Research Process (with a focus on Problem
Formulation)

Review from last week…
• Marketing research is the marketer’s link to understanding the consumer and the external environment
• The main purpose of marketing research is to inform decisions
– Is a source of a competitive advantage for many successful firms
• Every research project is different
– It often takes many research projects over many years to really understand a phenomenon

Ongoing “PharmFirm” Case Study
• Will be used as an example for many of the concepts we discuss
• Large-scale, multi-study research project for a major pharma company in the
Philadelphia area
• Key research questions focused on “fair balance” of a online medical resource targeted at physicians
– Proactive research in anticipation of pushback from FDA

Stages in the
Research
Process
(Researchers
Perspective)
Formulate Problem
Determine Research Design
Design Data Collection
Method and Forms
Design Sample and Collect Data
Analyze and Interpret the Data
Prepare the Research Report

Research Process: Problem
Formulation
• Perhaps the most important step in the research process
• A well-defined study begins with a clearly defined objective
“The formulation of a problem is often more essential than its solution” - Albert Einstein
• The problem is rarely clear-cut
• Slight variations in research questions can lead to substantial changes in the research process (so be careful)
– Drives decisions related to research design, measurement, sampling, etc.

Problem Formulation
• Differentiate between a decision problem and a research problem
• Try to get beyond an “info request”
Decision Problems
Develop package for a new product
Increase store traffic
Increase market penetration through the opening of new stores
Decide which merchandise will be available for purchase over the
Internet
Research Problems
Evaluate alternative package designs
Measure current image of the store
Evaluate prospective locations
Determine consumers’ confidence in purchasing different categories of products unseen

Research Process: Problem
Formulation
Stage in the
Process
Formulate problem
Typical Questions
• What is the purpose of the study (i.e., to solve a problem? Identify an opportunity?)
• Is additional background information necessary?
• What are specific research questions and what information is needed to make the decision?
• How will the information be utilized?
• Has a decision already been made?
• Should research be conducted?

Research Process: Problem
Formulation
• Longest stage in the process
– ~4 months
– Talked with LOTS of people
• Over-arching problem
– Need evidence that a medical information website is ‘fairly balanced’
• Unclear what fair balance means in an computer mediated environment
• Anticipated issues from FDA

Research Process: Problem
Formulation
• Overarching Research Objective
– provide an empirical test of perceived benefit and risk information (i.e., fair balance) presented on the medical information website

Research Process: Problem
Formulation
• More specific study objectives
– Phase I: Develop a metric for the construct of fair balance
– Phase II: Test the perceived fair balance of the website
• Different versions
• Versus print marketing materials
– Phase III: Test the perceived fair balance of the website versus other websites

Research Process: Problem
Formulation
– Positive results = move forward confidently
– Negative or mixed results = adapt website

Research Process: Determine
Research Design

Research Process: Determine
Research Design
Stage in the
Process
Determine research design
Typical Questions
• How much is already known?
• Can a hypothesis be formulated?
• What types of questions need to be answered?
• What type of study will best address the research questions?

Research Process: Determine
Research Design
• PharmFirm research questions call for….
1. Some pretesting to develop and refine the metric
2. Experiments
1.
To test versions of the website with different presentations of risk information
2.
To test the website versus print marketing materials (a context where fair balance is welldefined)
3.
To test the website versus other existing online resources that are deemed “fairly balanced”

Research Process: Design
Data Collection & Forms
• Secondary research
– None necessary
• Survey Research
– Lots of ways to collect data
• Measurement
– Constructs / Variables

Research Process: Design
Data Collection & Forms
Stage in the
Process
Determine data collection method and forms
Typical Questions
Can existing data be used to advantage?
What is to be measured? How?
What is the source of the data?
Can objective answers be obtained by asking people?
How should people be questioned?
Should the questionnaires be administered in person, over the phone, or through the mail?
Should electronic or mechanical means be used to make the observations?
Should structure or unstructured items be used to collect the data?
Should the purpose of the study be made known to the respondents?
Should rating scales be used in the questionnaire?

Research Process: Design
Data Collection & Forms
• PharmFirm data collection required….
1. Scale development and testing
1.
Define construct
2.
Develop valid and reliable measures
2. Stimuli development
1.
Website mock-ups
3. Measurement instrument (i.e., survey)
1.
Manipulation checks
2.
Dependent variables
3.
Individual difference variables
4.
Demographic/categorical information

Research Process: Design
Sample and Collect Data
– Dictated by study design

Research Process: Design
Sample and Collect Data
Stage in the
Process
Design sample and collect the data
Typical Questions
• Who is the target population?
• Is a list of population elements available?
• Is a sample necessary?
• Is a probability sample desirable?
• How large should the sample be?
• How should the sample be selected?
• Who will gather the data?
• How much supervision is needed?
• What operational procedures will be followed?
• What methods will be used to ensure the quality of the data collected?

Research Process: Design
Sample and Collect Data
• PharmFirm sample call for….
1. ~1000 physicians from three specialty groups
• Outsource!!
2. Data collected online
• Sample is too geographically dispersed and time sensitive to collect data in person
• Qualtrics research software

Research Process: Analyze and Interpret the Data

Research Process: Analyze and Interpret the Data
Stage in the
Process
Analyze and interpret the data
Typical Questions
• Who will handle the editing of the data?
• How will the data be coded?
• Who will supervise the coding and keypunching?
• What tabulations / statistical tests / analysis techniques will be used?

Research Process: Analyze and Interpret the Data
• PharmFirm analysis calls for….
1. Factor analysis to develop metric
• Dictated by study design
2. Multivariate Analysis of Covariance
(MANCOVA) to analyze experimental data
• Dictated by study design

Research Process: Prepare
Research Report

Research Process: Prepare
Research Report
Stage in the
Process
Prepare the research report
Typical Questions
• Who will read the report?
• What is their technical level of sophistication?
• Are managerial recommendations called for?
• What will be the format of the written report?
• Is an oral report necessary?
• How should the oral report be structured?

Research Process: Prepare
Research Report
• PharmFirm report out calls for….
1. Four separate presentations to the client
2. Final comprehensive report outlining purpose, research questions, design, sample, results, etc.
3. Compilation of data in easy-to-use format
• Measurement definitions
• Coding schemes

• Discuss some issues that you deal with at your workplace that can be answered with primary research
1. Discuss the issue broadly (i.e., provide some context)
2. Develop several clear, concise research questions
3. Develop hypotheses (and null hypotheses)
4. Discuss the decisions that would be made depending on the different outcomes of the research

Hints….
• Try to acutely identify the problem at hand (and avoid “nice to know” questions)
– What information is necessary in order to make a decision?
• Determine what course(s) of action will result from your findings
– If we find A, what will you do?
– What about if we find B?
– Make all alternative courses of action explicit
• Refer to Beal (Chapter 2)