline etc. of a prod&ct or ser ice is tested )y a man&fact&rer or researcher. "s the samples are informed a)o&t the prod&ct or ser ice, it ena)les them to form a connection )etween the proposed slogans and taglines and prod&cts or ser ices. Rating scales are &sed to choose the most preferred slogan. -logans are also tested in a similar fashion where the respondents are gi en details a)o&t the prod&ct or ser ice and chose the )est fit. !he p&rpose of the slogan testing is to find o&t whether the slogan achie es the following: C. "id memory recall: It sho&ld )e easy and pleasant to remem)er. E. !o descri)e the &se of a prod&ct. ?. !o s&ggest the prod&ct#s special ad antage or &ni(&e )enefit.

BY: M H Lakdawala

%ha-ter 9 %#-y testing

%opy testing start at the end of creation process and )efore the prod&ction start. %opy testing is a general class of tests that e al&ate and diagnose the comm&nication power of an ad ertisement 6 either )roadcast 0tele ision, radio2, print 0newspapers, maga+ines2, or more recently, the Internet. ?hen 'sed %opy tests are an integral part of the creati e de elopment process, and 0of necessity2 always follow the de elopment of one or more ad ertising alternati es. !hese alternati es attempt to em)ody an ad ertising strategy that has )een identified thro&gh pre io&s phases of research. %#-y Testing de initi#n: Research that meas&res responses to marketing comm&nication copy in a test en ironment to e al&ate the copyLs effecti eness in f&lfilling the intended o)/ecti es. %opy testing is a method &sed )y ad ertisers to see whether or not an ad will work once it is prod&ced. !he premise is that e1pos&re to an ad sho&ld affect the way a cons&mer percei es a prod&ct or ser ice. By cond&cting copy testing, ad ertising campaigns can )e re ised and sometimes corrected. It is )elie ed that )y &sing copy testing an ad ertising agency will )e a)le to lower the chances that their ad ertising campaign will )e &ns&ccessf&l. %#-y tests are .s.ally c#nd.cted 0C2 "fter a strategic:positioning st&dy indicated an opport&nity for the )rand that, in t&rn, feed copy de elopment3 0E2 "fter (&alitati e research 0foc&s gro&ps, in5depths2 has )een &sed in the creati e de elopment process3 or 0?2 "fter tracking research has indicated that the c&rrent campaign is no longer )&ilding awareness or image. 7ractically speaking, copy tests can )e cond&cted at any time there is new ad ertising that needs to )e e al&ated. %#-y testing 0.esti#ns .hat message are we really comm&nicatingB Is anyone offended )y o&r ad ertisingB Is o&r ad ertising clear and easy to &nderstandB $oes o&r ad ertising pro/ect the right imageB "re we saying the right thingsB

Techni0.es # %#-y Testing: aG A(IMATI%S

BY: M H Lakdawala

!his is art work in the form of either cartoons or realisticdrawings showing limited mo ement. 3G 2H+T+MATI%S !hese are photographs shot in se(&ence still images areworked into a se(&ence. Like a story)oard, it shows staccato framesto show how the story goes. Jario&s elements can )e changed inthis method and as yo& look at the image yo& can decide whatchanges need to )e made. !his makes manip&lation easier andin ol es lesser time and technology. cG LIV$MATI%S !his in ol es filming or taping li e talent and is ery close tothe finished commercial. !his method is &sef&l )eca&se it canshowcase the entire range of emotions that the respondents displaywhen shown the prod&ct. !his can )e &sed to con ey the mood of the final commercial when the real model will )e &sed. dG RI2+MATI%S !he con ersion is made from footage of other commercialstaken from ad agency promotional reels. !hey are &s&ally &sed fore1perimentation on is&al techni(&es.0e.g. 7rints taken from foreign miniat&re samples and c&stomi+ed2. %#-y Test )esigns There are two basic copy testing approaches for T7 8 8 off-air, and on-air. HaG + -air: Off5air tests foc&s on whether the copy effecti ely comm&nicated its intended strategy, and pro ides more diagnostic information on specific copy elements than on5air tests. Off5air approaches are 9forced e1pos&re9 tests 0&s&ally in a mall or theater en ironment2, in which respondents iew a cl&tter reel of competiti e ads, with the test ad in the middle. Beca&se a lower state5of5finish is accepta)le, off5air stim&li are less costly, and these tests are more often &sed at an earlier stage of the copy de elopment process. H3G +n-air tests: On5air tests are e1ec&ted on an &n&sed ca)le !J channel among people who ha e )een recr&ited to iew a fictitio&s [5ho&r pilot !J show. Respondents see ads for other categories, )&t see only one test ad. On5air tests e1cel at e al&ating copy performance in a real5world setting, and whether the ad ertisement 9)roke thro&gh9 0i.e., was recalled2. -imilar off5air approaches are &sed for radio testing 0no 9on5air9 ersions e1ist2. 7rint testing &s&ally in ol es placement of the test ad in a mocked5&p ersion of a national maga+ine, or can also in ol e eye5tracking to determine which elements were seen while reading the ad. Systems #r c#-y testing Many companies ha e speciali+ed systems for copy testing. !he ad antage of &sing speciali+ed companies is their normati e data)ases, often spanning years of tests in many categories. Meas.res ty-ically incl.de: Recall of ad 0Lday after recallL or $"R2 Main point comm&nication 7ro en recall 0correct play)ack of copy elements2 !otal copy and sit&ational: is&al play)ack 7&rchase intent, or a pre5post pers&asion score Brand likes, dislikes Imagery:personality ratings "ttri)&te:)rand performance ratings %lassification and demographics

BY: M H Lakdawala

Beca&se of the high cost associated with the prod&ction of an ad or commercial, ad ertisers are increasingly spending more monies testing a rendering of the final as at early stages. -lides of the artwork posted on a screen or animatic and photomatic ro&ghs may )e &sed to test at this stage. !he test is of little al&e if it does not pro ide rele ant, acc&rate information. Ro&gh tests m&st indicate how the finished commercial wo&ld perform. -ome st&dies ha e demonstrated that these testing methods are relia)le and the res&lts typically correlate well with the finished ad. Most of the tests cond&cted at the ro&gh stage in ol e la) settings, altho&gh some on5 air field tests are also a aila)le. 7op&lar tests incl&de comprehension and reaction tests and cons&mer /&ries. "gain, the Internet allows field settings to )e employed.

Vari#.s meth#ds # %#-y testing

1" &ree Ass#ciati#n tests 4ree association &tili+es the \pro/ecti e hypothesis# )y enco&raging the respondent to pro ide the first set of words or associations that comes to mind after their e1pos&re to a stim&l&s 5 s&ch as a prod&ct category, )rand name or )rand sym)ol !hen follow &p with pro)es and amplifications. Initial reactions tend to )e pragmatic )&t later ones show paths to emotional ideas "sk respondents to say what comes into their head when e1posed to the copy !hen follow &p with pro)es and amplifications Initial reactions tend to )e pragmatic )&t later ones show paths to emotional ideas

Jer)al association tests help to o)tain information a)o&t the attit&de of a respondent to certain idea or concepts named )y the words of the respondentLs nati e lang&age. " typical proced&re is as follows: participants are asked to respond to a copy with the words that the stim&l&s e okes in their mind.

6" )irect 0.esti#ning $irect (&estioning 5 elicits a f&ll range of responses from which researchers can infer how well ad ertising messages con ey key copy points. It is especially effecti e for testing alternati e ads in the early stages of de elopment. !he heart and so&l of copy research is the depth inter iew, a lengthy 0one to two ho&rs2, one5on5one, personal inter iew, cond&cted directly )y the copy researcher. M&ch of the power of the depth inter iew is dependent &pon the insight, sensiti ity, and skill of the researcher. !he inter iewing task cannot )e delegated to traditional marketing research inter iewersQwho ha e no training in moti ational techni(&es. 8" )irect Mail Tests

BY: M H Lakdawala

$irect Mail: !his is done with the &se of co&pons. One gro&p is shown a !J ad and the other is not. !hen )oth gro&ps are gi en co&pons to )&y the prod&ct that has )een ad ertised. !he researcher then meas&res the infl&ence of !J ads on )oth gro&ps. 0this Is a la) test2 6 specific only to co&pons sent ia $M !his shows the impact le el of a mailer. "lso gi es an insight into cons&mer attention spans and le els to yo&r mailer in some cases 0)ooklets that come thro&gh mail are often less &sed than when the )ooklet is ad ertised on !J2 9" Statement-c#m-aris#n tests: In -tatement comparison, respondents are gi en different sentences and asked to gi e their opinion. :" B.alitative interviews !he heart and so&l of copy research is the depth inter iew, a lengthy 0one to two ho&rs2, one5on5one, personal inter iew, cond&cted directly )y the copy researcher. M&ch of the power of the depth inter iew is dependent &pon the insight, sensiti ity, and skill of the researcher. !he inter iewing task cannot )e delegated to traditional marketing research inter iewersQwho ha e no training in moti ational techni(&es 8nlike con ersations in daily life, which are &s&ally reciprocal e1changes, (&alitati e inter iews in ol e an inter iewer who is in charge of str&ct&ring and directing the (&estioning. In (&alitati e inter iews, open5 ended responses to (&estions pro ide the e al&ator with (&otations, which are the main so&rce of raw data. It re eals the respondentsL le els of emotion with respect to copy. D&alitati e inter iews also promote &nderstanding and change, the emphasis is on intellect&al &nderstanding of the copy rather than on prod&cing personal iews. !he task for the (&alitati e e al&ator is to pro ide a framework within which people can respond in a way that represents acc&rately and thoro&ghly their point of iew a)o&t the copy.9 ;" &#c.s *r#.-s: $efinition: limited to those sit&ations where the assem)led gro&p is small eno&gh to permit gen&ine disc&ssion among all its mem)ers*. Inter iewing more than one person at a time sometimes pro es ery &sef&l3 some yo&ng people need company to )e em)oldened to talk, and some topics are )etter disc&ssed )y a small gro&p of people who know each other. Inter iewer asks gro&p mem)ers ery specific (&estions a)o&t a topic after considera)le research has already )een completed. 4oc&s gro&p can )e define as a 9caref&lly planned disc&ssion designed to o)tain perceptions a)o&t the test copy in a permissi e, non5threatening en ironment9

'se # #c.s gr#.-s

BY: M H Lakdawala

4oc&s gro&ps can )e &sed at any point in a research program. -tewart and -hamdasani ha e s&mmari+ed the more common &ses of foc&s gro&ps to incl&de: C. o)taining general )ackgro&nd information a)o&t a topic of interest3 E. generating research hypotheses that can )e s&)mitted to f&rther research and testing &sing more (&antitati e approaches3 ?. G. H. @. stim&lating new ideas and creati e concepts3 diagnosing the potential for pro)lems with a new program, ser ice or prod&ct3 generating impressions of prod&cts, programs, ser ices, instit&tions, or other o)/ects of interest3 learning how respondents talk a)o&t the phenomenon of interest which may facilitate (&antitati e research tools3 P. interpreting pre io&sly o)tained (&alitati e res&lts The M#derat#rJs R#le !o de elop a rapport with the gro&p: m&st inspire confidence !o ens&re people )ecome rela1ed and eager to talk !o promote interaction !o foc&s disc&ssion on topic areas .hen a topic is no longer generating fresh ideas the flow of disc&ssion sho&ld )e changed <" M#tivati#nal research Moti ational research is a type of marketing research that attempts to e1plain why cons&mers )eha e as they do. Moti ational research seeks to disco er and comprehend what cons&mers do not f&lly &nderstand a)o&t themsel es. Implicitly, moti ational research ass&mes the e1istence of &nderlying or &nconscio&s moti es that infl&ence cons&mer )eha ior. Moti ational research attempts to identify forces and infl&ences that cons&mers may not )e aware of 0e.g., c&lt&ral factors, sociological forces2. Moti ational research is most al&a)le when powerf&l &nderlying moti es are s&spected of e1erting infl&ence &pon cons&mer )eha ior. 7rod&cts and ser ices that relate, or might relate, to attraction of the opposite se1, to personal adornment, to stat&s or self5esteem, to power, to death, to fears, or to social ta)oos are all likely candidates for moti ational research. 4or e1ample, why do women tend to increase their e1pendit&res on clothing and personal adornment prod&cts as they approach the age of HF to HHB. !he reasons relate to the loss of yo&th#s )ea&ty and the loss of fertility, and to related fears of losing their h&s)andsL lo e. It is also a time of life when discretionary incomes are rising 0the children are lea ing the nest2. Other moti es are at work as well 0women are complicated creat&res2, )&t a standard marketing research s&r ey wo&ld ne er re eal these moti es, )eca&se most women are not really aware of why their interest in e1pensi e adornments increases at this partic&lar point in their li es. The three ma)or motivational research techni$ues are observation, focus groups, and depth interviews. a. O)ser ation can )e a fr&itf&l method of deri ing hypotheses a)o&t h&man moti es. "nthropologists ha e pioneered the de elopment of this techni(&e. "ll of &s are familiar with anthropologists li ing with the *nati es, to &nderstand their )eha ior. ). !his same systematic o)ser ation can prod&ce e(&ally insightf&l res&lts a)o&t cons&mer )eha ior. BY: M H Lakdawala

c. O)ser ation can )e accomplished in5person or sometimes thro&gh the con enience of ideo. 8s&ally, personal o)ser ation is simply too e1pensi e, and most cons&mers don#t want an anthropologist li ing in their ho&sehold for a month or two. =" %#m-rehensi#n and reacti#n tests One key concern for the ad ertisers is whether the ad or commercial con eys the meaning intended. !he second concern is the reaction of the ad generates. O) io&sly, the ad ertiser does not want an ad that e okes a negati e reaction or offends someone. %omprehension and reaction tests are designed to assess the responses. !ests of comprehension and reaction employ no one standard proced&re. 7ersonal inter iews, gro&p inter iews, and foc&s gro&ps ha e all )een &sed for this p&rpose, and sample si+es ary according to the needs of the client3 they typically range from HF to EFF respondents. >" %#ns.mer ,.ries: !his method &ses cons&mer#s representati es of the target market to e al&ate the pro)a)le s&ccess of an ad. %ons&mer /&ries may )e asked to rate a selection of layo&ts or copy ersions presented in paste5&ps on separate sheets.

VALI)ITY/ %R$)IBILITY/ S$(SITIVITY A()R$LIABILITY %opy testing in ol es accessing the alidity and relia)ility of ario&stypes of tests Meas&res that are taken to assessJ"LI$I!Y are:5a2 "d ertisements to )e targeted with respect to thecomm&nications o)/ecti e and a copy test that content m&st ha e ameas&ra)le and &sef&l aria)le that represents the o)/ecti e. !herefore, the alidity of a partic&lar copy test will depend on thead ertising response that is desired. Here, the company can seewhether the right connection is made or some other connection ismade in the minds of a cons&mer.)2 Ai en that the target pop&lation can )e sensi)ly defined thes&)/ects in the test sho&ld )e representati e of the targetpop&lation.c2 It is important to know the reaction of the respondents to the testen ironment and the meas&ring instr&ments. Yo& ha e to checkwhether the respondents are comforta)le with the meas&ring scales&sed as they wo&ld gi e contradictory responses if &ncomforta)le.d2 !he fre(&ency of response also alidates the copy. " respondentis asked to see an ad ertisement m&ltiple times to see if there isconsistency in reaction no matter what mood they are in. %R$)IBILITY 4 2R$)I%TABILITY %opy test of an ad may )e considered monotono&s )eca&se of its predicta)ility in the sense that a prod&ct )y its ery nat&re lendsitself to a copy that in &na oida)le. Hence, the predicta)ility factoris ery high for

BY: M H Lakdawala

the ad to )e credi)le efforts m&st )e made to strikea )alance )etween )eing faithf&l to the prod&ct and )eingindi id&alistic while creating ad copy. Respondents in aria)ly findcopy lacking indi id&ality hence, the respondent and therefore thec&stomer reaction5555therefore ad ertising efforts sho&ld )e made tocreate a non5predicta)le copy. 4M%A#s s&ch as soaps are so similarthat the ads seem similar as well as therefore an ad is remem)ered)&t not the )rand as ery few act&ally stand o&t. Hence, theconcept, sho&ld try to )e non5predicta)le.R'LI"BILI!Y Relia)ility of a prod&ct or ser ice is also tested )y the s&ccess of thead3 as the ad m&st contain a 8-7 of the )rand of the prod&ct orser ice. !he relia)ility and therefore the s&ccess of copy is testedwhen respondents accept:re/ect claims made )y ad ertisements on)ehalf of the man&fact&rer or ser ice pro ider. Relia)ility e1plores isthe ad in tandem with what the c&stomer e1pects and what thecompany claims 0e.g. ersa ad2 S$(SITIVITY: It in ol es a test that sho&ld help differentiate )etweencommercials )etween )rand gro&ps as prod&cts ha e similarso&nding 8-7#-. Brands m&st therefore make special efforts tocreate distinction. -imilarly, these )rands sho&ld try to create aseparate identity that is identifia)le )y the market3 an identity thatis represented )y intangi)le al&es. !h&s, )rands indi id&ality m&stseem meaningf&l.

%ha-ter :

2re-testing:
2re-testing: !his is the test of the copy )efore it is gi en to the media. The -.r-#se # -re-testing is as #ll#ws: K !o spot errors in the copy K !o make comm&nication more effecti e K !o design the ad )etter K !o red&ce wastage in ad ertising K !o ens&re that the money is spent pr&dently. 7re5testing is a type of research that in ol es gathering reactions to messages and materials prior to widespread &se. 7re5testing is the stage of ad ertising research in which a complete ad is tested. It is important that the o)/ecti es of pre5testing research relate )ack to the agreed ad ertising strategy.

BY: M H Lakdawala

7re5tests may occ&r at a n&m)er of points, from as early on as idea generation to ro&gh e1ec&tion to testing the final ersion )efore implementing it. More than one type of pre5test may )e &sed. " n&m)er of aria)les can )e e al&ated in pre5testing, incl&ding the a)ility of the ad to attract attention, comprehension )y the reader: iewer, recall, pers&asion, attit&de toward the )rand, credi)ility and irritation le el. 7retests sho&ld )e &sed as g&ides and not as a)sol&te predictors of winners or losers. In -re-testing it is always 3est t# .se m.lti-le meas.res t# eval.ate" In -artic.lar/ the m.lti-le meas.res rec#mmended are: 1" Im-act: !he a)ility of the ad ertising to )e noticed and remem)ered. 6" %#mm.nicati#n: !he a)ility of the ad ertising to impart a message, which is clearly and &niformly &nderstood )y the target market. 8" Relevancy: !he a)ility of the ad ertising to pers&ade cons&mers that their needs will )e met )y the prod&ct. 9" A inity B.ilding: !he a)ility of the ad ertising to generate cons&mer affinity 0liking2 for )oth the ad ertisement and the )rand )eing ad ertised. :" %all t# Acti#n: !he a)ility of the ad ertising to moti ate cons&mers to try or re5)&y the )rand )eing ad ertised. ;" Brand B.ilding A3ility: !he a)ility of the ad ertising to create, change or reinforce certain key predetermined )rand attri)&tes 0 feat&res, )enefits, feelings2 as encompassed in the )rand#s positioning o)/ecti es and strategy. <" Inv#lvement: !he a)ility of the ad ertising to in ol e the cons&mers, or keep him:her interested. =" Brand it: !he a)ility of the ad ertising to demonstrate )rand fit, or keep him:her interested. >" %reative )iagn#stics: !he pre5test sho&ld elicit a host of creati e diagnostics to help answer the *whysB, that always emerge from )ehind the a)o e meas&res. 2rint 2re-testing:

2rint -re testing

C. $irect (&estioning E. 4oc&s gro&p ?. 7ortfolio test G. 7aired comparison test H. Order5of5merit test @. Mock maga+ine test P. $irect mail test. 1" )irect 0.esti#ning: $irect (&estioning 5 elicits a f&ll range of responses from which researchers can infer how well ad ertising messages con ey key copy points. It is especially effecti e for testing alternati e ads in the early stages of de elopment. BY: M H Lakdawala

!he heart and so&l of copy research is the depth inter iew, a lengthy 0one to two ho&rs2, one5on5one, personal inter iew, cond&cted directly )y the copy researcher. M&ch of the power of the depth inter iew is dependent &pon the insight, sensiti ity, and skill of the researcher. !he inter iewing task cannot )e delegated to traditional marketing research inter iewersQwho ha e no training in moti ational techni(&es. 6" &#c.s gr#.-: " n&m)er of respondents 0participants2 con ened )y an inter iewer to disc&ss (&estions or iss&es relating to the research topic. !he inter iewer#s role is to facilitate T moderate the disc&ssion and ens&re it co ers the key (&estions T iss&es. 7articipants may raise important new iss&es:(&estions. 8: 2#rt #li# test: In a pre5test, a portfolio of ad ertisements is &sed. !he respondent is asked to go thro&gh the portfolio, then it is taken away, and the respondent is asked3 .hat ad ertisements do yo& remem)er seeingBL the recognition test may th&s )e com)ined with the recall or impact test which has )een descri)ed )elow. 9" 2aired c#m-aris#n test: 7aired5comparison designs 0in which the cons&mer is asked to &se two copies and determine which copy is )etter2 appeal to o&r common sense. !he 7aired5%omparison is a wonderf&l design if presenting e idence to a /&ry, )eca&se of its 9face al&e9 or 9face alidity.9 It can )e a ery sensiti e testing techni(&e 0i.e., it can meas&re ery small differences2 )etween two copy. "lso, the paired5comparison test is often less e1pensi e than other methods, )eca&se sample si+es can )e smaller in some instances. 7aired5comparison testing, howe er, is limited in al&e for a serio&s, ongoing copy testing program. !he paired5comparison test does not tell &s when )oth copies are )ad and does not lend itself to the &se of normati e data. It is hea ily infl&enced )y the 9interaction effect9 0i.e., any ariations in the control copy will create corresponding ariance in the test copy Ls scores2. :" +rder-# -merit test: Here the ranking of the ad ertisements are done )y a gro&p of people called the /&rors. !he point system is gi en to an a erage of G5H copies that they are gi en to rank. !he order of merit is the one, which determine which the )est ad ertisement )y the /&rors is and which has )een rated as the worst. !he points gi en )y the /&rors are then added together to determine which is the ad, which has got the ma1im&m points. !his is the one that is the chosen one. ;"M#ck HMd.mmyNG magaAine test: Readers are told the maga+ines p&)lisher is interested in e ol&tions of editorial content and asked to read the maga+ines as they normally a wo&ld. In an impro ement on the portfolio test, ads are placed in *d&mmy, maga+ines de eloped )y an agency or research firm. !he maga+ines com)ine reg&lar editorial feat&res of interest to the reader, as well as the test ads, and are distri)&ted to a random sample of homes in predetermined geographic arrears. !hen they are inter iew5 generating capa)ilities of the ads are assessed. !he ad antage of this method is that it pro ides a more nat&ral setting than the portfolio tests. Readership occ&rs in the participant#s own home, the test more closely appro1imates a nat&ral reading sit&ation, and the reader any go )ack to the maga+ines, as people typically do.

BY: M H Lakdawala

)irect mail test: $irect mail is the most common form of direct marketing, ad ertising that con eys its messages straight to the cons&mer or another )&siness rather than &sing an inter ening medi&m s&ch as tele ision or print ad ertising. ThereDs #nly #ne r.le in direct mail: !est] 4ind o&t how to track the response to yo&r mailing and determine if yo& ha e a winner or loser. 7rospects from the mailing list randomly selected are sent different test ads and the orders against each lot are noted.

Br#adcast 2re-testing:
Televisi#n and radi# advertising: 1" Trailer tests: Large -creens in shopping malls show ad ertisements. " real life like shopping en ironment is created to meas&re cons&mer )eha ior. One gro&p is gi en co&pons to p&rchase selecti e )rands, and the other gro&p is not gi en the co&pons. !he redemption rate of the co&pons may gi e an idea a)o&t the effecti eness of the test ads. Inter iews cond&cted in a set location, 0typically either a field research facility in an office or a shopping mall2 for the p&rpose of inter iewing people in that area. 6" Theatre test: $&ring a reg&lar show in a theatre, ad ertisements are shown in reg&lar slots and are tested for recall. !he a&diences in the theatre are &naware of the tests and are asked to recall the ad. %ons&mers in the theatre are asked then to remem)er the ad 0or may)e e en all the ads2 6 to check if the ad is cl&tter )reaking. 8" Live telecast tests: "ds are p&t on air either )y narrow casting or li e telecasting. !hese ads are test ads, and not the reg&lar ads. Later, iewers are inter iewed to know their reactions. Here the inacc&racies of artificial testing en ironment are not enco&ntered. 9" %l.tter test: It is the method of pre5testing in which commercials are gro&ped with noncompetiti e control commercials and shown to prospecti e c&stomers to meas&re their effecti eness in gaining attention, increasing )rand awareness and comprehension, and ca&sing attit&de shifts. %ommercials are shown with non competing control ads to determine attit&de shifts and detect weaknesses.

BY: M H Lakdawala

%ha-ter: ; 2hysi#l#gical testing:

7hysiological meas&res detect how cons&mers react to messages, )ased on physical Reponses. 'ye5tracking systems ha e )een de eloped to monitor eye mo ements across print ads. "nother 7hysiological meas&res is a pyscho5gal anometer , which gal anic skin responses 0AR-2 .,AR- is a meas&re of min&te changes in perspiration which s&ggests aro&sal related to some stim&l&s in this case , an ad ertisement . Joice response analysis is another high5research proced&re. Inflections in the oice when disc&ssing an ad indicated e1citement and other physiological states . Other less fre(&ently &sed physiological meas&res record )rain wa e acti ity , heart rate , )lood press&re and m&scle contraction . 1" 2.-il metric testing

BY: M H Lakdawala

7erceptoscope or 7&pilometric $e ices Record changes in p&pil#s dilatation. $ilatation indicates reading and attention. %ontraction shows his dislike to what is )eing read. It e al&ates interesting appealing is&al stim&li. It is de eloped )y 'ekhard Hess and Xames 7olk. Left eye is photographed o record dilatation. 7hysiological !est Meas&res

Physiological Test Measures

Pupil dilation
Instrument: pupilometer
Dilation associated with action Constriction indicates disinterest

S%b9ect
Ma(e +e0a(e 2%&e +e0a(e

Sti0%(%s Ob9ect

2%&e Ma(e

2%&e In$ant

6" $ye-m#vement camera It is &sed in ad ertising research3 this e(&ipment tracks the mo ement of the eye o er press ad ertisements, showing the path which the eye takes and indicating the se(&ence of interest that the feat&res aro&se. It meas&res the eye mo ement o er the layo&t of test ads. !he ro&te taken )y the eye is noted. !he pa&ses are noted. !he areas of interest and attention can )e /&dged.

BY: M H Lakdawala

Eye Movement Research

Objective: Method:
To track eye movements to determine
!hat readers read on "rint ads !here attention is #ocused in T$ commercials

Eye movements are tracked using (can "aths on

%i&er o"tics Digital data "rocessing 'dvanced electronics Print ads and material )ill&oards Commercials

Output:

Relationshi"s among what is

(een Recalled Com"rehende d

*sing EyeTracking to test ads

?. Aal anometric Response It means change in skin cond&cti ity d&e to changes in moist&re content 0perspiration23 meas&red )y c&rrent flow as indicated on a gal anometer. !his change may ha e a correlation with psychological stim&li 0e.g. fear or other emotion2 and arg&a)ly may pro ide a meas&re of a respondent#s reaction to an ad ertisement BY: M H Lakdawala

0alvanic s1in response 20S(3+ 4a1a Electoder%al response 2ED(35 -ensiti e to affecti e stim&lation May present a pict&re of attention May meas&re long5term recall 8sef&l in meas&ring effecti eness

9" V#ice -itch analysis " type of analysis that e1amines changes in the relati e fre(&ency of the h&man oice that accompany emotional aro&sal. Areater the de iation from the person#s normal 0)aseline2 oice, the greater the emotional intensity of the person#s reaction to a stim&l&s, s&ch as a (&estion. 8sed in packaged research, to predict )rand preference, and to determine predisposition to )&y a prod&ct. It is also now &sed to meas&re cons&mers# emotional responses to ad ertising. How e er, the alidity of Joice 7itch st&dies is (&estiona)le. :" Brain ?ave Research: Brain pattern analysis or Brain wa e analysis e(&ipment are non5in asi e and resem)les a pair of headphones. It takes )rain wa e meas&rement contin&o&sly from the s&rface of the head and con erts them into an 'ngagement Inde1 0'I2 fi e times per second thro&gh a proprietary algorithm <"-". It helps in e al&ating winners from also5rans, which ads do a )etter /o) of engaging the iewers.

%ha-ter < %hallenges t# -re testing

4actors other than ad ertising creati ely and:or presentation may affect recall d&ring pre5testing. Interest in the prod&ct or prod&ct category, the fact that respondents know they are participating in a test, or inter iewer instr&ctions 0among others2 may acco&nt for more differences than the ads itself. Recall may not )e the )est. -ome researchers arg&e that for certain types of prod&cts 0those of low in ol ement2 a)ility to recogni+e the ads when shown may )e )etter meas&res than recall. BY: M H Lakdawala

Limitation of the /&ror: X&ry selected may not )e competent eno&gh to e al&ate the ad copy. Limited concepts: ' en the (&antity of concepts e1posed to the respondents is limited. Here creati ity is restricted. Hal# e ect: Halo effect is the greatest limitation of pretesting. .hen we consider a person good 0or )ad2 in one category, we are likely to make a similar e al&ation in other categories. !h&s the LHalo effectL is when a personLs perception of another is infl&enced )y their appearance. Most commonly attracti e people are /&dged as ha ing a more desira)le personality than someone of a erage appearance. " common e1ample of the halo effect is when a person is ass&med to )e smart )eca&se he or she is wearing spectacles. "nother is that good5looking schoolchildren 0or a good looking person ers&s a more plain looking person2 are ass&med to )e more cle er. !he halo effect may or may not ha e anything to do with the physical appearance of the person. It is e(&ally applica)le to any attri)&te one holds as al&a)le. " person who is good at *Z, is deemed to )e good at *Y, e en if the two items are not related. Of co&rse, the halo effect does not act&ally confer acc&racy, it simply addresses that the reasoning is flawed. In marketing, a halo effect is one where the percei ed positi e feat&res of a partic&lar item e1tend to a )roader )rand. It has )een &sed to descri)e how the i7od has had positi e effects on perceptions of "pple %omp&ter are other prod&cts. -ometimes participants rate an ad good on all characteristics )eca&se they like a few and o erlook specific weaknesses. !his tendency, called the halo effect, distorts the ratings and defeats the a)ility to control for specific components. Of co&rse, the re erse may also occ&r5rating an ad )ad o erall d&e to only a few )ad attri)&tes. -&)/ecti e reaction on the part of cons&mers noticed )y researchers when attempting to analy+e cons&mer attit&des and their relationship to the market str&ct&re, partic&larly in the area of ad ertising or )rand e al&ation. 4or e1ample, in theory, an indi id&al sho&ld )e a)le to e al&ate each feat&re of a gi en )rand independently and sho&ld ha e no diffic&lty gi ing a high rating to one feat&re while gi ing another a low rating. Howe er, in practice, researchers ha e noticed that respondents ha e a tendency to gi e a high rating to all the )randLs feat&res if they like the )rand, and a low rating to all the feat&res if they do not like the )rand. !his is known as a halo effect. !he halo effect makes it diffic&lt to e al&ate )rands in terms of their strengths and weaknesses. Howe er, if a )rand name has a (&ality rep&tation in the marketplace, the halo effect may work to the )randLs ad antage, partic&larly when the company is introd&cing a new prod&ct into the line.

BY: M H Lakdawala

1%ha-ter = 62#st-testing:
?7ost5testing: !his is the testing, which is done after the ad copy has come o&t in the media and the a&dience has seen the ad ertisement. G7ost5testing typically in ol es inter iewing readers to determine how many remem)er seeing a partic&lar ad, if they read it, and what they remem)er a)o&t it. : 2#st-testing meas.res the #ll#wing act#rs: Has the ad ertisement campaign res&lt in salesB Has it created memora)ility for the )rand nameB Has it created positi e image and a fa ora)le attit&de towards the company and the )randB How m&ch ad ertising is necessary on a contin&ed )asis, to s&stain the same le el of cons&mers# interest in the )randB "re the cons&mers con inced that the )rand is s&perior of competitors The -.r-#se # -#st-testing is as 3el#w: CK !o find o&t the impact of an ad in terms of it )eing noticed, seen and read. EK !o find o&t its credi)ility. ?K !o find o&t its comprehension GK !o meas&re its memora)ility. HK !o assess its effect on )&yers. @K !o assess its fit with the promotion and marketing mi1 PK !o assess whether it has achie ed its o)/ecti es. OK !o assess the relati e effecti eness of different copies and media plans. RK !o impro e f&t&re ad ertising efforts.

The -#st-testing meth#ds" !his act&ally gi es &s an idea a)o&t the act&al performance of the ad in terms of e1pos&re, perception, comm&nication and sales effect. .e can assess the credi)ility and comprehension of the ads. &ew # the meth#ds # this ty-e # tests are: C. Recall tests: In this type of tests the indi id&als are asked to answer a)o&t the ads entirely on the )asis of their memory. It co&ld )e aided recall, where they are gi en few c&es to help them recall and &naided recall, which of co&rse is )ased on memory alone. E. Rec#gniti#n test: It determines the readership of ad ertisements in the p&)lications and is cond&cted )y personal inter iews with readers and maga+ines or newspapers. !he inter iewers locate the readers of the partic&lar iss&e of the p&)lication in (&estions. !hey then go thro&gh the p&)lication, page )y page, with the respondent indicating those ad ertising elements which e or she recogni+es as ha ing read.

BY: M H Lakdawala

!he scores de eloped )y the recognition method indicate the proportion of (&alified readers of a p&)lication who claim to ha e *seen, 0noted2, *read some, or *read most, of the indi id&al ad ertisements. !he a)o e descri)es the method &sed for post5test, In a pre5test, a portfolio of ad ertisements is &sed. !he respondent is asked to go thro&gh the portfolio, then it is taken away, and the respondent is asked3 .hat ad ertisements do yo& remem)er seeingBL the recognition test may th&s )e com)ined with the recall or impact test which has )een descri)ed )elow. Tri-le ass#ciati#n test: Here the respondent is gi en certain c&es wherein he can relate to a certain )rand. 4or e1ample 6 *!handa Matla),, if the answer is coca cola, then it is correct. "nd if the respondent is a)le to connect the prod&ct with the company then it is a triple association. Sales e ect tests: !hey meas&re the ario&s stages of )&yer awareness, preference, )&ying intention and act&al p&rchase in relation to act&al ad ertising effort. Sales res.lts tests: !he additional sales generated )y the ads are recorded. It is diffic&lt howe er to correlate an increase in sales to ad ertising alone. In0.ires test: !hese are co&poned ads of cons&mer d&ra)les. !hey in ite cons&mers to send )ack the co&pon to seek a demo or more details. !he n&m)er of en(&ires determine the effecti eness of the ads. Attit.de test: "ttit&des show o&r predisposition towards o)/ects, ideas, people and places. !hey indicate o erall feelings. !he change in attit&de as a res&lt of ad ertising is assessed. !he ass&mption is that a fa ora)le attit&de towards a prod&ct will lead to a p&rchase. Most ads are designed either to reinforce or change the e1isting attit&des.

?. G. H. @. P.

BY: M H Lakdawala