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Chapter Four
Research Design and
Implementation
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
Marketing Research Process – Part 2
Some time ago, IBM sold of their PC division to a
Chinese firm called Lenovo. The Chinese
company is now offers laptop computers to the
US market (originally sold by IBM under the
ThinkPad name). Lenovo has a choice:
1. Using the original Think Pad logo or
2. Using a newly designed logo.
As a market research firm, please create a
research design for helping the company take a
decision.
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
Background Questions
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Problem:
Which logo should Lenovo use?
Decision alternatives:
Should Lenovo go ahead with a new logo or use
the Think Pad logo
 Research Objective
 To determine which logo enjoys the most positive
associations
 To determine which logo causes the greatest
willingness to buy
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
Research design
 Detailed blueprint used to guide the
research study to its objectives
 Defines research approach to be used for
obtaining information
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
RESEARCH DESIGN PROCESS
Research Approach
Exploratory
Descriptive
Research Design
Choice of data collection method
Secondary, standardized, qualitative,
Surveys, experiments
Role of research supplier
Project design
Raw data collection
Research Tactics
Develop measures, Questionnaire,
Design experiments, design sampling
plan, anticipate analysis
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
Causal
Categories of Research Approaches
Exploratory
Causal
Descriptive
Each element plays a distinct
and complementary role!
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
Exploratory Research
 Used when seeking insights
– Into the general nature of the problem
– The decision alternatives
– The variables to be included
 The questions – “why” and “how” are
important
 The probe
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
Lenovo case
 Research Objective:
 How do consumers perceive the Think Pad logo
and the new logo?
 Research Approach:
 Exploratory research to understand all
associations the two logos throw up
 Choice of data collection method:
 Qualitative: Focus groups, in-depth interviews
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
Exploratory Research – Another
Example
 Case 2: Levis is considered by many to be a
fading brand. The company wants to
revitalize it and would like to understand
why Levis does not appeal to its target
demographic
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
Limitations of Exploratory Research
 No hypothesis or vague or ill-defined hypothesis
– Not possible to confirm / disconfirm
 No firm preconceptions of what will be found
 Biased – relies too much on the interpretation of
the researcher
 Inaccurate recording and reporting
– Technology overcomes this to a large extent
 Limited generalizability (external invalidity)
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
Descriptive Research
 Most marketing research falls in this
category
 Greatest application: describe a marketing
situation
 Hypothesis exist but may be tentative and
speculative
 Can only show if two variables are
associated
 May precede causal research
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
Limitations of Descriptive Research
 Does not focus on the ‘why’ – understanding
phenomena
 Cannot be used for prediction and control
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
Lenovo Case
 Now that we know what associations do the two
logos throw up, what is our next step?
 Research Objectives:
 Find out the degree of closeness of these
associations with the logos
 Find out how favorably each association is
perceived
 Find out which logo do consumers prefer
 Find out if their preferences are related to their
willingness to buy
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
Lenovo Case
 Why not collect this data during exploratory
research?
 What would this information be useful for?
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
Lenovo case
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Research Approach:
Descriptive Research
Choice of data collection method:
Surveys
Which variables do we measure?
Closeness of association with logo
Favorability of association
Preferences for logo
Willingness to buy
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
Descriptive Research examples
 Owners who like SUVs are the most vocal
about high gas prices
 Americans who frequently travel abroad are
more accepting of higher gas prices
 What is the market size of regular coffee
drinkers?
 What are the preference levels for coffee
and tea?
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
Lenovo case
 Now that we know the preferences for each logo,
and their willingness to buy, what should our next
step be?
 Research Objective:
 Confirm that it is the preference for the brand logo
ONLY that causes the willingness to buy
 Hypothesis:
 Consumer preference for the Think Pad logo is
positively related to their willingness to buy the
product
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
Some more causal research
Hypotheses
 Attitude to SUVs is negatively related to high
gas price acceptability
 Greater frequency of travel abroad is
positively related to acceptability of high gas
prices
 Greater awareness of American culture is
positively related to Starbucks acceptability
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
Causal Research
 Shows that one variable causes or determines the
value of another variable
 Hence controlling one variable can help control the
other
 Causality can be inferred only if:
1. Evidence of a strong association between the predictor
and dependent variables
2. The predictor variable precedes the dependent variable
in time
3. Other rival explanations are ruled out
 Hypothesis stated very specifically in terms of
variables and quantity or direction
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
Exploratory / Descriptive / Causal
Exploratory
Descriptive
Causal
Seek Insights
Describe a marketing
situation
Establish predictive
relationships
Broad research
questions
Specific research
questions
No research
questions
No hypotheses
Hypotheses with 1 / 2
variables and
direction specified
Only hypotheses with
2 variables and
direction specified
Hypotheses with 2
variables can only
confirm associations
Hypotheses with 2
variables can confirm
predictive power
Results feed into
descriptive / causal
Results may feed into
causal research
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
Experimental Designs
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Designs to infer causality
Aid understanding (“why”) of phenomena
Allows prediction and control
The observation – “O”; and exposure or
manipulation – “X”
– If “X” really does cause “O” then the experiment
has internal validity
– If there is a question then we may have
Plausible Rival Explanations (PRE)
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
Some PRE for the Lenovo case
 Pre-existing knowledge of company and its
country of origin may influence willingness to buy
 The product design (looks/feel) may influence
willingness to buy
 Consumers knowledge of computers / computing
may influence willingness to buy
 Consumers attitude to computers may influence
willingness to buy
 Consumers ease with computers may influence
willingness to buy
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
Example – Exp. Designs
 Carnival Cruise Lines known for its “party”
image wants to attract the family crowd and
makes a new commercial showing good,
clean fun for families.
 Assume we want to measure the impact of
the commercial on a subject’s attitude to
Carnival Cruise lines
 Basic experimental design: X O
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
Some problems with the X O design
 Subject’s pre-existing attitude towards
Carnival CL may have influenced the
subject (History effects)
 The subject may have matured since the
manipulation (Maturation effects) –
especially important for quasi-experiments
 Some subjects may be afraid of sailing and
water (Selection effects)
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
An improvement over the X O
design
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OXO
Which effects have been controlled?
History effects
Continued Problems
The subject may have matured between the two
observations (Maturation Effects) – important in
quasi experiments
 Some subjects still afraid of water (selection
effects)
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
An improvement over the OXO
design
 OXO
O O
 Which additional effects have been controlled
here?
 Maturation effects
 Continued Problems
 Selection effects: the subjects in one group may
be more afraid of water than the other group
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
More improvement…
 Further improvement
OXO
RA
O O
 Random Assignment (RA) neutralizes selection
effects
 The design now controls history, maturation and
selection effects
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
Lenovo Case
 What experimental design best controls for
the PRE’s?
O1 X O1 Laptop with Think Pad logo
 RA
O2 X O2 Laptop with new logo
Oc
Oc
Laptop with no logo
 Design now controls for History, Maturation
and selection effects
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
Exploratory/Descriptive/Causal?
Choice of data collection method?
 Case 1: To understand what do consumers
think about BMW the brand
 Case 2: To understand if Vioxx really
increases the risk of heart attacks
 Case 3: To understand if consumers read
nutrition labels on foodstuffs
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day
Exploratory/Descriptive/Causal?
Choice of data collection method?
 Case 4: To understand if an ad has the
desired effect
 Case 5: To know what is the size of the
coffee market in the US
 Case 6: To know if the drop in prices has
increased sales
 Case 7: To know what people understand by
“convergence of technologies”
Essentials of Marketing Research
Kumar, Aaker, Day