This chapter tackles the meaning and techniques of analysis and the identification of meaningful patterns in data. It distinguishes between qualitative and quantitative data analysis. Transcripts and computer software are features of qualitative analysis; on the other hand, quantitative processes imply preparation, checking, editing, and coding. The coding of open-ended questions is examined in some detail. The chapter covers measures of dispersion, averages, and significance testing. Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses are explained, as are procedures for tabulation weighting and grossing.
Chapter
Analysis
Chapter
Audience and advertising research
This chapter discusses audience and advertising research. It provides the purposes and shows the importance of audience and advertising research. Media measurement surveys dictate the amounts paid to buy advertising space; they also offer ready-made segmentation to marketing managers. Audience research offers guidance for media owners on what is of interest to readers, viewers, or listeners. The chapter addresses newspapers, magazines, radio, television, the internet, outdoor, and cinema. It also looks at how research can provide some indication of advertising effectiveness. Various measures are enumerated, including impact, emotional involvement, brand recall, image, comprehension, reactions, associations, recognition, appeal, and persuasiveness. The chapter concludes with what must be considered in the publication stage of the research.
Chapter
Business-to-business research
This chapter analyses research into ‘non-consumer’ sectors. This kind of research comes under various titles such as ‘business-to-business’, ‘industrial’, ‘trade’, and ‘retail’. The chapter reviews industry structures, different classes of product, and the elements of ‘organisational buying behaviour’. It illustrates the importance of satisfaction, quality, image, and employee satisfaction studies. It brings to light the differences of this research with that used in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector. Lastly, it describes the measurement techniques used in this type of research.
Chapter
International research
This chapter examines the execution and implementation of international research. It shows the specific challenges associated with conducting studies across different nations, languages, and cultures. It focuses on the question of whether it is possible to apply equivalent techniques to different marketplaces. It studies the implications of these differences on desk research, sampling, and instrument design, or whether the research is qualitative or quantitative in nature. Lastly, it determines what must be considered at the publication stage of international research.
Chapter
Introduction to marketing research
This chapter examines marketing research in general and distinguishes between the terms market and marketing research. It explains ‘insight management’. It describes how this industry operates across the world, who commissions research and how much money is spent. International suppliers and trade bodies are introduced, along with the types of research and services available. The chapter provides a description of jobs that exist in the marketing research sector that could assist in planning a career.
Book
Nigel Bradley
Marketing Research consists of four parts. Part 1 looks at research preparation. Part 2 is about data collection. It examines secondary data, primary data, sampling, questionnaires, qualitative research, and quantitative research. Part 3 is about analysis and communication. Part 4 looks at the marketing research context which includes business-to-business research, international research, audience and advertising research, and web metrics.
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Planning research
This chapter considers the complex area of planning research studies. It introduces a framework called ‘the marketing research mix’. This new ‘mix’ defines the sequence of research. It provides the purpose, population, procedure, and publication stages of any project. In practical terms, research plans are agreed between a client and supplier using two documents: the brief and the proposal. The chapter demonstrates how to prepare both documents and informs what is good practice.
Chapter
Primary data
This chapter discusses data collected from the field which has to happen to satisfy specific research needs. The channels used vary from face-to-face and telephone to postal delivery services and online. The chapter evaluates different methods used to collect data and the problems posed when dealing with the measurement of human activities. Data capture may mean asking respondents to complete tasks themselves or it may involve the use of skilled interviewers. Interviewing skills are extremely important to achieve the best possible cooperation.
Chapter
Qualitative research
This chapter looks at qualitative research, one of the two main branches of inquiry. It explores some of the different methods of qualitative research to uncover the key motivation behind behaviour. Focus groups and depth interviews are of extreme importance to qualitative market researchers, so these two techniques are emphasised. The Delphi method, ethnography, semiotics, and grounded theory are also discussed. The chapter also provides a detailed examination of both the spoken word and body language, which are essential in interpreting group dynamics.
Chapter
Quantitative research
This chapter examines quantitative research, a branch of research concerned with numbers and statistics. It shows the evaluation of the different elements of the marketing mix. In decision-making, managers prefer to have hard figures, and quantitative research offers precisely that. The chapter also looks at some regularly used approaches such as experimentation, hall tests, panels, and the omnibus. Quantitative research is a field that has been revolutionised by the use of computers, guidance on databases, data marts, and data warehouses. Finally, the chapter scrutinizes the role of software in data mining.
Chapter
Questionnaires and topic guides
This chapter delves into the design of a structured questionnaire, an important tool in quantitative research. It provides help on designing a questionnaire that is ‘fit for purpose’. It introduces the concept of open and closed questions, projective techniques, and scales. For qualitative researchers, the ‘topic guide’ is important and again guidance is given. The chapter concludes with an account of questionnaire variants: the diary and the observation form.
Chapter
Reporting and presentation
This chapter features the skills involved in communicating findings, reporting, and presentation. The final part of the research depends on the ways by which information can be delivered to the right people. The chapter presents an explanation of different visual displays of data. It also considers what is expected from writers of research reports. It emphasizes the importance of using a style that is appropriate to the situation. Finally, it examines how the internet has been used to communicate the results produced by market researchers in recent years, becoming a new channel for information.
Chapter
Sampling
This chapter reviews the purposes and procedures of sampling. Sampling means taking one or more examples from which to learn something new. The sources of the sample are discussed, with a detailed examination of techniques for telephone, face-to-face, and self-completion research. The chapter illustrates the differences between probability and non-probability methods. Quota sampling is of great importance to market research, so this area is emphasised. How sample sizes can be determined, both for qualitative and quantitative research is also explained.
Chapter
Secondary data
This chapter focuses on secondary data, which forms the basis of all research projects. It also explains the nature of secondary data. It shows how to refine the approach to collecting primary data. Desk researchers looks for secondary data within the client organisation and also outside. Data are available both online and offline. Wherever the data are to be found, planning the search is essential. The chapter mainly instructs how to interpret published data and how to create search records.
Chapter
Web metrics
This chapter looks at web metrics. It incorporates the two topics of web analytics and social media monitoring. It begins with an introduction of the topics and distinguishes between the two approaches. It also examines their purpose, population, procedure, and some aspects related to publication. It also provides practical help in using some of the principles of web metrics, whether it is to enrich academic projects or application to active companies and brands.
