4.4 - Market research

Question 1

Academic journals (what do they publish)

Answer 1

Periodical publications from education and research institutions
* educational, peer-reviewed articles and findings written by industry experts and academics

Question 2

Examples of academic journals (name 3)

Answer 2

• Harvard Business Review
• Knowledge@Wharton
• Kellogg Insight
• Judge Business School working papers
• Australian Journal of Management

Question 3

Government publications (name 3 examples of what they publish)

Answer 3

• population census
• social trends
• labour market developments
• trade statistics
• unemployment figures
• inflation rates

Question 4

Examples of governement publications (name 3)

Answer 4

• statistics Canada
• National Buerau of Statistics of China
• Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (India)
• United States Census Bureau

Question 5

Media articles (name 4)

Answer 5

• newspapers
• magazines
• business-related journals
• television documentaries
• books
• websites
• blogs
• social media

Question 6

Online content (3 examples)

Answer 6

• search engines such as Google
• encyclopedia such as Wikipedia
• social networks such as Facebook and Instagram

Question 7

Secondary market research methods (5)

Answer 7

• market analysis
• academic journals
• government publications
• media articles
• online content

Question 8

Qualitative research (3 purposes)

Answer 8

Getting non-numerical answers and opinions from respondents
* understand behaviour, attitude and perception

Question 9

Quantitative research (2 methods)

Answer 9

Getting factual and measurable information rather than people’s opinions
* closed questions
* ranking or sliding scales

Question 10

Advantages of qualitative research (3) - these are disadvantages of quantitative

Answer 10

• better than quantitative research for exploring behaviours and attitudes
• more flexibility so useful extra information from interviews can be gathered
• cost effective - able to gather a lot of information from smaller number of respondents

Question 11

Disadvantage of qualitative research (3)

Answer 11

• small samples prevent findings from being representative
• very time consuming to conduct and interpret
• interviewer must be highly experienced in facilitating useful information from respondents

Question 12

Sampling methods (3)

Answer 12

• quota
• random
• convenience

Question 13

Sampling

Answer 13

The practice of selecting a small group of the population for a particular market for primary research purposes

Question 14

The 5Ds

Answer 14

• damage - protect those in their samples, ensure information collected is never used to harm them
• dishonesty - trustworthy when obtaining data
• deception - misleading methods to access/gather data is an ethical problem
• disclosure - unauthorised disclosure of customer information is unethical
• detachment - researchers must be detached from personal biases to achieve objectives

Question 15

Market research

Answer 15

Marketing activities designed to discover the opinions, beliefs and preferences of potential and existing customers

Question 16

Purposes of market research (name 3)

Answer 16

• gives up-to-date information
• helps taylor market mixes to target segments
• assesses customer reactions to products
• helps understand actvities and strategies used by rivals
• helps firms understand trends for the future

Question 17

Primary research methods/techniques (4)

Answer 17

• surveys
• interviews
• focus groups
• observations

Question 18

Primary market research

Answer 18

Gathering new and first-hand data for a specific purpose

Question 19

Advantages of primary research (3)

Answer 19

• relevant data is collected as it is tailored to the firm’s needs
• up-to-date and gathered for the most meaningful information
• confidential and unique to the purpose of business

Question 20

Disadvantages of primary research (3)

Answer 20

• time-consuming to process
• costly, especially if outsourced to professional market research firms
• questionable validity if research questions are poorly designed

Question 21

Surveys (+ 5 types)

Answer 21

A document containing a series of questions used to collect data for a specific purpose
* types:
* self-completed
* personal
* telephone
* online
* postal

Question 22

Interviews

Answer 22

One-to-one discussions between an interviewer and interviewee to investigate their personal circumstances and opinions

Question 23

Advantage of surveys

Answer 23

Beliefs, attitudes and feelings can be examined in detail

Question 24

Disadvantages of interviews (3)

Answer 24

• qualitative information might be difficult to analyse
• time consuming
• huge scope for interviewer bias

Question 25

Focus groups

Answer 25

Forming small discussion groups to gain insight into the opinions, attitudes and behaviour of respondents

Question 26

Advantage of focus groups

Answer 26

Detailed questions can be asked and P are more likely to engage in discussions

Question 27

Disadvantages of focus groups (3)

Answer 27

* tend to be dominated by opinions of extroverts * tendency for P to conform to majority view * costly as each P has to be paid

Question 28

Observations (+ 3 methods)

Answer 28

Watching how people behave and repond in different situations * can be done in controlled conditions or real-life situations * methods: * surveillance cameras * photographic evidence * in-person

Question 29

Secondary research method (define)

Answer 29

Collection of second-hand data and information that already exists

Question 30

Advantages of secondary research (name 2)

Answer 30

* readily available and faster to collect * provides meaningful insight into industry trends * huge range of sources of information available * findings can be based on large samples - statistically valid and generalisable

Question 31

Disadvantages of secondary research (name 2)

Answer 31

* data might be obsolete and irrelevant * not tailored to specific purpose of the firm - needs to be adapted to suit business * information is widely available for competitors

Question 32

Market analyses (+ 3 sources)

Answer 32

Reveals the characteristics and trends for a particular product or industry * can help measure how well a business is doing compared with its rivals * sources: * market research firms * competitors * trade publications

Question 33

Advantages of quota sampling (2)

Answer 33

* can be collected quickly * more reliable than random sampling

Question 34

Disadvantage of quota sampling

Answer 34

* not always representative

Question 35

Advantages of random sampling (2)

Answer 35

* easy to select a sample * minimises bias or unrepresentative samples

Question 36

Disadvantage of random sampling

Answer 36

* indiscriminate

Question 37

Advantage of convenience sampling

Answer 37

* availability and quickness of data collection

Question 38

Disadvantage of convenience sampling

Answer 38

* inadvertent exclusion of large proportion of the population - highly skewed findings