By:
Jean Paolo G. Lacap
I was assigned to talk about marketing research.
Doing research is a relevant matter in the academic set up. The major thrusts
of a college or a university include teaching, community extensions, and research,
thus producing quality research outputs is vital because they create and/or add
new knowledge. Besides, global quality standards on education include research
outputs as a parameter of quality education.
In the Philippines, producing researches is quite neglected. This has been a long issue among colleges and universities. One of the vital reasons is funding. Many of Filipino faculty members have hard time producing in quality research outputs because of lack of funding and at the same time, because of too much teaching loads; they have less time in doing researches. The result, few Filipino professors have published researches in local and international journals. With all these factors, in order for us to be globally competitive, we all need to strengthen our research capabilities.
Defining
Marketing Research
Now, I will discuss the essentials of marketing
research. According to Churchill, Brown, and Suter (2012), marketing research
is “the function that links the consumer to the marketer through information –
information used to identify and define marketing problems; generate, refine,
and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing performance; and improve
understanding of marketing as a process.” It is a scientific inquiry on
marketing processes.
Applied vs. Basic
Marketing Research
Marketing Research is divided into two – applied and
basic marketing research. Applied
marketing research is a scientific inquiry based on the specific marketing
problems or objectives of a particular enterprise, firm, or an industry. For
instance, a researcher may want to find out the level of customer satisfaction
for Product X of Company A. On one hand, basic
marketing research is general in nature. Essentially is inquires or
validates on broad marketing topics by challenging the existing theories or
concepts or extending them. For example, a researcher may want to know what
specific constructs are relevant when we talk about customer relationship
management (CRM). So the researcher may challenge the existing CRM theories or extend
these CRM theories to better apply in real-life corporate scenarios.
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| Figure 1. Divisions of Marketing Research |
The Marketing
Research Process
Typically, any type of research starts with
identification the research problem or objectives. This involves looking for a marketing
problem or creating marketing objectives based on the need of a specific firm
or industry. The second step is identifying the right research design. Here,
the researcher may use either qualitative or quantitative research design. The
third step is the process of collecting the right data. Fourth is to analyze
the collected data, and last to put forth conclusions and/or recommendations.
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| Figure 2. The Marketing Research Process |
Qualitative vs.
Quantitative Marketing Research
Qualitative
marketing research answers the general
marketing problem or addresses marketing objectives by providing discussions
and explanations of marketing concepts, models, or theories with less emphasis
on numerical measures. This type of research design is usually utilizes unstructured
data collection. In contrast, quantitative
marketing research answers specific marketing problem or addresses
marketing objectives by providing discussions and explanations of marketing
concepts, models, or theories with emphasis on numerical measures and utilizes
statistical parameters. This type of research design uses structured data
collection.
Research Types
There are basic types of research – exploratory,
descriptive, and causal.
1.
Exploratory Research – is a type of research where the inquiry is general
in nature and at the same there is little background on the topic under study.
It relies heavily on secondary data or on existing literature. Example: An
exploratory study on the competitiveness of sustainability of the hotel
industry in Pampanga. Since there is limited literature on the level of
competitiveness of the hotel industry in Pampanga, an exploratory research is
much attuned.
2.
Descriptive Research – is a type of research that describes an
overall-view of a specific environment. Example: A study on the characteristics
and behavior of online shoppers in the Philippines.
3.
Causal Research
– it is a type of research where one variable affects the other variables. In
this type of research the research will identify the dependent variable and the
independent variables. Example: A correlation study of organizational
commitment and the demographic profile of the respondents.
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| Figure 3. Research Types |
Data Collection
There are two types of data collection methods –
primary and secondary data.
1.
Primary Data
– specific data collected based on the specific problem or objectives of the
study. These data come directly from the response of the respondents of the
study. In can come from several sources such
as qualitative research, surveys, and experiments.
2.
Secondary Data
– these are data that are readily available such as data that comes from National
Statistics Office (NSO), Social Weather Stations (SWS), AGB Nielsen, TNS, etc. Example,
the researcher wants to know the satisfaction rating of the president of the
Philippines; typically it is available from SWS.
Test of
Reliability and Consistency
The most widely used data technique in research is
survey. One of the important aspects of a survey to test the reliability and
consistency of the constructs or questions enumerated in the questionnaire
itself.
Cronbach Alpha is a widely used statistical tool to test the
reliability and consistency of the survey. Typically, using SPSS (Statistical
Package for the Social Sciences), the survey can be tested through Cronbach
alpha. Generally, 70 percent or higher Cronbach alpha score is the accepted
reliability parameter.
Sampling
Techniques
There are varieties of sampling techniques used in
doing both qualitative and qualitative.
1.
Convenience Sampling – a sampling technique where the researcher identify
the most convenient sample that are necessary for the research. For example, a
TV reporter may want to obtain the opinions of the people on pork barrel. So
basically the TV reporter will ask for the opinions of those people readily
available on that specific location of the reportage.
2.
Purposive
Sampling – a sampling technique where the researcher obtains the sample
based on his/her best judgment or based on the purpose of the study. In this
sampling technique, the researcher is considered an experienced researcher and
will be able to identify the right respondents for the undertaking under study.
3.
Quota Sampling
– a sampling technique where the researcher warrants that the sample or
subgroups will be the representatives of the population. For instance, the
researcher wants to know the social networking site (SNS) behavior of college
students in a university. Through quota sample, the researcher may obtain 200
female 1st year students and 200 male 1st year students
to be the sample of the study and represent the total population of that university.
4.
Snowball Sampling –
a sampling technique where the researcher first identifies selected respondents
of the study and these selected participants will refer possible respondents.
The primary reason is, the initial respondents may have known additional
participants whom they believe have the same characteristics as them.
5.
Simple Random Sampling – a sampling technique where the researcher randomly
identifies the sample from the population of the undertaking understudy.
6.
Systematic Sampling
– a sampling technique where the researcher systematically identifies the
sample by means of a regular interval e.g. all odd numbers in the population.
7.
Stratified Sampling
– a sampling technique where the researcher identifies specific samples from
different subset/subgroup in a certain population. Example, the researcher
wants to find out the level of consumer satisfaction of college students in a
university. Using stratified sampling, samples will come from different
departments/colleges (strata) within the university.
Once the researcher identified the right sampling
technique, it typically involves the identification of the total population
then compute for the sample size. Today, due to the advent of technology,
computation of the sample size can now be done through the Internet.
Raosoft.com is a free online sample size calculator where the researcher can
just simply encode the total population and the software will instantly compute
for the sample size!
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| Figure 4. Raosoft.com |
Data Analysis
Once all the data needed for the study are in place,
the researcher performs descriptive analysis. Descriptive analysis involves documenting the data to make them
useful information. It implicates document analysis to explore, describe,
and/or find causes for the given problem or objectives of the study. A good
data analysis includes supporting statements from previous researches. For
example, if the researcher was able to identify that here is a correlation
between job satisfaction and organizational commitment among the identified
respondents, then this claim should be supported (or negated) by previous
studies.
Formulating
Conclusions and Recommendations
The final part of the marketing research process is to
formulate conclusions and/or recommendations. Conclusions should be based
from the results of the study. Remember all research objectives/problem
statements should be answered in the data analysis part because it will be your
basis in coming up for your study conclusions. Recommendations will be done after
the conclusions are made, but it will only be there if the study requires you to come up
with recommendations. Generally, all applied research topics require
recommendations. Example, the researcher wants to know the factors why
consumers prefer competitors’ product. From this standpoint, the researcher
must recommend how the consumer will change their preference and buy the company’s
product. Today, conclusions and recommendations are not limited to marketing
strategies, coming up with new business models or frameworks are highly
recommended.
Some Tips
Marketing research outputs are not limited to
marketing strategies. Today, it is much better if the researcher will come up
with business models or frameworks that either enhances the existing marketing concept
and/or expands marketing theories. Examples are given below:
 | |
| Figure 5. Competitiveness Framework |
The Competitiveness Framework above was one of the research outputs of my published study entitled: Competitiveness and Sustainability of the Hotel Industry: The Case of Hotels in Pampanga
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| Figure 6. Sustainability Framework |
The Sustainability Framework was also one of the research outputs of my study entitled:
Competitiveness and Sustainability of the Hotel Industry: The Case of Hotels in Pampanga
Competitiveness and Sustainability of the Hotel Industry: The Case of Hotels in Pampanga
 |
| Figure 7. Strategic Business Model |
The Strategic Business Model was the result of our study (together with Dr. Tungcab) entitled: Strategic Business Model for Telecommunication Companies in the Philippines.
Paradigm of the
Study
Paradigm of the study should not be limited to IPO
(Input-Process-Output). International journals do not accept this kind of
framework anymore. The paradigm should reflect the statement of the problem and/or purposes of the study. Example, the hypotheses of the study are as follow:
H1: Is there a
significant relationship between the profile of the respondents and their level
of organizational commitment?
H2: Is there a
significant relationship between the profile of the respondents and their job
satisfaction?
H3: Is there a
significant relationship between the respondents’ organizational commitment and
their level of job satisfaction?
Instead of the typical IPO model, the researcher may create a paradigm that reflects these hypotheses, like the one in figure 8.
 |
| Figure 8. Sample Paradigm of the Study |
Marketing Research Ethics
The biggest no no in research is plagiarism. Plagiarism is copying others’ research
papers/study without properly citing the author/s' names. There are available/free
online plagiarism checker. Take advantage of them! Following are some of the free online plagiarism checker:
Final words
It is important for everyone to enjoy doing research. We should see this endeavor as part of our academic duty. Students also should imbibe the importance of doing research. Once we learn and love creating research outputs, we will be able to contribute something to our academic sector!
References:
Aaker, D.A., Kumar, V., Leone, R.P.,
& Day, G.S. (2013). Marketing
Research. Wiley.
Churchill G.A., Brown, T.J., & Suter,
T.A. (2012). Introduction to Marketing
Research. Cengage Learning.
Lacap,
J.P.G. (2014). Competitiveness and
Sustainability of the Hotel Industry: The Case of Hotels in Pampanga. Business
Management and Strategy, 5(1)115-127.
Lacap,
J.P.G. (2014). Analysis of Shares and Likes on Facebook: Crafting Effective
Viral Marketing Campaigns. European
Academic Research, 5(6), 7874-7888.
Miranda,
F.A.F. & Lacap, J.P.G. (2014) Customer Relationship Management of Department
of Tourism (DOT) Accredited Hotels in Angeles City, Philippines. European Academic Research, 5(6),
8041-8064.
Tungcab,
A.P. & Lacap, J.P.G. (2014) Strategic Business Model for Telecommunication
Companies in the Philippines. European
Academic Research, 5 (6), 8505-8529.
Zikmund, W.G. & Babin, B.J. (2013). Essentials of Marketing Research.
South-Western Cengage Learning.
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