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Chapter 04 – Exploratory and Observational Research Designs and Data Collection Approaches
Observation research involves systematic observing and recording of behavioral patterns of
objects, people, events, and other phenomena (PPT slide 4-20). Observation is used to collect data
about actual behavior, as opposed to surveys in which respondents may incorrectly report behavior.
Observation methods require two elements.
• A behavior or event that is observable
• A system of recording the behavior or event
A. Unique Characteristics of Observation Methods (PPT slide 4-20)
Observation can be described in terms of the following four characteristics.
• Directness
• Awareness
Exhibit 4.6 is an overview of these characteristics and their impact (PPT slide 4-20).
B. Types of Observation Methods (PPT slide 4-21)
The type of observation method refers to how behaviors or events will be observed.
Researchers can choose between the following two devices.
• Human observers
• Technological devices
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Chapter 04 – Exploratory and Observational Research Designs and Data Collection Approaches
video cameras, traffic counters, optical scanners, eye tracking monitors, pupilometers, audio
voice pitch analyzers, psychogalvanometers, and software. The devices often reduce the cost
and improve the flexibility and accuracy of data collection.
Advances in technology are making observation techniques more useful and cost effective.
The fastest growing observational research approaches involve the Internet. Online merchants,
content sites, and search engines all collect quantitative information about online behavior.
These companies maintain databases with customer profiles and can predict probable response
rates to ads, the time of day and day of week the ads are likely to be most effective, the various
stages of potential buyers in the consideration process for a particular product or service, and
the type and level of engagement with a website. Extensive qualitative data from social media is
increasingly being harvested on the Internet. The data involves online conversations about
products, services, brands, and marketing communications that occur in social media.
C. Selecting the Observation Method (PPT slides 4-22 to 4-24)
The first step in selecting the observation method is to understand the information requirements
and consider how the information will be used later. Without this understanding, selecting the
observation method is significantly more difficult. First researchers must answer the following
questions.
• What types of behavior are relevant to the research problem?
Then the various methods of observing behaviors must be evaluated. Issues to be considered
include the following:
• Is a setting available to observe the behaviors or events?
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Chapter 04 – Exploratory and Observational Research Designs and Data Collection Approaches
• To what extent are the behaviors or events repetitious and frequently exhibited?
• What degree of directness and structure is needed to observe the behaviors or events?
• How aware should the subjects be that their behaviors are being observed?
• Which observation method is most appropriate: in-person or technology-mediated?
D. Benefits and Limitations of Observation Methods (PPT slide 4-25)
Observation methods have strengths and weaknesses (Exhibit 4.7; PPT slide 4-25). Among the
major benefits is that observation enables collection of actual behavior or activities rather than
reported activities. This is especially true in situations where individuals are observed in a
E. Social Media Monitoring and the Listening Platform (PPT slides 4-26 and 4-27)
Social media monitoring is observational research based on analyzing conversations in social
media, for example, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and product review sites (PPT slide 4-26). The
monitoring provides marketing researchers with a rich source of existing, authentic information
from the river of news that is being organically shared in social networks online. Blogs, social
networking sites, and online communities provide a natural outlet for consumers to share
experiences about products, brands, and organizations.
Following are the weaknesses of social media monitoring.
• While the expense is forecasted to decrease, it currently costs thousands of dollars a
month just to monitor a few well-chosen keywords.
• Many of the automated techniques for classifying textual data are unproven so the
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Chapter 04 – Exploratory and Observational Research Designs and Data Collection Approaches
accuracy of the information is unknown.
• The sample of people interacting about the brand, product, or advertising campaign is a
self-selected sample that may not be representative of consumer reactions in the target
market. In fact, different social media monitoring tools often produce different results.
• Some social media sites are not publicly available for researchers to mine.
A listening platform or post is an integrated approach to monitoring and analyzing media
sources to provide insights that support marketing decision making (PPT slide 4-26). In the
past, larger companies often paid for a service that would read and clip articles from
newspapers and magazines. Listening platforms are a technologically enhanced version of this
older service. Reasons for deploying a listening platform are given below.
• Monitoring online brand image
• Complaint handling
Listening platforms are in their infancy and are ripe for a large number of research innovations
in coming years. The qualitative data available from social media monitoring can be analyzed
qualitatively, quantitatively, or both. Currently, most social media monitoring tools seek to
seamlessly mix qualitative and quantitative analyses. The earliest application of quantitative
methods is simple counts of mentions of keywords. Another emerging, but controversial,
quantitative tool is sentiment analysis, also called opinion mining (PPT slide 4-26).
Sentiment analysis relies on the emerging field of natural language processing (NLP) that
enables automatic categorization of online comments into positive or negative categories.
Initial research applied sentiment analysis tools to product, movie, and restaurant reviews.
Quantitative measures of sentiment are still limited as a large amount of data is currently
unclassifiable or incorrectly classified with current automation tools. But more advanced
sentiment analysis tools are being developed to go beyond grouping by category and enable
classification by emotions such as sad, happy, or angry. Thus, in the next few years, sentiment
analysis methods are likely to be improved substantially, with their use becoming more
pervasive.
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Chapter 04 – Exploratory and Observational Research Designs and Data Collection Approaches
F. Netnography (PPT slide 4-27)
Netnography is an observational research technique that requires deep engagement with one or
more social media communities (PPT slide 4-27). What differentiates netnography from the
other social media research techniques is the extensive contact and analysis of online
communities and the use of participant observation. These online communities are often
organized around interests in industries, products, brands, sports teams, or music groups, and
In netnography, researchers must do the following:
• gain entrée into the community
• gather and analyze data from members of the community
Before gaining entrée, researchers develop research questions and search to identify online
forums that will provide the answers to their research questions. Generally, researchers prefer to
collect data from higher traffic forums with larger numbers of discrete message posters and
greater between-member interactions.
Marketing Research in Action
Reaching Hispanics through Qualitative Research (PPT slides 4-28 and 4-29)
More than 55.4 million (17.4 percent of the U.S. population) are classified as Hispanic. The
Hispanic/Latino population is diverse as it flows from many Spanish-speaking countries around
the world characterized by different levels of acculturation. When Hispanics become acculturated,
they often strongly identify with both America and their country of origin, an effect that persists
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socializing.
Traditional marketing research among Hispanics has often focused too heavily on classifying the
marketplace in terms of language, acculturation, and generation. Perhaps this is because of
overreliance on quantitative research approaches. One strength of qualitative research is the ability
to tap deeper contextual, psychological, and cultural issues. As the Latino marketplace continues
to grow, marketing researchers will need to adjust their research approach, continually identifying
ficulturally relevant ways to interact.”
Answers to Hands-On Exercise
1. Should marketing researchers working with Latinos concentrate solely on qualitative
research? Explain your answer.
Qualitative research is considered to be especially appropriate for the Hispanic marketplace.
It emphasizes that the population has to be approached differently for research to be useful.
Latinos prefer qualitative approaches that involve tangents, storytelling, and an expressive
process often characterized as lively. This style of interaction is especially noticeable among
less-acculturated Latino populations but is evident among acculturated Hispanics as well.
2. Could qualitative research be used to improve quantitative methods such as surveys?
Explain your answer.
Yes, qualitative research could be used to improve quantitative methods such as surveys.
Qualitative research is usually conducted as a follow-up to quantitative research. This
3. What challenges do researchers face in conducting research with the Latino marketplace
online? How can researchers minimize the effects of these difficulties?
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Chapter 04 – Exploratory and Observational Research Designs and Data Collection Approaches
4. Think of one or two cultures or subcultures with which you are at least somewhat familiar.
Would qualitative research be especially useful for these cultures? Why, or why not?
Students’ answers to this question will vary depending on the culture or subculture they
choose.
Answers to Review Questions
1. What are the major differences between quantitative and qualitative research methods?
What skills must a researcher have to develop and implement each type of design?
There are several characteristics which can be used to compare the two research methods
mentioned above. As an example, the fitype” of research done by a researcher in the
qualitative arena normally consists of exploratory designs, whereas quantitative methods
focus on descriptive and causal frameworks. The types of questions used in quantitative
methodologies are mostly structured, whereas qualitative research methods use open-ended,
unstructured, semi-structured queries with deep probing techniques. To develop and
implement qualitative methodologies, a researcher needs to respect the research objectives,
possess desired interpersonal communication skill, and be willing to open themselves (and
their management team) to interpretation. Finally, the information collected from in-depth
interviews, ZMET sessions, and focus groups tends to be metaphorical and subjective.
Therefore, the analysis associated with any qualitative project is more protracted and
complex than quantitative data analysis.
2. Compare the unique characteristics, main research objectives, and advantages/disadvantages
of the in-depth and focus group interviewing techniques.
Focus group and in-depth interviews have some characteristics in common. First, it’s
important to note that both focus groups and in-depth interviewing techniques make use of
probing questions as a mechanism to get more information from the subject(s). In addition,
in-depth interviews and focus groups are similar in that researchers can collect attitudinal
and behavioral data that spans the past, present, and future. Interpersonal communication
skills and the ability to be able to filisten well” are characteristics shared by interviewers
whether the questions are raised in an in-depth interview or focus group. The setting for the
focus group, however, is often different than an in-depth interview. An in-depth interview
may take place in a manager’s office or over the phone. Focus groups, on the other hand,
3. Explain the pros and cons of using qualitative research in each of the following situations:
a. Adding carbonation to Gatorade and selling it as a true soft drink
It would be useful to investigate this marketing opportunity in a focus group, since the
attribute (and resulting benefits) of adding carbonation to Gatorade should be
fisampled.” In this sense, developing and implementing a questionnaire to explore this
opportunity would fall short on the experience front.
b. Finding new consumption usages for Arm & Hammer baking soda
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Chapter 04 – Exploratory and Observational Research Designs and Data Collection Approaches
marketplace (e.g., removing stains, drawing stingers to the surface of the skin after a
hornet, or wasp attack). Still, the dynamics of group members in a focus group
environment may bring other fiout of the box” considerations to the surface, especially
if participants are encouraged to demonstrate uses with the actual product in a focus
group session.
c. Inducing customers who have stopped shopping at Sears to return to Sears
The recruitment of participants aligned with the marketing problem/opportunity
(ficustomers who have stopped shopping at Sears”) is critical. While it could be argued
that a survey with fixed response questions could help management determine what
d. Advising a travel agency that wants to enter the cruise ship vacation market
In this case, it’s not clear if a focus group, in-depth interview, or questionnaire is
necessary. The concern here surrounds the use of the word fiadvising.” The objectives
of in-depth and focus group interviewing lean more in the direction of discovery and
clarifying problems and opportunities for future research endeavors. Management of
4. What are the characteristics of a good focus group moderator? What is the purpose of a
moderator’s guide?
A moderator needs to be personable, an individual who relishes the opportunity to act as a
linkage in a group setting and create opportunities for participants to have their say. A good
focus group moderator should have excellent interpersonal, communication, listening, and
5. Why is it important to have 8 to 12 participants in a focus group? What difficulties might
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exist in meeting that objective?
Having this group size is beneficial for group dynamics. If there are a few people, the
moderator may find himself or herself providing too much direction to participants. Or,
people who love to hear the sound of their own voice may begin to dominate the session. A
session with too many participants can get bogged down causing the moderator to rush
6. Why are the screening activities so important in the selection of focus group participants?
Develop a screening form that would allow you to select participants for a focus group on the
benefits and costs of leasing new automobiles.
Screening activities, as noted above, are a key success factor in orchestrating and completing
a focus group. For instance, if the people recruited to a group are too diverse (e.g., according
to income, use of a particular product in question, and age or stage in the family life cycle), it
will be increasingly difficult to achieve objectives such as generating new ideas about
7. What are the advantages and disadvantages of online focus group interviews compared to
face-to-face group interviews?
Advantages associated with online focus groups are that it shortens the time required for data
collection, analysis, and reporting of results. Participants can be physically located anywhere
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Chapter 04 – Exploratory and Observational Research Designs and Data Collection Approaches
8. What are the advantages and disadvantages of ethnography as compared to other qualitative
techniques?
An advantage of ethnography is that it enables researchers to actually see consumers in their
natural setting, while other techniques do not. However, behavior changes when observed,
9. Develop a word association test that will provide some insight to the following information
research question: What are college students’ perceptions of their university’s student
union?
In word association tests, participants are exposed to a preselected list of words and asked to
respond with the first thought [word] that comes to mind regarding that word. The researcher
looks for obvious and hidden meanings associated with important concepts represented by
Answers to Discussion Questions
1. What type of exploratory research design (observation, projective technique, in-depth
interview, focus group, case study, ethnography, netnography, ZMET) would you suggest
for each of the following situations, and why?
a. A jewelry retailer wants to better understand why men buy jewelry for women and
how they select what they buy.
b. An owner of a McDonald’s restaurant is planning to build a playland and wants to
know which play equipment is most interesting to children.
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Chapter 04 – Exploratory and Observational Research Designs and Data Collection Approaches
A fiusability lab” of sorts would be a good approach for choosing play equipment. An
assortment of equipment could be assembled with children in the target age range
invited to play for an afternoon. Observational measurements could be taken of the
children’s interactions with each piece of equipment.
c. Victoria’s Secret wants to better understand women’s body images.
d. The senior design engineer for the Ford Motor Company wishes to identify
meaningful design changes to be integrated into the 2018 Ford Taurus.
e. Apple wants to better understand how teenagers discover and choose popular music to
download.
A focus group is appropriate for this project. Teenagers could be asked to keep a log of
music they download for a period of time prior to the discussion along with how they
heard about each song.
f. Nike wants to better understand the concepts of customization and personalization to
support the online product customization services provided by NikeID.
2. Develop a moderator’s guide that could be used in a focus group interview to investigate the
following question: What does ficool” mean to teens, and how do teens decide what products
are ficool”?
Responses will vary, to some extent, depending upon the students’ own perceptions of ficool.”
All guides developed should include an opening/rapport development section, a main session,
3. Apple hires you to study Apple’s brand image with college students on your campus. Draft a
list of ten questions you would ask in a focus group. Make sure you think of alternative ways
to ask questions instead of simply asking direct questions.
Students’ responses to this question will vary. The list of questions might include the
4. Thinking about how most participants are recruited for focus groups, identify and discuss
three ethical issues the researcher and decision maker must consider when using a focus group
research design to collect primary data and information.
The first ethical issue which surfaces in recruiting for a focus group is what’s referred to as the
problem of retreads. Retreads are individuals who make fia living” bouncing from focus group
to focus group to earn an income. Care must be taken when the task of recruitment is fifarmed
out” to an outside source. Some of these recruiting agencies have a number of individuals
(friends, relatives, and business associates) who get placed into the group regardless of their
familiarity with the topic.
Finally, when recruiting for a focus group, care should be taken not to mix participants who
are too diverse. People who attend focus groups need to feel as if they’re part of a gathering
where it’s okay to express their feelings honestly, and with conviction. Sometimes recruiters,
researchers, and clients adopt a fimix–it–up and let’s see what happens” mentality toward focus
groups. The results are often awkward and sometimes downright threatening for the all parties
concerned. As an example, be cautious about mixing customers and prospects, representatives
from large corporations and small independent businesses, and members from different levels
in the fipecking order” when designing and implementing a business-to-business focus group.
In the same vein, groups comprised of ultimate consumers should steer clear of mixing
participants with wide age and income ranges.
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5. Conduct an in-depth interview, and write a brief summary report that would allow you to
address the following decision question: What do students want from their educations?
Students’ responses will vary as students experience the process of conducting an in-depth
6. Outback Steak, Inc., is concerned about the shifting attitudes and feelings of the public toward
the consumption of red meat. Chris Sullivan, CEO and cofounder of Outback Steak, Inc.,
thinks that the fired meat” issues are not that important because his restaurants also serve fish
and chicken entrées. Select any two fiprojective interviewing” techniques that you think would
be appropriate in collecting data for the above situation. First, defend your choice of each of
your selected projective interviewing techniques. Second, describe in detail how each of your
two chosen techniques would be applied to Sullivan’s research problem at hand.
The list of possible choices for this problem includes word association tests, sentence
completion tests, picture tests, Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), cartoon/balloon tests, and
role playing activities. Two techniques that seem to offer the greatest promise in this case are
the cartoon and role-playing exercises. Both of these techniques lead subjects to project their
attitudes and opinions without a social desirability bias.
The video diary technique very well may be superior to text-based online focus groups. The
video diary format used by QualVu enables one to experience the participants’ nonverbal cues
as well as their direct answers. It eliminates or minimizes one of the primary barriers for
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text-based online focus groups, which is the need to type as fast as one could speak. It also
enhances privacy perceptions and reduces the effects of groupthink.
8. EXPERIENCE MARKETING RESEARCH. Visit Context Research Group at
This website has several studies posted based on identity, shopping and the holidays,
consumerism, attitudes toward the news, and more. The studies investigate consumer
psychology and in that regard are appropriate for ethnographic research. However, it would be
possible to study these topics using other methods. The key is for the researchers to determine
their needs. The ethnographic studies provide deep insight into these complex issues.
social media as being similar to conducting a focus group. Is mining media similar to
conducting a focus group? Why, or why not?
Students may have differing opinions on this question. Mining social media is not really
similar to conducting a focus group, but it can be somewhat similar to analyzing the data
resulting from a focus group. Mining media means content analyzing text, images, and sounds
in a specific context. It can actually result in more realistic and accurate data compared with
that from a focus group. It can also result in a vast amount of data, so a researcher would need
to be prepared to manage the complex and large files.
Students may have differing responses to this question. Students should be able to compare
the advantages and disadvantages of focus groups and private communities. They can then
give their opinion on to the extent they think the private communities might replace focus
groups and give reasons for the same.