Research Method

Prof. UN Kothari
Prepared by: Sudhanshu Shekhar Chaudhary (GAPR10ACFB111)
Class-1
Some interesting observations through market research:
People in team functions best if they can do some work collaboratively and some privately
Privacy and security concerns have deterred many physicians from using online services
The higher the intended level of achievement, the higher the level of performance
Customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction are closely linked (Ryder and Ryder found a
high correlation between the way employees viewed and organization and the way customers
think about it)
Now in marketing, advertising may be cut for budgets but not research unlike old days.
Reason - Research is needed for sound decision making where facts are proven and not
placed on gut feelings)
Course Structure 15% - designing a questionnaire
10% - CP
15% - Quiz (Only 1)
30% - Group project
30% - Final Exam Open Book (Focus on application)
Research helps to gather data, but it doesnt end there - it helps data to convert data into
information via insights, value addition and interpretation which best helps in taking
business decision.
Why Research is important
1) To survive cut throat competition
2) To find whether there is niche or a mass market for the brand
3) To understand whether brands offering(s) are in line with customers needs and expectations

4) To decide when to launch the idea (1st mover advantage) Time to market / time to offer to
customer is very important
Explanation
1) One must survive the cut throat competition in order to stand out from the others. Example(s)
of high competition a. 52 banks in UAE most bankable region in Middle-East (Meena Park region).
Total population is 4.6 million for UAE of which 2.1 million is bankable. It
implies 1 single individual can bank with 3 banks. Hence, a bank can achieve
max of 33% market share in this country. But to get that, banks have to put in
a lot of effort else competition will snatch their share. Thats the scenario of
competition in banking sector in UAE.
b. Number of brands of juices that exist in the UAE market 55-60 brands (very
fragmented market), Milco & Lacknor are largest brands with market share of
27%. Al Rawabi has marker share of 4%. Masafi has market share of 2%.
Caprison has market share of 0.6%. But does that mean that these brands dont
need to advertise or carry out research (though they might have a low /
fragmented market share).
i. Why do a person consumes juice It is perceived as healthy over
carbonated soft drinks though they do not have more than 80% fruit
juice (which are especially kept in fridge for immediate consumption).
4) Bank on the 1st mover advantage Idea needs to be implemented & that too on time (within an
appropriate range). Example - Emaar properties took the 1st position as most of their projects
were delivered on time, but Nakeel lost it (no credibility) as none of the projects were
delivered on time.
Managerial Value of Business Research (Zikmund): Reduces uncertainty by providing
information that improves the decision making process.
Research at Chrysler Corporation - No Sweat at Jeep: Chrysler Corporation, Jeeps parent
company asked about 380 paint line workers who wash, wipe and prepare Jeep-Cherokees
(an SUV) for painting to stop using the antiperspirants as part of the companys total quality
management effort.
The market research showed that antiperspirants worn the workers flaked and fell onto the
paint. Antiperspirants contain chemicals such as zinc-zirconium that can damage paint. The
paint flows away from a fallen flake of these chemicals, causing a depression about a size of
a babys fingertip.
Management is trying to persuade the workers to switch to deodorants, which control odor
but do not stop sweating.
Busniess / Market / Organizational Research
Definition of Research (American Marketing Association definition)
Systematic & objective process of generating information to aid in business decisions

 Systematic Follows a set pattern; unbiased in nature. The research

information is neither intuitive nor haphazardly gathered.
Objective SMART goal (Systematic, measurable, achievable, realistic, timebound)
Processed data is Information; processed information is called
knowledge; processed knowledge is called wisdom. To analyze the
above data, the researcher must be objective & he/she should be
detached or impartial rather than engaging in a biased attempt to prove
preconceived ideas.
Aid Helps / inputs to business decision. The research process facilitates the
managerial decision making process for all aspects of business (Finance,
marketing, personnel etc.), It is an aid to managerial decision and not a
substitute for it.
Business decision - Non business decisions are not covered here.
It is a function that relates the consumer, customer & public to the decision maker through
information which helps to 1. Identify opportunities and issues
2. Evaluate & refine business performance
3. Monitor business performance.
4. Improve business understanding
Business research helps decision makers shift from intutive information gathering system to
systematic and objective investigation.
Why Called as Business Research: Because all research techniques are applicable to business
settings.
Limitation of Research - Research is only means to an end and not the end itself. Pressure on
researcher to exactly pin-point and say What needs to be done, how it needs to be done &
by when it needs to be done.
Trend change - Researcher now-a-days sits with clients in the board meeting along with the
advertising agencies.
Types of Research - Basic Research & Applied Research
Basic / Pure Research: It is conducted to verify the acceptability of a given theory or to
discover more about a certain concept.
It is a research that is intended to expand the boundaries of knowledge itself or to verify the
acceptability of a given theory.
In basic research, first testing the conceptions and hypothesis and then making inferences and
conclusions about the phenomenon lead to establishment of general laws about the
phenomenon.

Applied Research: It is conducted when a decision must be made about a specific real-life
problem. Example: An organization aiming a paperless office and a networking system for
the companys personal computers may conduct research to learn the amount of time it spend
at personal computers in an average week.
1) Basic is broad based / generic (is not inferior to applied research) & applied is very specific /
narrow.
2) Basic research has immense data / information available, hence, user might face difficulty to
take decision (when, where, how to take the decision). Applied research takes specific
decision at that particular point in time for that problem only.
3) Basic Research happens less frequently (once in 3 years), whereas applied research happens
more frequently.
Basic Research

Applied Research

Generates broad based decisions

Generates focussed decision

Conducted less frequently (in 2-3 years)

Conducted more frequently

Contains immense information, hence,

Aims at specific decision at specific point in
becomes difficult to know how much and when time & addresses that decision only
to take action
Example: Setting up of chewing gum factory in Example: Flavor / colour of gum (what
Iran (Has to know political stability in Iran,
customer wants in his / her gum based on
feasilbity of setup at a location etc)
market research)
Ex Which is basic and which is applied research?
Rigleys wants to go to Iran to offer its product offerings there Basic (Macro decisions Legal
/ political setup, competition etc. as Iran is involved as a country)
Rigleys wants to find out whether an orange color bubble gum will work or not Applied
(Micro decisions Whether company can offer such product & services based on current
competitors performance etc.)
1) Whether Ad should be aired or not Applied
2) What should be the composition of the ad (when / where / how it should be aired) Basic
Managerial Value of Business Research: Reduces uncertainty by providing information that
improves the decision making process.
Research at Chrysler Corporation - No Sweat at Jeep: Chrysler Corporation, Jeeps parent
company asked about 380 paint line workers who wash, wipe and prepare Jeep-Cherokees

(an SUV) for painting to stop using the antiperspirants as part of the companys total quality
management effort.
The market research showed that antiperspirants worn the workers flaked and fell onto the
paint. Antiperspirants contain chemicals such as zinc-zirconium that can damage paint. The
paint flows away from a fallen flake of these chemicals, causing a depression about a size of
a babys fingertip.
Management is trying to persuade the workers to switch to deodorants, which control odor
but do not stop sweating.
Whether Research should be carried out or NOT (Tree Diagram) / Preliminary conditions to
be fulfilled before carrying out research
Following conditions should be fulfilled (all) post which research can be carried out.
Whether time available is sufficient for managerial decision?
Whether information available (secondary data) is sufficient for a decision?
Is the decision of high strategic / tactical importance?
Does Value / Benefit of research overweighs cost of research?
Conduct research (only if all the above 4 criterion is fulfilled). The sign off from client needs
to be taken first (official signoff on papers), post which the task of the Research should start.
Syndicated Research Here, same data is used to fulfill different objectives of different client
for similar type of research. Cost effective measure for all clients as base data collected is
same.
6 Stages of Research
1) Problem discovery and definition Sit with client across table and agree, decide, discuss what
it takes to formulate an objective / to agree on the problem / to agree on the need for doing
research.
2) Designing the Research Using best tools and techniques to design the research.
3) Sampling method employed Probabilistic / Non-probabilistic method - Best method for
gathering the data
4) How will the data is processed
5) How the data is analyzed
6) How researcher is going to communicate back to the client about the findings.

Bible Statement of RM (at the end of Research methodology tree, to be followed for the
whole tree)- All stages in the research process are linked (inter-related to each-other) &
equally important & no stage should be given importance / should be compromised at the
cost of the other stage (Equal weight age, (1/6) to all stages of the research process). No
more than 5 objectives should be present in a research project.
Participants of Research Process
Researcher Client interface, designs the questionnaire, instructs field person how much and
what kind of sample is needed & by when the same should be completed,
Field person He / She goes in the field and gathers data, after that it is sent to the analysis
department for further analysis (based on instruction given by researcher).
Analyst - Once data reaches researcher, it is task of the researcher (analyst here) to make sense
out of the data, prepare presentations and communicate to the client. Hence, a researcher need
not be a statistician, but how good he / she can make sense of the data.
In west, the researcher does not give / show any data to the client (no graphs). The
presentation lasts for 30 40 minutes. Everything is focused on conclusion and
recommendation.
Role of a researcher - Align the data and present a recommendation for implementation of the
client. This will make researcher converted to a business partner (information getting
converted to knowledge).
Who decides whether research carried out is right or wrong / How much is still left etc /
Rights and responsibilities of researcher / client (Any cultural restriction for a region)?
Certain code of conduct is written down and needs to be carried out by the researcher (To be
followed by client, researcher, agency and respondents)
MRSI Market research society of India (based on European Model)
ESOMAR European society of opinion marketing advertising and research
ESOMAR is involved in setting up code of conduct for a research project carried out in a
market. In India, this profile is taken up by Market Research Society of India.
Highlights of Code of Ethics
Maintain confidentiality of the respondent which is conveyed to him / her while conducting the
interview or take permission of the respondent & then pass on his information to the client.
Client can also accompany the agency when the field work is carried out
In case client has provided names of the interviewees and in return asked for names and
responses of each respondent, then also, without respondents consent, the same cant be
passed on to the client (even if it is an internal survey within the company). Ex - Mystery

shopping to evaluate staffs performance (to gauge whether they are adhering to certain
norms) Names can only be given if the client gives the undertaking to the agency /
researcher that the responses will be used for training their staff members being interviewed
& not for sacking / firing / embarrassing the employees.
After the survey is completed and report is submitted to the client, till what time the client can
ask for further analysis / can come back with further queries 6 months(Researcher / agency
should though maintain the questionnaire / data till 1 year after the report is submitted)
Research is not used as a tool to sell the clients products, but just to obtain feedback from the
respondents
How to make Boss wrong without being noticed:
Lets put it in the parking lot (Old Way)
Correct me if I am wrong (New Way)
Stage 1 Problem discovery and definition
Discovery is in understanding the symptoms and Definition is finding the actual issue.
Exploratory research, which is optional, is used to convert problem discovery into definition.
Exploratory research is qualitative in nature.
Problem discovery - Understanding the presence of problem / identifying the problem
Problem definition It is the true problem, which will be used to formulate the objective.
Discovery is the symptom, definition is the actual problem.
Example
Symptom Membership is declining for the Al Nasir leisure club & increasing for the water
park.
Definition Why membership is declining and why people prefer water-park over club.
About the case discussed in class
Give information to client not just from the obvious which he / she can easily see / observe.
(Question to be answered - Why membership is declining/ when this trend has started / where
are those members going / why are they going there).
Answer found People (kids) have now grown up in age and now prefer to go to water park
instead of club with their parents.
True problem definition Should understand the needs and preferences of this segment whose
taste has now changed (Target group 21-30 years). Where does this group prefer to go and

why they prefer to go there. Hence, I can suggest the client whether they can adapt / how
much they need to change etc / client should switch the business to something else.
The above is an initial research & consulted with client (validate a hypothesis with the initial
research)
Client normally gives the symptom (hockey viewership is declining). Researcher has to come
with true problem (Which sports then these audiences are now watching and why). Hence,
more sessions are required with the client to convert this symptom / problem discovery into
problem definition.
Exploratory Research Initial research carried out to convert symptom / problem discovery
into a true problem definition
1. Initial research conducted to clarify and define the nature of the problem
2. Does not provide conclusive evidence
3. Subsequent research is expected
4. Why Exploratory Research
a. Diagnose a situation
b. Screening of alternatives
c. Discover new ideas
Types of Exploratory Research
1) Experience survey One should talk to industry experts and ask them what could be the
reason for decline / what could be the challenges in the market & get some feelers / feeders
from them.
2) Secondary data / historical analysis Using own organizations data to observe any trend from
the same.
3) Case Study Method A similar thing happened elsewhere and they did this to resolve it.
4) Projective technique Understanding mindset of target audience.
a. Word association Test Respondent is given a subject and is asked to respond
with the 1st word that comes to mind. Example Sweet Honey, Chocolate,
Indian traditional sweets, sugar.
i. About Chocolates
1. Chocolate eating trend has changed in India over the past 10 15
years. Earlier, up to age 10 years children were expected to eat
chocolate. Adults would have to justify why they were buying
chocolate to the cashier (though they would anyway eat it
themselves afterwards). This habit was understood and were
changed by companies over due course of time. How it was
done Chocolate and Cricket ad showing chocolate is

impulsive (no plan to purchase, feel the need and one eats it).
Similarly, cricket is impulsive, one claps / cheers for his / her
team even while watching a match with a stranger. Ad did well
and adult population hence, accepted chocolate. Also, perk ad
shows that one should eat a chocolate as snack. Occasions were
created out of the ordinary. Other ads Bride coming down
from stage to have a chocolate and then going back. (Need for
eating chocolate was created by understanding the barriers
which kept adults stay away from chocolates).
2. Chocolate slabs were seen as unhealthy due to its size, hence,
bite (small) size came into picture, though it is more unhealthy
one wants to try all the flavors in a box of chocolates, ending
up eating all.
3. Chocolate is treated as a mood enhancer.
4. Now, chocolates are given as festival sweets also. Now, a person
is seen as a conservative person if he / she give a traditional
sweet during festival.
ii. Making statement in front of client while ordering drink(s) in a
restaurant Mineral water was earlier, then came diet soda, now it is
freshly squeezed orange juice.
iii. Correct me if I am wrong How to pin point bosss wrong decision
without agitating him / her. Use this phrase in a meeting to comment
on someone whom it cant be made in a normal one to one meeting.
Lets put in the parking lot old way of saying the same.
iv. Red color Negative connotation was associated with red. Red now
indicates that one is vibrant, dynamic, young, lively and attractive. Red
is more used color for packaging these days.
b. Sentence completion test How high can a person talk about a brand
(good/better/best), when they give their feedback / opinion via sentence
completion test. These attributes mentioned in the sentence completion will be
used to highlight company / brand traits when they talk to their customers.
i. Cool (Carefree attitude) does not exist in the Arab world. Hence, it is
not shown in advertisements over there. Nivea did a lot of research to
find what beauty means. Hence, it is seen in many Nivea ads that
beauty means.. (Based on the feedbacks received from the
customer). Similarly, Nestle spent a good amount of money to
understand what nutrition means to people What is the meaning of
these words for your target audience and how can company use them
to their benefit; which is why sentence completion test is used.
c. TAT Thematic Apperception Test Gives an opportunity to spot what the
target audience is looking at, which can in turn be used to formulate the
objectives.
i. Golfer indicates successful person and one having time for himself as
per responses received from Men
ii. Women (not married) are also supporting golfer successful, rich,
famous (adjectives given)
iii. Married women preferred the other person (kids hugging), who will
take care of her kids.

Studied till now / Revision How do one frame the objective, what goes behind formulating
the objective from a discovery to a definition (Discovery being symptom and definition being
true problem). What converts discovery into definition is exploratory research. Various
exploratory research techniques are also discussed.
Objective - Now problem definition needs to be converted into an objective. An objective
always starts with a verb like to do something (To measure / analyze / determine /
understand). Ideally, research will never have more than 5 objectives.
How & with whom to conduct exploratory research Researcher will do the exploratory
research within the agency (with experienced staff) & then with touch points from the clients
side (division heads, departmental heads, cross functional teams, frontline staff all people
who are going to help you understand the problem better). In case problem is very well
articulated at the 1st place, then it is not required to be converted into definition, hence, no
exploratory research is required. Hence, exploratory research is optional.
3 most dumb question (never to be asked)
1) Have you understood everything? (Answer Yes)
2) What price are you going to pay for this product (Answer Nothing)
3) Where would you like the location of this outlet (Answer Below my building, most
convenient)
Time of research can be cut down by investing in more resources. (8 weeks project to 7 / 6.5
weeks project)
Question - When a client says that he wanted more out of the research (but never stated
them), and rates the researcher below par, how researcher should tackle the situation?
Answer Sir, you are free to give feedback / opinion as per your choice, but nobody under
the sun neither I nor my competitors can address implied objectives. If you wish to spell out
something, unless we do not discuss it / unless it is not acknowledged / unless it is not
recognized, it will never get addressed (& you can choose to do what you want).
With next client, ask him / her upfront, if he / she is thinking something but not spelling out.
Hence, objective setting is important because both implied and stated objectives are
articulated in research (Not articulated, may not get addressed). Out of 10 research, in 6,
client may require hand-holding as he / she does not know what they want (objective is
unclear).
Types of Exploratory Research (Kotler & Zikmund)
1. Experience surveys: Ask knowledgeable persons about a particular research problem, most
are quite willing to answer.
2. Secondary Data Analysis: Preliminary review of the data collected for another purpose to
clarify issues in the early stages of research effort.

3. Case study method: An exploratory research technique that intensively investigates one or
few situations similar to the researchers problem situation.
4. Pilot Study: A small scale exploratory research project that uses sampling but does not apply
rigorous standards (Quantitative estimates from large, representative samples are relaxed)
1. Projective techniques: It is an indirect means of questioning a respondent to
project beliefs and feelings onto a third party, an inanimate object, or a task
situation.
2. Word association test: Respondent is asked to respond with the 1st word that
comes to mind. Example: Red Rose, Blood, Heart
3. Sentence completion test: It is a projective technique in which respondents are
required to complete a number of partial sentences with the first or phrase that
comes to their mind. Example a. People who drink bear are _____________
b. A man who drinks light bear is __________
c. Imported bear is most liked by __________
d. A woman will drink beer when __________
4. Thematic Apperception Test: A test consisting of a series of pictures shown to
research subjects who are then asked to provide a description of the pictures. The
researcher analyses the content of these descriptions in an effort to clarify a
research problem.
Disadvantages of exploratory research: Exploratory research cant take place of quantitative,
conclusive research.
Most of them provide qualitative information and interpretation of the findings is typically
judgmental.
Most exploratory research utilizes small sample sizes which may not be representative because
they do not have been selected on probability basis.
Exploratory research generates insights and clarifies the business problems for hypothesis
testing in future research. One cant determine the most important attributes of a new
program or policy until those attributes have been identified, which illustrates the importance
of exploratory research.
Example - Want to find out about off-shore banking; target audience is people with investible
assets $200,000 and above Sample size is undecided as finding such people is difficult; this
condition has to be agreed upfront with client.
When are above research conducted:
Exploratory research is conducted during the early stages of decision making when the
decision is ambiguous and management is uncertain about the nature of the problem.
When management is aware of the problem, but not completely knowledgeable about the
situation, descriptive research is usually conducted.
Causal studies can only be conducted when a problem is sharply defined.

Class-2
2nd Stage Research Design
Research Design
Primary Data
Classification-1
Descriptive
Diagnostic
Experimental
Causal
Exploratory
Classification-2
Qualitative
Quantitative
Secondary Data
Internal Data Source
External Data Source
How should one design the research effectively to achieve the objective set forth for the
research exercise?
In research design, there are 2 sources of data Primary and Secondary source of data.
Primary Data is available off the shelf in western countries (unlike Middle-East) and needs to
be collected for the purpose of research in general. Secondary data on the other hand is
collected for some other purpose but can be used for current research.
Secondary Data Already available, collected for some other purpose and can be used by
other teams. It may or may not be collected for clients specific purpose. Syndicated data is
NOT secondary data. Syndicated data is where 2 or more clients are using the same data and
knowing that other is using the same with both paying to the researcher. Secondary data is
available for everyone who has access to it to be used.
In US, the secondary data is readily available. Hence, the primary research is done only to
validate the secondary data. Ex Instead of asking What is the market size, researcher
asks Whether the size is ZZZ as he / she has information from secondary data about it
(good close approximation). Secondary data hence is limitation is Middle-East market but
good for outside market (like US).
A research project may need one or both (Internal and External sources of data) of
these. Example: In Dubai, the EIU (Economic Intelligence unit), Ministry of planning and
Department of Economic Development gives different inflation rate (various sources of
secondary data), but finally, the data of EIU is considered finally for the determining the rate
of inflation.

Rate of Inflation in UAE as per the following

EIU (Economic Intelligence Unit) 8% - 9% (Most reliable source for UAE market)
IMF 17%
Ministry of planning 5%
Department of economic development 11%
Banks in UAE 15% - 19%
Saudi Arabias population (largest market in Middle East) Range is from 20 to 35 million.
There is no census done there. Hence, could not find out per capita income for Pepsi.
Above example shows the importance of availability of secondary data.
Secondary sources of data classification
Internal sources of data (Internal to Researcher / client) It is within the boundaries of the
organization. Example College library data for student. Most of the time, the data is freely
accessible (fees is not applicable or is taken upfront).The researcher is not paying for the
data.
External sources of data It is available outside the premises of the organization. It is
chargeable. The charge can either be borne by the consultant, but mostly it is passed on to the
client. Example Public library data for which college has not paid. Client hence should be
charged accordingly.
A research project may need one or both of these.
Industry Fact - This costs so much, but for you we will absorb the cost What researcher
says to big clients when not billing them for the external source of data used during the
research. Demographic information is expected to be contained by the agency, else client will
also say Why should I go with you?
In year 1, client is the boss; but from Year 2 onwards, agency is the boss as now client is
dependent on the agency (else it has to again re-invest the same amount of money to start
research afresh). Agency uses the word black box to hide all the calculations / methods they
use to arrive at the figure / analysis. Hence, Client tries to avoid use of proprietary tools of
agency right from day 1.
Whatever is not black-box, please do it on this study Request from Client to agency from
beginning. In case agency says they cant do it, the client may reject their proposal in the 1st
year itself.
Primary Data Source -

1) Descriptive Research Question asked related to Who / What / When / Where / How. All
these questions are describing the behavior of the respondent towards something and hence
called descriptive in nature. It is used to describe characteristics of a population or
phenomenon (questions related to who, what, when, where, how). It is describing the
behavior of persons / respondents towards something. Unlike exploratory research,
descriptive studies are based on some previous understanding of the nature of the research
problem. Descriptive research often helps segment and target markets.
2) Diagnostic Research It aims to answer the question why to drill down to the root cause
of the problem. Example: Why you buy this shampoo.
3) Experimental Research It is carried out prior to the launch of concept / product /
advertisement to understand the effectiveness of the same and to take a decision whether to
go ahead with the launch or not. Example: Emaar properties Rent to own initiative where a
person living on rent can actually own the property by paying the balance amount (Principle
Rent paid till date).
Detail explanation - Research carried out prior to the product / concept / advertising launch.
Only for advertisements, it could be done after also. Why it is done to know the
effectiveness of the concept / idea & to find out whether the team should go ahead with the
launch of the product / idea or not.
Example (Service Concept) EMAAR properties had the concept of Rent to own. But no
one understood it despite huge hoardings present. People thought that after renting, people
are literally owners of the house till the period lasts so they didnt understand the concept.
Original concept Till 3 years, one pays the rent. After that rent paid will go towards the
installment of the principle outstanding (which is the price of the house). The initial 3 years
rent paid is considered as one time down payment towards the property. Ultimately, when
people understood it, the demand for the same increased exponentially and EMAAR had to
stop this.
4) Causal Research This research is used to understand the cause and effect relationship of
something / variable (Cause and effect relationship between 2 variables). Exploratory and
descriptive research normally precedes cause-and-effect relationship studies.
Example If company has done a promotion, whether it has build the brand or not to
understand it requires causal research. Diagnostic research is answering generic Why
question (Why one buys ice-cream), whereas causal answers very specific Why question
related to the effect (Because one eats Ice cream, whether he / she is health conscious or not
Checking relationship between eating ice-cream and health).
a. Causal research attempts to establish that when we do one thing, another thing
will follow. A typical causal study has management change one variable (e.g.,
training) and then observe the effect on another variable (e.g., productivity).
b. If an organization behavior theorist wishes to show attitude change causes
behavior change, one criterion that must be established is that attitude change
precedes behavior change.
Example Life Boy brand (India) What it meant 20 years ago Life Boy was used by
lower income class (Meant for servants at home). Unilever decided to re-position the brand to

be used by teens or young adults to be used as a facial soap a complete change of what it
was and what it is now. People wont use it if soap is still called Life Boy and has same old
red color. Hence, name test went ahead for searching a premium name. 2 options came up
Life Boy Gold or Life Boy Green. Green sounded very earthy & had nothing fancy about it,
but Gold word had the premium affect among the target audience. After Life Boy Gold, Life
Boy Plus came.
In the above case, company wanted to shift the target market. Similarly Emirates also
introduced low cost airline called Fly by Dubai without distorting their original brand
which symbolized affluent class (Aircraft / service / corporate entity is different from parent).
Surf It changed the name to Surf Excel. 90% of respondents thought Surf excel is a
premium brand. Company wanted to keep both the brands initially but in future had to
discontinue with Surf brand, as they perceived that they cant differentiate between common
and premium brand. The word excel though further increased the market share of Surf.
1) Exploratory Research Already explained.
When are above research conducted:
Exploratory research is conducted during the early stages of decision making when the
decision is ambiguous and management is uncertain about the nature of the problem.
When management is aware of the problem, but not completely knowledgeable about the
situation, descriptive research is usually conducted.
Causal studies can only be conducted when a problem is sharply defined.
Examples of Business Problems:
Exploratory Research
(Ambiguous Problem)

Descriptive Research (Aware

of partially defined problem)

Causal Research (Clearly

defined problem)

Absenteeism is increasing and

we do not know why

What kind of people favor

trade protectionism

Which of the two training

programs is more effective

Would people be interested in

our new product idea

Did last years product recall

have an impact on our
companys stock price

Can I predict the value of

energy stocks if I know the
current dividends and growth
rates and dividends

What task conditions

influence the leadership
process in our organization

Has the average merger rate

for savings and loans
increased in the past decade

Will buyers purchase more of

our product in a new package

Primary Data research (collection) method - Within Primary, there are 2 kinds / methods of
doing research Quantitative Research and Qualitative Research.

Quantitative Research

Qualitative Research

Answers the question How Many (How many Answers the question Why (Example: Why
laptops you have?)
do you have a laptop?)
It is descriptive in nature

It is diagnostic in nature

It is measurable (gives statistically significant

data)

It is not measurable (does not give statistically

measurable data)

The data / result can be extrapolated to the

universe

The data / result cant be extrapolated to the

universe

It is Interviewer driven

It is respondent driven (moderator manages)

The instrument used here is a questionnaire

The instrument used here is a discussion guide

It performs data analysis

It performs content analysis

It is structured (It has definite sequence of

question for all respondents as it is interviewer
driven)

It is unstructured (the question can be asked in

any order as it is respondent driven)

Less complex

More complex (to frame question and continue

with interview)

Less expensive

More expensive

Representative of Universe

Not a true representative of universe

The sample size is always greater than (or

equal to) 30

The Sample size is always less than 30

The interviewing techniques used here are

Personal interview (Door to Door, Mall
Intercept, Street Intercept), Telephonic
Interview (Internet & mail surveys), Self
administered questionnaire

The interviewing techniques used here are Indepth interview (to discuss sensitive issues in
private) and focus group discussion (for
groups)

Differences in detail
Quantitative research in number driven whereas qualitative research is not number driven.
Quantitative research answers the question How many, Qualitative research answers the
question Why.
Quantitative research is more descriptive in nature, whereas qualitative research is more
diagnostic (Why questions) in nature.

Quantitative research is measurable, whereas qualitative research is not measurable.

Quantitative research gives statistically significant data whereas qualitative research does not
give.
Quantitative research can be extrapolated as the sample is representative of the universe
whereas qualitative cant be extrapolated as sample is not representative of universe.
Quantitative research uses a interviewer, whereas qualitative research uses a moderator.
Instrument used in quantitative research is questionnaire whereas in qualitative research is
discussion guide.
In quantitative research, one carries out data analysis, whereas in qualitative research one
carries out content analysis.
Quantitative research is structured / Interviewer driven (Interviewer has to ask the question
in the same sequence as given in the questionnaire No creativity by interviewer; all
instruction has to be hence, given on the questionnaire) whereas qualitative research is
unstructured (discussion guide which more or less works like a stimulus; guide has different
areas to be covered while questioning; respondent might chose to answer any question
irrespective of question being asked. It Is hence, unstructured as it is respondent driven (Go
with the flow created by the respondent).
Qualitative research is more complex requires more skills, research, aptitude, moderator has
to adapt to the flow of the respondent. Quantitative research is comparatively less complex.
Quantitative research is hence less expensive than qualitative research.
1 focus group will cost approx 2.5 to 3 thousand USD (contains max 10 people, average is 46 people). 1 interview will cost approx 75-80 USD.
Both techniques are equally analytical. Quantitative is dependent on qualitative (9 out of 10
cases). On a project, one could use both, either but cant use neither.
Sample size in qualitative is less than that of quantitative (Statistically correct minimum
sample size is 30)
What suggestions company can get from respondents to improve the product - Qualitative
What is the decision making process followed by people when they decide to buy a car
Qualitative
What car are they buying Quantitative
A focus group discussion lasts for an hour or 2 depending on the respondent, a quantitative
survey lasts for 20 35 minutes.

Questions asked What cream are you using, how often to you use them, where do you buy
it from. Why do you use that cream, when you use that cream are you fine about the
packaging.
Open ended questions are quantitative
Qualitative research is very rich, helps one to deep dive, whereas quantitative research helps
one to float.
Close-up FRESHNESS Why do you use a toothpaste Because I Suffer from bad breath,
What happens if you have bad breath ..Many why questions were asked & social
acceptance was the last why where the questions stopped.
Both Qualitative and Quantitative are randomly sampled. Qualitative is mostly preferred by
the audience as people prefer numbers to take decisions.
The techniques followed under quantitative research are
Personal Interviews / Face to Face Interviews Most popular (at home, office or a place
convenient to client whenever it is convenient to client). Very specific, respondent can be
easily explained the questionnaire in case of any confusion. Most expensive method.
Questionnaire is held and filled by the interviewer and not by respondent. Best response rate
as respondent can see the interviewer in front of them and can easily check the ids also.
Door to door interview
Mall Intercepts (Street Intercept Singapore, Western countries)
Research is Saudi Arabia is illegal (One has to call the respondent, take permission for
personal visit at a suitable time convenient to the client)
Telephonic interviews They are beginning to become popular, but still there are few hurdles
(like disclosing income over telephone) to be crossed before being accepted by mass .
Self administered questionnaires - Email &/or Internet survey One fill it on their own like end
term / course feedback
Email
Self Administered questionnaires
Paper questionnaires
Mail
In-person drop-off
Inserts
Fax
Electronic questionnaires

 E-Mail
Internet website
Kiosk
Response rate in male is 1% only without force.
Qualitative research can be done via in-depth interview or discussion guide. Interviewing
doctors is Indepth interview as it is very difficult to meet all of them at the same time
(extremely busy target audience). Indepth interviews last for 1-2 hours.
Indepth Interview What are the factors people take into account while buying a car, who is
the decision maker, when does the process start & end, who is the influencer outcome will
be rich data out of this exercise. The same will help in product offerings, communication to
customer, strategy of offering like in bundles or solo.
I want to interview people to find out about their investment habits In-depth interview
(Cant discuss personal finance in groups). The topic is very sensitive to be discussed in
public or interview is being done for HNI.
Quantitative method is related to measurement, hence one need scale. (Scale Some tool to
capture response)
Class - 3
Types of Scales used
Broadly there are 4 kinds of scale
1. Nominal Scale Every scale in research is a nominal scale. Sex = Male 1, Female -2, is a
nominal scale.
2. Ordinal Scale It ranks order in categories like excellent, good, fair, poor etc. It is also a
numerical scale. Measures the order of the object or phenomenon (Excellent-1 / Very Good2 / Good-3 / Bad-4 / Poor-5)
3. Interval Scale Measures distance between 2 points / values and range. Example: Under which
age category you fall under (26-31 years / 31-35 years / 36-40 years ) (Degree of difference)
4. Ratio Scale Rate importance between zero to 100 (How many times an impact of something,
need base as zero, which is a ratio scale). Please rate importance 0-100, indicating how
important is this to you (Ratio Scale). Please rate importance 1-100, indicating how important
is this to you (Interval Scale). A ratio scale possesses a meaningful (unique and non-arbitrary)
zero value
5. Likert Scale: It is an odd point scale / most common scale. Used as a 5 point scale, except in a
regular satisfaction survey where it is 4 point scale to force the respondent to give an answer /
opinion for better action-ability on results (to avoid the center point where most respondents
tend to select to express neutral satisfaction). Respondents indicate their own attitude by
checking how strongly they agree or disagree with statements. Response alternatives are
Strongly Agree, Agree, Uncertain, Disagree, strongly Disagree.

5 point scale should not be used when opinion are being taken (Satisfaction survey), else
most of the respondents tend to be biased towards neutral opinion. Hence, satisfaction survey
is always a 4 point scale.
6. Constant Sum Scale: Scales used in marketing research asking the respondent to divide (usually)
100 points between two or more attributes based on their importance to the respondent. For
example, the respondent may be asked to allocate points to the attributes speed, comfort, fuel
consumption, and reliability by a car manufacturer. If the average scores of all respondents are:
speed 10, comfort 10, fuel consumption 30, and reliability 50, the manufacturer will have useful
information to assist the engineering and design department

7. Graphic Rating Scale (For Visual communication)

8. Semantic differential scale: It is a bipolar 7 point scale (Vertically, ranking is done and
horizontally rating is done), trying to get response of the person at the 2 extremes to best
understand what he/she thinks about that question being asked.
Example: The following example illustrates the rating of a restaurant by a single respondent
based on 3 parameters Rating of 7 being the Best and 1 being the Worst.
Rating is done for a single parameter for the restaurant.
Ranking of Parameters - Users may be asked to rank which parameter is most important to
them.
Rating Parameters of a
Restaurant
Variety of Food
Value for Money
Location

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Y
Y
Y

While preparing the questionnaire, the need to know questions should be avoided. All open
ended and closed ended questions needs to be recorded, analyzed and presented to the client
in a quantitative research.
Properties of a Scale
Scale should be reliable and valid and hence, accurate
Reliable Error Free scale / research
Valid Answers the objective of research (Hence, automatically it is also error free)
Whatever is reliable need not be valid (as research done may be error free but still might not
be answering the objective), but whatever is valid must be reliable (Anything answering the
objective is automatically error free).
Reliability + Validity = Accuracy
Hence, validity and accuracy is same and used synonymously in the industry.

Attitude measuring process

Ranking Ranking is relative. It requires that the respondent rank order a small number of
objects in overall performance on the basis of some characteristic or stimulus. Example Rate top 5. Ranking is vertical.
Rating It asks the respondent to estimate the magnitude of a characteristic or quality that an
object possesses. The respondents position on the scale(s) where he or she would rate an
object. Rating is absolute - measures magnitude of objects characteristic. Rating is
horizontal.
Sorting Classifying into groups based on certain characteristics.
Choice Only one answer is chosen out of several alternatives

.......
SCALES in detail
Semantic Differential Scale
A series of 7 point bi-polar rating scale. Bipolar adjectives such as good & bad anchoring
both ends (or poles) of the scale.
Example Rating of a restaurant based on following parameters / factors
Value for Money (Poor-1 to Excellent-7)
Location (Inconvenient-1 to Convenient-7 location)
Variety of food (Narrow Variety -1 to Wide Variety - 7 of food)
Also, relative rating of the parameters / factors needs to be done.
Restaurant 1

Restaurant 2

Restaurant 3

Total

Value for
Money (50%)

=5*0.5+4*0.5+4*0.5
=7

Location
(30%)

=5

Variety of
Food (20%)

=6

Hence, Restaurant 1 is doing best as per the respondent.

SDC works well with image kind of question / to understand perception about 2-4 competing
brands.
Which restaurant has to work harder The one who is at rank 1 (the lead brand) has to work
hardest to maintain his / her lead position.
Constant Sum Scale
Sum of all responses given by a respondent is either 10 or 100 (easier for respondent to think
on the scale of 10 or 100). (Objective - How much importance a respondent gives towards a
particular brand. Problem occurs when the criterion of rating is not specified upfront to the
respondent).
Distribute 100 points in the following 5 subjects
Respondent

RM

FA

QT

CF

ME

Total
(Always
100)

40

10

10

20

20

100

20

40

10

100

30

10

50

100

50

20

10

100

40

30

10

10

10

100

Total

180

110

90

45

45

500

Parameter thought over for high rating of a subject

Effort taken by the faculty (for the subject to sink in with the respondent)
Liking for the subject by the respondent
Utility of the course in work / job
Hence, does not specify the criterion to break the 100 point for a respondent. Discourage
respondents to give equal rating / points to all subjects or very close points, which will not
show any result in regression analysis.
Also, not more than 5 brands else it becomes too much to judge by the respondent. Also,
either a 10 or a 100 scale should be used for designing this.
Graphic Rating Scale

It is used if one wants to get a pictorial representation of something like Mood / behavior /
feelings. It is usually used in restaurants to get certain kind of feedbacks in slightly relaxed
manner / used with children.
Unbalanced Scale It has more responses distributed at one end of the scale. No need of a
center scale as people tends to make a neutral view if provided with an option to choose and
the survey does not show a view to be considered.
Questionnaire design is the 2nd stage i.e research design. The questionnaire should be valid
(answering the objective).
Please ensure that codes have been assigned to each option while designing the
questionnaire. Hence, all scales are numeric and use numbers for coding purposes later on.
All types of scales are popular as long as they are valid.
The major decisions in questionnaire design What should be asked All valid questions which answer the objective of the research should
be asked. All need to know questions should be asked and nice to know questions should be
avoided.
Phrasing of question
Open ended questions No options given.
Closed ended question / Fixed alternative questions Options can be many to choose from, but
answer to be chosen from those alternative(s) only.
Others option does not make the question closed ended, instead it shows that
majority of answers expected from respondents will be in fixed options, only
some may chose the other option for answering. (Others should be less than
10%, else put it as close ended option)
Both are on the questionnaire and questionnaire is quantitative. Hence, both are quantitative
because they can be coded, measured & analyzed (coding is done in stage 5 Data
processing and analysis). Both open ended and close ended questions are recorded, analyzed,
measured and presented.
Discussion guide Many people eat chocolate because..
Questionnaire 30% people eat chocolate because
Avoids on the questionnaire (should not be on the instrument)
Avoid complexity Use simple conversational language. Example How did you interact
with the customer service officer of XYZ bank. Instead of using officer, use the word
representative, staff etc as people outside the bank will get confused in understanding the
rank (officer). Of all the chocolate brands you can think of, what brands are you salient of.

(Use the word aware / think instead of salient, which is pure marketing word). Record,
response under TOM. (Use the word first mentioned instead of TOM Top of Mind).
Avoid leading and loaded question
Leading question
All intelligent elite professionals eat Kelloggs. Do you?
All dumbos carry as credit card. Do you?
All intelligent people do their MBA from SP Jain. Where would you
like to do your MBA from?
Loaded question (socially loaded) Ask from a 3rd party context and not
directly. Best way to discuss is with qualitative research / discussion guide in
Personal interview as it is sensitive to the respondent.
Is smoking cigarette injurious to health? (No one will say NO to it)
One should never drink and drive!
One must never take dowry!
One must never cheat in exams!
If one does not drink at a party, he is considered Sissy (one drinks for
social acceptance) Majority said Yes
Avoid ambiguity (be as specific as possible) Please record your monthly household income
(not specifying the currency; whether rounding off is required and if Yes, till what decimal
place)
Avoid double-barreled items 2 or more questions asked in the same question. Do you like
the food and the ambience of this restaurant
Avoid making assumptions Hows your wife (assuming that person is married)
Avoid burdensome questions Of all the liquid you drank yesterday, how many liters of
water did you drink. Of all the money spent on the groceries in a month, how much you
spend on a chocolate colored biscuits.
Question Sequence
Order Bias Funnel Technique Ask all general / category (chewing gum) questions first and then ask
brand (Rigleys) specific questions. For example In a ice cream brand survey, ask ice-cream
related questions first (taste, cost) and then ask about various brand related questions for icecream.
Filter Bias Example - If consumer follows cricket, go to set 1 questionnaire, else go to Set 2
questionnaire.
Gender is not asked, but is recorded.
Pretesting of questionnaire / Piloting the questionnaire One need to test it with actual
respondents to ensure questionnaire is understood correctly; there are no errors / fatigue
levels in the questionnaire. After pre-testing, respondents in the field are asked these

questions. It is a trial run with a group of respondents to iron out fundamental problems in the
instructions of survey design.
Example Did pretesting of 10% for a sample size of 100, ie 10, and there is no change in
the response. No what will be the next course of action
Do the rest 90 interviews
Take a fresh sample of 100 and again do the above exercise
Do the former (90 additional) as cost will be less and sample consisted of actual respondents.
Difference between filter question and screener question In case answer to screener
question is No, Interview is stopped / terminated, while in filter question, it is redirected to a
different set of question (filter means one take the respondent and direct them to different part
of questionnaire).
Question asked for a survey for particular income group We are conducting an interview for
people having monthly household salary above 10,000 Dhirams. Please tell us by looking at
this card, to which salary range u fall in.
One can have many screening questions. All screener questions no matter how sentimental it
is, will be asked upfront.
Ask every question from the questionnaire should be asked even the sample is a referral
sample (I know something about the sample, which answers few questions of my
questionnaire). Reason Questionnaire is structured, every question should be asked in the
same order / sequence as given in the questionnaire following all instructions.
For interviewing 10,000 and above; what should be done with 9500 salaried respondent.
Round it off to 10,000 or give the instructions carefully.
Written permission of the respondent needs to be taken in case his / her name is disclosed to
client. In B2B interviews, always get the visiting card of the client signed by him / her.
Number of questions in a questionnaire To be decided based on the following criterions are
met Interviewer has the questionnaire and asked question to respondents and interviewer will
circle the response.
Interview length is not more than 20 -35 minutes for face to face and 15 minutes for
telephonic interview.
Questionnaire is valid.
Awareness Question
Question - When you think of chocolates, what are the brands of chocolate you are aware /
think of?

Answer
1st brand mentioned Cadbury (Circle 3 in First mentioned column) = 1st chocolate brand
mentioned by the respondent
2nd, 3rd, 4th . Brand mentioned Galaxy, Kit-Kat, Tiffany (Circle 1, 4, 8 in Other
Mentions) = Will come in Other mentions
Aided = Brand which when reminded to the customer, is remembered by the customer
Un-aided = Brand even when reminded to customer is not known to him. Needs to build
awareness for the brand.
1st MENTIONED

OTHER
MENTIONED

AIDED

Galaxy

Galaxy Jewels

Cadburys

Kit-Kat

Nestle Milky Bar

Lindt

Ferrero

Tiffany

Others (Specify)

BRAND NAME

Hence, all the brands listed here will be covered either in 1st two or will be covered finally in
Aided or unaided. In case, respondent mentions a name not in the list, then it should be noted
and Others (Specify) should be circled in either 1st mentioned or Other mentioned (Aided and
Un-aided wont ask Others Specify question)
How aided questions are asked Show the respondent the brand photo cards also to specify
which brand one is referring to.
On a spontaneous note, a respondent is aware of atleast 9 brands of chocolates. When
prompted, he / she is aware of another 10 brands. So, in totality, respondent is aware of
around 20 brands chocolates. It indicates highly knowledgeable consumer / customer, highly
competitive market, well advertised / positioned brands. Total Brands of chocolates that exist
= 80 (Like Cadburys Fruit & nit, Cadburys Hazle nut are separate brands).

Establishing relationship between mother brand and its variant - Cadburys in India was
generic name for chocolates like Xerox is to photo-copy or drinking water to Bisleri.
Cadburys did a survey to find out how many people were able to recall Cadburys dairy milk
in particular Vs how many people are recalling any Cadbury. So, under 1st mentioned,
respondent says Cadburys, then they are prompted by interviewer which Cadbury (80%
said Dairy Milk).
Alphabetize the brand names while designing the awareness question to avoid any order bias.
Companies are interested in the top 3 brands maximum & do not prompt for more than that.
Brand Awareness importance How close is the brand to the customer, whether customer can
recall on its own or needs prompting, Whether brand is recalled as 1st or subsequent.
Usage question comes after awareness Same style, only difference is it consumed rather
than it is just being aware of.
How to ask Brand Image question
Brand 1 Brand 2 Brand 3 .. Brand 7 (None)
Has Attractive packaging
Is Available everywhere
Is Reasonably prices
User can select Single / multiple / no option. Set of Image statements are referred to as Image
battery. Here, image battery has 3 statements.
Why coding should be uniform in all questionnaires prepared for different purposes (like
Cadburys should always get code-1 irrespective of it being present in any question /
questionnaire)- Everything on the questionnaire is structured which means that when asked /
analyzed, a particular option is always coded same irrespective of it being present in any
question (uniformity maintained across respondents to get consistent answers asked in the
questionnaire). Cant code Cadburys as 6 by one person and 1 by other. Hence, codes should
be fixed before the questions are designed.
Satisfaction Scale 10 point scale is preferred over 5 point as data is more dispersed and
hence, more sensitive, which is internationally acceptable. How high / low can one can be
rated for a particular characteristic. NA option is for question which user cannot answer as
he / she doesnt know (Please refer DONT KNOW article for further details) or has not used
the product / service. It helps to remove these respondents from sample as they are not the
target audience. In case a screener question is present in the questionnaire, then NA is not
required to be present as an option.
Positioning cues Current perception / Image / How is brand seen as today
Class - 4

Observation Non verbal communication. It is a quantitative research. (Similarly mystery

shopping is a quantitative research).
What can be observed:
1. Physical actions / Human Behavior (Shoppers movement pattern in stores) - Whether the
customer uses a shopping list (planned) or picks up product in an impulse manner. In case
respondent is followed in the store, both respondents and retail outlets owner permission is
necessary. If not following the respondent, then only permission of retail outlet owner is
sufficient. (Whether the customer is picking up things at / below / above the eye contact
level). Pepsi / Coke are always at the exit as the people can take it in chilled form and can
drink it immediately after leaving the shop (product still remains cold). Similarly Dairy is
also placed closer to exit for the same reason. 1000 Dhirams a month per SKU from Pepsi /
coke is typically charged by stores (SKU Stock keeping unit) if they are placed at prime
position(s) in stores.
2. Verbal behavior How are people speaking to each other (Example Statements made by
airline travelers who wait in line). What happens to peoples reaction when the queue is
broken / followed.
3. Expressive behavior (Facial expressions, tone of voice, and other forms of body language)
4. Spatial relations and locations (How close visitors at an art museum stand to paintings)
Sales staff should always be in close proximity with Arab customer (minimal distance
between them) as the customer feels that he /she is taken care of (Can I Help you / Follow
you / do for you). Opposite to that, Sales person should stand at a distance when dealing
with westerns or Asians. 1st sign of interest to be observed in the customer First thing
customer picks up in store.
5. Temporal patterns (how long fast food customers wait for their order to be served) Mood
swings to be observed at different times of the day peak time, lean time, weekdays,
weekends.
6. Physical objects (What brand name items are stored in consumers pantries) Checking the
pantries to ensure whether a specific brand liked by the respondent is stored with him / her or
not. To check, what all one consumes in the whole day, garbage bins are checked to ensure
answer matches with what people answered.
7. Verbal and pictorial records (Bar codes on product packages) Lots of information is stored
in bar-codes like source of product, kind of people who bought these products, demographics
of such people. In west, it is observed in depth. In middle east, it is limited upto whether the
product is in stock or not.
Mystery shopping 3rd party does it. To check Service standards are adhered to. A person
who poses as a customer comes and visits the outlet / bank and then evaluates the sales staff /
service on various service level parameters. Purpose is not to fire but to train the staff.
Body odor, how to communicate Informal but direct expression is better than any other
method of communication.

2 kinds of observation Direct and Indirect observation. In direct observation, the party /
person being observed knows that he / she is being observed.
Errors in Research
(How to be aware of errors and how to avoid them)
Margin of error on your data can be 1% (Stringent), 5% (acceptable) or 10% (Lenient).
Survey Error
Random Sample Error
Systematic Error
Respondent Error
Non Response Error
Response Bias
Acquiescence Bias
Extremity Bias
Interviewer Bias
Auspices Bias
Social Desirability Bias
Administrative Error
Data Processing Error
Sample Selection Error
Interviewer Error
Interviewer Cheating
2 types of errors
Random sampling Error A statistical fluctuation that occurs because of change variation in the
elements selected for the sample.
. Systematic error / bias It results from some imperfect aspect of the research design or from a
mistake in the execution of the research
RSE has to be live with whereas systematic error needs to be lessened or avoided.
Systematic Error
Administrative Error
Respondent Error
o Non Response Error Those who fail to respond / cooperate. Respondent not a
home / not picking his / her mobile. Respondent leaves the interview in
between due to some personal reason.

o Response Bias A bias that occurs when respondents tend to answer questions
in a certain direction that consciously or unconsciously misrepresents the
truth.
If your questionnaire should take 30 minutes, should you say 5 minutes or ball-park figure of
20 minutes Chose the latter option, as Interviewer might stop answering questionnaire after
5 minutes and all the efforts / time spent will go waste. Always give a ball park time (20 min
or more for a 30 min interview), but never give a narrow time (5 / 10 / 15 min for a 30 minute
interview). It has to made sure that interviewer gives you full quota of time required to
completely answer the questionnaire.
Response Bias Acquiescence bias A category of response bias that results because some individuals tend to
agree with all questions or to concur with a particular position. Check / ensure the answer by
challenging the respondent that the response given by them is actually yes. Even after
challenging, the response remains yes, then the interviewer has to live with that response.
Extremity bias A category of response bias that results because response styles vary from
person to person; some individuals tend to use extremes when responding to questions. One
can have some questions, but not all questions answered to extremities.
Interviewer bias MOST COMMON ERROR. A response bias that occurs because the
presence of the interviewer influences the answer. Created verbally or by expressions.
Example Interviewer asks - Whats your income, Respondent says - 9500 Dhirams.
Interviewer says Thats it! (expression of disgust shown to respondent by interviewer so
that response changes to above 10,000 Dhirams)
Auspices bias Bias in the response of subjects caused by the respondents being influenced by
the organization conducting the study. Example RM professor asking students to give
independent feedback of RM subject in his presence (No one will give a negative feedback).
So, in case one is doing a study on chocolates for Nestle, then they should never disclose the
name Nestle while asking questions because respondent may have a perception about Nestle
which will influence his / her answer towards answering general chocolate questions which
do not involve Nestle alone. Only in customer satisfaction survey, name of the brand / client
should be revealed (I am conducting a survey on SP Jain and require your feedback on it).
Social desirability bias Bias in responses caused by respondents desire either conscious or
unconscious to gain prestige or appear in a different social role. Hence, never ask socially
loaded questions.
Administrative Error Data processing Error Example Year of birth of respondent is found to be 1875, which is
wrong. It should be 1975.
Sample selection Error Example - Interview to be done for teens, but actually done for adults

 Interviewer Error Example In a satisfaction survey, interviewer asks about satisfaction for a
product on a 10 point scale and the respondent just says satisfied with product. Interviewer
cant mark any point till the interviewer says it. Example 2 gone to interview people above
age of 25, respondent is 24 years, Interview is not conducted though incorrectly the age is
circled as 25.
Interviewer Cheating Interviewer fills up the question on their own without asking any
respondent. It results in lot of erratic movement of data.
Sampling Terminology (Stage 3)
Sampling types
Non Probabilistic All the sample entities do not have equal chance / probability to get
selected in the sample
Convenience Here, sample is selected based on the technique which is most
convenient to the researcher
Judgment / Experience Example Researcher wants to interview people in a building with monthly
income > 10,000 AED. The parking lot of the building has Kia,
Hyundai and Corolla. Since, all these vehicles are low end in the
middle-east region, researcher will not go into the building for
interview
In case one wants to interview westerns in Dubai, interviewer will go
either to Jumeriah or Sheikh Zayed road (would never go to knife road)
Quota (Most popular method) Interviewer selects the sample based on certain
quotas. Quotas are pre-agreed / pre-decided on which interviewer is going to
select the sample. Example 60% population in UAE is from Indian sub
continent. Hence, Quota sampling method will ensure that sample share of
Indian sub continent respondents is 60% for current survey so that sample is
representative of the universe.
Snowball / Referral 1st respondent is selected purely in random manner. After
the interview, the respondent is asked if he knows people of the same profile
like his so that those people can be interviewed and so on. It is typically done
for niche products (focused / targeted). Example To interview people with
investable assets of $200,000 and above in Dubai (Niche sample).
Probabilistic The sample entities have equal chance of getting selected into the sample.
Simple Random Pick up the person in purely random manner. Use random
number table to choose the respondent (Even the building chosen is using
random number table). One can use excel also to generate random numbers.
Example To interview 1 child in a house below 10 years. Random numbers
are 2,5,7.... Go to each house and see how many children are eligible and
give them any number. Then from first house, pick up the 2nd numbered child,
from second house, pick up 5th child and so on. In case, the second house has
less than 5 children who are eligible for the interview, then skip that house.

 Systematic It is selecting every Nth entity / respondent in the sample. Example

Interviewing every 2nd or 5th child in the family.
Stratified - Break the universe / sample into stratas of Age / Sex / Work
experience (Years) etc and choose sample from a particular strata, which
fulfills the research objective.
Cluster / Geographic Sampling Example Want to interview people residing in
UAE, will only go to 4 geographic states Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Alain, Sharjah;
need not go to other emirates as 70% of population of UAE resides in these
states.
Multistage Sampling done for many countries simultaneously. Also, sample of
the 1st stage becomes universe of the 2nd stage. Example Researcher goes
door knocking to 3 houses for a food product test. Respondent 1 tastes tnnehe
product and gives feedback. Respondent 2 is not available at his residence.
Respondent 3 didnt participate in the survey at all. Hence, next time, the
researcher will only go to respondent 1. Hence, sample of 1st stage of
interview (which is respondent 1 from all the three) has now become the
universe for second stage where researcher only approaches respondent
one).
Which is the most popular method
Example Select the sample of 100 people from UAE population based on
nationality.
UAE Nationals
15%

Expact Arabs
20%

Expact Asians
60%

Westners
5%

Hence, quota sampling / Stratified quota sampling is most popular as it is

representative of the universe. Stratified will ensure that sample is selected
from a particular strata and quota will ensure that the sample from the strata is
representing the universe. (If only stratified is followed, then it may happen
that strata of nationality is chosen, but when sample is selected, Westners %
may increase to 50% instead of 5%)
What determines the sample size
What is the unit of analysis / How researcher is going to analyze the data / What
breaks are required by researcher to display to the client
Minimum sample size requirement for each break
Example
Unit of Analysis Nationality like Westners etc.
Minimum sample size = 30 (Conventional)
Nationality
Actual %
distribution
Minimum

UAE
Nationals
15%

Expact
Arabs
20%

Expact
Asians
60%

Westners

Total

5%

100%

30

30

30

30

120

Sample Size
Actual
90
Sample Size
(Fulfilling
Quota
criterion)
For sample 30
size of 200

120

360

30

600

40

120

10 (but
westners are
underrepresented)

200

Boost the westners segment separately by 20 so that it reaches 30 (minimum sample size) for
complete analysis. But the total will still remain 200 and booster will only add to westners
and not total. This is useful in case cost per interview has to lowered ($70 per interview).
Costing will be for 200 random sample and 20 booster sample (Random will cost $70, then
booster will cost $90).
Example 2 To find out people who drink only black tea (tea without milk) - 11%-12% (for
1000 people interviewed in UAE). All telephonic interview ($10 per interview cost).
Since, trend / number for the universe of above scenario was not available, hence, process of
LISTING is adopted. (One has to list / determine / to find out penetration of what researcher
is finding out in the universe.
Stages in the Selection of a Sample
1) Define the target population / operationally defining the sample
a. Workaholic people Who works at least 12 or more hours in a day.
b. Serious car buyers Has a license to drive; Has bought a car in last 1 year / has
a car / planning to buy a car in next 1 year; How to finance the car buying;
Have the buyer visited any car showroom; Have the buyer test driven the car.
2) Select a sampling frame
3) Determine if a probability or non-probability sampling method will be chosen
4) Plan procedure for selecting sampling units
5) Determine sample size
6) Select actual sampling units
7) Conduct fieldwork
*Operational definition Target population. It has implication on the
questionnaire in the following way Screener question has to be asked upfront
on the questionnaire. The sample size is dependent on the unit of analysis and
the minimum sample size (which is 30). So, it is a bottom up approach.

Class - 5
Data Gathering
Whether In-house agency should be preferred over outsourced one for data gathering /
fieldwork (Outsourcing Field work means field manager and field supervisor are not on
payrolls of the research agency) In-house should be preferred because in the scenario where
agency outsources the field-work, less stringent quality control is found in field-work. At
least field manager and field supervisor should be on the payroll of the agency (responsibility
of correct, authentic field work lies with the agency). In-house is costly, but quality of fieldwork cant be sacrificed at the sake of cost. In case outsourcing by the agency cant be
avoided, undertaking from the outsourced supplier needs to be taken by the client that even
after project is finished, quality control will be maintained for the report / data supplied for
the field work done
Why in-house training is important Before finalizing the questionnaire, it needs to be seen
whether a respondent understands the question very easily listed on the questionnaire. Also,
every questionnaire needs to be asked exactly in the same manner as per the questionnaire (as
questionnaire is structured same sequence of questions) which is practiced via an In-house
training. Hence, in-house training is essential to ensure that questionnaire is structured and
this structure is followed across all interviews.
In-House training
1. Making initial contact
2. Asking questions
3. Probing
4. Recoding responses
5. Terminating interview
Making initial contact and securing the interview
Making initial contact means greeting the client and taking permission for the interview by
giving ball park time
Whether clients name should be mentioned by the interviewer NO, only to be mentioned in
doing a satisfaction survey. Also, it creates an auspices bias (respondents answer will be
driven by clients name and not his liking for the product). Hence ask I am doing a study on
chocolates, do you have sometime to interview please (& then proceed with the interview).
Always take the ball park number (Say 20 minutes or more for a 30 minute interview) and
take the actual time while never following any of the following scenario
Foot-in-the-door Ask 10 minutes and take 30 minutes

 Door-in-the-face Do a little warm up, do irrelevant talk (like asking - how was your day
today), and then start the interview.
Asking the questions
Exactly as worded Because questionnaire is structured and interviewer cant change the order,
wordings of the questionnaire as per his / her convenience. (No marks for the interviewer for
changing the wordings on the questionnaire).
Read slowly Asians read very fast.
Questions in the proper order Questionnaire is structured (All quantitative are structured)
Ask every question - Many times, people uncomfortable with a slide tend to either skip it or
skip some part of it.
Repeat questions that are not understood How to ask respondent whether he / she has
understood or not May be I was too fast or May be I was not right in communicating, allow
me to repeat the question for you. May be I was not clear in clarifying what the question was,
please allow me to repeat the question again.
Probing techniques
One must probe, but not nag Probe meaning to dig deeper to get to the real root cause but
probing questions will stop at sometime, nag means to probe even after user has stopped
answering the question (Like asking questions and giving respondent reasons for asking these
questions like - I have to meet my target else I will be fired etc.)
Probing Drilling down deeper to get to specifics. Should probe 2-3 times and not beyond
that. Probing is used for open ended questions. For Example
1. Why do you eat chewing gum Because I like the taste
2. What specific about the taste do you like I like the sweetness
3. What sweetness do you particularly like (very sweet / too sweet/ just sweet / mildly sweet)
Just sweet
Instruction on questionnaire will say Record Verbatum probe probe probe It means all
verbal communication should be recorded for the open ended questions and interviewer
should ask 3 times to probe and get the required response.
To get to the specific answer, there are some tactics to be followed which are as follows
1. Repeat question How a question is repeated May be I was not clear, allow me to be clear.
2. Silent probe Asians in particular will give an answer to a question they asked if there is pause
of more than 15 seconds between question asked and respondent answering. The respondent
should be allowed to think even for a minute to answer.

3. Repeat reply Instead of asking respondent to repeat the answer (which may seem rude on
some occasions), tell respondent correct me if I am wrong but if I understand it correct, this
is what you have said / let me summarize your reply for my (interviewer) better
understanding and ask clarification for the previous response.
4. Neutral question Many times, interviewer is tempted to give the opinion whenever the topic
is of great interest to the interviewer (should keep a straight face and not participate in any
discussion for giving an opinion. Example Respondent says These days, salary are not as
per proportion to the skill. Interviewer replies Yes, even I am going through the same
problem). It becomes an interviewer bias.
Recording the response Must be clearly mentioned on the questionnaire from what the
response should be recorded (pen blue / black, pencil, color pen etc.) and how (by circling,
crossing etc.). Generally, interviewer records the response in pencil during the interview as
during the interview, interviewer might want to erase something. But when it is handed over
to the client, it is recorded in pen (meaning it is a confirmed questionnaire).
Terminating the interview Ask screener question upfront on the questionnaire, no matter
how sensitive / generic they are. If the criterion is not met, said Thank you and terminate the
interview.
Re-interviewing may be required in case a product test is been done Product is been given
today for use and want to interview again to evaluate the products effect / usage capability
from the respondent (user). Re-interview may also be required for a critical respondent who
had earlier cut short the interview / given an incomplete interview.
What is required in field-work management:
Select the right respondent / field-staff
Train the right field-staff
Supervise the interviewer
Control the field work
Good field-work management techniques are called back-checks (field work checks). 2 kinds
of back-checks are done Through accompriments and tele-calls. In 15% cases, the field
manager / supervisor will accompany the interviewer (accompriments). In another 35%, they
will call up the respondent and ask few questions from the questionnaire just to make sure
that the interview was actually carried out. Hence, industry norm is minimum of 50% backchecks through accompriment / tele-call in research world.
Interview cheating
Filling in fake answers or falsifying the interviews
Verification by interview

Tips for Middle-East interviews

Male interviewer will interview male only and not female (especially an arab female
interviewer). Female interviewer can though interview both. In schools also, after grade ,
boys and girls cant sit in same class as per ministry of education.
For Arabs, interview must be done in Arabic as that is their preferred language and they can
express themselves. For interviewing Indian sub-continent people, Malayalam is preferred
and then Hindi / English / Urdu.
One cant do street intercepts in Middle-east (considered as rude, offensive and illegal and
interviewer can be taken to court of law), need prior permission from shopping centers (even
if interviews are done in their parking lots). Authorities in middle-east wont allow for street
interviews.
No gifts given to respondent.
Culturally it is very rude to joke (make fun of) about Arabs culture. No opinions about religion
to be discussed with anybody at any point in time.
About Arab culture
Very family oriented / close knit. Most important meal for them is lunch. Between 3-4 pm in
afternoon, they have lunch a typical family affair where even the male member participates
for a full fledge lunch. After that from 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM is siesta time (sleeping time) and
after that, typical Arab will socialize in the following order 1st his close friends, 2nd his
acquaintances (associates), 3rd his relatives, 4th his distant relatives and lastly comes his
spouce (Which spouce?).
Since, students of SP Jain cant speak Arabic, they cant interview arabs, hence, method of
sampling is convenient sampling.
When recession started, Ministry of labor sent the notification to all companies stating that they
are not entitled to lay off nationals.
Earlier (before Sheikh Zayed died) all male nationals, will get a plot of land from government
free of cost (to build his own house) as soon as they reached the age of 18. Now people of
Dubai have realized that they are not a oil-rich economy and people have become more
concerned for education.
National Only when person is born to a national, else they are expats.
Whether strategy should come before / after the plan? AFTER. One plans to go
to a friends place (Plan is GO HOME, Strategy FLY / WALK / RUN / via
VEHICLE). Then he strategizes as to how to go there (mode of transport, which
rode to take, by when should reach etc.). Hence, strategy always supports the
plan.

Class 6
Editing & Coding
Open ended questions on a questionnaire (Quantitative) should be bare minimum as it is
difficult to code and analyze it as against a closed ended question.
Editing and Coding (Part of Data Processing)
Question - What will a researcher say in case he / she has a presentation with client tomorrow
and the data which has just arrived in evening a day before is not having answers to certain
questions in a questionnaire?
Answer Sir, the data just arrived yesterday, we are looking into it and examining it, but we
have found few errors / glitches in the data. While most of the presentation is fine, we just
need to correct / confirm a few things and hence, need a day or 2 extra just to confirm it. So, I
request 2 options first option is we go ahead with the presentation and come back and
present this part at another date or second option is we defer the entire presentation by 2 days.
What do you want me to do?
It is better to get this sorted out upfront rather than going into the presentation and
embarrassing the client over there. Integrity and transparency in such scenarios is appreciated
by clients.
About editing - The agency should have in-house editing department.
Why do we do editing?
Consistency Answers are consistent with the question asked and its option given (Respondent
must select an option given in the questionnaire for a closed ended question).
Completeness No question should be left unanswered
Questions answered out of order
Dont Know
Legitimate Dont Know The person has not previously experienced / has no knowledge of the
subject being discussed, hence a legitimate dont know. Example How is RM2 class.
Answer is Legitimate Dont know as the class has not yet started.
Reluctant Dont Know (Negative perception, like always choosing center point on an odd point
likert scale) Someone just gave an exam and is asked about how was the exam just after he /
she comes out of the examination hall and he / she replies I do not know, is an example of
reluctant Dont know. Another example could be professor of RM asking How is RM1
class? Answer is Reluctant Dont know as the student does not want to give a negative
opinion.

 Confused Dont Know Example How is RM class? Respondent is confused as he does not
know which RM is being talked about.
Legitimate Dont know is removed from the sample, whereas Reluctant Dont know and
confused Dont know is presented to client because they require different kinds of actions.
In case someone has a contract with a company of not to speak out on certain topics and
because of the same he / she says dont know, then that dont know is neither of the above.
Every question must have a numerical code because it is going to be used for coding
purposed (using software like SPSS).
Coding of Closed Ended Questions
About Awareness Question coding sheet preparation (1st mentioned, Other mentioned,
Aided)
One column to be left for 1st-mentioned in coding excel (as only 1 answer could be the 1stmentioned). (N-1) columns for other-mentioned - it is the maximum number of columns
for other-mentioned. N stands for number of brands being present in awareness question.
(N-1) for aided column also (maximum columns) in case 1st-mentioned is present and
nothing is present in other-mentioned. (Assumption There is no Others (specify) option
along with various brands).
Others (specify) option in 1st-mentioned column cant be more than 5% of total sample.
Else the researcher is not having good knowledge / has not done proper piloting before
preparing the questionnaire.
In case nothing is mentioned in the 1st mentioned, the sample selected is wrong (Hence,
nothing is present in other-mentioned and everything gets recorded in aided which will be
equal to N).
Brand Name

First
Mentioned

Other
Mentioned

Aided

Galaxy

Galaxy Jewels

Cadburys

Kit Kat

Hersheys

Lint

Mars

Tiffany

Others (Specify)

Coding of open ended question

Question - Why do you eat chocolate?
Respondent 1 Like, tastes good
Respondent 2 Like, taste, pleasure, joy, happiness
Respondent 3 - Lousy, Feel good factor
Respondent 4 Taste good, Desert (after dinner)
Respondent 5 As Snack
Respondent 1 response like & taste good is called VERBATUM(responses recorded as it is
verbally spoken by respondent)
Coding starts
Like means taste good and sweet is a taste, hence, like, sweet and taste are Code 1 (4
respondents out of 5)
Pleasure / joy / happiness / Feel Good / mood up-lifter Code 2 (2 respondents out of 5)
As a Desert Code 3 (1 respondent out of 5)
As a snack Code 4 (1 respondent out of 5)
(1 respondent out of 5) is called TABULATIONS
Like means taste good, interpretation and clubbing into similar characteristic features is
called CODE FRAMES (Grouping similar features)
Conclusion
Majority of respondents eat a chocolate because of its taste. 40% respondent eats chocolate
because of the pleasure / joy they get by eating it (Mood up-lifter).
Coding can only start (i.e. preparation of tabulations and code frames) after 70% sample size
is achieved. Hence, coding of open ended question is cumbersome / complex / subjective as
every questionnaire is read and then categorized (grouping of different options can be
questioned by client) and tabulated, unlike a closed ended question (where option is selected/
clearly). Hence, open ended question is not encouraged by the researcher.

Data Analysis
3 broad categories of data-analysis
Uni-variate (Analysis of one variable)
Bi-variate (Analysis of 2 variables)
Multi-variate (Analysis of more than 2 variables)
Advantage of DU over Etisalat Du charges by Pulse rate and not by the minute rate.
Network coverage and clarity coverage is better for Etisalat as compared to Du. Similarly,
Window is more compatible but Mac is a superior product. Hence, in creative fields, Mac is
used as against Windows. Hence, in advertising field, it is all Mac.
How long the questionnaire should be
It depends on the following 2 assumptions
1. It is a face to face interview where the interviewer is having the questionnaire and he/she is
asking the respondent and filling the responses by himself / her-self based on responses
received.
2. The length of the survey is 20 minutes (It is done in order to ensure that maximum interview
time is not exceeding 30 minutes in case respondent takes more time to answer every
question. Research shows that fatigue to the respondent happens if the interview is more than
40 minutes and they might become jittery)
Time spent to conduct an interview (quantitative including both close ended and open
ended)
Face to face interview 25 to 30 minutes
Telephonic interview 15 to 20 minutes
Respondent is not paid in any of the above cases (quantitative), client is only paying the
researcher. But in case of focus group discussion (qualitative), the respondent gets paid / gets
gift. Also, they get paid for mystery shopping.

.
Types of Questions asked during Market Research
Closed ended questions
Name

Description

Example

Dichotomous

A question with 2
possible answers

In arranging this trip, did you personally phone

Air India (Yes-1 / No-2)

Multiple choice

A question with 3 or
more answers

With whom are you travelling tonight (No one1 / Spouse-2 / Children-3 / Spouse and children-4
/ Friends & relatives-5 / Business tour group-6)

Likert Scale

A statement with
which one shows
amount of agreement
or disagreement

Small airlines generally give better services than

large ones (Strongly disagree-1 / Disagree-2 /
Agree 3 / Strongly Agree 4)

Semantic differential
scale

A scale connecting 2
bipolar words. The
respondent selects
the point that
represents his / her
opinion

Air India is
Large.Small
Experienced..Inexperienced
Modern..Old-fashioned

Rating scale

A scale that rates

some attributes from
poor to excellent

Importance scale

A scale that rates

the importance of
some attributes

Intention to Buy
scale

A scale that
describes
respondents
intention to buy

Food services of Air India is

(Excellent 1 / Very Good 2 / Good 3 / Fair
4 / Poor 5)
Airline food service to me is (Extremely
important 1/ Very important -2 / Somewhat
important-3 / Not very important 4/ Not at all
important 5)
If an in-flight telephone were available on a long
flight, I would (Definitely buy-1 / Probably buy2 / Probably not buy-3 / Definitely not buy-4)

Open Ended Questions

Name

Description

Example

Completely unstructured

A question that respondents

can answer in an almost
unlimited number of ways

What is your opinion about Air

India

Sentence completion

Words are presented, one at a What is the first word that

time, and respondents mention comes to your mind when you
the 1st word that comes to
hear:
their mind

Sweet (Chocolate, sugar,

sweet, colas)
Story completion

An incomplete story is
presented and respondents are
asked to complete it

Picture

A picture of 2 characters is
presented, with one making a
statement. Respondents are
asked to identify with the
other and fill in the empty
position

Thematic Apperception Test

(TAT)

A picture is presented and

respondents are asked to make
a story about what they think
is happening or may happen in
the picture

When I choose an airline, the

most important consideration
in my decision is
_______________

Questionnaire DOs and DONTs

1. Ensure that questions are asked without bias. Dont lead the respondent into an answer.
2. Make the questions as simple as possible. Questions that include multiple ideas or two
questions in one will confuse respondents.
3. Make the questions specific. Sometimes its advisable to add memory cues. For
example, be specific with time periods.
4. Avoid jargon or shortlisted. Avoid trade jargons, acronyms, and initials not in everyday
use.
5. Steer clear of sophisticated or uncommon words. Only use of words in common
speech.
6. Avoid ambiguous words. Words such as usually or frequently have no specific
meaning.
7. Avoid questions with a negative in them. It is better to say, Do you ever..? than
Do you never..?
8. Avoid hypothetical questions. Its difficult to answer questions about imaginary
situations. Answers arent necessarily reliable.
9. Do not use words that could be misheard. This is especially important when
administering the interview over the telephone. What is your opinion of sects?
could yield interesting but not necessarily relevant answers.
10. Desensitize questions by using response bands. To ask people their age or ask
companies about employee turnover rates, offer a range of response bands instead of
precise numbers.
11. Ensure that fixed responses do not overlap. Categories used in fixed-response
questions should be distinct and not overlap.
12. Allow for other in fixed-response questions. Prescribed answers should always
allow for a response other than those listed.
13. Surveys

Characteristic

Telephone
Surveys

Door-to-door
Personal
Interview

Mall intercept
Personal
Interview

Mail Surveys

Speed of data
collection

Very fast

Moderate to fast

Fast

Slow
(Researcher
has no control
over return of
questionnaire)

Geographical
flexibility

High

Limited to
moderate

Confined, urban
bias

High

Respondent
Cooperation

Good

Excellent

Moderate to low

Moderate
(Poorly design
questionnaire
will have low
response rate)

Versatility of
questioning

Moderate

Quite versatile

Extremely
versatile

High
standardized
format

Questionnaire length

Moderate

Long

Moderate to long

Varies
depending on
incentive

Low

Medium

High

Item non-response
Possibility of
respondent
misunderstanding

Average

Lowest

Lowest

Highest no
interviewer
present for
clarification

Degree of
interviewer
influence answer

Moderate

High

Highest

None
interviewer
absent

Supervision of
Interviews

High,
especially with
central
locations

Moderate

Moderate to high

Not applicable

Anonymity of the
respondent

Moderate

Low

Low

High

Ease of call back or

follow-up

Easy

Difficult

Difficult

Easy, but
takes time

Cost

Low to
moderate

Highest

Moderate to
High

Lowest

Special features

Fieldwork and
supervision of
data collection
are simplified;
quite adaptable
to computer
technology

Visual materials
may be shown or
demonstrated;
extended probing
possible

Taste test,
viewing of TV
commercials
possible

NA

Characteristic

E-mail questionnaire

Internet Surveys

Speed of data collection

Instantaneous

Instantaneous

Geographical flexibility

Worldwide

Worldwide

Respondent
Cooperation

Varies depending if e-mail is

seen as spam

Depends on speed
of internet,
respondents
computer skills

Possibility of
respondent
misunderstanding

High

Degree of interviewer
influence answer

None

Supervision of
Interviews

Not required

Anonymity of the
respondent

Respondent can
be anonymous or
unknown

Ease of call back or

follow-up

Difficult unless email address is

known

Cost

Cheap distribution and

processing cost

Cost effective

Special features

Flexible, extensive
differences in capabilities of
respondents computers and
e-mail software limit the
types of questions and the

Allow graphics
and streamlining
media

layout
Characteristics of a Focus Group discussion
Group consists of 8-10 people for the interview
The Interview starts with a broad topic & focus in on specific issues
The interview is unstructured and free flowing (no structured questionnaire)
Moderator (interviewer in a focus group) develops rapport, stimulates spontaneous response,
interacts, listens, controls and gives a chance to everyone to express their opinion
The focus group members have same demographics, lifestyle and attitudes