Marketing Research ch.3

market problem

a business situation that makes some significant negative consequence more likely

contributory causality

a cause need be neither necessary nor sufficient to bring about an effect; the weakest form of causality

causal inference

a conclusion that when one ting happens, another specific thing will follow

literature review

a directed search of published works including periodicals and books that discusses theory and presents empirical results that are relevant to the topic at hand

research project

a single study addressing one or a small number of research objectives

marketing opportunity

a situation that makes some potential competitive advantage possible

focus group

a small group discussion about some research topic led by a moderator who guides discussion among the participants

pilot study

a small-scale research project that collects data from respondents similar to those to be used in the full study

causal research

allows casual inferences to be made-they identify cause-and-effect (x brought about y) relationships

exploratory research

conducted to clarify ambiguous situations or discover ideas that may be potential business opportunities

descriptive research

describes characteristics of objects, people, organizations, or environments tries to " paint a picture" of a given situation

sampling

involves any procedure that draws conclusions based on measurements of a portion of the population

conditional causality

means that a cause is necessary but not sufficient to bring about the effect

empirical testing

means that some prediction has been examined against reality using data

unobtrusive methods

methods in which research respondents do not have to be disturbed for data to be gathered

research program

numerous research studies that come together to address multiple, related research questions

symptoms

observable cues that serve as a signal of a problem

temporal sequence

one of three criteria for causality; deals with the time order of events- the cause must occur before the effect

nonspurious association

one of three criteria for causality; means any covariation between cause and an effect is true and not simply because of some other variable

Concomitant variation

one of three criteria for causality; occurs when two events "covary" meaning they vary systematically

decision making

the process of developing and deciding among alternative ways of resolving a problem or choosing from among alternative opportunities

deliverables

the term used often in consulting to describe research objectives to a research client

Stages in the RESEARCH PROCESS

1.defining research objectives 2.planning a research design 3.planning a sample 4.collecting data 5.analyzing data 6.formulation conclusions and preparing a report

research design

the methods and procedures for collection and analyzing the needed information for a given type of research

data anaylsis

the application of computation, summarizing, and reasoning to understand the gathered information

absolute causality

the cause necessary and sufficient to bring about the effect

research objectives

the goals to be achieved by conducting research