Chapter 8 – Conducting Causal Research
I. Learning Objectives:
Upon completing this chapter, the student should be able to:
1. Discuss the three general types of primary data research.
2. Clarify the difference between laboratory experiments and field experiments.
3. Explain which of the two types of experiments has greater internal validity and
which has greater external validity.
4. List the three major considerations in test marketing.
5. Distinguish between a standard test market and a controlled test market.
Standard test markets are ones in which companies sell the product through their
6. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of simulated test marketing.
Advantages include protection from competitors, they are faster and cheaper than
II. Chapter Outline:
A. Three General Types of Primary Data Research
Exhibit 8.1: Relationships Among Types of Primary Data Research
Chapter 8 – Conducting Causal Research
2
B. Causal Research
1. Establishing Causality
2. Experiments as Causal Research
a. Laboratory Experiments
b. Field Experiments
C. Field Experiments in Marketing: A/B Testing
D. Field Experiments in Marketing: Market Testing
1. Key Issues in Market Testing
a. Cost
2. Types of Test Markets
Manager’s Focus
Exhibit 8.4: Shopping for Ketchup in a Virtual Store
a. Comparing the Three Types of Test Markets
Exhibit 8.5: Relative Advantages and Disadvantages of Different
Types of Test Markets
III. Answers to Review Questions:
1. The three general types of primary data collection are exploratory research,
descriptive research, and causal research. The major emphasis in exploratory
variables are related. A causal research design is concerned with determining
cause-and-effect relationships.
2. Exploratory research is the basic type of primary data research because its aim is to
gather information, not to analyze it.
4. It is not possible to establish that one thing causes another in a scientific sense. In
order to say one thing “caused” another, three conditions must be met: (1) There
5. An experiment is a scientific investigation in which an investigator manipulates one
6. A lab study is a research investigation in which investigators create a situation with
exact conditions in order to control some variables and manipulate others. A field
7. Internal validity is the degree to which an outcome can be attributed to an
8. An A/B test is a field experiment in which two versions (i.e., A and B) of some
marketing element are randomly assigned to subjects and then compared to
9. Market testing involves the use of a controlled experiment done in a limited but
carefully selected section of the marketplace in order to predict the sales or profit
10. A standard test market should be used when speed, cost, security, and internal
IV. Instruction Suggestions:
1. Begin by emphasizing the key requirements of descriptive or causal designs—a
2. Next, discuss the notion of causality and what is implied when we say “X causes Y.”
This discussion can focus on the types of evidence that can be employed to infer
the existence of a causal relationship between X and Y. One example that works
3. Emphasize the importance of control in causal designs and how experiments are a
means of controlling the situation in which an event occurs. Review the basic
4. Progress to a discussion of the difference between internal and external validity
and why the distinction is important.
5. Finally, outline the problems inherent in experiments, most particularly those of