Quantitative Research

What is Quantitative Research?
Quantitative market research studies are designed to assess, predict, and estimate buyer attitudes and behaviors, used for market sizing, market segmentation, and uncovering "drivers" for brand and product preference
Quantitative research is about measuring a market and quantifying that measurement with data. Most often the data required relates to market size, market share, penetration, installed base and market growth rates.
However, quantitative research can also be used to measure customer attitudes, satisfaction, commitment and a range of other useful market data that can tracked over time.
Quantitative research can also be used to measure customer awareness and attitudes to different manufacturers and to understand overall customer behaviour in a market by taking a statistical sample of customers to understand the market as a whole. Such techniques are extremely powerful when combined with techniques such segmentation analysis and mean that key audiences can be targeted and monitored over time to ensure the optimal use of the marketing budget.
At the heart of all quantitative research is the statistical sample. Great care has to be taken in selecting the sample and also in the design of the sample questionnaire and the quality of the analysis of data collected.
Market research involves the collection of data to obtain insight and knowledge into the needs and wants of customers and the structure and dynamics of a market. In nearly all cases, it would be very costly and time-consuming to collect data from the entire population of a market. Accordingly, in market research, extensive use is made of sampling from which, through careful design and analysis, Marketers can draw information about the market.
Quantitative market research is numerically oriented, requires significant attention to the measurement of market phenomena and often involves statistical analysis. For example, a bank might ask its customers to rate its overall service as excellent, good, poor or very poor.
This will provide quantitative information that can be analysed statistically. The main rule with quantitative market research is that every respondent is asked the same series of questions. The approach is very structured and normally involves large numbers of interviews/questionnaires.

Perhaps the most common quantitative technique is the ‘market research survey’. These are basically projects that involve the collection of data from multiple cases – such as consumers or a set of products. Quantitative market research surveys can be conducted by using post (self-completion), face-to-face (in-street or in-home), telephone, email or web techniques. The questionnaire is one of the more common tools for collecting data from a survey, but it is only one of a wide ranging set of data collection aids.

Types of Quantitative Researches

•Descriptive: Descriptive research involves collecting data in order to test hypotheses or answer questions concerning the current status of the subjects of the study. It determines and reports the way things are.

•Correlational: Correlational research attempts to determine whether and to what degree a relationship exists between two or more quantifiable variables. However, it never establishes a cause-effect relationship. The relationship is expressed by correlation coefficient, which is a number between .00 and 1.00.

•Cause-comparative: Causal-comparative research: establishes the cause-effect relationship, compares the relationship, but the cause is not manipulated, such as "gender."

•Experimental: Experimental research establishes the cause-effect relationship and does the comparison, but the cause is manipulated. The cause, independent variable makes the difference. The effect, dependent variable is dependent on the independent variable.

Before Conducting a Quantitative Research
•Research Plan: Research plan must be completed before a study is begun. Why?
1.The plan makes a research to think;
2.A written plan facilitates evaluation of the proposed study;
3.The plan provides a guide for conducting the study.
Components of a Research Plan :
1.Introduction: It includes a statement of the problem, a review of related literature, and a statement of the hypothesis.
2.Method: This part includes subjects, instruments-- materials if appropriate, design procedure.
3.Data analysis: A description of the statistical technique or techniques that will be sued to analyze study data.
4.Time schedule: The time schedule is equally important for both beginning researchers working on the thesis or dissertation and for experienced researchers working under the deadlines of a research grant or contract. It basically includes a listing of major activities or phases of the proposed study and a corresponding expected completion time for each activity.
5.Budget: It should list all tentative expenses specifically and submitted to funding agency. It includes such items as personnel, clerical assistance, travel and postage and other expenses, equipment, and fringe benefits etc.

•Ethical Consideration:
THREE ethical considerations are:
1)The subjects should not be harmed in any way (physically or mentally) in the name of science. If an experiment involves any risk to subjects, they should be completely informed concerning the nature of the risk and the permission for participation in the experiment should be acquired in writing from the subjects themselves, or from persons legally responsible for the subjects if they are not of age. If school children are involved, it is a good idea to inform parents before the study is conducted if possible.
2)Subject’s privacy should be strictly confidential. Individual scores should never be reported, or made public.
3)Ethical principle in the conduct of research with human participants is the most definitive source of ethical guidelines for researcher. It is prepared and published by the American Psychological Association (APA). “.... with respect and concern for the dignity and welfare of the people who participate and with cognizance of federal and state regulations and professional standards governing the conduct of research with human participants.” That is “to respect and concern for the dignity and welfare of the people who participate.”

Basic Concepts of Quantitative Research
•Introduction
a.Defining a problem
b.Literature review
c.Hypotheses

•Method
a.Population and subjects
b.Instruments
c.Design and procedures

•Results
Data and statistics
1.Types of measurement scales
2.Descriptive statistics
1.Types of descriptive statistics
2.Calculation for interval data
Inferential statistics
1.Level of significance
2.Tests of significance
(a)Z test for independent variables
(b)Z test for dependent variables
(c)ANOVA

•Discussion
i)Interpretation of results
ii)Generalization
iii)Discussion of implications

•Conclusion and recommendation
i)Based on practical significance to draw conclusion and make suggestions.

Types of Hypothesis Tests use in Quantitative Research
This includes:
•Parametric tests of a single sample:
1.T test
2.Z test
•Parametric tests of two independent samples:
1.Two-group T test
2.Z test
•Parametric tests of paired samples:
1.Paired T test
•Nominal/ordinal level test of a single sample:
2.Chi-square
3.Kolmogorov-Smirnov one sample test
4.Runs test
5.Binomial test
•Nominal/ordinal level test of two independent samples:
1.Chi-square
2.Mann-Whitney U
3.Median
4.Kolmogorov-Smirnov two sample test
•Nominal/ordinal level test for paired samples:
1.Wilcoxon test
2.McNemar test


Point to remember:
•If a Variable (e.g. preference of the respondences on color of a product) is interval/ ratio scaled and meet some statistical assumption (e.g. Normality), then it is eligible for Parametric test.
•If a Variable (e.g. gender or rank order of few products on their certain attributes) is Nominal/ Ordinal scaled and/ or does not meet some statistical assumption (e.g. Normality), then it is not eligible for Parametric test. In this situation we have to use Non-parametric test.
We should use non-parametric test only if sample/ variable is not eligible for parametric test. Remember that, the non-parametric test is mostly used and misused technique in the world.

Inferential Techniques
Inferential techniques involve generalizing from a sample to the whole population. It also involves testing a hypothesis. A hypothesis must be stated in mathematical/statistical terms that make it possible to calculate the probability of possible samples assuming the hypothesis is correct. Then a test statistic must be chosen that will summarize the information in the sample that is relevant to the hypothesis. A null hypothesis is a hypothesis that is presumed true until a hypothesis test indicates otherwise. Typically it is a statement about parameter that is a property of a population. The parameter is often a mean or a standard deviation.
Not unusually, such a hypothesis states that the parameters, or mathematical characteristics, of two or more populations are identical. For example, if we want to compare the test scores of two random samples of men and women, the null hypothesis would be that the mean score in the male population from which the first sample was drawn, was the same as the mean score in the female population from which the second sample was drawn:
H0:μ1 = μ2

Where:
H0 = the null hypothesis
μ1 = the mean of population 1, and
μ2 = the mean of population 2.
The equality operator makes this a two-tailed test. The alternative hypothesis can be either greater than or less than the null hypothesis. In a one-tailed test, the operator is an inequality, and the alternative hypothesis has directionality:
H0:μ1 = or < μ2
These are sometimes called a hypothesis of significant difference because you are testing the difference between two groups with respect to one variable.
Alternatively, the null hypothesis can postulate that the two samples are drawn from the same population:
H0:μ1 − μ2 = 0
A hypothesis of association is where there is one population, but two traits being measured. It is a test of association of two traits within one group.
The distribution of the test statistic is used to calculate the probability sets of possible values (usually an interval or union of intervals). Among all the sets of possible values, we must choose one that we think represents the most extreme evidence against the hypothesis. That is called the critical region of the test statistic. The probability of the test statistic falling in the critical region when the hypothesis is correct is called the alpha value of the test. After the data is available, the test statistic is calculated and we determine whether it is inside the critical region. If the test statistic is inside the critical region, then our conclusion is either the hypothesis is incorrect, or an event of probability less than or equal to alpha has occurred. If the test statistic is outside the critical region, the conclusion is that there is not enough evidence to reject the hypothesis.
The significance level of a test is the maximum probability of accidentally rejecting a true null hypothesis (a decision known as a Type I error).For example, one may choose a significance level of, say, 5%, and calculate a critical value of a statistic (such as the mean) so that the probability of it exceeding that value, given the truth of the null hypothesis, would be 5%. If the actual, calculated statistic value exceeds the critical value, then it is significant "at the 5% level".

Types of Errors
Random Sampling Errors:
•Sample too small
•Sample not representative
•Inappropriate sampling method used
•Random errors
Research design Errors:
•Bias introduced
•Measurement error
•Data analysis error
•Sampling frame error
•Population definition error
•Scaling error
•Question construction error

Interviewer Errors:
•Recording errors
•Cheating errors
•Questioning errors
•Respondent selection error
Respondent Errors:
•Non-response error
•Inability error
•Falsification error
Hypothesis Errors:
•Type I error (also called alpha error)
i)The study results lead to the rejection of the null hypothesis even though it is actually true
•Type II error (also called beta error)
1.The study results lead to the acceptance (non-rejection) of the null hypothesis even though it is actually false

Focus Group

What is a Focus Group?
A focus group is a marketing research tool in which a small group of people (typically eight to twelve individuals) engages in a roundtable discussion of selected topics of interest in an informal setting. The focus group discussion is typically directed by a moderator who guides the discussion in order to obtain the group's opinions about or reactions to specific products or marketing-oriented issues, known as test concepts. While focus groups can provide marketing managers, product managers, and market researchers with a great deal of helpful information, their use as a research tool is limited in that it is difficult to measure the results objectively. In addition, the cost and logistical complexity of focus group research is frequently cited as a deterrent, especially for companies of smaller size. Nonetheless, many small businesses find focus groups to be useful means of staying close to consumers and their ever-changing attitudes and feelings. By providing qualitative information from well-defined target audiences, focus groups can aid businesses in decision making and in the development of marketing strategies and promotional campaigns.
A key factor in determining the success of focus groups is the composition of the group in terms of the participants' age, gender, and product usage. Focus group participants are generally selected on the basis of their use, knowledge, attitudes, or feelings about the products, services, or other test concepts that are the subject of the focus group. In selecting participants, the objective is to find individuals who can knowledgeably discuss the topics at hand and provide quality output that meets the specified research objectives.

Types of Focus Group
Variants of focus groups include:
Two-way focus group - one focus group watches another focus group and discusses the observed interactions and conclusion
Dual moderator focus group - one moderator ensures the session progresses smoothly, while another ensures that all the topics are covered
Dueling moderator focus group - two moderators deliberately take opposite sides on the issue under discussion
Respondent moderator focus group - one or more of the respondents are asked to act as the moderator temporarily
Client participant focus groups - one or more client representatives participate in the discussion, either covertly or overtly
Mini focus groups - groups are composed of four or five members rather than 8 to 12
Teleconference focus groups - telephone network is used
Online focus groups - computers connected via the internet are used

Online Focus Group this permit business owners and managers to directly observe group discussions without going to the time and expense of traveling to the locale in which the exercise is taking place. Using the Internet as a medium to conduct focus groups is a logical—and vastly superior—successor to videoconferencing. Videoconferencing enabled companies to conduct focus group research without incurring major business travel expenses. But equipment glitches, the logistical challenge of gathering observers at a central location, and the expense of purchasing and implementing this high-tech option made it a decidedly imperfect vehicle. But as business writer Alf Nucifora observed, "the advent of video streaming technology now means that focus groups can be observed 'live' from the comfort of one's desk. …A camera captures all the action close-up … and broadcasts the action via video streaming to an unlimited number of viewers who can watch real-time from the comfort of their desktop computers at any time, in any place." The completed focus group session can then be saved in computer-readable form for future use.
Analysts cite online focus groups as a particularly exciting development for small business owners with limited resources. Business Week noted that traditional focus group research can take several months and a great deal of expense (as much as $100,000) to complete. But growing numbers of market research firms offer online focus group research services for less than $5,000 a session, the results of which can be studied and tabulated within a matter of weeks. Still, not all business ventures are equally suited to pursue this electronic alternative. "If your customers aren't tech-savvy, or if your product relies heavily on touch and taste, you may be wiser to foot the bill for a traditional group," counseled Business Week. "But if all you require is a quick glimpse into your customers' minds, an online group could be the way to go."
Traditional focus groups can provide accurate information, and are less expensive than other forms of traditional marketing research. There can be significant costs however: if a product is to be marketed on a nationwide basis, it would be critical to gather respondents from various locales throughout the country since attitudes about a new product may vary due to geographical considerations. This would require a considerable expenditure in travel and lodging expenses. Additionally, the site of a traditional focus group may or may not be in a locale convenient to a specific client, so client representatives may have to incur travel and lodging expenses as well.
The use of focus groups has steadily evolved over time and is becoming increasingly widespread

Characteristics of Focus Group
The most common method of selecting participants for focus groups is from some type of database that contains demographic, psychographic, and lifestyle information about a large number of consumers. Such databases are available from a variety of commercial vendors. A list of desired characteristics is drawn up and matched with the database to select participants for focus groups. These characteristics may include purchase behavior, attitudes, and demographic data such as age and gender. The goal is to select participants who would likely be in the target audience for the products, services, or concepts being tested.
There is no absolute ideal in terms of the number of participants, although eight to ten participants is the norm. Different moderators are comfortable with different sizes of focus groups, but most consultants en-courage companies to utilize groups in the eight-ten person range. Supporters of this size contend that these groups are large enough to provide a nice range of perspective and make it difficult for one or two individuals to dominate the discussion (moderators should guard against such developments). Groups that include more than ten participants, however, are usually more difficult for moderators to control. Group interaction is also more difficult, and moderators have a harder time stimulating discussion. In addition, it is often more difficult for a moderator to spend time following up on the insights voiced by one individual when there are a dozen or more participants.
Focus groups that are relatively homogeneous in terms of age, gender, and product usage generally work better than mixed groups. When it is desirable to obtain data from different age and gender groups, most experts recommend scheduling a series of focus groups using homogeneous participants. They claim that group dynamics tend to become inhibited in mixed-gender or age focus groups. In addition, specific topics can be explored in greater depth when there is homogeneity among the participants with regard to usage of or attitudes toward the products being tested.

Benefit and Strength of Focus Group
Group discussion produces data and insights that would be less accessible without interaction found in a group setting—listening to others’ verbalized experiences stimulates memories, ideas, and experiences in participants. This is also known as the group effect where group members engage in “a kind of ‘chaining’ or ‘cascading’ effect; talk links to, or tumbles out of, the topics and expressions preceding it”
Group members discover a common language to describe similar experiences. This enables the capture of a form of “native language” or “vernacular speech” to understand the situation
Focus groups also provide an opportunity for disclosure among similar others in a setting where participants are validated. For example, in the context of workplace bullying, targeted employees often find themselves in situations where they experience lack of voice and feelings of isolation. Use of focus groups to study workplace bullying therefore serve as both an efficacious and ethical venue for collecting

Qualitative Research

Qualitative research seeks out the ‘why’, not the ‘how’ of its topic through the analysis of unstructured information – things like interview transcripts and recordings, emails, notes, feedback forms, photos and videos. It doesn’t just rely on statistics or numbers, which are the domain of quantitative researchers.
Qualitative research is used to gain insight into people's attitudes, behaviours, value systems, concerns, motivations, aspirations, culture or lifestyles. It’s used to inform business decisions, policy formation, communication and research. Focus groups, in-depth interviews, content analysis and semiotics are among the many formal approaches that are used, but qualitative research also involves the analysis of any unstructured material, including customer feedback forms, reports or media clips.

Types of Qualitative Research
The main types of qualitative research include:
•Depth Interviews
1.Interview is conducted one-on-one, and lasts between 30 and 60 minutes
2.Best method for in-depth probing of personal opinions, beliefs, and values
3.Very rich depth of information
4.Very flexible
5.Probing is very useful at uncovering hidden issues
6.They are unstructured (or loosely structured)- this differentiates them from survey interviews in which the same questions are asked to all respondents
7.Can be time consuming and responses can be difficult to interpret
8.Requires skilled interviewers - expensive - interviewer bias can easily be introduced
9.There is no social pressure on respondents to conform and no group dynamics
10.Start with general questions and rapport establishing questions, then proceed to more purposive questions
11.Laddering is a technique used by depth interviewers in which you start with questions about external objects and external social phenomena, then proceed to internal attitudes and feelings
12.Hidden issue questioning is a technique used by depth interviewers in which they concentrate on deeply felt personal concerns and pet peeves
13.Symbolic analysis is a technique used by depth interviewers in which deeper symbolic meanings are probed by asking questions about their opposites
•Focus Groups
1.An interactive group discussion lead by a moderator
2.Unstructured (or loosely structured) discussion where the moderator encourages the free flow of ideas
3.Usually 8 to 12 members in the group who fit the profile of the target group or consumer but may consist of two interviewees (a dyad) or three interviewees (a triad) or a lesser number of participants (known as a mini-group)
4.Usually last for 1 to 2 hours
5.Usually recorded on video/DVD
6.May be streamed via a closed streaming service for remote viewing of the proceedings
7.The room usually has a large window with one-way glass - participants cannot see out, but the researchers can see in
8.Inexpensive and fast
9.Can use computer and internet technology for on-line focus groups
10.Respondents feel a group pressure to conform
11.Group dynamics is useful in developing new streams of thought and covering an issue thoroughly
•Projective Techniques
1.These are unstructured prompts or stimulus that encourage the respondent to project their underlying motivations, beliefs, attitudes, or feelings onto an ambiguous situation
2.They are all indirect techniques that attempt to disguise the purpose of the research
3.Examples of projective techniques include the followings:
Word association - say the first word that comes to mind after hearing a word - only some of the words in the list are test words that the researcher is interested in, the rest are fillers - is useful in testing brand names - variants include chain word association and controlled word association
Sentence completion - respondents are given incomplete sentences and asked to complete them
Story completion - respondents are given part of a story and are asked to complete it
Cartoon tests - pictures of cartoon characters are shown in a specific situation and with dialogue balloons - one of the dialogue balloons is empty and the respondent is asked to fill it in
Thematic apperception tests - respondents are shown a picture (or series of pictures) and asked to make up a story about the picture(s)
Role playing - respondents are asked to play the role of someone else - researchers assume that subjects will project their own feelings or behaviours into the role
Third-person technique - a verbal or visual representation of an individual and his/her situation is presented to the respondent - the respondent is asked to relate the attitudes or feelings of that person - researchers assume that talking in the third person will minimize the social pressure to give standard or politically correct responses
Random Probability Sampling
This type of qualitative research conducts random interviews within a defined universe, e.g. a city- to understand consumer behavior beyond basic age-gender variables.
Examples of random sample interviewing include telephone interviewing, mailing-questionnaire's/booklets, personal interviewing,
Consumer response for this type of qualitative research could be product usage, personal opinion, events and activities consumers participate in.
One key benefit of the random probability sampling technique is the ability to project your results as they are reflected back to or representative of your universe. For example how many consumers in a city are republican, democrat, independent, or indifferent.

Advantages of Qualitative Research
1.Build new theories
2.Examine complex questions that can be impossible with quantitative method
3.Uses subjective information
4.Deal with value-laden question
5.Not limited to rigidly definable variables
6.In-depth examination of Phenomena

Disadvantages of Qualitative Research
1.Subjectivity leads to procedural problem
2.Replicability is very difficult
3.Researcher bias is built in and unavoidable
4.In-depth, comprehensive approach to data gathering limits scope
5.Labor intensive and expensive
6.Not understood well by “classical” researchers

Criticism of Qualitative Research
"Qualitative studies are tools used in understanding and describing the world of human experience. Since we maintain our humanity throughout the research process, it is largely impossible to escape the subjective experience, even for the most seasoned of researchers. As we proceed through the research process, our humanness informs us and often directs us through such subtleties as intuition or 'aha' moments. Speaking about the world of human experience requires an extensive commitment in terms of time and dedication to process; however, this world is often dismissed as 'subjective' and regarded with suspicion. This paper acknowledges that small qualitative studies are not generalizable in the traditional sense, yet have redeeming qualities that set them above that requirement."

"A major strength of the qualitative approach is the depth to which explorations are conducted and descriptions are written, usually resulting in sufficient details for the reader to grasp the idiosyncrasies of the situation."

"The ultimate aim of qualitative research is to offer a perspective of a situation and provide well-written research reports that reflect the researcher's ability to illustrate or describe the corresponding phenomenon. One of the greatest strengths of the qualitative approach is the richness and depth of explorations and descriptions."

Classic Distinction between Qualitative and Quantitative
Qualitative Research
•Phenomenological
•Inductive
•Holistic
•Subjective/insider centered
•Process oriented
•Anthropological worldview
•Relative lack of control
•Goal: understand actor's view
•Dynamic reality assumed; "slice of life"
•Discovery oriented
•Explanatory

Quantitative Research
•Positivistic
•Hypothetico/deductive
•Particularistic
•Objective/outsider centered
•Outcome oriented
•Natural science worldview
•Attempt to control variables
•Goal: find facts & causes
•Static reality assumed; relative constancy in life
•Verification oriented
•Confirmatory