Exploratory, Descriptive, and Causal Research Designs

1. Exploratory, Descriptive, and Causal Research Designs Chapter 3, Student Edition MR/Brown & Suter

2. Learning Objectives • Describe the major emphasis of each of the three basic types of research design • Describe the key characteristics and basic uses of exploratory research • Discuss the various types of exploratory research and describe each • Discuss the difference between cross-sectional and longitudinal descriptive research designs • Explain the difference between a continuous panel and a discontinuous panel • Clarify the difference between laboratory experiments and field experiments • Distinguish among a standard test market, a controlled test market, and a simulated test market MR/Brown & Suter

3. Learning Objectives • Describe the major emphasis of each of the three basic types of research design • Describe the key characteristics and basic uses of exploratory research • Discuss the various types of exploratory research and describe each • Discuss the difference between cross-sectional and longitudinal descriptive research designs • Explain the difference between a continuous panel and a discontinuous panel • Clarify the difference between laboratory experiments and field experiments • Distinguish among a standard test market, a controlled test market, and a simulated test market MR/Brown & Suter

4. Learning Objective 1 • Exploratory Research • Discover ideas and insights • Descriptive Research • Describing a population with respect to important variables • Determining the frequency with which something occurs or the relationship between variables • Causal Research • Used to establish cause-and-effect relationships between variables MR/Brown & Suter

5. Learning Objectives • Describe the major emphasis of each of the three basic types of research design • Describe the key characteristics and basic uses of exploratory research • Discuss the various types of exploratory research and describe each • Discuss the difference between cross-sectional and longitudinal descriptive research designs • Explain the difference between a continuous panel and a discontinuous panel • Clarify the difference between laboratory experiments and field experiments • Distinguish among a standard test market, a controlled test market, and a simulated test market MR/Brown & Suter

6. Learning Objective 2 • Exploratory studies are • Typically small scale • Very flexible • Exploratory research is useful for • Helping define the problem • Developing hypotheses • Gaining familiarity with a problem or opportunity • The output of exploratory research is ideas and insights, not answers MR/Brown & Suter

7. Learning Objectives • Describe the major emphasis of each of the three basic types of research design • Describe the key characteristics and basic uses of exploratory research • Discuss the various types of exploratory research and describe each • Discuss the difference between cross-sectional and longitudinal descriptive research designs • Explain the difference between a continuous panel and a discontinuous panel • Clarify the difference between laboratory experiments and field experiments • Distinguish among a standard test market, a controlled test market, and a simulated test market MR/Brown & Suter

8. Learning Objective 3 • Literature Search • Search of popular press, trade, and academic literature or published statistics from research firms or governmental agencies • Depth Interviews • Interviews with people knowledgeable about the general subject being investigated • Focus Groups • Small group interviews relying on group discussion • Case Analyses • Intensive study of selected examples of phenomenon MR/Brown & Suter

9. Learning Objective 3 Special Note on Focus Groups • Focus Groups have two major pitfalls • It is easy for managers to see what they expect to see in focus group results • Focus groups are one form of exploratory research – it (or any other type of exploratory research) should not be expected to deliver final results or answers to decision problems – yet many managers seem to use them for that purpose MR/Brown & Suter

10. Learning Objectives • Describe the major emphasis of each of the three basic types of research design • Describe the key characteristics and basic uses of exploratory research • Discuss the various types of exploratory research and describe each • Discuss the difference between cross-sectional and longitudinal descriptive research designs • Explain the difference between a continuous panel and a discontinuous panel • Clarify the difference between laboratory experiments and field experiments • Distinguish among a standard test market, a controlled test market, and a simulated test market MR/Brown & Suter

11. Learning Objective 4 • Cross-section Study • Single point in time measures of a sample selected from a population • Longitudinal Analysis • Repeated measures, over time, of a fixed sample (panels of people) MR/Brown & Suter

12. Learning Objectives • Describe the major emphasis of each of the three basic types of research design • Describe the key characteristics and basic uses of exploratory research • Discuss the various types of exploratory research and describe each • Discuss the difference between cross-sectional and longitudinal descriptive research designs • Explain the difference between a continuous panel and a discontinuous panel • Clarify the difference between laboratory experiments and field experiments • Distinguish among a standard test market, a controlled test market, and a simulated test market MR/Brown & Suter

13. Learning Objective 5 • Continuous panel – Fixed sample of respondents who are measured repeatedly over time with respect to the same variables • Discontinuous panel – Fixed sample of respondents who are measured repeated over time with respect to differentvariables MR/Brown & Suter

14. Learning Objectives • Describe the major emphasis of each of the three basic types of research design • Describe the key characteristics and basic uses of exploratory research • Discuss the various types of exploratory research and describe each • Discuss the difference between cross-sectional and longitudinal descriptive research designs • Explain the difference between a continuous panel and a discontinuous panel • Clarify the difference between laboratory experiments and field experiments • Distinguish among a standard test market, a controlled test market, and a simulated test market MR/Brown & Suter

15. Learning Objective 6 • Laboratory Experiment • Includes a situation with exact conditions • Like a chemistry lab • Control of variables other than X or Y is maximized • Labs are sterile • X variables are manipulated • Field Experiment • Includes a situation with fluid conditions • Like a retail store • Control of variables other than X or Y is challenging • Store conditions vary • X variables are manipulated MR/Brown & Suter

16. Learning Objectives • Describe the major emphasis of each of the three basic types of research design • Describe the key characteristics and basic uses of exploratory research • Discuss the various types of exploratory research and describe each • Discuss the difference between cross-sectional and longitudinal descriptive research designs • Explain the difference between a continuous panel and a discontinuous panel • Clarify the difference between laboratory experiments and field experiments • Distinguish among a standard test market, a controlled test market, and a simulated test market MR/Brown & Suter

17. Learning Objective 7 MR/Brown & Suter