Marketing Research Methodology PDF

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Sub-Topics Research Methods Research Designs Types of research designs Sampling Sampling techniques Data collection techniques Data analysis Methods  3.1. Research Paradigm According to TerreBlanche and Durrheim (1999), the research process has three...

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Sub-Topics Research Methods Research Designs Types of research designs Sampling Sampling techniques Data collection techniques Data analysis Methods  3.1. Research Paradigm According to TerreBlanche and Durrheim (1999), the research process has three major dimensions: ontology , epistemology and methodology. According to them a research paradigm is an all-encompassing system of interrelated practice and thinking that define the nature of enquiry along these three dimensions. The term paradigm originated from the Greek word paradeigma which means pattern and was first used by Thomas Kuhn (1962) to denote a conceptual framework shared by a community of scientists which provided them with a convenient model for examining problems and finding solutions.  Kuhn defines a paradigm as: “an integrated cluster of substantive concepts, variables and problems attached with corresponding methodological approaches and tools…”. According to him, the term paradigm refers to a research culture with a set of beliefs, values, and assumptions that a community of researchers has in common regarding the nature and conduct of research (Kuhn, 1977). A paradigm hence implies a pattern, structure and framework or system of scientific and academic ideas, values and assumptions (Olsen, Lodwick, and Dunlop, 1992:16)  Cont.…… Ontological and epistemological aspects concern what is commonly referred to as a person's worldview which has significant influence on the perceived relative importance of the aspects of reality.  Two possible worldviews are: objectivistic and constructivist. These different ways of seeing the world have repercussions in most academic areas; yet, none of theses views is considered to be superior to the other. Both may be appropriate for some purposes and insufficient or overly complex for other purposes. Also a person may change his/her view depending on the situation According to Lather (1986a: 259) research paradigms inherently reflect our beliefs about the world we live in and want to live in. Based on this belief, Guba and Lincoln (1994) distinguish between positivist, post-positivist and postmodernist enquiry, grouping postmodernism and post-structuralism within ‘critical theory’ A. Positivism The positivist paradigm of exploring social reality is based on the philosophical ideas of the French Philosopher August Comte. According to him, observation and reason are the best means of understanding human behaviour; true knowledge is based on experience of senses and can be obtained by observation and experiment. At the ontological level, positivists assume that the reality is objectively given and is measurable using properties which are independent of the researcher and his or her instruments; in other words, knowledge is objective and quantifiable. Positivistic thinkers adopt scientific methods and systematize the knowledge generation process with the help of quantification to enhance precision in the description of parameters and the relationship among them. Positivism is concerned with uncovering truth and presenting it by empirical means (Henning, Van Rensburg and Smit, 2004, p. 17). According to Walsham (1995b) the positivist position maintains that scientific knowledge consists of facts while its ontology considers the reality as independent  Cont…. If the research study consists of a stable and unchanging reality, then the researcher can adopt an ‘objectivist’ perspective: a realist ontology - a belief in an objective, real world - and detached epistemological stance based on a belief that people’s perceptions and statements are either true or false, right or wrong, a belief based on a view of knowledge as hard, real and acquirable; they can employ methodology that relies on control and manipulation of reality 2. Interpretivism  Interpretive researchers believe that the reality to consists of people’s subjective experiences of the external world; thus, they may adopt an inter-subjective epistemology and the ontological belief that reality is socially constructed. According to Willis (1995) interpretivists are anti-foundationalists, who believe there is no single correct route or particular method to knowledge. Walsham (1993) argues that in the interpretive tradition there are no ‘correct’ or ‘incorrect’ theories. Instead, they should be judged according to how ‘interesting’ they are to the researcher as well as those involved in the same areas. They attempt to derive their constructs from the field by an in- depth examination of the phenomenon of interest. Gephart (1999: [online]) argues that interpretivists assume that knowledge and meaning are acts of interpretation, hence there is no objective knowledge which is independent of thinking, reasoning humans.  3. Critical Postmodernism Critical Theory is a tradition developed by the Frankfurt School in Germany, based on the German tradition of philosophical and political thought of Marx, Kant, Hegel and Max Weber. Postmodernism is a form of scholarship which emerged in part through the work of French intellectuals such as Lyotard, Derrida and Foucault (Gephart, 1999). Critical researchers assume that social reality is historically constituted and that it is produced and reproduced by people (Myers, 2009). Although people can consciously act to change their social and economic circumstances, critical researchers recognize that their ability to do so is constrained by various forms of social, cultural and political domination. Therefore, critical scholarship seeks to transcend taken-for granted beliefs, values and social structures by making these structures and the problems they produce visible, by encouraging self conscious criticism, and by developing emancipatory consciousness in scholars and social members in general (Kincheloe and McLaren, 1994, pp. 138-157). The aim is to openly critique the status quo, focus on the conflicts and constraints in contemporary society, and seek to bring about cultural, political and social change that would eliminate the causes of alienation and domination. Cont.… Thus, the paradigm of critical theory encourages evaluators and instructional designers to question and also to evaluate the cultural, political, and gender assumptions underlying the effectiveness of the instructional product or programme (Reeves and Hedberg, 2003). The critical theory seeks to deconstruct the "hidden curriculum" or "text" and search for the "truth" and "understanding within the social context” (Reeves and Hedberg, 2003, p.33  3.2. Research Methods and research Design The research method is a strategy of enquiry, which moves from the underlying assumptions to research design, and data collection (Myers, 2009). Although there are other distinctions in the research modes, the most common classification of research methods is into qualitative and quantitative. At one level, qualitative and quantitative refer to distinctions about the nature of knowledge: how one understands the world and the ultimate purpose of the research. On another level of discourse, the terms refer to research methods, that is, the way in which data are collected and analyzed, and the type of generalizations and representations derived from the data. There are three research methods A. Quantitative research methods were originally developed in the natural sciences to study natural phenomena. Qualitative research methods were developed in the social sciences to enable researchers to study social and cultural phenomena.  Cont.… Qualitative research is naturalistic; it attempts to study the everyday life of different groups of people and communities in their natural setting; it is particularly useful to study educational settings and processes. “….qualitative research involves an interpretive, naturalistic approach to its subject matter; it attempts to make sense of, or to interpret, phenomena in terms of the meaning people bring to them (Denzin and Lincoln, 2003). According to Domegan and Fleming (2007), “Qualitative research aims to explore and to discover issues about the problem on hand, because very little is known about the problem. There is usually uncertainty about dimensions and characteristics of problem. It uses ‘soft’ data and gets ‘rich’ data’”. (p. 24). According to Myers (2009), qualitative research is designed to help researchers understand people, and the social and cultural contexts within which they live. Such studies allow the complexities and differences of worlds-under-study to be explored and represented (Philip, 1998, p. 267)  Cont.. Maxwell (1998) enumerates five research purposes for which qualitative studies are particularly useful: Understanding the meaning that participants in a study give to the events, situations and actions that they are involved with; and of the accounts they give of their lives and experiences; Understanding the particular context within which the participants act, and the influence this context has on their actions;  Identifying unanticipated phenomena and influences, and generating new, grounded theories about them;  Understanding the process by which events and actions take place; and  Developing causal explanations.  B. Quantitative Research Methods Quantitative research is formal, objective, rigorous, deductive approach, and systematic strategies for generating and refining knowledge to problem solving [Burns & Grove, 2005]. Its designs are either experimental or non-experimental and seek to obtain accurate and reliable measurements [Rahman, 2017].  It consists of systematic observation and description of the characteristics or properties of objects or events for the purpose of discovering relationships between an independent (predictor) variable and a dependent (outcome) variable within a population Quantitative research methods deal with numbers and anything those are measurable in a systematic way of investigation of phenomena and their relationships. It is used to answer questions on relationships within measurable variables with an intention to explain, predict and control a phenomenon [Leedy, 1993]. In quantitative research researchers decide what to study, asks specific and narrow questions, collects quantifiable data from participants, analyzes these numbers using statistics, and conducts the inquiry in an unbiased and objective manner. At present two-thirds research articles are published by the use of quantitative data, which are highly valid and provide high level of research quality.  Cont.… In quantitative research statistical, mathematical or computational techniques are applied to obtain the accurate results. Recently this type of research is widely used in business studies, natural sciences, mathematical sciences and social sciences.  The quantitative research data are collected through closed-ended questionnaires. The type of data is in numerical form, such as statistics, percentages, graphs, etc. The data are used to develop and employ models based on the form of mathematical models, theories, and hypotheses to obtain the desired result. A research hypothesis is an empirically testable statement that is generated from a proposition, which is clearly stated relation between independent and dependent variables [Given, 2008]. In the quantitative methodology, researchers use the scientific method that starts with the specific theory and hypotheses for research procedures. They attempt to achieve rich, real, deep, and valid data. They observe the world as objective and seek measureable relationships among variables to test and verify their study hypotheses The objective of quantitative research is to develop and use mathematical models, theories and hypotheses/propositions pertaining to phenomena [Given, 2008].  Major differences between qualitative and quanitative research methods Orientation Quantitative Research Qualitative Research Methods Methods Assumption about the world A single reality, i.e., can be Multiple realities measured by an instrument. Research purpose Establish relationships between Understanding a social situation measured variables from participants’ perspectives Research methods and procedures are established - flexible, changing strategies; processes before study begins; - design emerges as data are a hypothesis is formulated collected; before research can begin; - a hypothesis is not needed to - deductive in nature begin research; - inductive in nature Researcher’s role The researcher is ideally an The researcher participates and objective observer who neither becomes immersed in the participates in nor influences research/social setting. what is being studied Generalisability Universal context-free Detailed context-based  C. Mixed Research Methods Mixed research methods combine qualitative and quantitative research techniques to provide a more comprehensive understanding of a research problem. This approach leverages the strengths of both methodologies, allowing researchers to explore complex issues from multiple perspectives. Key Characteristics Integration of Techniques: Mixed methods involve collecting and analyzing both qualitative data (e.g., interviews, open-ended surveys) and quantitative data (e.g., numerical surveys, experiments). Complementary Strengths: Qualitative methods can provide depth and context, while quantitative methods can offer generalizability and statistical analysis. Flexibility: Researchers can adjust their methods based on the research questions, making mixed methods adaptable to various fields and topics.  3.3. Research Design Research design is a planning strategy of conducting research: what is to be observed, why it is to be observed, how to record observations, how to analyze/interpret observation and how to generalize. Research design is thus, a detailed plan of how the goals of research will be achieved William Zikmund (1988, 41) has described research design as “a master plan specifying the methods and procedures for collecting and analyzing the needed information.” A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the research project.  It details the procedures necessary for obtaining information needed to structure and/or solve research problems.  Con’t… a plan outlining how information is to be gathered for an assessment or evaluation that includes identifying the data gathering method(s), the instruments to be used/created, how the instruments will be administered, and how the information will be organized and analysed. A plan of what data to gather, from whom, how and when to collect the data, and how to analyse the data obtained. The plan of research that is used to answer the research objectives; the structure or framework to solve a specific problem. This is a basic plan which guides the data collection and analysis phases of the research project. It acts as a framework which details the type of information to be collected, the data sources and the data collection procedure.  3.3.1. Functions of Research Design Three important functions of research design are: 1. It provides blueprint:- Significance of `research design' to be realized from an analogy. When constructing a building, first the purpose of the building is decided whether it is a high rise office building, a factory, a school, a residential home or an apartment block. There is no point ordering materials or setting critical dates for completion d dates for completion Only after deciding the purpose of building plan can be prepared, permits be obtained, work schedule be worked out and so on. Like house plan, research design provides plan of carrying sample, method of data collection etc in advance of actual work and minimizes problem of researcher. Just a house-builder faces many problems without drawings & plans; similarly a researcher faces many problems if he has no research design. 2. It limits boundaries of research activities:- The function of a research design is to ensure  3.3.2. COMPONENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN Define the information needed Design the phases of the research Identifying variables & specifying the measurement and scaling procedures Construct & pretest a questionnaire (schedule) or an appropriate form for data collection Specify sampling process & sample size Develop a plan of data analysis Fixing time-schedule Budget 3.4. Types of Research Design The difference B/n Exploratory and Conclusive research designs Cont.…  1. Exploratory Research Design As the term suggests, exploratory research is often conducted because a problem has not been clearly defined as yet, or its real scope is as yet unclear. It is a process of discovery wherein you uncover as many ideas as possible.  It allows the researcher to familiarize him/herself with the problem or concept to be studied, and perhaps generate hypothesis to be tested. It expands knowledge Another common reason for conducting exploratory research is to test concepts before they are launched in the marketplace, always a very costly endeavor. In concept testing, consumers are provided either with a written concept or a prototype for a new, revised or repositioned product, service or strategy. Exploratory research relies more on secondary data 2. Conclusive Research Design 1. Descriptive Research Descriptive research or statistical research provides data about the population or universe being studied. It describes the "who, what, when, where and how" of a situation and not what caused it. Therefore, descriptive research is used when the objective is to provide a systematic description that is as factual and accurate as possible. It provides the number of times something occurs, or frequency, lends itself to statistical calculations such as determining the average number of occurrences or central tendencies. One of its major limitations is that it cannot help determine what causes a specific behaviour, motivation or occurrence. In other words, it cannot establish a causal research relationship between variables. The two most common types of descriptive research designs are  Cont…  The major objective of descriptive research is to describe something— usually market characteristics or functions.  Descriptive research is conducted for the following reasons:  To describe the characteristics of relevant groups, such as consumers, salespeople, organizations, or market areas. For example, we could develop a profile of the “heavy users” (frequent shoppers) of prestigious department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.  To estimate the percentage of units in a specified population exhibiting a certain behavior. For example, we might be interested in estimating the percentage of heavy users of prestigious department stores who also patronize discount department stores.  To determine the perceptions of product characteristics. For example, how do households perceive the various department stores in terms of salient factors of the choice criteria?  To determine the degree to which marketing variables are associated. For example, to what extent is shopping at department stores related to eating out?  To make . For example, what will be the retail sales of Neiman Marcus (specific store) for fashion clothing (specific product category) in the Dallas area (specific region)  Examples of Descriptive Studies Market studies, which describe the size of the market, buying power of the consumers, availability of distributors, and consumer profiles Market share studies, which determine the proportion of total sales received by a company and its competitors Sales analysis studies, which describe sales by geographic region, product line, type and size of the account Image studies, which determine consumer perceptions of the firm and its products  Product usage studies, which describe consumption patterns Distribution studies, which determine traffic flow patterns and the number and location of distributors Pricing studies, which describe the range and frequency of price changes and probable consumer response to proposed price changes Advertising studies, which describe media consumption habits and audience profiles for specific television programs and magazines  Descriptive studies are also classified into: A. Cross-sectional studies: It deals with a sample of elements from a given population. Number of characteristics from the sample elements are collected and analyzed. It is of two types: field studies and surveys. B. Longitudinal studies. This is based on panel data and panel methods. A panel constitutes a group of respondents who are interviewed and reinterviewed from time to time. Hence the same variable is repeatedly measured. This helps in studying a particular behaviour over a period of time 2. Causal Research Causal research is undertaken to see if there is a cause and effect relationship between variables. In order to determine causality, it is important to hold the variable that is assumed to cause the change in the other variable(s) constant and then measure the changes in the other variable(s). This type of research is very complex and the researcher can never be completely certain that there are not other factors influencing the causal relationship, especially when dealing with people‘s attitudes and motivations. There are often much deeper psychological considerations that even the respondent may not be aware of.  Cont.… Marketing managers continually make decisions based on assumed causal relationships. These assumptions may not be justifiable, and the validity of the causal relationships should be examined via formal research.16 For example, the common assumption that a decrease in price will lead to increased sales and market share does not hold in certain competitive environments. Causal research is appropriate for the following purposes:  To understand which variables are the cause (independent variables) and which variables are the effect (dependent variables) of a phenomenon To determine the nature of the relationship between the causal variables and the effect to be predicted.  Source of Data 1. Secondary data are data that have already been collected for purposes other than the problem at hand. These data can be located quickly and inexpensively. In the department store patronage project, secondary data on the criteria used by households to select department stores were obtained from marketing journals (Journal of Retailing, Journal of Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and Journal of Marketing Research). The difference between primary and secondary data  Advantages of secondary data secondary data offer several advantages over primary data. Secondary data are easily accessible, relatively inexpensive, and quickly obtained. Secondary data can help you:  Identify the problem. Better define the problem.  Develop an approach to the problem. Formulate an appropriate research design (for example, by identifying the key variables).  Answer certain research questions and test some hypotheses. Interpret primary data more insightful Disadvantage of Secondary Data Because secondary data have been collected for purposes other than the problem at hand, their usefulness to the current problem may be limited in several important ways, including relevance and accuracy. The objectives, nature, and methods used to collect the secondary data may not be appropriate to the present situation. Also, secondary data may be lacking in accuracy, or they may not be completely current or dependable. Before using secondary data, it is important to evaluate them on these factors  Classifications of Secondary Data A. Internal data are those generated within the organization for which the research is being conducted. This information may be available in a ready-to use-format, such as information routinely supplied by the management decision support system. On the other hand, these data may exist within the organization but may require considerable processing before they are useful to the researcher. For example, a variety of information can be found on sales invoices. Yet this information may not be easily accessible; further processing may be required to extract it. B. External data are those generated by sources outside the organization. These data may exist in the form of published material, computerized databases, or information made available by syndicated services. Before collecting external secondary data, it is useful to analyze internal secondary data. Classification of secondary data  Cont… Internal sources should be the starting point in the search for secondary data. Since most organizations have a wealth of in-house information, some data may be readily available and may provide useful insights. For example, When internal data on sales showed Reebok (www.reebok.com) that Internet sales were a mere 0.7 percent of their total sales but were rousing bad feelings among retailers, the company discontinued online selling. It is also possible to process routinely collected sales data to generate a variety of useful information,  Cont… External data Sources of published external secondary data include federal, state, and local governments, nonprofit organizations (e.g., Chambers of Commerce), trade associations and professional organizations, commercial publishers, investment brokerage firms, and professional marketing research firms. In fact, so much data are available that the researcher can be overwhelmed. Therefore, it is important to classify published sources. Businesses publish a lot of information in the form of books, periodicals, journals, newspapers, magazines, reports, and trade literature. Moody’s (www.moodys.com) and Standard and Poor’s (www.standardandpoors.com) provide information on U.S. and foreign companies.  Another useful source for industrial brand and trade information is ThomasNet (www.thomasnet.com). Valuable marketing and marketing research information may be obtained from www.SecondaryData.com. A variety of business-related sites can provide sales leads, mailing lists, business profiles, and credit ratings for American businesses.  Limitation of Secondary Data  Data Despite the many advantages of secondary data, it also poses some dangers and pitfalls. The disadvantages are lack of availability, lack of relevance, inaccuracy and insufficiency.  Lack of availability – For some research questions there is simply no available data  Lack of Relevance: It is not in common for secondary data to be expressed in units or measure that cannot be used by the researcher.  Inaccurate Data :Users of secondary data should always be suspicious of the accuracy of the data. There are a number of potential sources of error when a researcher gathers, codes, analyses, and presents data.  Insufficient Data :A researcher may determine that data is available, relevant, and accurate but still is not sufficient to make a decision or bring complete closure to a problem  2. Primary data are originated by a researcher for the specific purpose of addressing the problem at hand. The collection of primary data involves all six steps of the marketing research process Obtaining primary data can be expensive and time consuming. A. Survey Questionnaire: is a structured set of questions designed to gather information from respondents about their opinions, behaviors, experiences, or demographic characteristics. Purpose: To collect quantitative data for statistical analysis. To obtain qualitative insights into respondents' thoughts and feelings. To evaluate programs, products, or services. Types of Questions: I. Closed-Ended Questions: Respondents choose from predefined options (e.g., multiple choice, Likert scale). II. Open-Ended Questions: Respondents provide free-text answers, allowing for richer qualitative data.  B. The Personal Interview The personal interview can be regarded as face-to-face interpersonal role situation in which an interviewer asks respondent questions designed to obtain answers pertinent to the research hypotheses. The questions, their wording, and their sequence define the extent to which the interview is structured. I. The scheduled – structure interview The most structure from is the schedule structure interview, in which the questions, their working, and their sequence are fixed and are identical for every respondent. This is done to make sure that when variations appear between responses, they can be attributed to the actual differences between the respondents and not to variations in the interview.  II. The non schedule – structured interview The second basic form is the focused, or non-schedule – structured, interview. This form has four characteristics: It takes place with respondent known to have been involved in a particular experience.  It refers to situations that have been analyzed prior to the interview.  It precedes on the basis of an interview guide specifying topics related to the research hypothesis.  It is focused on the subjective experiences regarding the situation under study.  The Principles of Interviewing The first step in the interviewing process is getting the respondent to cooperate and provide the desired information. There are three factors that help in motivating the respondent to cooperate. The respondents need to feel that their interaction with the interviewer will be pleasant and satisfying it is up to the interviewers to present themselves to respondents as being understanding and easy to talk to. The respondents need to see the study as being worthwhile. The respondents should feel that the study may be beneficial, not only to themselves, but also that has it dealt with a significant issue and that the respondents’ cooperation is very important. Interviewers should interest the respondents in the study by pointing out its significance and the contribution that the respondents can make by cooperating. Barriers to the interview in the respondents’ mind need to be overcome.  3.Obeservation Three conditions must be met before observation can be successfully used as a data collection tool for marketing research. First, the needed information must be observable or inferable from behavior that can be observed. Second, the behavior of interest must be repetitive, frequent, or predictable in some manner. Otherwise the costs of observation make the approach prohibitively expensive. Finally, the behavior of interest must be relatively short direction Open versus Disguised Observation Open observation is the process of monitoring people who know they are being watched. Disguised observation is he process of monitoring people, objects, or occurrences that do not know they are being watched. A common form of disguised observation is observing behavior behind a one-way mirror. For example, a product manager may observe respondents reactions to alternative package designs behind a one-way mirror during a focus group discussions.  Structured versus Unstructured Observations Observation can be structured or unstructured in much the same manner as surveys. In the structured observation the observer fills out a questionnaire – like form on each person observed. In the totally in structured observation the observer simply makes notes on the behavior being observed. In general, the same considerations that determine whether a survey should be structured or in structured determining whether an observation should be structured or unstructured Direct Versus Indirect Observation Most of the observation does in marketing research is direct observation. That is, directly observing correct behavior. However, in some cases, past behavior must be observed. To do this, it is necessary to turn to some record of the behavior. In a product prototype test it may be important to know how much of the test product was actually used. The most accurate way to find this out is to have the respondent return the unused product so that the researcher can observe how much was actually used  Advantages and Disadvantages of Observation Method 1. Advantages of Observation Research The idea of watching what people actually do rather than depending on their reports of what they did has one very significant and obvious advantage. We see what people actually do rather than having to rely on what they say they did. This approach can avoid much of the biasing factors caused by the interviewer and question structure associated with the willingness and ability of respondents to answer questions. Finally, some forms of data are gathered more quickly and accurately by observation. Rather than ask people to enumerate every item in the grocery bags, it is much more efficient to let a scanner record it. Alternatively, rather than asking young children which toys they like, the major toy manufactures invite target groups of children into a large playroom and observe via a one-way mirror which toys are chosen and how long each holds the child’s attention  Disadvantages of Observation Research The primary disadvantages of observation research are that only behavior and physical personal characteristics can usually be examined. The researcher does not learn about motives, attitudes, intentions, or feelings. Also, only public behavior is observed. Private behavior, such as dressing for work, committee decisions of a company, and family activities at home, is beyond the scope of the researcher. A second problem is that present observed behavior may not be predictable to the future. Purchasing a certain brand of milk after examining several alternatives may hold in time period one, but not in the future. Observation research can be time consuming and costly if the observed behavior occurs rather infrequently. For example, if an observer in a supermarket is waiting to observe purchase behavior of people selecting soap, it may be a long wait. If the consumers chosen to be observed are selected in a biased pattern, for example, shoppers who go grocery shopping after 5 P.M distorted data may be obtained.  4. Experiment In concept, an experiment is straightforward. The researcher changes or manipulates one thing called an explanatory, independent, or experimental variable, to observe what effect this change has on something else, referred to as defendant variable In marketing experiments, the dependent variable is frequently some measures of sales such as total sales, market share, or the like and the explanatory or experimental variables are typically marketing-mix variables, such as price, amount of type of advertising, changes in product features, or the like.  5.Focus Group Discussions A focus group is an interview conducted by a trained moderator in a nonstructured and natural manner with a small group of respondents. The moderator leads the discussion. The main purpose of focus groups is to gain insights by listening to a group of people from the appropriate target market talk about issues of interest to the researcher. The value of the technique lies in the unexpected findings often obtained from a free-flowing group discussion. Focus groups are the most important qualitative research procedure. They are so popular that many marketing research practitioners consider this technique synonymous with qualitative research Characteristics A focus group generally includes 8 to 12 members. Groups of fewer than 8 are unlikely to generate the momentum and group dynamics necessary for a successful session. Likewise, groups of more than 12 may be too crowded and may not be conducive to a cohesive and natural discussion. A focus group should be homogeneous in terms of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Commonalty among group members avoids interactions and conflicts among group members on side The physical setting for the focus group is also important. A relaxed, informal atmosphere encourages spontaneous comments. Light refreshments should be served before the session and made available throughout. Cont.…  Advantages of Focus Groups Synergism: Putting a group of people together will produce a wider range of information, insight, and ideas than will individual responses secured privately.  Snowballing: A bandwagon effect often operates in a group interview, in that one person’s comment triggers a chain reaction from the other participants. Stimulation: Usually after a brief introductory period, the respondents want to express their ideas and expose their feelings as the general level of excitement over the topic increases in the group. Security: Because the participants’ feelings are similar to those of other group members, they feel comfortable and are therefore willing to express their ideas and feelings.  Spontaneity: Since participants are not required to answer specific questions, their responses can be spontaneous and unconventional and should therefore provide an accurate idea of their views. Serendipity: Ideas are more likely to arise out of the blue in a group than in an individual interview.  Cont….  Specialization: Because a number of participants are involved simultaneously, use of a highly trained, but expensive, interviewer is justified. Scientific scrutiny: The group interview allows close scrutiny of the data-collection process, in that observers can witness the session and it can be recorded for later analysis. Structure: The group interview allows for flexibility in the topics covered and the depth with which they are treated. Speed: Since a number of individuals are being interviewed at the same time, data collection and analysis proceed relatively quickly  Disadvantages of Focus Groups The disadvantages of focus groups may be summarized by the five M’s: Misuse: Focus groups can be misused and abused by considering the results as conclusive rather than exploratory.  Misjudge: Focus group results can be more easily misjudged than the results of other data- collection techniques. Focus groups are particularly susceptible to client and researcher biases. Moderation: Focus groups are difficult to moderate. Moderators with all the desirable skills are rare. The quality of the results depends heavily on the skills of the moderator. Messy: The unstructured nature of the responses makes coding, analysis, and interpretation difficult. Focus group data tend to be messy.  Misrepresentation: Focus group results are not representative of the general population and are not projectable. Consequently, focus group results should not be the sole basis for decision making.  6. Depth interviews are another method of obtaining qualitative data. We describe the general procedure for conducting depth interviews and then illustrate some specific techniques. Characteristics Like focus groups, depth interviews are an unstructured and direct way of obtaining information, but unlike focus groups, depth interviews are conducted on a one-on-one basis. A depth interview is an unstructured, direct, personal interview in which a single respondent is probed by a highly skilled interviewer to uncover underlying motivations, beliefs, attitudes, and feelings on a topic. A depth interview may take from 30 minutes to more than one hour. To illustrate the technique in the context of the department store example, the interviewer begins by asking a general question such as, “How do you feel about shopping at department stores?” The interviewer then encourages the subject to talk freely about his or her attitudes toward department stores. After asking the initial question, the interviewer uses an unstructured format. The subsequent direction of the interview is determined by the respondent’s initial reply, the interviewer’s probes for elaboration, and the respondent’s answers Cont.….