American Marketing Association

Review
Author(s): R. Dale Wilson
Review by: R. Dale Wilson
Source: Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 33, No. 2 (May, 1996), pp. 252-255
Published by: American Marketing Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3152153
Accessed: 22-10-2015 13:42 UTC

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/
info/about/policies/terms.jsp

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content
in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.
For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

American Marketing Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Marketing
Research.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 131.215.225.9 on Thu, 22 Oct 2015 13:42:39 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
252
questions about the meaningof respondents'answers to sur-
vey questions and suggests thatthe indiscriminateuse of re-
spondents' answers may be misleading in some cases. On
the other hand, the book also suggests that there is greater
informationto be found in the answers respondentsprovide
than is often recognized. Indeed,in some cases the process-
es that give rise to respondents'answers may be more inter-
esting and relevantthanthe answersthemselves. This result
may be especially true when respondentsare asked to re-
spond by categorizing products,retailers,or other stimuli,
which is a common task in marketingresearch.
In additionto the problemsnoted previously,the book has
other disappointingelements. Specifically, the editors offer
no unique discussion of theirown. Their contributionto the
book is limited to a brief introductorychapter that merely
describes the other chaptersin the volume. Because of their
significantcontributionsto the literatureon survey research,
it would have been interestingto read the editors' perspec-
tive on the various methods and findings offered in the vol-
ume. Marketingprofessionals will also be disappointedat
the dearthof marketingexamples. This lack is not surpris-
ing because of the few representativesof the marketingdis-
cipline who contributedto the volume, but this problemwill
make the volume's contributionsto marketingresearchless
apparentto the casual reader.Finally,the book lacks a strong
summary and conclusion. The concluding chapter by
Groves providesa useful frameworkfor conceptualizingthe
methodologies offered in the otherchaptersin the book, but
the book lacks a strong statementof what is known about
cognitive processes in survey response.There are many ex-
amples of implications of individual methods and findings
scatteredthroughoutthe book, but there is no definitive dis-
cussion that pulls all of these implicationstogether.For this
reason, the book is likely to be of greaterinterestto survey
researchersin marketingthan to marketingresearcherswho
use surveys to investigate substantiveproblems.
In summary, Answering Questions offers a potential
source of new ideas for collecting survey data and the anal-
ysis of those data. It is also a useful source of ideas aboutre-
search on survey methods. It has some very strongchapters,
but is not, unfortunately,a strong treatmentof how respon-
dents answer questions.
DAVID W. STEWART
Universityof SouthernCalifornia
RESEARCH DESIGN: QUALITATIVEAND QUANTI-
TATIVEAPPROACHES,John W. Creswell. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1994, 228 pages, $46.00
(hardbound,)$19.95 (paperbound).
The success of any marketingresearchproject,whetherit
is conductedin an academicor practitionerenvironment,de-
pends to a large extent on decisions made by the researcher
at an early stage in the researchprocess. Some of the criti-
cal issues that need to be resolved by the researcherinclude
the overall purposeof the research,the identificationof the
research questions to be addressed,the use of a theoretical
framework,the development of hypotheses, and the choice
of a qualitativeand/orquantitativeresearchapproach.Other
importantissues, such as using previously published litera-
This content downloaded from 131.215.225.9 on Thu, 22 Oct 2015 13:42:39 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
JOURNAL OF MARKETINGRESEARCH, MAY 1996
ture to frame the study, defining terms, defining the limita-
tions of a study,stating the significance of the study for dif-
ferent audiences, and developing a researchproposal, also
arise. This myriad of issues must be addressedby anyone
who conducts research.
For those whose livelihood is based on the ability to de-
sign, conduct, and reportmarketingresearchin an accurate,
concise, and clear way, John Creswell's book, ResearchDe-
sign: Qualitative and QuantitativeApproaches, provides
guidance in dealing with some of the more difficult deci-
sions that must be made along the way. Additionally, for
marketingprofessors who teach others how to performthe
basic tasks of research,Creswell's book provides a frame-
work that aids students in learning many of the more diffi-
cult "in's and out's"of the researchprocess. Creswell's book
is a valuable tool for either purpose.
John W. Creswell is well qualified to write a book on re-
search design. He is a well-known authorityin the field of
educationalresearchdesign and methods, and he currently
serves as a Professorof EducationalPsychology at the Uni-
versity of Nebraska,Lincoln. In this position, he has pub-
lished widely in the top journals in his field; and he is cur-
rently an Associate Editorfor the Review of Higher Educa-
tion. Creswell also teaches a doctoral-level course in pro-
posal development, which no doubt has benefitted him
greatly in understandingthe difficulties students have in
leaming how to conduct well-designed and well-executed
research.
Creswell's book is organizedinto eleven chapters,each of
which focuses on a different aspect of the researchdesign
process. Each chapteruses a reader-friendlyformatthat in-
cludes bullets to emphasize key points, boxed materials,and
tables with examples taken from joumal articles, disserta-
tions, and dissertationproposals.A concise summaryis in-
cluded at the end of each chapter,along with end-of-chapter
writingexercises and an annotatedbibliographyof addition-
al readings. The writing exercises seem to be especially
thoughtprovoking,and they are designed so that the reader
will have completed a written plan for a scholarly research
study once finishing the set of writingassignments.In addi-
tion, the suggestions for additionalreadings provide a mix
of classics (e.g., Blalock 1969; Campbelland Stanley 1966),
as well as more contemporary views (e.g., Bem 1987;
Wilkinson 1991), on various aspects of the researchdesign
process.
One major theme that seems to run throughoutthe book
is the unique perspectives offered by the two major ap-
proachesto research- qualitativeand quantitative.In each
chapter,Creswell makes an effort to provide some meaning-
ful perspectiveson the importantdifferences between qual-
itative and quantitativeresearchparadigms.He providesex-
amples of qualitativeresearchfrom ethnographies,ground-
ed theories,case studies, and phenomenologicalstudies and
examples of quantitative from experiments and surveys.
Specific examples are providedon how to approachvarious
aspects of the researchdesign process for the two types of
research paradigms.This clear distinction between the two
types of research and, more importantly,the continuous
comparisonsof the resultingdifferences in the stages of the
researchdesign process, serve as Creswell's main contribu-
tion to the field of researchdesign.
New Books in Review
Creswell's introductorychapter is designed to provide a
focus for the research project by concentratingon topics
such as the selection of the topic, the development of a
working title, the selection of either a qualitativeor quanti-
tative researchparadigm,and the developmentof a prelimi-
naryformator outline for the entire study.Most of the chap-
ter's contents focus on the two researchparadigms,the as-
sumptions underlyingeach, and the rationale for selecting
one or the other. One of the unique features here is a
thoughtfuldiscussion of whethera particulartopic should be
selected. Along these lines, criteria are given for selecting
topics that lead to meaningful and interestingresearchpro-
jects. Many researchers,I believe, could benefit from this
discussion.
In Chapter2, which deals with the use of previously pub-
lished literature,the authorcontinues to build a framework
thatcan be used to design a study. He begins this chapterby
pointing out the purposes of the literaturereview that pre-
cedes a research study and how a literaturereview can be
used to supportboth qualitativeand quantitativeresearch.In
this discussion, Creswell provides a useful suggestion for
using the previous literatureas a guide to understanding
how a researchstudy fits into and/orcontributesto a partic-
ular field of scientific inquiry.He proposes the use of a re-
search map of the literature, which is defined as a visual
pictureof existing researchabout a topic. Majorstreamsof
research can be identified, along with, for example, the
major scientific disciplines that contribute to them. Other
distinguishingfeaturesof the researchstreamscan be iden-
tified in the researchmap, such as dependentor independent
variablesthat have been studied. This idea could be used as
a convenient way to communicateto readershow a particu-
lar study relates to a largerbody of literatureand/orhow the
study extends previous studies or fills a gap in the existing
literature.
With his frameworkof selecting a researchparadigmand
conducting a literaturereview now completed, Creswell's
third chapter begins to develop an actual plan for the re-
search study. In Chapter3, he focuses on the introductionto
the study, again emphasizing the differences between quali-
tative researchand quantitativeresearch.Because the intro-
ductory paragraphs of a research study can determine
whether the readercontinues to spend time with the study,
the introductionmust include compelling and interestingin-
formation.Creswell's chapter provides a model for writing
a type of introduction that includes multiple objectives.
Specifically, he discusses the key componentsof a good in-
troduction,such as establishing the problem that has led to
the study, identifying the problem within the largerbody of
published literature,discussing deficiencies in the existing
literature,targetingan audience of readersfor the study,and
noting the significance of the study for this audience. This
model, known as the deficiencies model, forms the most
widely used approachto introductorymaterialfor research
studies in all of the social sciences.
Chapter4 continues with the idea that the authorof a re-
search reportor article must provide the readerwith a clear
view of how the study is positioned compared with other
availableresearch.As a result of its importancein achieving
this objective, Creswell devotes an entire chapteron the de-
velopment of a purposestatement.The purposestatementis
This content downloaded from 131.215.225.9 on Thu, 22 Oct 2015 13:42:39 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
253
designed to establish the direction of the research,and it is
usually writtenas a single sentence or paragraph.Creswell
focuses most of the chapter on differences in the purpose
statementfor the two researchparadigmsand provides sev-
eral examples of each.
Building closely on the discussion of the purpose state-
ment, in Chapter5, Creswell deals with researchquestions,
objectives, and hypotheses. Essentially, Creswell believes
that the more general purposestatementshould provide the
centraldirectionfor the study and that it should then be re-
stated,expanded,and clarified by stating the researchques-
tions to be addressed,the specific objectives of the study,
and the hypothesesto be tested. Because of their importance
and the difficulty many researchers have in writing hy-
potheses, most of Chapter5 deals with the language used in
stating them. I found this discussion to be extremely well
done, and it makes a valuablecontributionto an overall un-
derstandingof the researchdesign process.
Following his discussion of hypotheses, Creswell con-
centrates on the role of theory as a contributorin the re-
search design process. In Chapter6, he lays out a definition
of a theory,presentsdifferentuses of theory (which depend
on whether the research design is qualitative or quantita-
tive), and discusses various ways in which to present the
theoreticalbasis for the study. Several examples are given
on the role that a theoreticalperspectiveplays in a research
study, the most importantof which is the underlyingratio-
nale for the expected linkages and interactionsamong vari-
ables. Especially relevant to the field of marketing is
Creswell's discussion of the role of theory in specifying the
expected influence or causal relationshipof the independent
variableson the dependentvariables.A visual model is also
presentedthat is useful for communicatingthe interconnec-
tions among variables.
Chapter7, "Definitions,Delimitations,and Significance,"
concentrateson variousaspects of the study thatprovidethe
boundariesof the research.These boundariesare necessary
to communicatethe scope of and define the potential audi-
ence for the study. Creswell begins by focusing on the im-
portanceof defining terms as a part of the overall parame-
ters of the study. Delimitationsand limitationsare also dis-
cussed, with several examples providedon the use of delim-
itations to address how the study is narrowed in scope to
achieve a precise purposeand the use of limitationsto iden-
tify potential weaknesses in the study. The overall signifi-
cance of the study is also addressed,in which the researcher
provides a clear statementof the importanceof the results
for selected audiencessuch as researchers,practitioners,and
policymakers (e.g., the ManagerialImplications section in
many JMR articles provides a good example of this
approach).
In Chapters8 and 9, Creswell writes aboutthe procedures
used in datacollection and dataanalysis for quantitativeand
qualitative studies, respectively. His objective in these dis-
cussions is not to provide a detailed treatmentof research
methods,but insteadto highlightthe key decisions thatmust
be made in designing a study. For a quantitativeresearch
paradigm(Chapter8), he outlines the standardformat that
usually appears in scholarly journals. Components of this
format include an overview of the design of the study, the
characteristicsof the populationand sample, the instrument
254
used in collecting the data, the precise definitionof the vari-
ables used in the study (as well as how they relateto the hy-
potheses and other aspects of the study), the experimental
design (if applicable), and the steps used in analyzing the
data. This format is discussed for both surveys and experi-
mental research,and the authorprovideschecklists of ques-
tions for designing studies, as well as several examples and
alternativetechniques for each of these six components of
the data collection and analysis process.
For a qualitativeresearchparadigm(Chapter9), the task
of specifying the details regardingdata collection and anal-
ysis is more difficult to learn, because there is no standard
format.Few researchersagree on the precise proceduresfor
data collection and analysis, and authorssometimes truncate
the discussion of the steps to meet editorial restrictionson
length or emphasize results. Despite these problems,
Creswell does a good job of organizing this material and
providing his own insight from his experiences in this area.
He discusses areas such as a review of the underlying as-
sumptionsof the qualitativemode of inquirybeing used, the
overall approach used in data analysis and reporting, the
specific data-collection procedures,the researcher'srole in
interpretingthe research, the specific data-analysis proce-
dures being used, the steps taken to verify the accuracy of
the data, and the narrative(presentedin text or image forms,
such as photographsor videotapes) that emerges from the
data analysis. Excellent examples are provided throughout
this chapter on the specific decisions that the researcher
must make.
Creswell also discusses the possibility of mixing the two
researchparadigms(Chapter 10). He discusses the value of
mixed methods, in which the intent is to demonstratecon-
vergence in results through the process of triangulation
ratherthan rely on only one of several possible researchde-
signs. The benefit of triangulationis based on the assump-
tion that any bias inherent in any particulardata source,
sample, or method would be neutralizedwhen used in con-
junction with other data sources, samples, and methods. In
addition, triangulationis desirable from the viewpoint of
seeking convergence of results.
Creswell's main contributionin Chapter 10, however, is
his discussion of three models of combined designs that are
identified in the literature.The first type of mixed design is
a two-phase design approach,in which the researchercon-
ducts a qualitative phase followed by a quantitativephase.
The second is referredto as a dominant-less dominantde-
sign, in which the researcheruses one researchparadigmas
the main source of informationwith a small amountof data
collected using the other type of design. An example of this
approachis the use of qualitativeobservationsfrom a limit-
ed numberof participantsfollowed by a quantitativesurvey
using a much largersample. The thirdtype of mixed design
is a mixed-methodologydesign, in which the researcher
combines qualitativeand quantitativeapproachesin rough-
ly equal proportions throughout the study. All three ap-
proaches are illustratedwith examples fromjournal articles.
In the final chapter in his book, "Scholarly Writing,"
Creswell discusses the issue that a written research docu-
ment must convince others of the worthof a study in a clear
and concise manner;and he views writing as having both
macro- and microlevel components.Chapter 11 is designed
This content downloaded from 131.215.225.9 on Thu, 22 Oct 2015 13:42:39 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
JOURNAL OF MARKETINGRESEARCH, MAY1996
aroundseveral key ideas: the need for viewing "writingas
thinking,"the role that writing plays in the process of re-
search,the need for developing good writinghabits through
continualpractice,the importanceof readabilityin a written
researchdocument, and the properuse of active voice and
verb tenses. This chapter provides an excellent set of sug-
gestions for improvingwrittencommunicationskills.
In reviewing this book, it quickly becameobvious thatthe
approachused by the authorprovidesa valuableperspective
on the researchdesign process. In short,Creswell's insights
are impressive; and my overall evaluation of Creswell's
book is positive. Many researchers,both academicand prac-
titioners,would benefit from the disciplinedapproachadvo-
cated by Creswell.
During my 20-year career as a marketingresearcherin
both academic and business organizations,I have seen nu-
merous instances in which researchershave made major
flaws in the design and execution of marketingresearchpro-
jects. Some of these mistakes are so dramaticthat they lead
to the inevitable conclusion that the research contains a
"fatal flaw," thus renderingthe researchmisleading at best
(if not useless). Fortunately,Creswell's book is now avail-
able to researchers for learning to avoid these types of
problems.
The primarytarget audience for this book is the student
who needs to learn how to conduct high-quality research.
This group includes doctoral studentsin marketing,as well
as the more sophisticated students in Masters of Business
Administrationmarketingresearchcourses and students in
specialized master'sdegree programsin marketingresearch.
Because of the natureof the issues discussed in this book, it
is not likely to be appropriatefor undergraduatestudents.
For the undergraduatemarket,a more traditionalmarketing
researchtext is more suitable.Creswell's book also serves as
an excellent reference book for academic and business re-
searcherswho may need a refreshercourse in marketingre-
search design issues.
For doctoral students,Creswell's book could be a useful
addition to their course work. For example, at Michigan
State we teach a course on theorydevelopmentand research
design as the beginning course in the sequence of required
doctoral courses. Numerous topics in Creswell's book are
emphasized here, including the use of the previously pub-
lished literature,developing a statementof purpose,using a
theoretical perspective to generate meaningful hypotheses,
specifying the limitations of the research design, dealing
with methodological issues such as sample considerations
and data analysis techniques,and writing results. My expe-
rience suggests that nearly all doctoralprogramsin market-
ing include this type of course at an early stage of students'
course of study. Creswell's book could be a useful addition
to this type of course, but instructorswould probablyneed
to supplement Creswell's approach with other texts and
readings to get a complete picture of the research design
process in the field of marketing.
Although Creswell's backgroundand major area of ex-
pertise is in educationalresearch,the text is writtenbroadly
enough so that it applies to all aspects of the social and be-
havioral sciences. In addition, Research Design fits nicely
into Sage Publications' product line of research-oriented
texts, many of which would be appropriatecompanions to
New Books in Review
Creswell's text to provide students with a well-rounded
course in researchdesign and execution. Examples include
Miller's (1991) Handbook of Research Design and Social
Measurement,Stewart and Kamins' (1993) Secondary Re-
search, and Bausell's (1994) ConductingMeaningfulExper-
iments. A wide range of topics enables instructorsto cus-
tomize a set of texts that meet their specific needs. It seems
that Creswell's Research Design could be an important
component to this approachto a doctoral education and the
buildingof a high-qualityset of referencetexts. Alternative-
ly, Creswell's book could be used as a supplement in a
course in which the majortext is a more traditionalmarket-
ing research text. Either way, there is no doubt that
Creswell's book is a valuableadditionto the literaturein the
field of researchdesign.
R. DALEWILSON
Michigan State University
REFERENCES
Bausell,R. B. (1994), ConductingMeaningfulExperiments: 40
Steps to Becominga Scientist.ThousandOaks, CA: Sage
Publications.
Bem,D. J. (1987),"Writing the EmpiricalJournalArticle,"in The
CompleteAcademic:A PracticalGuidefortheBeginningSocial
Scientist,M. P.ZannaandJ. M. Darley,eds.NewYork:Random
House.
Blalock,H. M.(1969),TheoryConstruction: FromVerbalto Math-
ematicalFormulations. EnglewoodCliffs,NJ:Prentice-Hall.
Campbell,D. T. and J. C. Stanley(1966), "Experimental and
Quasi-Experimental DesignsforResearch," in Handbook of Re-
searchon Teaching,N. L. Gage,ed. Chicago:RandMcNally.
Miller,D. C. (1991), Handbookof ResearchDesignand Social
Measurement, 5thed. ThousandOaks,CA:SagePublications.
Stewart,D. W.andM.A. Kamins(1993),SecondaryResearch:In-
formationSourcesand Methods,2nd ed. ThousandOaks,CA:
SagePublications.
Wilkinson,A. M.( 1991),TheScientist'sHandbook forWritingPa-
persandDissertations. EnglewoodCliffs,NJ:Prentice-Hall.
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF STRUCTURAL EQUATION
MODELING:AN INTRODUCTIONTO LISRELAND
EQS, Ralph 0. Mueller, New York: Springer-Verlag,
1996, 229 pages, $39.95 (cloth).
Ralph 0. Mueller is a professor in the Departmentof Ed-
ucationalLeadership,George WashingtonUniversity.Citing
Duncan (1975) and Wolfle (1985), he divides structural
equation modeling (SEM) into two parts: the easy and the
hard. The hard part is building models of relationships
among variables on a foundation of relevant theoretical,
substantive,and philosophical underpinnings.The easy part
is the mathematicalaspect of estimating a model's parame-
ters and assessing its goodness of fit to sample data. Basic
Principles of StructuralEquationModeling has little to say
about how models are built, but it makes testing them using
LISRELor EQS look truly easy, at least for simple models.
"Basic principles"is an accuratedescriptionof the book's
scope. Such topics as nonrecursivemodels, multigroupanal-
yses, mean structures,interactions,ordinal data, and power
assessment, are left to more advancedtexts. Useful features
of LISREL- and EQS-related software are also ignored,
such as the data-screening capabilities of PRELIS and
This content downloaded from 131.215.225.9 on Thu, 22 Oct 2015 13:42:39 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
255
EQS/Windows. All illustrations use mainframe-or DOS-
type syntax. An appendix gives SIMPLIS versions of the
LISRELanalyses presented in the text, but the EQS/Win-
dows "Easy Build"equivalentsof the EQS analyses are not
illustrated.
The core of the book consists of threechapters.In Chap-
ter 1, Mueller discusses linear regressionand path analysis,
introducespath diagramsand the Joreskog-Keesling-Wiley
notation system, illustrates the decomposition of covari-
ances into direct, indirect, and total effects, and presents
some issues in model identification.Mueller uses both LIS-
REL and EQS to analyze simple and multiple linearregres-
sion problems, thereby giving a lucid introductionto the
programs'syntax and output.
Chapter2 deals with confirmatoryfactoranalysis. Model
specification and identificationare discussed first, followed
by an overview of various measuresof "datafit." This ter-
minology may suggest that the data, not the model, are to
blame for poor results. Mueller uses such terms to empha-
size that model modificationshould be done cautiously and
with an emphasis on theoretical and substantivejustifica-
tion. Cross-validation indexes are presented as an aid to
model modification. Mueller also provides a brief discus-
sion of validity and reliability from a confirmatoryfactor
analysis perspective.
In Chapter 3, Mueller uses material from the first two
chapters to illustrate the specification, identification, and
analysis of the combined measurement and structural
model. The majornew topics in this chapterare a matrixap-
proach to calculating direct and indirect structuraleffects,
and a description of how the model-implied variance-co-
variancematrixunderliesparameterestimation.
Exercises and suggested readingsare given at the end of
each chapter.Additionalreadingsare also listed in some of
the appendices, which cover (1) the SIMPLIS control lan-
guage, (2) statistical expectations and standardization,(3)
matrix algebra, and (4) data used in the examples and
exercises.
EVALUATION
Withinits narrowscope, this book serves as a clear intro-
duction to SEM with LISRELand EQS. Probablythe only
backgroundnecessary for understandingthe materialis fa-
miliarity with ordinarylinear regression. Reading the book
should prepareresearchersfor setting up and analyzing sim-
ple structuralmodels, understandingpublishedapplications
of SEM techniques, and making sense of more advanced
discussions in the literatureand programmanuals.
Because of this book's short length and narrowfocus, an
experienced modeler should be able to read it in an after-
noon and cover it in class in a few weeks. Mueller (p. xiv)
suggests supplementingthe book with readingsfrom the ap-
plied researchliterature,the LISRELor EQS manuals, and
possibly more philosophical treatments of causality and
SEM. Additional coverage of matrix algebra may also be
helpful. Nothing in the text or appendicespreparesmodelers
for the warningthat "sigma is not positive definite,"for ex-
ample. Readers would benefit from examining Wothke's
(1993) work before undertakingSEM for applied research.
Using this book with supplementalmaterialsis most help-
ful when students have limited statistical backgroundsor