Importance of Research

• Lecture two focuses on understanding the importance of research.
• The lecture will cover the differences between hard and soft data, how to utilize data to uncover insights, and how to translate research findings into strategy.

Definitions

• Research is a controlled, objective, and systematic gathering of information for describing and understanding.
• Validity refers to research measuring what it intends to measure.
• Reliability is achieved through similar results obtained via a range of research instruments.

Reasons to Research

• Necessary to understand an increasingly complex environment
• Enables monitoring of factors like competition
• Offers greater accountability and ROI
• Reduces risks by enabling message testing
• Drives responsive creative and strategic outcomes
• Helps in formulating more meaningful messages in appropriate media
• Prevents issues from escalating into crises
• Allows for success assessment

Main Benefits of Good Research

• Research overcomes common and dangerous assumptions, it is of importance to all publics

Research Underpinnings

• Situation analysis.
• Goals and objectives.
• Identification of target publics.
• Strategies and tactics formulation.
• Creation of key messages (a tactic).
• Timetabling.
• Budgeting.
• Execution.
• Evaluation.

Research Areas

• Issues and problems, resistance points, misunderstandings.
• Commercial organizations and stakeholders.
• Market dynamics, forces, and competition.
• Consumer sentiment and public perceptions.

Desired data

• The environmental variables.
• Facts about the product or service.
• Perceptions and states of mind.
• Decision-making criteria.
• Risks and opportunities.
• Ripples/Gaps

Research Outcomes

• Interpretation of relevant datasets.
• Identification and scrutiny of relevant public groups.
• Closing knowledge gaps by identifying underlying dynamics and problems.
• Exposure of myths and inaccuracies.
• Securing insights and deriving value propositions.
• Forming campaign objectives.
• Devising a campaign strategy with data.
• Aligning tactics with strategies and objectives. Without Data, without Strategy.

Uncovering Insights

• Major truths, often misapprehensions, and sometimes forgotten truths, supported by the data.
• Insights are key research discoveries, and they underpin the strategy.

Hard Data

• A focus on hard data alone is not enough. However it helps.

Research Questions

• Important questions to consider are:
• What are we researching?
• What are we looking for?
• What are the outcomes?

Data Application Example

• A small engineering business client has strong expertise but lacks awareness among its well-heeled community.
• Feedback from clients who have had floating staircases built is excellent but is not reflected on the business's website.
• The building and renovation markets are buoyant with high levels of activity.
• Through quantitative and qualitative data triangulation, 15% of the company's staircase clients responded to a questionnaire.
• Nine out of ten respondents rated staircase build quality as 9/10, and eight out of ten rated value as 7/10.
• Surveying the Prime Marketing Area (PMA) and two adjacent suburbs showed painfully low recognition levels despite a 4% response rate.

Strategy Example

• Scientific management principles can be engaged for specialization and standardization, particularly for staircase design and build.
• Actor Network Theory (ANT), Social Network Theory (SNT) and Social Connection Theory (SCT) mobilize community networks.
• ANT, SNT, and SCT can carry messages about the firm’s excellence in staircase design and construction.

Applied Research

• Broadly understanding the purpose of the research.
• Designing a research strategy.
• Defining a set of research tactics.
• Seek consent, and gather the information
• Structuring and organizing information.
• Interrogating and interpreting information.
• Key findings and insights must be achieved.
• Consider solutions.

Ethical research mandates

• Gaining consent from participants.
• Avoiding taking volunteers for granted.
• Being transparent about the research purpose and agenda.
• Respecting the dignity of subjects and participants.
• Respecting privacy of others.
• Informing participants of results/outcomes.

Research Role and Scope

• It is important to know the purpose of the research.
• Consider the kind of information needed.
• Know how the research results will be used.
• Determine the specific audience/s to be researched.
• Decide whether to conduct research in-house or hire a consultant.
• Plan how to structure, analyse, report, and apply the research.
• Establish how soon the results will needed and its cost.

Methodology Versus Method

• Methodology is the broad approach to research, where methodology equals the research strategy.
• A method is a research tactic, such as interrogating an existing database.
• Key methodologies include triangulation.
• Mixed Method, multiple qualitative and quantitative measures
• A sub-class of triangulation is the Multiple method (a range of qualitative methods).
• Method assemblage: archaeological analysis, cultural analysis and purposive interviews.
• Ethnographic research: immersion in a community to engage and observe.

Primary versus Secondary research tactics

• Primary research: Interviews, focus groups, surveys and polls. In addition ethnographic studies, intercept and in-depth interviews. Also reviews of unstructured archival materials
• Secondary research: Library materials, materials review and structured databases interrogation. Along with industry interrogation and desktop research.

Quantitative versus Qualitative Research

• Quantitative research: Provides broader patterns.
• Qualitative research: Provides deeper/richer insights.
• Both are needed, it's also important to avoid the McNamara Problem.

Social Media Research

• Information about number of site visitors and page views.
• Off-site.
• On-site.
• Google Analytics is a key source

Ethnographic/Participatory Research (a Methodology)

• Participant form of observation includes methods like following Twitter users and pinning topics on pInterest. Along with reading news. Keeping up with Facebook groups activity.

Sampling Techniques/Tactics

• Random (probability): Simple, Systematic, Stratified
• Targeted (reduces probability) includes: Convenient, Purposive, volunteers and snowballing

Targeting Problems

• Targeted: High margin for error, time consuming and Sampling bias
• Random: Sampling error

Segmentation techniques and tactics

• By demographics: life stage, gender, ethnicity, religion, income, education and household size
• Geographies: International, national, state, city, climate and urban.
• Psychographics: Personality, Lifestyle, Class
• Behavioural: Usage, status, brand loyalty
• By benefits sought.
• By the experience sought.

Survey uses

• Elicits more quantitative information and tells you "what" is going on.
• Provides broad patterns and trends, offering the power of number/scale/statistics.
• Facilitates testing hypotheses with broader samples.
• It has vis-à-vis depth of understanding.

Questionnaire

• Elicits more qualitative information and offers insights into the why.
• Earns less respect from the empirically/statistically-minded.
• Does well in terms of texture; nuance; shades of meaning. It's more involved and receives less responses.

Interviews and Focus Groups

• Provides insights into "Why"/"how" and "what if".

Interviewing

• Plan
• Segment: learn so much
• Write Questions With Care
• Build Rapport
• Distinguish between fact opinion
• Probe
• Listen, stay open, respect
• Record and Transcribe
• Interrogate

Facilitation

• Involves structure, flexibility
• Must be General, open
• Avoiding loaded queries
• Requires probing to receive responses

Interview Structure

• Start with insight with people
• Who? Why?
• what are the subjects
• general questions: provide insights into the respondents

Interview process

• Then ask questions: feelings
• Constant questions

Surveys V Interviews

• Followed with interviews with science and cost equation

Useful research elements

• Secure intelligence and value what's important

The Keys to Insights

• Implicate knowledge within information
• Knowledge within what is popular
• Is the lack

The Keys to success

• Is understanding Nike culture and cultural elements

Strategic SWOT and PESTEL Analysis

• Requires elements that interrogate the project

Research Process

• Includes gathering, processes
• Presenting
• Evaluating