Categories of Marketing Research Design

Research design (RD) is the programme that guides the researcher in the process of collecting, analysing, and interpreting data, information and observation. Research defines the domain of general ability. According to Achumba and Osuagwu (1994), citing Kerlinger (1983), research design is viewed as the plan, structure, and strategy for investigation conceived so as to obtain answers to research questions and control variance. Research design specifies the direction the marketing researcher is going and how he is going about getting relevant pieces of information/data. Research design in marketing research is the

specification of methods and procedures for acquiring the marketing Information and data needed. If the methods and procedures for the research are cheap or insufficient, the resulting data and finding will be inadequate or even misleading. Marketing research designs are generally categorized into:

1.  Exploratory 
2. Descriptive design 
3. Conclusive design 
4. Observational 
5.  Experimental 
6. Survey 
7.  Field study 

These categories are briefly discussed below:

• Exploratory design 

The exploratory phase of the research is designed to:

• Clarify the marketing opportunity or problem 
• Locate relevant variables 
• Produce new hypotheses 
• Determine whether primary research is required 
• Identify the area of information to be collected. 

Henry (1985) identified the following three phases in exploratory research:

• The preliminary investigation phase, which is designed to determine whether the company has internal data that might be useful. 
• A search of secondary data sources conducted to determine if relevant studies have been done previously. 
• Qualitative research, which is used as a means of identifying information to be collected. 

Exploratory research should be quite flexible, since the marketing researcher is uncertain about the exact nature of the marketing problem. Exploratory marketing research study is also designed to generate data that suggests meaningful research questions. It is also based on the examination of analogous situations including case histories and simulations. Case histories help the marketing researcher to focus on past marketing approaches or similar problems.

Descriptive Design

Some market research studies attempt to describe market characteristics or functions, for e.g. a sales analysis for a Nigerian shoe manufacturer may show the company's sales by territory, type of customers, model of product, or any other variables. A common descriptive research in marketing is the one that seeks to determine a product's consumer profile.

Descriptive research is used in marketing research to:

• Portray the attitudes, behaviour, and other characteristics of consumers, clients, groups, or organisations. 
• Determine the extent of association among two or more variables. Draw inferences about these relationships among variables. 
• Make predictions about the future. 

In general, descriptive marketing research can be subdivided into two, which include:

• Cross- sectional studies, which examine the population of interest at one point in time. 
• Longitudinal studies, which investigate a fixed sample of consumers, clients, or other people who are measured at a number of points in time. 

Common characteristics of descriptive marketing research studies are:

• The association of two or more key variables; for instance a sales analysis nay break down the frequency distribution among various income levels. This can help the firm to develop prediction and marketing strategies. 
• Specific research question used to: Test specific components of the marketing mix to determine which is most effective: 
• Control marketing variable and produce change. 
•  Discover and refine marketing theories and hypotheses 
• Formulate hypotheses related to other experimentally or non-experimentally tested hypotheses. 
•  Help build theoretical systems.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

• List and Explain the categories of marketing research design.