Research Design & Ethics + Ch4 Flashcards
(53 cards)
Research design
A master plan that specifies the methods that will be used to collect and analyze the information needed for a research project
Research Ethics: Step 1 - Translating business qs into research qs
- Avoid conflicts of interest
- Emphasize substance over flash
- Look for what’s there, not what you want to see
Research Ethics: Step 2 - Design research program to answer research questions
Valid appropriate experimental design
- Design experiments that are replicable
- Minimize risk and maximize benefit
- Avoid experimenter demand
- Avoid confirmation bias
Valid appropriate sampling plans
- Respect vulnerable populations
- Avoid excluding people from participation or benefit
Experimenter demand / demand effect
The participant is trying to please the experimenter by giving them the result that they are looking for
Research Ethics: Step 3 - Collect Data
Fair, respectful, and professional treatment of participants:
- Obtain informed consent
- Participation is optional and can be discontinued at any time
- Respect privacy and confidentiality
eg: Milgram Experiment
Research Ethics: Step 4 - Analyze Research Results
Valid, appropriate data handling
- Maintain data security
- Do not omit, alter, create or otherwise tamper with data
Research Ethics: Step 5 - Interpret research findings and make recommendations
Valid appropriate data interpretation
- Avoid biased interpretation
Research Ethics: Step 6 - Communicate recommendations to business audiences
Transparent communication
- Avoid the file drawer problem (publishing studies which have only significant results and omitting studies which do not)
- Disclose methods
- Disclose sample details
3 things to designing a research program by
By source
By methodology
By objectives
Designing research programs by data source
Primary = collection of new data
Secondary = data previously collected
Designing research programs by methodology
Qualitative:
- Interviews
- Observation
- Focus groups
- Text and image analysis
- Diary studies
Quantitative:
- Panel data (secondary)
- Surveys (primary)
Designing research programs by objectives (EDC)
Exploratory (gather insights, formulate hypothesis)
Descriptive (size and characteristics of target market)
Causal/experimental (test hypothesis, response to market mix changes)
Exploratory research
Seeks to define an ambiguous problem
- May be conducted as part of problem definition
- Gains background info
- Defines terms
- Clarifies problem/hypothesis
- Establishes research priorities
Methods of conducting exploratory research (SCEF)
Secondary data
Case analysis
Experience surveys
Focus groups
When is exploratory research complete?
When the problem is fully defined
- Root problems, not just symptoms
- No more “whys”
Descriptive research
Seeks to describe a defined problem
- Answers to questions of who, what, where, when, and how
eg: where do they buy brands, who their customers are, how they find out about products, etc
- More rigid than exploratory research
- We want to project a study’s findings to a larger population
eg: understand the average customer
Methods of conducting descriptive research (CSLPBM)
Cross-sectional studies
Sample surveys
Longitudinal studies
Panels (continuous = same questions, discontinuous/omnibus = vary questions)
Brand-switching studies
Market-tracking studies
Causal research
Seeks to answer a defined & described problem
- Determine causality
- Most rigid
eg: does increasing sugar content affect sales?
Methods of conducting causal research
Experiments
Experiment
Where one or more independent variables are manipulated to see how one or more dependent variables are affected, while also controlling the effects of extraneous variables
Extraneous variable
All variables other than IVs that have an effect on DVs
eg: 1s faster per lap because of driver? (extraneous variables: aero, tyres)
Experimental design
A procedure for devising an experimental setting so that a change in a DV may be attributed solely to the change in an IV
Before-after testing
An experimental design in which a DV is measured before and after an IV is changed
Control group
A group whose subjects have not been exposed to the change in an IV
