MK0013 Market Research Fall 10 Soved

8/8/2019 MK0013 Market Research Fall 10 Soved

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Assignment Set- 1

Q.1 a. Explain in detail how a marketing decision support system is helpful as a MIS tool.

Ans.:Marketing research is an important component of a formal network of information flow tomarketing management, known as a marketing information system (MIS). In the words of PhilipKotler, a marketing information system is a continuing and interacting structure of people,equipment and procedures designed to gather, sort, analyze, evaluate and distribute pertinent,timely and accurate information for use by decision makers to improve their marketing planning,execution and control.The figure on the next page shows the key components or subsystems of the marketinginformation system 1) The internal records system 2) The marketing research system 3) Themarketing decision support system and 4) The marketing intelligence system.The marketing environment comprises target markets, marketing channels, competitors andmacro-environmental forces. Marketing managers use marketing information for planning,execution and control. Thus, the marketing information system serves as a link between

marketing managers and the marketing environment.

The Marketing Decision Support System (DSS) This consists of two components a)Advanced methods of statistical analysis such as regression, correlation, factor, discriminant andcluster analysis techniques and b) Computerized or mathematical models that are designed tohelp the marketing executive take decisions such as establishing the optimum advertising budget,allocation of budget among various media types, evaluating the progress of new products, orassigning sales representatives to their territories. Databases have no value if the insights theycontain cannot be retrieved. A decision support system not only allows the manager to interactdirectly with the database to retrieve what is wanted, it also provides a modeling function to helpmake sense of what has been retrieved. A common example of a DSS in action is that used bymany industrial sales people especially those selling products that require significantcustomization. The salesperson frequently will be asked whether or not the price and delivery

time of a unique product configuration will meet or exceed a competitors promises. Withoutleaving the customers office, the salesperson can plug a laptop computer into a phone jack andbegin communicating with a database stored in the companys main computer memory. Thesalesperson types in the product configuration and desired delivery data and these requirementsare compared to the costs, inventory, and assembly time contained in the data bank. In a matterof minutes, the sales person can propose a price and delivery date and perhaps close thesales. Each firm has to develop or adapt a model to support its own decision problems. A salesforce turnover model revealed that the most significant variable influencing the turnover rate wasthe level of the appointment fee that representatives pay for initial materials. An order model isthat which explains the components of the average order and isolates the actionable variablessuch as the size and timing of the catalogue and the gift incentives. A procurement model is thatwhich helps determine how much of a new product to buy, when to purchase it and the risksinvolved.

b. Give the meaning of internal records systems?

Ans.: Computer-based or manual system that transforms data into information useful in thesupport of decision-making. Internal Record System can be classified as performing twofunctions:


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(1) To generate reports-for example, financial statements, inventory status reports, orperformance reports needed for routine or non-routine purposes.(2) A computer system designed to help managers plan and direct business andorganizational operations.

Q.2a. Distinguish between market research and marketing research.

Ans.: Marketing Research:The American Marketing Association officially defines marketing research as follows: Marketingresearch is the function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer throughinformation - information used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems;generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing performance; and improveunderstanding of marketing as a process. Marketing research specifies the information requiredto address these issues, designs the method for collecting information, manages and implementsthe data collection process, analyses, and communicates the findings and their implications.This definition highlights the role of marketing research as an aid to decision making. Animportant feature is the inclusion of the specification and interpretation of needed information.

Too often, marketing research is considered narrowly as gathering and analyzing of data forsomeone to use. Firms can achieve and sustain a competitive advantage through the creativeuse of marketing information. Hence, marketing research is defined as information input todecisions, not simply the evaluation of decisions that have been made. Marketing research alone,however, does not guarantee success; the intelligent use of marketing research is necessary forbusiness achievement. A competitive edge is more the result of how information is used than ofwho does or does not have the information.

Marketing research has many different applications and covers different areas such as thefollowing -Market research This refers to research to determine the structure for a given market (e.g. thetwo wheeler market), which would include gathering information on the number of players in themarket, market shares of the different players, growth rate of the market, latest trends and

developments in the market, market feasibility or potential for new products launched, etc.

b. Distinguish between primary and secondary data sources.

Ans.:Sources of DataThe sources of data may be classified into (a) primary sources and (b) secondary sources.1 Primary Source of DataPrimary sources are original sources from which the researcher directly collects data that has notbeen previously collected, e.g., collection of data directly by the researcher on brand awareness,brand preference, and brand loyalty and other aspects of consumer behavior, from a sample ofconsumers by interviewing them. Primary data is first hand information collected through various

methods such as surveys, experiments and observation, for the purposes of the projectimmediately at hand.The advantages of primary data are 11.It is unique to a particular research study22.It is recent information, unlike published information that is already available

The disadvantages are 11.It is expensive to collect, compared to gathering information from available sources22.Data collection is a time consuming process


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33.It requires trained interviewers and investigators

2 Secondary Sources of DataThese are sources containing data, which has been collected and compiled for another purpose.Secondary sources may be internal sources, such as annual reports, financial statements, salesreports, inventory records, minutes of meetings and other information that is available within thefirm, in the form of a marketing information system. They may also be external sources, such asgovernment agencies (e.g. census reports, reports of government departments), publishedsources (annual reports of currency and finance published by the Reserve Bank of India,publications of international organizations such as the UN, World Bank and InternationalMonetary Fund, trade and financial journals, etc.), trade associations (e.g. Chambers ofCommerce) and commercial services (outside suppliers of information).

Q.3 What is a research design? Identify the steps involved in it. How many types ofresearch designs are there in marketing research?

Ans.: Research Design: A research design is a logical and systematic plan prepared fordirecting a research study. It specifies the objectives of the study, the methodology andtechniques to be adopted for achieving the objectives. It constitutes the blue print for thecollection, measurement and analysis of data. It is the plan, structure and strategy ofinvestigation, conceived so as to obtain answers to research questions. The plan is the overallscheme or program of research. A research design is the program that guides the investigator inthe process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting observations. It provides a systematic plan ofprocedure for the researcher to follow. According to Selltiz, Jahoda and Destsch and Cook, Aresearch design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a mannerthat aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure.Steps in Marketing Research Design ProcessStep 1 Research Purpose It is in the best interest of both the researcher and managers payingfor the research to be sure that the research purpose is fully understood. One of the hallmarks of

a competent researcher is the ability to get to the heart of the management problem. Theresearch purpose comprises a shared understanding between the manager and the researcherof: 1. Problems or opportunities to be studied which problems or opportunities are anticipated?What is the scope of the problems and the possible reasons?2. Decision alternatives to be evaluatedWhat are the alternatives being studied?What are the criteria for choosing among the alternatives?What is the timing or importance of the decision?3. Users of the research resultsWho are the decision makers?Are there any covert purposes?Problem or Opportunity Analysis: In analyzing problems or opportunities to be studied,constant contact with customers to monitor trends is very important. Research is often motivated

by problem or opportunity. The fact that people are consuming fewer sweets might be a problemor a potential opportunity for a candy company. Increased leisure time might be viewed as anopportunity by a recreation oriented organization. In such cases, the research purpose shouldspecify the problem or opportunity to be explored. The manager should make sure that the realproblem is being addressed.Decision Alternatives: For research to be effective, it must be associated with a decision.Marketing research is committed to the principle of utility. In general, if the research is not goingto have an effect on decisions, it is an exercise in futility. The researcher should be alwayssensitive to the possibility that either there are no decision alternatives and therefore nodecision or that the research findings will not affect the decision, usually because of resource or


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organizational constraints. In such circumstances, the research will have no practical value andprobably should not be conducted.Criteria for Choosing among Alternatives: It is essential for the researcher to know how thedecision maker will choose among the available alternatives. Suppose the product manager isconsidering three possible package redesigns for a health-care product with declining sales. Thefollowing criteria will be used to choose the best of the three alternative packages:

11. Long run sales22. Trial purchases by users of competing brands33. Amount of shelf space assigned to the brand44. Differentiation from competitive packages55. Brand name recognition.

Research Users: When the research results will be used to guide internal problem solving, theresearcher must know the objectives and expectations of the actual decision makers. The biggerthe problem, the more difficult this becomes, for not only are a large number of people likely to beinvolved, but the contact person may simply be acting as a liaison whose interpretation of theproblem and the need for research may be second-hand. The major benefit from making an effortto reach all the decision makers is that the research purpose is likely to be specified moreadequately.Step 2 Research Objective The research objective is a statement, in as precise terminology

as possible, of what information is needed. The research objective should be framed so thatobtaining the information will ensure that the research purpose is satisfied. Research objectiveshave three components. The first is the research question. It specifies the information thedecision maker needs. The second and the third elements help the researcher make the researchquestion as specific and precise as possible. The second is the development of hypotheses thatare basically alternative answers to the research questions. The research determines which ofthese alternative answers is correct. It is not always possible to develop hypotheses, but an effortshould be made. The third is the scope or boundaries of the research.Step 3 Estimating the Value of Information Before a research approach can be selected; it isnecessary to have an estimate of the value of information that is, the value of obtaining answersto the research questions. Such an estimate will help determine how much, if anything, should bespent on the research. The value will depend on the importance of the decision as noted in theresearch purpose, the uncertainty that surrounds it, and the influence of the research information

on the decision. If the decision is highly significant in terms of the investment required, or in thelong-run success of the organization, then information may have a high value. However,uncertainty that is meaningful to the decision also must exist if the information is to have value. Ifthe outcomes are already known with certainty, or if the decision will not be affected by theresearch information, the information will have no value.Types of Research Designs There are a number of crucial research choices and various writersadvance different classification schemes, some of which are:

1. Experimental, historical and inferential designs (American Marketing Association).2. Exploratory, descriptive and causal designs (Selltiz, Jahoda, Deutsch and Cook).3. Experimental, and ex post facto designs (Kerlinger)4. Historical method, and case and clinical studies (Goode and Scats)5. Sample surveys, field studies, experiments in field settings, and laboratory experiments

(Festinger and Katz)

6. Exploratory, descriptive and experimental studies (Body and Westfall)7. Exploratory, descriptive and causal (Green and Tull)8. Experimental and quasi-experimental designs (Nachmias and Nachmias)9. True experimental, quasi-experimental and non-experimental designs (Smith).10. Experimental, pre-experimental, quasi-experimental designs and Survey Research

(Kidder and Judd)These different categorizations exist, because research design is a complex concept. In fact, there are different perspectives from which any given study can be viewed. They are:

1) The degree of formulation of the problem (the study may be exploratory orformalized)


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2) The topical scope - breadth and depth - of the study (a case or a statistical study)3) The research environment: field setting or laboratory (survey, laboratory

experiment)4) The time dimension (one-time or longitudinal)5) The mode of data collection (observation or survey)6) The manipulation of the variables under study (experimental or ex post facto)7) The nature of the relationship among variables (descriptive or causal).

Q.4 a. List the benefits & disadvantages of mail questionnaire.

Ans.: Advantages of mail questionnaire:

It is an efficient way of collecting information from a large number of respondents. Verylarge samples are possible. Statistical techniques can be used to determine validity,reliability, and statistical significance.

Surveys are flexible in the sense that a wide range of information can be collected. Theycan be used to study attitudes, values, beliefs, and past behaviors.

Because they are standardized, they are relatively free from several types of errors.

They are relatively easy to administer.

There is an economy in data collection due to the focus provided by standardizedquestions. Only questions of interest to the researcher are asked, recorded, codified, andanalyzed. Time and money is not spent on tangential questions.

Sample surveys are usually cheaper to conduct than a full census.

Disadvantages of mail questionnaire:

They depend on subjects motivation, honesty, memory, and ability to respond. Subjectsmay not be aware of their reasons for any given action. They may have forgotten their

reasons. They may not be motivated to give accurate answers; in fact, they may bemotivated to give answers that present themselves in a favorable light.

Structured surveys, particularly those with closed ended questions, may have low validitywhen researching affective variables.

Although the individuals chosen to participate in surveys are often randomly sampled,errors due to nonresponse may exist. That is, people who choose to respond on thesurvey may be different from those who do not respond, thus biasing the estimates. Forexample, polls or surveys that are conducted by calling a random sample of publiclyavailable telephone numbers will not include the responses of people with unlistedtelephone numbers, mobile (cell) phone numbers, people who are unable to answer thephone (e.g., because they normally sleep during the time of day the survey is conducted,because they are at work, etc.), people who do not answer calls from unknown orunfamiliar telephone numbers. Likewise, such a survey will include a disproportionate

number of respondents who have traditional, land-line telephone service with listedphone numbers, and people who stay home much of the day and are much more likely tobe available to participate in the survey (e.g., people who are unemployed, disabled,elderly, etc.).

Survey question answer-choices could lead to vague data sets because at times they arerelative only to a personal abstract notion concerning "strength of choice". For instancethe choice "moderately agree" may mean different things to different subjects, and toanyone interpreting the data for correlation. Even yes or no answers are problematicbecause subjects may for instance put "no" if the choice "only once" is not available.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampling_(statistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed_ended_questionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Validity_(psychometric)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampling_(statistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed_ended_questionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Validity_(psychometric)


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b. What are the criteria for a good research design?

Ans.:Characteristics of a Good Research Design:1) It should provide the researcher with a sense of direction.2) It should reduce wastage of time and cost.3) It should encourage coordination and effective organization.

4) It should be a tentative plan, which undergoes modifications as circumstances demand,when the study progresses, new aspects, new conditions and new relationships come tolight and insight into the study deepens.

5) It should be geared to the availability of data and the cooperation of the informants.6) It should also be kept within manageable limits.

Q.5 Lock gates Ltd. is carrying out quantitative as well as qualitative research to improveits products image and sales in the market. The management wants to communicate itsemployees about the different methods including the latest techniques available forqualitative research. Management has asked your advice on carrying out this task. Please

advice.

Ans.: Qualitative Research:Qualitative research involves an in-depth understanding of consumer behavior and the reasonsthat govern that behavior. Unlike quantitative research, qualitative research aims to understandthe reasons behind various aspects of behavior. Simply put, it investigates the why and how ofdecision-making, as compared to what, where and when of quantitative research. Hence, theneed is for smaller but focused samples, rather than large random samples. Qualitative researchcategorizes data into patterns as the primary basis for organizing and reporting results. Unlikequantitative research, which relies exclusively on the analysis of numerical or quantifiable data,data for qualitative research comes in many forms, including text, sound, still images, and movingimages.In qualitative research, the method does not ask the consumer to limit his or her answers to pre-assigned response categories. The responses are verbal rather than numerical and therespondent is asked to rate the answer in his or her own words. If the answer is a true/false or amultiple-choice category, this is a quantitative answer. If the answer is in terms of an essay, it isqualitative. In this method, the researcher may not even know what the possible answers couldbe and in fact this method is adopted precisely for that reason. This approach allows theresearcher to discover the consumption motives, attitudes, opinions, perceptions, preferences,experiences, actions, future intentions, etc. There are different techniques in qualitative research.Some of them are described in the following paragraphs:Focus GroupsA focus group is a form of qualitative research, in which a group of people is asked about theirattitude towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging. Questions areasked in an interactive group setting, where participants are free to talk with other groupmembers. Focus groups are seen as an important tool for acquiring feedback regarding newproducts, as well as various topics. In particular, focus groups allow companies wishing to

develop, package, name, or test market a new product, to discuss, view, and/or test the newproduct before it is made available to the public. This can provide invaluable information aboutthe potential market acceptance of the product.In traditional focus groups, a screened (qualified) group of respondents gathers in the sameroom. They are screened to ensure that they are part of the relevant target market and that thegroup is a representative subgroup of this market segment. There are usually 6 to 10 members inthe group, and the session usually lasts for 1 to 2 hours. A moderator guides the group through adiscussion that probes attitudes about a client's proposed products or services. The discussion isloosely structured, and the moderator encourages the free flow of ideas. The moderator is


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typically given a list of objectives or an anticipated outline. He/she will generally have only a fewspecific questions prepared prior to the focus group. These questions will serve to initiate open-ended discussions.Client representatives observe the discussion from behind a one-way mirror. Participants cannotsee out, but the researchers and their clients can see in. Usually, a video camera records themeeting so that, it can be seen by others who were not able to travel to the site. Transcripts canbe created from the videotape. If the participants speak a different language than the clients, asimultaneous interpreter may be used.Researchers examine more than the spoken words. They also try to interpret facial expressions,body language, and group dynamics. Moderators may use straight questioning or variousprojective techniques, including fixed or free association, story telling and role-playing. Focusgroups are often used to garner reaction to specific stimuli such as concepts, prototypes andadvertising.It is often suggested that, respondents feel group pressure to conform and this can contaminatethe results. Others hold that, by using trained and experienced moderators who appropriatelymanage the discussion, this potential problem can be mitigated. Further, despite the potential forgroupthink, marketers and sociologists find that group dynamics are useful in developing newstreams of thought and covering an issue thoroughly.Focus group discussions are not representative of the total population of the target consumers,since this sample is not representative. This group is a window to the customers mind, bringing

to surface those things, which the marketer may not have known about the consumer and his/ herviews on many issues.Types of focus groups: Different types of focus groups include:

1i. Two-way focus group one focus group watches another focus group and discusses theobserved interactions and conclusions.

2ii. Dual moderator focus group one moderator ensures the session progresses smoothly,while another ensures that all the topics are covered.

3iii. Dueling moderator focus group two moderators deliberately take opposite sides on theissue under discussion.

4iv. Respondent moderator focus group one or more of the respondents are asked to act asthe moderator temporarily.

v. Client participant focus groups one or more client representatives participate in thediscussion, either covertly or overtly. vi. Mini focus groups groups are comprised of 4 or 5

members rather than 8 to 12. vii. Teleconference focus groups - telephone network is used. viii.Online focus groups computers and Internet network is used. Traditional focus groups canprovide accurate information, and are less expensive than other forms of traditional marketingresearch. There can be significant costs however, if a product is to be marketed on a nationwidebasis. It would be critical to gather respondents from various locales throughout the country, sinceattitudes about a new product may vary due to geographical considerations. This would requireconsiderable expenditure in travel and lodging expenses. Additionally, the site of a traditionalfocus group may or may not be in a locale convenient to a specific client, so client representativesmay have to incur travel and lodging expenses as well. The use of focus groups has steadilyevolved over time and is becoming increasingly more widespread.

Quantitative Research :Quantitative marketing research is the application of quantitative research techniques to the field

of marketing. It has roots in the modern marketing viewpoint that marketing is an interactiveprocess in which both the buyer and seller reach a satisfying agreement on the "four P's" ofmarketing: Product, Price, Place (location) and Promotion. As a social research method, ittypically involves the construction of questionnaires and scales. People who respond(respondents) are asked to complete the survey. Marketers use the information so obtained tounderstand the needs of individuals in the marketplace, and to create strategies and marketingplans. Both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques can be used to analyse data anddraw conclusions. It involves a quantity of respondents, sometimes ranging in number from ten toten million, and may include hypotheses and random sampling techniques to enable inference


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from the sample to the population. Marketing research may include both experimental and quasi-experimental research designs.Steps involved in Quantitative Research: There are five important steps involved in theresearch process:

1a. Defining the Problem: This involves problem analysis and problem definition i.e. What isthe problem? What are the various aspects of the problem? What information is needed?

2b. Research Design: This involves conceptualization and operationalisation i.e. How exactlydo we define the concepts involved? How do we translate these concepts into observable andmeasurable behaviors?

Q.6 Dinesh is a sales analyst. Recently he was asked to undertake a training session forthe newly joined recruits. Dinesh wants to highlight the importance and methods of salesforecasting and why sales forecasting is considered as an important marketing researchtechnique. But, on the day of the training, Dinesh has to attend an urgent sales meetingwith the top management. You are asked to take over the session. How will you achieve

Dineshs training objectives? Apart from that, you also want to the recruits to know aboutcustomer profiling, product and new product research.

Ans.: Importance of Sales Forecasting:A retailer estimates its expected future revenues for a given period by sales forecasting.Forecasts may be company wide, departmental, and for individual merchandise classifications.Perhaps the most important step in financial merchandise planning is accurate sales forecasting,because an incorrect projection of sales throws off the entire process. That is why many retailershave state-of-the art forecasting systems. Longs Drug Stores has dramatically improved its cashflow by using a system from Event.Larger retailers often forecast total and department sales by techniques such as trend analysis,time series analysis, and multiple regression analysis. Small retailers rely more onguesstimates, projections based on experience. Even for larger firms, sales forecasting formerchandise classifications within departments (or price lines) relies on more qualitativemethods. One way to forecast sales for narrow categories is first to project sales on a companybasis and by department, and then to break down figures judgmentally into merchandiseclassifications.External factors, internal company factors, and seasonal trends must be anticipated and takeninto account. Among the external factors that can affect projected sales are consumer trends,competitors actions, the state of the economy, the weather, and new supplier offerings. For example, Paralytics offers a patent.Methodology to analyze and forecast the relationship among consumer demand, store traffic, andthe weather. Internal company factors that can impact on future sales include additions anddeletions of merchandise lines, revised promotion and credit policies, and change in hours, newoutlets, and store remodeling. With many retailers, seasonality must be considered in settingmonthly or quarterly sales forecasts. Handys yearly snow blower sales should not be estimatedfrom December sales alone.

A sales forecast can be developed by examining past trends and projecting future growth (basedon external and internal factors). It is an estimate, subject to revisions. Various factors may behard to incorporate when devising forecast, such as merchandise shortages, consumer reactionsto new products, the rate of inflation, and new government legislation. That is why a financialmerchandise plan needs some flexibility.After a yearly forecast is derived, it should be broken into quarters or months. In retailing monthlyforecast are usually required. Jewelry stores know December accounts for nearly one-quarter ofannual sales, while drugstores know December sales are slightly better than average. Stationerystores and card stores realize that Christmas card generate 60 percent of seasonal greeting card


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sales, while Valentines Day card are second with about 25 percent. To acquire more specificestimates, a retailer could use a monthly sales index, which divides each months actual sales byaverage monthly sales and multiplies the results by 100 is actual monthly sales and monthlysales indexes. The store is seasonal, with peaks in late spring and early summer (for lawnmowers, garden supplies, and so on), as well as December (for lighting fixtures, snow blowers,and gifts). Other monthly indexes are computed similarly. Each monthly index shows thepercentage deviation of that months sales from the average months. A May index of 160 meansMay sales are 60 percent higher than average. October indexes of 67 means sales in Octoberare 33 percent below average.

1Product research This includes testing of new products through methods such as testmarketing (introducing a new product in one or two select markets and evaluating the response inthose markets), and concept testing (testing consumer reactions to a description of a productconcept, rather than the actual product); testing of alternative packaging concepts (e.g. iced tea incans vs. tetra packs), brand name testing, product attribute/feature testing (e.g. testing differentcombinations of product features among consumers, such as level of sweetness and level of fizzin an iced tea drink) and assessing consumer perceptions of a products strengths andweaknesses. In addition, product research also includes research on services, since service

industries are also users of marketing research.

Assignment Set- 2

Q.1 a. Mention the types and components of a market research report.

Ans.: Types of Research Reports:

Research reports may be classified into the following types - 1. Technical reports 2. Popularreports 3. Interim Reports 4. Summary reports 5. Research abstracts 6. Research articles these


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differ in terms of the degree of formality, physical form, scope, writing style, detail, use oftechnical terms and length.1 Technical Reports This is a comprehensive report which is generally intended for otherresearchers and research managers and describes all aspects of the research process inconsiderable detail - the problem studied, the objectives of the study, the methodology andtechniques used, a detailed account of the sampling field and other research procedures, sourcesof data, tools for data collection, methods of data processing and analysis, findings, conclusionsand suggestions. The idea is to enable another researcher to critique the methodology used andto evaluate the accuracy of the findings.

2 Popular Reports This type of report is intended for a more general audience that is lessinterested in the methodological details, but more interested in the findings of the study.Therefore, the writing style and complexity will be different from that of a technical report.Sentences and paragraphs should be short and complicated statistics and terminology should beavoided. The presentation of the report should be livelier and include bold headlines, flowdiagrams, charts, tables and other visual devices. However, the report should aim to inform thereader, not merely impress him/her. After a brief introduction to the problem and the objectives ofthe study, an abstract of the findings of the study, conclusions and recommendations should bepresented.

3 Interim Reports When there is a time lag between data collection and presentation of theresults, the study may lose its significance and usefulness. In such a situation, an interim reportcan narrate what has been done so far and what was its outcome. It presents a summary of thefindings of that part of the analysis, which has been completed.

4 Summary ReportsA summary report is meant for a lay audience i.e., for the general public. It is written in non-technical, simple language with pictorial charts, objectives, findings and its implications. It is ashort report of two to three pages in length.

5 Research AbstractsA research abstract is a short summary of a technical report. A doctoral student prepares it on theeve of submitting a thesis. It contains a brief presentation of the statement of the problem, the

objectives of the study, methods and techniques used and an overview of the report. A briefsummary of the results of the study may also be included.

6 Research ArticlesA research article is designed for publication in a professional journal. A research article must beclearly written in concise, unambiguous language. It must be logically organized. Progressionfrom a statement of a problem and purpose of the study, through to analysis of evidence,conclusions and implications are given in the report.

Characteristics of a Research Report A research report is a narrative and authoritativedocument on the outcome of a research effort. It represents highly specific information for aclearly designated audience. It is a simple, readable and accurate form of communication.

Functions of a Research Report A research report serves as a means for presenting theproblem studied, the methods and techniques used for collecting and analyzing data, the findings,conclusions and recommendations. It serves as a basic reference material for future use. Inaddition, it also serves the following functions It is a means for judging the quality of a research project. It is a means for evaluating the researchers competence. It provides systematic knowledge on problems and issues analyzed.


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b. What is marketing audit? What are its elements?Ans.: The marketing audit is a fundamental part of the marketing planning process. It isconducted not only at the beginning of the process, but also at a series of points during theimplementation of the plan. The marketing audit considers both internal and external influenceson marketing planning, as well as a review of the plan itself. Marketing Skills AuditSkills are the most distinctive encapsulation of the organizations way of doing business. Onevehicle for assessing skills is the marketing audit. This is a comprehensive, systematic,independent, and periodic examination of a business units marketing environment, objectives,strategies and activities. The audit should be based on customer orientation, or focus oncustomer satisfaction as its overriding theme. The audit is simply a marketing research projectwhose objective is to critically evaluate the way the firm performs in its environment.

Elements of Marketing audit:

1. Key factors that impacted the business for good or for bad during the past year.Including an evaluation of marketing "surprises"the unanticipated competitive actionsor changes in the marketing climate that affected the performance of the marketingprograms.

2. The extent to which each decision in the marketing plane.g. targeting, positioning,pricing, advertising, etc.was made after evaluating many alternatives in terms of profit-related criteria.

3. Marketing knowledge, attitudes, and satisfaction of all executives involved in themarketing function.

4. The extent to which the marketing program was marketed internally and bought into bytop management and non-marketing executives.

5. Customer, distributor, vendor, and intermediary satisfaction based on research amongkey target groups.

6. The performance of advertising, promotion, sales force, and marketing researchprograms in terms of ROI.

7. The performance of non-traditional programs, particularly digital offerings, in terms ofROI.

8. Whether the marketing plan achieved its stated financial and non-financial goals andobjectives.

9. Which aspects of the plan that failed to meet objectives with specific recommendationsfor improving next year's performance?

10. The current value of brand and customer equity for each brand in the product portfolio.

Q.2 Assess the scope of hypothesis testing in marketing research.

Ans.:Concepts of Testing Hypotheses


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Some basic concepts in the context of testing of hypotheses are explained below -1

21) Null Hypotheses and Alternative Hypotheses: In the context of statistical analysis, weoften talk about null and alternative hypotheses. If we are to compare the superiority ofmethod A with that of method B and we proceed on the assumption that both methodsare equally good, then this assumption is termed as a null hypothesis. On the other hand,

if we think that method A is superior, then it is known as an alternative hypothesis.

These are symbolically represented as:Null hypothesis = H0 and Alternative hypothesis = HaSuppose we want to test the hypothesis that the population mean is equal to the hypothesizedmean ( H0) = 100. Then we would say that the null hypothesis is that the population mean isequal to the hypothesized mean 100 and symbolically we can express it as: H0: = H0=100If our sample results do not support this null hypothesis, we should conclude that something elseis true. What we conclude rejecting the null hypothesis is known as an alternative hypothesis. Ifwe accept H0, then we are rejecting Ha and if we reject H0, then we are accepting Ha. For H0:= H0=100, we may consider three possible alternative hypotheses as follows:

AlternativeHypotheses

To be read as follows

Ha: H0 (The alternative hypothesis is that the population mean is not equal to 100i.e., it may be more or less 100)

Ha: > H0 (The alternative hypothesis is that the population mean is greater than100)

Ha: < H0 (The alternative hypothesis is that the population mean is less than 100)

The null hypotheses and the alternative hypotheses are chosen before the sample is drawn (theresearcher must avoid the error of deriving hypotheses from the data he collects and testing the

hypotheses from the same data). In the choice of null hypothesis, the following considerations areusually kept in view:

1a. The alternative hypothesis is usually the one, which is to be proved, and the null hypothesis isthe one that is to be disproved. Thus a null hypothesis represents the hypothesis we are trying toreject, while the alternative hypothesis represents all other possibilities.2b. If the rejection of a certain hypothesis when it is actually true involves great risk, it is taken asnull hypothesis, because then the probability of rejecting it when it is true is (the level ofsignificance) which is chosen very small.3c. The null hypothesis should always be a specific hypothesis i.e., it should not state anapproximate value.

Generally, in hypothesis testing, we proceed on the basis of the null hypothesis, keeping thealternative hypothesis in view. Why so? The answer is that on the assumption that the null

hypothesis is true, one can assign the probabilities to different possible sample results, but thiscannot be done if we proceed with alternative hypotheses. Hence the use of null hypotheses (attimes also known as statistical hypotheses) is quite frequent.

2) The Level of Significance: This is a very important concept in the context of hypothesistesting. It is always some percentage (usually 5%), which should be chosen with great care,thought and reason. In case we take the significance level at 5%, then this implies that H0 will berejected when the sampling result (i.e., observed evidence) has a less than 0.05 probability ofoccurring if H0 is true. In other words, the 5% level of significance means that the researcher iswilling to take as much as 5% risk rejecting the null hypothesis when it (H0) happens to be true.


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Thus the significance level is the maximum value of the probability of rejecting H0 when it is trueand is usually determined in advance before testing the hypothesis.

3) Decision Rule or Test of Hypotheses: Given a hypothesis Ha and an alternative hypothesisH0, we make a rule, which is known as a decision rule, according to which we accept H0 (i.e.,reject Ha) or reject H0 (i.e., accept Ha). For instance, if H0 is that a certain lot is good (there arevery few defective items in it), against Ha, that the lot is not good (there are many defective itemsin it), and then we must decide the number of items to be tested and the criterion for accepting orrejecting the hypothesis. We might test 10 items in the lot and plan our decision saying that ifthere are none or only 1 defective item among the 10, we will accept H0; otherwise we will rejectH0 (or accept Ha). This sort of basis is known as a decision rule.

4) Type II Errors & I: In the context of testing of hypotheses, there are basically two types oferrors that we can make. We may reject H0 when H0 is true and we may accept H0 when it is nottrue. The former is known as Type I and the latter is known as Type II. In other words, Type Ierror means rejection of hypotheses, which should have been accepted, and Type II error meansaccepting of hypotheses, which should have been rejected. Type I error is denoted by (alpha),also called as level of significance of test; and Type II error is denoted by (beta).

Decision

Accept H0 Reject H0

H0 (true) Correct decision Type I error ( error)

Ho (false) Type II error ( error) Correct decision

The probability of Type I error is usually determined in advance and is understood as the level ofsignificance of testing the hypotheses. If type I error is fixed at 5%, it means there are about 5chances in 100 that we will reject H0 when H0 is true. We can control type I error just by fixing itat a lower level. For instance, if we fix it at 1%, we will say that the maximum probability ofcommitting type I error would only be 0.01.But with a fixed sample size n, when we try to reduce type I error, the probability of committing

type II error increases. Both types of errors cannot be reduced simultaneously, since there is atrade-off in business situations. Decision makers decide the appropriate level of type I error byexamining the costs of penalties attached to both types of errors. If type I error involves time andtrouble of reworking a batch of chemicals that should have been accepted, whereas type II errormeans taking a chance that an entire group of users of this chemicals compound will bepoisoned, then in such a situation one should prefer a type I error to a type II error. As a result,one must set a very high level for type I error in ones testing techniques of a given hypothesis.Hence, in testing of hypotheses, one must make all possible efforts to strike an adequate balancebetween Type I & Type II error.1

25) Two Tailed Test & One Tailed Test: In the context of hypothesis testing, these two termsare quite important and must be clearly understood. A two-tailed test rejects the null hypothesis if,say, the sample mean is significantly higher or lower than the hypothesized value of the mean of

the population. Such a test is inappropriate when we have H0: = H0 and Ha: H0 whichmay > H0 or


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Q.3 a. is ethics required in marketing research? Discuss briefly.

Ans.: Ethics refers to moral principles or values that generally govern the conduct of theindividual or group. Researchers have responsibilities to their profession. Clients andrespondents must also adhere to high ethical standards to ensure that both the function and theinformation are not brought into disrepute. The Marketing Research Association, Inc. (Chicago,Illinois) has instituted a code of ethics that serves as a guideline for ethical marketing researchdecisions. The Council of American Research Organization (CASRO) has also established adetailed code of marketing research ethics to which its members adhere.As the figure below indicates, three parties are normally involved in the marketing researchprocess:0 1. The manager or client who sponsors the project1 2. The researcher or supplier who designs and executes the research2 3. The subject or respondent who provides the information.The major responsibility for ethical behavior falls on the users and suppliers of marketingresearch, rather than on the respondents, whose duty is simply to be honest in their behavior andresponses. The figure also indicates that two other parties competitors and society at large

are involved in the research process. While their involvement is not direct, they are often affectedby marketing research activities.Given below given is the Code of Professional Ethics and Practices instituted by the MarketingResearch Association.

1. To maintain high standards of competence and integrity in marketing and surveyresearch.

2. To maintain the highest level of business and professional conduct and to comply withthe Federal, State and local laws, regulations and ordinances applicable to businesspractices and those of the company.

3. To exercise all reasonable care and to observe the best standards of objectivity andaccuracy in the development, collection, processing and reporting of marketing andsurvey research information

4. To protect the anonymity of respondents and hold all information concerning an individual

respondent privileged, such that this information is used only within the context of theparticular study.

5. To thoroughly instruct and supervise all persons for whose work I am responsible inaccordance with study specifications and general research techniques.

6. To observe the rights of ownership of all materials received from and / or for clients andto keep in confidence all research techniques, data and other information consideredconfidential by the owners.

7. To make available to clients such details on the research methods and techniques of anassignment as may be reasonably required for proper interpretation of the data, providedthis reporting does not violate the confidence of respondents or clients.

8. To promote the trust of the public for marketing and survey research activities and toavoid any procedures which misrepresent the activities of the respondents, the rewardsof cooperation or the uses of data

9. To refrain from referring to membership in this organization as proof of competence,since the organization does not certify any person or organization.10. To encourage the observance of principles of this code among all people engaged in

marketing and survey research.

b. Distinguish between bivariate and multivariate analysis.


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Ans.: Multivariate analysis (MVA) is based on the statistical principle ofmultivariate statistics,which involves observation and analysis of more than one statistical variable at a time. In designand analysis, the technique is used to perform trade studies across multiple dimensions whiletaking into account the effects of all variables on the responses of interest.

Uses for multivariate analysis include:

Design for capability (also known as capability-based design)

Inverse design, where any variable can be treated as an independent variable

Analysis of Alternatives (A0A), the selection of concepts to fulfill a customer need

Analysis of concepts with respect to changing scenarios

Identification of critical design drivers and correlations across hierarchical levels.

Multivariate analysis can be complicated by the desire to include physics-based analysis tocalculate the effects of variables for a hierarchical "system-of-systems." Often, studies that wishto use multivariate analysis are stalled by the dimensionality of the problem. These concerns areoften eased through the use ofsurrogate models, highly accurate approximations of the physics-based code. Since surrogate models take the form of an equation, they can be evaluated veryquickly. This becomes an enabler for large-scale MVA studies: while a Monte Carlo simulation

across the design space is difficult with physics-based codes, it becomes trivial when evaluatingsurrogate models, which often take the form ofresponse surface equations.

Bivariate analysis is concerned with the relationships between pairs of variables (X, Y) in a dataset. The following data analysis situations can be visualized, depending on the measurementlevels of variables and whether there is any distinction between dependent and independentvariables. Bivariate analysis is the simultaneous analysis of two variables. It is usually undertakento see if one variable is related to another variable. Multivariate analysis is the simultaneousanalysis of three or more variables. It is frequently done to refine a bivariate analysis, taking intoaccount the possible influence of a third variable on the original bivariate relationship. Multivariate

analysis is also used to test the joint effects of two or more variables upon a dependent variable.

Q.4 a. List the benefits of scaling techniques in marketing research.

Ans.:benefits of scaling techniques:Multidimensional scaling addresses the problem of identifying the dimensions upon whichcustomers perceive or evaluate phenomena (products, brands, or companies) in a perceptualmap. Multidimensional scaling techniques result in perceptual maps that describe the positioningof companies or brands that are compared, relative to the position they occupy in the minds ofcustomers, according to key attributes. These maps allow the decision maker to examineunderlying criteria or dimensions that people utilize, to form perceptions about similarities

between and preferences among various products, services, or companies. The question ofpositioning by multidimensional scaling (MDS) and perceptual mapping deals with how a firmcompares to its competitors on key attributes, what the ideal set of attributes sought by thecustomers might be, or what positioning or repositioning strategy should be developed for aspecific sector of the marketplace. A medium sized bank might learn for example, that the mosteffective way to compete for commercial loan business with larger, more prestigious banks with awider range of services, is by focusing on the genuine concern communicated by loansupervisors, as well as the expertise they develop in their knowledge of their clients sub-sector ofindustry.
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b. Give a note on statistical package for social sciences.

Ans.: SPSS (originally, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) was released in its firstversion in 1968 after being developed by Norman H. Nie and C. Hadlai Hull. Norman Nie wasthen a political sciencepostgraduate at Stanford University, and now Research Professorin theDepartment of Political Science at Stanford and Professor Emeritus of Political Science at theUniversity of Chicago. SPSS is among the most widely used programs for statistical analysis insocial science. It is used by market researchers, health researchers, survey companies,government, education researchers, marketing organizations and others. The original SPSSmanual (Nie, Bent & Hull, 1970) has been described as one of "sociology's most influentialbooks".[4] In addition to statistical analysis, data management (case selection, file reshaping,creating derived data) and data documentation (a metadata dictionary is stored in the datafile) arefeatures of the base software.

Statistics included in the base software:

Descriptive statistics: Cross tabulation, Frequencies, Descriptives, Explore, DescriptiveRatio Statistics

Bivariate statistics: Means, t-test, ANOVA, Correlation (bivariate, partial, distances),Nonparametric tests

Prediction for numerical outcomes: Linear regression

Prediction for identifying groups: Factor analysis, cluster analysis (two-step, K-means,hierarchical), Discriminant

The many features of SPSS are accessible via pull-down menus or can be programmed with aproprietary 4GL command syntax language. Command syntax programming has the benefits ofreproducibility; simplifying repetitive tasks; and handling complex data manipulations andanalyses. Additionally, some complex applications can only be programmed in syntax and are not

accessible through the menu structure. The pull-down menu interface also generates commandsyntax, this can be displayed in the output though the default settings have to be changed tomake the syntax visible to the user; or can be pasted into a syntax file using the "paste" buttonpresent in each menu. Programs can be run interactively, or unattended using the suppliedProduction Job Facility. Additionally a "macro" language can be used to write command languagesubroutines and a Python programmability extension can access the information in the datadictionary and data and dynamically build command syntax programs. The Pythonprogrammability extension, introduced in SPSS 14, replaced the less functional SAX Basic"scripts" for most purposes, although SaxBasic remains available. In addition, the Pythonextension allows SPSS to run any of the statistics in the free software package R. From version14 onwards SPSS can be driven externally by a Python or a VB.NET program using supplied"plug-ins".

SPSS places constraints on internal file structure, data types, data processing and matching files,which together considerably simplify programming. SPSS datasets have a 2-dimensional tablestructure where the rows typically represent cases (such as individuals or households) and thecolumns represent measurements (such as age, sex or household income). Only 2 data types aredefined: numeric and text (or "string"). All data processing occurs sequentially case-by-casethrough the file. Files can be matched one-to-one and one-to-many, but not many-to-many.

The graphical user interface has two views which can be toggled by clicking on one of the twotabs in the bottom left of the SPSS window. The 'Data View' shows a spreadsheet view of the
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cases (rows) and variables (columns). Unlike spreadsheets, the data cells can only containnumbers or text and formulas cannot be stored in these cells. The 'Variable View' displays themetadata dictionary where each row represents a variable and shows the variable name, variablelabel, value label(s), print width, measurement type and a variety of other characteristics. Cells inboth views can be manually edited, defining the file structure and allowing data entry withoutusing command syntax. This may be sufficient for small datasets. Larger datasets such asstatistical surveys are more often created in data entry software, or entered during computer-assisted personal interviewing, by scanning and using optical character recognition and opticalmark recognition software, or by direct capture from online questionnaires. These datasets arethen read into SPSS.

Statistical output is to a proprietary file format (*.spv file, supporting pivot tables) for which, inaddition to the in-package viewer, a stand-alone reader can be downloaded. The proprietaryoutput can be exported to text orMicrosoft Word. Alternatively, output can be captured as data(using the OMS command), as text, tab-delimited text, PDF, XLS, HTML, XML, SPSS dataset ora variety of graphic image formats (JPEG, PNG, BMP and EMF).

Q.5 Zigzag Company Ltd. is a foreign-based multinational. It is now interested to expandtheir markets to India. But, before they start selling their products in India, they want tocarry out a marketing research to find out market attractiveness. They hire an Indianmarketing research agency to conduct the research on their behalf. If you are a part of thisresearch agency, what problems and challenges will you face in undertaking thisresearch? How will you communicate this to the company and what would be youradvice?

Ans.:Problems and challenges:Market ShareMarket share is measured as a percentage of total industry sales over a specified period. Clearly,there are problems in assessing competitive advantage using market share. A companys marketshare can change dramatically, depending on whether the market is defined as global, is a

particular export market, domestic market, regional market, a city, a segment of users, or isbased on product usage.The change in market share over time is a vital indicator of competitive dynamics, particularlyduring the growth stage of a product or market. It indicates whether the firm is ahead, abreast, orbehind the markets total growth rate.Recall ShareRecall share is the percentage of customers who name the brand when they are asked to namethe first brand that comes to mind when they consider buying a particular type of product. Thisindicates the consumers top-of-mind brand awareness and preferences and gives a measure ofadvantage to that brand over others in the market.Advertising ShareAdvertising share is the percentage of media space or time a brand has of the total media sharefor that industry, often measured simply as money spent on advertising. This is likely to lead to achange in recall share. Advertising share is another measure of the current competition that a firm

faces.R&D ShareR&D share is a companys research and development expenditure as a percentage of totalindustry R&D expenditures. This is a long-term predictor of new-product development,improvements in quality, cost reductions, and hence market share. It is a very important measureof future competitiveness in many high-technology markets. All of these shares can be obtainedfrom either survey data or secondary data.Marketing Skills Audit Skills are the most distinctive encapsulation of the organizations way ofdoing business. One vehicle for assessing skills is the marketing audit. This is a comprehensive,
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systematic, independent, and periodic examination of a business units marketing environment,objectives, strategies and activities. The audit should be based on customer orientation, or focuson customer satisfaction as its overriding theme. The audit is simply a marketing research projectwhose objective is to critically evaluate the way the firm performs in its environment.Comparison of Relative Cost Another measure of advantage is a comparison of the firms costsversus those of its competitors. The company gains a cost advantage when its cumulative costsare lower than its competitors. Competitors costs can be estimated from public data orinterviews with suppliers and distributors. Secondary data can also be used to obtain such data.Comparison of Winning vs. Losing Competitors Key success factors can be inferred byanalyzing differences in performance among competitors. For this approach to yield usefulinsights, three difficult questions must be answered. First, which competitors should be includedin the comparison set? Second, which criteria should be used to distinguish the winners from thelosers (e.g. profitability, growth, market share, creation of markets)? Third, what are the reasonsfor the differences in performance?Brand Equity Brand equity is defined as a set of assets and liabilities linked to a brand that addto or subtract from the value of a product or service to a company and/or its customers. Theassets or liabilities that underlie brand equity must be linked to the name and symbol of thebrand. They can be grouped into five categories: Brand loyalty Name awareness Perceived quality Brand associations in addition to perceived quality Other proprietary

brand assets: patents, trademarks, channel relationships etc.

Customer Satisfaction In recent years, American business has become increasingly committedto the idea of customer satisfaction and product service quality. The measurement of customersatisfaction and its link to product/service attributes is the vehicle for developing a market drivenapproach. Customer satisfaction research has been around for a long time, but it has become afixture at most large corporations only in recent years.Total Quality Management Recent years have witnessed a renewed emphasis on deliveringsuperior quality products and services to customers. With foreign competition steadily eatingaway the profitability and the market shares of Indian companies, more and more of them areadopting total quality management (TQM) to become more competitive. TQM is a process ofmanaging complex changes in the organization with the aim of improving quality.Identifying High-Leverage Phenomena Ideally, these are causal relationships that describecontrollable variables such as plant scale, production-run length, and sales costs per unit.Ethical Issues - Code of Conduct, Data-Protection Act The Code of Ethics of Marketing

Research Association a. Ethics refers to moral principles or values that generally govern theconduct of an individual or group. Researchers have responsibilities to their profession, clientsand respondents, and must adhere to high ethical standards to ensure that both the function andinformation are not brought into disrepute. The Marketing Research association, Inc (Chicago,Illinois) has instituted a Code of Professional Ethics and Practices for ethical marketing researchdecisions. The Code of Professional Ethics and Practices1. To maintain a high standard of competence and integrity in marketing and survey research.2.To maintain the highest level of business and professional conduct and to comply with Federal,State and local laws, regulations and ordinances applicable to my business practice and those ofmy company.3. To exercise all reasonable care to observe the best standards of objectivity and accuracy in thedevelopment, collection, processing and reporting of marketing and survey research information.4. To thoroughly instruct and supervise all persons for whose work I am responsible, in

accordance with study specifications and general research technique.5. To observe the rights of ownership of all materials received from and /or developed for clients,and to keep in confidence all research techniques, data and other information consideredconfidential by their owners.6. To make available to clients, such details on the research methods and techniques of anassignment, as may be reasonably required for proper interpretation of the data, providing thisreporting does not violate the confidence of respondents of clients.7. To promote the trust of the public for marketing and survey research activities and to avoid anyprocedure which misrepresents the activities of a respondent, the rewards of cooperation or theuses of data.


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8. To refrain from referring to membership in this organization as proof of competence, since theorganization does not so certify any person or organization.9. To encourage the observance of principles of this code among all people engaged in marketingand survey research.

Q.6 You attend an interview in a big company. You are asked the following questions bythe interviewers:i. What is a sample?ii. What is a sample size?iii. What is a sampling process?iv. What are the types of sampling design?v. What is a sampling error?What will be your answers?

Ans.: Sample: A part of the population is known as a sample. The method, consisting ofthe selection for a study, a portion of the universe, with a view to drawing conclusionsabout the universe or population is known as sampling. A statistical sample ideallypurports to be a miniature model or replica of the population, comprised of all the itemsthat the study should principally encompass, that is, the items that potentially holdpromise of affording information relevant to the purpose of a given research.

Sample size: If the population to be studied is relatively small, say 50 institutions, 200 employeesor 150 households, the investigator may decide to study the entire population. The task is easilymanageable and sampling may not be required. However, if the population to be studied is quitelarge, sampling is warranted. However, the size is a relative matter. Whether a population is largeor small depends upon the nature of the study, the purpose for which it is undertaken, and thetime and other resources available.

Sampling process: The decision process is a complicated one. The researcher has to firstidentify the limiting factor or factors and must judiciously balance the conflicting factors. Thevarious criteria governing the choice of the sampling technique are:

1. Purpose of the Survey: What does the researcher aim at? If he intends to generalizethe findings based on the sample survey to the population, then an appropriateprobability sampling method must be selected. The choice of a particular type ofprobability sampling depends on the geographical area of the survey and the size and thenature of the population under study.

2. Measurability: The application of statistical inference theory requires computation of thesampling error from the sample itself. Only probability samples allow such computation.Hence, where the research objective requires statistical inference, the sample should bedrawn by applying simple random sampling method or stratified random samplingmethod, depending on whether the population is homogenous or heterogeneous.

3. Degree of Precision: Should the results of the survey be very precise, or could evenrough results serve the purpose? The desired level of precision is one of the criteria forsampling method selection. Where a high degree of precision of results is desired,probability sampling should be used. Where even crude results would serve the purpose(E.g., marketing surveys, readership surveys etc), any convenient non-random samplinglike quota sampling would be enough.

4. Information about Population: How much information is available about the populationto be studied? Where no list of population and no information about its nature areavailable, it is difficult to apply a probability sampling method. Then an exploratory study


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with non-probability sampling may be done to gain a better idea of the population. Aftergaining sufficient knowledge about the population through the exploratory study, anappropriate probability sampling design may be adopted.

5. The Nature of the Population: In terms of the variables to be studied, is the populationhomogenous or heterogeneous? In the case of a homogenous population, even simplerandom sampling will give a representative sample. If the population is heterogeneous,

stratified random sampling is appropriate.6. Geographical Area of the Study and the Size of the Population : If the area covered

by a survey is very large and the size of the population is quite large, multi-stage clustersampling would be appropriate. But if the area and the size of the population are small,single stage probability sampling methods could be used.

7. Financial Resources: If the available finance is limited, it may become necessary tochoose a less costly sampling plan like multistage cluster sampling, or even quotasampling as a compromise. However, if the objectives of the study and the desired levelof precision cannot be attained within the stipulated budget, there is no alternative but togive up the proposed survey. Where the finance is not a constraint, a researcher canchoose the most appropriate method of sampling that fits the research objective and thenature of population.

8. Time Limitation: The time limit within which the research project should be completed

restricts the choice of a sampling method. Then, as a compromise, it may becomenecessary to choose less time consuming methods like simple random sampling, insteadof stratified sampling/sampling with probability proportional to size; or multi-stage clustersampling, instead of single-stage sampling of elements. Of course, the precision has tobe sacrificed to some extent.

9. Economy: It should be another criterion in choosing the sampling method. It meansachieving the desired level of precision at minimum cost. A sample is economical if theprecision per unit cost is high, or the cost per unit of variance is low. The above criteriafrequently conflict with each other and the researcher must balance and blend them toobtain a good sampling plan. The chosen plan thus represents an adaptation of thesampling theory to the available facilities and resources. That is, it represents acompromise between idealism and feasibility. One should use simple workable methods,instead of unduly elaborate and the area and the size of the population are small, single

stage probability sampling methods could be used.Types of sampling designConvenience or accidental sampling: It means selecting sample units in a just hit and missfashion - e.g., interviewing people whom we happen to meet. This sampling also means selectingwhatever sampling units are conveniently available - e.g., a teacher may select students in hisclass. This method is also known as accidental sampling, because the respondents whom theresearcher meets accidentally are included in the sample.Suitability: Though this type of sampling has no status, it may be used for simple purposes suchas testing ideas, or gaining ideas or a rough impression about a subject of interest.Advantage: It is the cheapest and simplest does not require a list of the population and does notrequire any statistical expertise.Disadvantage: The disadvantage is that it is highly biased because of the researcherssubjectivity. It is the least reliable sampling method and the findings cannot be generalized.

2. Purposive (or judgment) sampling: This method means deliberate selection of sample unitsthat conform to some pre-determined criteria. This is also known as judgment sampling. Thisinvolves selection of cases, which we judge as the most appropriate ones for the given study. It isbased on the judgment of the researcher or some expert. It does not aim at securing a crosssection of a population. The chance that a particular case be selected for the sample depends onthe subjective judgment of the researcher.Suitability: This is used when what is important is the typicality and specific relevance of thesampling units to the study and not their overall representative ness to the population.Advantage: It is less costly and more convenient and guarantees inclusion of relevant elementsin the sample.


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Disadvantage: It is less efficient for generalizing, does not ensure representative ness, requiresprior extensive information and does not lend itself for using inferential statistics.3. Quota sampling: This is a form of convenient sampling involving selection of quota groups ofaccessible sampling units by traits such as sex, age, social class, etc. It is a method of stratifiedsampling, in which the selection within strata is non-random. It is this non-random element thatconstitutes its greatest weakness.Suitability: It is used in studies like marketing surveys, opinion polls, and readership surveys,which do not aim at precision, but at getting some crude results quickly.Advantage: It is less costly, takes less time, does not need a list of the population, and allowsfieldwork to be easily be organized.

Sampling error: In statistics, sampling error or estimation error is the error caused byobserving a sample instead of the whole population. [1] The sampling error can be found bysubtracting the value of a parameter from the value of a statistic. In nursing research, a samplingerror is the difference between a sample statistic used to estimate a population parameter andthe actual but unknown value of the parameter. An estimate of a quantityof interest, such as anaverage or percentage, will generally be subject to sample-to-sample variation.[1] These variationsin the possible sample values of a statistic can theoretically be expressed as sampling errors,although in practice the exact sampling error is typically unknown. Sampling error also refersmore broadly to this phenomenon of random sampling variation.

The likely size of the sampling error can generally be controlled by taking a large enough randomsample from the population, although the cost of doing this may be prohibitive; see sample sizeand statistical power for more detail. If the observations are collected from a random sample,statistical theory provides probabilistic estimates of the likely size of the sampling error for aparticularstatistic orestimator. These are often expressed in terms of its standard error.

Sampling bias is a possible source of sampling errors. It leads to sampling errors which eitherhave a prevalence to be positive or negative. Such errors can be considered to be systematicerrors.

Sampling error can be contrasted with non-sampling error. Non-sampling error is a catch-all term

for the deviations from the true value that are not a function of the sample chosen, includingvarious systematic errors and any random errors that are not due to sampling. Non-samplingerrors are much harder to quantify than sampling error.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statisticshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Errors_and_residuals_in_statisticshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-Sarndal-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-Sarndal-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-Sarndal-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_samplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_samplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sample_sizehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistical_powerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistical_theoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probabilityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estimatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_error_(statistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampling_biashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systematic_errorshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systematic_errorshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-sampling_errorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systematic_errorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statisticshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Errors_and_residuals_in_statisticshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-Sarndal-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-Sarndal-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_samplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_samplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sample_sizehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistical_powerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistical_theoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probabilityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estimatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_error_(statistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampling_biashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systematic_errorshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systematic_errorshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-sampling_errorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systematic_error

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MK0013 Market Research Fall 10 Soved