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
