PST oe ein) p > folate) Li fe Method Mss late ann spat eens loreal Erie] MethodExploratory Research Questions Exploratory research questions are typically developed when: a) not much is known about a particular phenomenon; b) existing research results are unclear or suffer from serious limitations; c) the topic is highly complex; or d) there is not enough theory available to guide the development of a theoretical framework éxploratory research often relies on qualitative approaches to data gathering such as informal discussions (with consumers, employees, managers), interviews, focus groups, and/or case studies. + Example: a study into the implications of COVID-19 pandemic into the global economyExploratory Research: Example + The manager of a multinational corporation is curious to know if the work ethic values of employees working in its subsidiary in Pennathur City (Tamilnadu, India) are different from those of Americans. There is very little information about Pentiathur (except that it is a small city in southern India), Since, there is considerable controversy about what work ethic values mean to people in other cultures, the manager’s curiosity can be satisfied only by an exploratory study, interviewing the employees in organizations in Pennathur. Religion, political, economic, and social conditions, upbringing, cultural values, and so on play a major role in how people view their work in different parts of the world. Here, since very little is known about work ethic values in India, an exploratory study will have to be undertaken.Descriptive Research Questions * The objective of a descriptive study is to obtain data that describes the topic of ‘interest. + For instance, if we want to know what percent of the population likes Coca-Cola better than Pepsi in a double-blind test, we are interested in describing consumers’ taste preferences. + Descriptive studies are often designed to collect data that describe characteristics of objects (such as persons, .crganizations, products, or brands), events, or situations. * This focuses more on the “what” of the research subject than the “why” of the research subject. * Descriptive research is either quantitative or qualitative in nature.+ Example: A bank manager wants to have a profile of the individuals who have loan payments outstanding for six months and more. +The profile will include details of their average age, earnings, nature of occupation, fulltime/part-time employment status. and the like. This might help him to elicit further information or decide right‘away on the types of individuals who should be made ineligible for loans in the iuture.Causal research Questions * Causal research conducted to identify cause and effect relationships. + When something causes an effect, it means it brings it about or makes it happen. The effect is the outcome. * Causal studies test whether or not one variable causes another variable to change. + Ina causal study, the researcher is iuterested in delineating one or more factors that are causing a problem. + Ifa decision maker knows what causes important outcomes like sales, stock price, and employee satisfaction, ‘hen he or she can shape firm decisions in a positive way. + Examples of causal research questions are: “What is the effect of'a reward system on productivity?”Example + A marketing manager wants to know if the sales of {1 company will increase if he increases the advertising budget. Here, the man’ would like to know the nature of the relationship that may be established between advertising and sales by testing the hypothesis: “If advertising is inct2ased, then sales will also go up.” +A manager wants to test the hypothesis that stress experienced in the job negatively affects the job satisfactioncor employees. + A researcher is interested in testing the hypothesis that women are more motivated for their jobs than men,Qualitative Research * Qualitative business research “Research that addresses business objectives through techniques that allow the researcher to provide elaborate interpretations of phenomena without depending on numerical measurement; its focus is:on discovering true inner meanings and new insights”, (Zimkund, 2009) * Qualitative research involves col ecting and analyzing non-numerical data (e.g., text, video, or audio) to understand concepts, opinions, or experiences. + Qualitative research is more Researcher-dependent in which the researcher must extract meaning from unstructured responses such as text from a recorded interview.Qualitative Research + Qualitative research is designed to tell the researcher how (process) and why (meaning) things happen as they do. + Generally, the less specific the research objective, the more likely that qualitative research tools will be appropriate. + If the emphasis is on a deepér understanding of motivations or on developing novel concepts, qualitative research is very appropriate. + Ex. What recommendations can you offer to improve the quality of business education at your school?Qualitative ResearchQualitative Research in Business * Job Analysis + Retail Design + Advertising Concept + Process Understanding Development * Union Representation + Productivity * Market Segmentation Enhancement « New Product * Sales Analysis Development * Benefits ManagementFocus Group research. They are led by a trained moderator and typically include 6-10 participants. + The facilitator uses group dynamics principles to focus or guide the group in an exchange of ideas, feelings, and experiences on a specific topic.| Advantages of Focus Group Interviews + A focus group interview is an unstructured, free-flowing interview that allow people to discuss their true feelings, anxictics, and fructrations, as well as the depth of their convictions, in their own words. + Relatively fast * Easy to execute + Flexibility and adaptability * Real-time feedback and instant reactions + Market research applicationsMain components of a Focus Group * Participants: A foundational step in creating a focus group is the selection process of participants. The criteria for participant selectin need to be based on their knowledge related to the subject. * Moderator: The moderator is responsible for conducting the focus group with full confidence and leading participants through the series of questions. A moderator needs to stay impartial throughout the focus group survey.The Focus Group Moderator + Moderator ‘A person who leads a focus group interview and ensures that everyone gets a chance to speak and contribute to the discussion. * Qualities of a Good Moderator © Must develop rapport with the group to promote interaction among all participants, o Must be a good listener © Must try not to interject his or her own opinions © Must be able to control discussion without being overbearingFocus group Research method that brings together a small group of people to answer questions in a moderated setting ocr your patpants Setup ourtocu up es yourtocus up analyst ote onaFocus Group Topic: New Coffee Shop Concept Development Focus Group Topic: New Coffee Shop Concept Development Background: A coffee shop chain is considering opening a new location in a trendy urban neighborhood. The management team wants to ensure that the new coffee shop concept resonates with the preferenc: needs of the target customer demographic in that area. They decide to conduct a focus group discussion to gather insights and feedback directly from potential customers. Participants: The focus group-consists of 8 participants who are local residents and regular coffe drinkers in the age range of 25 to 40. Moderator: The discussion is facilitated by a skilled moderator who guides the conversation, asks open-ended questions, and encourages participants to share their thoughts and opinions.* Discussion Highlights + Initial Impressions * Menu and Offerings * Pricing Perception + Atmosphere and Ambiance * Community Engagement * Service Experience * Competitor ComparisonObservation method * Observation research method to collects data thr all our primary senses; it involves listening, reading and seeing, smelling (asting, and touching * Meaning is extracted from field notes. + Field Notes: The researchers’ descriptions of what actually happened in the field; these notes then become the text from which meaning is extracted. + Observation may also take place i visual form. + Researchers may observe employees in their workplace, consumers in their home, or try to gain knowledge from photographic records of one type or another.Data Collection Peel\!| Desired Characteristics for Observers + There are a few general guidelines for the-qtualification and selection of observers. * Observers should have the ability to.function in a setting full of distractions (concentration). + They should have the ability.to remember details of an experience (detail- oriented). + They should have the ability to blend with the setting and not be distinctive (unobtrusive). + Finally, observers should have the ability to extract the most from an observation study (experience level)“We noticed people raping the toppings off our pizza crusts. We thought at first there was something wrong, but they said, ‘We love it, we just don’t eat the crust anymore.” Tom Santor, Donatos PizzaSurvey research Method + Survey research means collecting information about «i group of people by asking them questions and analyzing the results. + To conduct an effective survey, follow these six steps: 1 2. 3. 4. & 6. Determine who will participate is the survey Decide the type of survey (mail, online, or in-person) Design the survey questions and layout Distribute the survey ze the responses Write up the resultsTypes of Survey There are two main types of survey: + A questionnaire, where a list of questions i¢ distributed by mail, online or in person, and respondents fill it out themselves: + An interview, where the researcher asks. a set of questions by phone or in person and records the responses. +A questionnaire is a list of questions or items used to gather data from respondents about their attitudes, experiences, or opinions. Questionnaires can be used to collect quantitative and/or qualitative information. QA survey is a research method where you collect and analyze data from a group of people. A questionnaire is a specific tool or instrument for collecting the data.Survey Research Exampl : Customer Satisfaction Survey fora Mobile App Objective: To assess customer satisfaction and gather feedback about a newly launched mobile app for a fitness tracking platform. Survey Questions: 1, Ona scale of 1 to 5, how satisfied are you with the overall performance of our mobile app? ‘Very Dissatisfied (1) to Very Satisfied (5) 2, How often do you use our app for tracking your fitness activities? 4) Daily b) Several times a week c) Once a week d) Rarely e) Never How user-friendly do you find the app’s interface? a) Extremely User-Friendly b) Somewhat User-Friendly c) Neutral d) Somewhat Not User-Friendly e) Not User-Fr atl adly 4, Which features do you find most valuable in the app? (Select all that apply) 4) Activity Tracking B) Workout Plans c) Nutrition Tracing d) Community Forums ¢) Challenges and Goals How likely are you to recommend our app to a friend or colleague? a) Very Unlikely b) Unlikely c) Neutral d) Likeiy-€) Very Likely Please share any specific improvements or new features you would like to see in future app updates. Are you currently facing any technical issues or bugs while using the app? a) Yes b) No 8, Overall, how satisfied are you with our customer support in case you encountered any issues? ‘Very Dissatisfied (1) to Very Satisfied (5)Case Studies “Case Studies are a qualitative design in which the researcher explores in depth a program, event, activity, process, or one or more’individuals. The case(s) are bound by time and activity, and researchers collect detailed information using a variety of data collection procedures over a sustained petiod of time.” (Creswell, 2014) “The essence of a case study,.the central tendency among all types of case study is that it tries toilluminate a decision or set of decisions: why they were taken, 4iaw they were implemented, and with what result.” (Robert,1994)Case Study + Case study refers documented history of @ particular person, group, organization, or event. + Acase study may describe the eveitis of a specific company as it faces an important decision or situation; such as introducing a new product or dealing with some management crisis. * Accase study is an appropriate research design when you want to gain concrete, contextual, in-depth knowledge about a specific real-world subject.Example: Enhancing Customer Experience in an E-Commerce Platform Background + An e-commerce company, “Flipkart," has beer’ experiencing a decline in customer satisfaction and a rise in customer complaints over the past year. The management suspects that the user experience on their website might be a contributing factor. They have decided to conduct a business research study to ideniify the pain points in the customer journey and recommend strategies for improvement. Objectives 1. Identify specific issues in the custemier journey that are causing dissatisfaction and complaints, 2. Understand customer preferences and expectations regarding the online shopping experience 3. Propose actionable strategies to enhance the overall customer experience on the e-commerce platform.Thematic Appreciation Test (TAT) + A thematic apperception test (TAT), sometimes catied the picture interpretation technique. * The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) isa projective psychological test used to explore individuals’ thought processes, ‘motivations, and underlying feelings by analyzing their interpretations of ambiguous images or stories. + A test that presents subjects: with an ambiguous picture(s) in which consumers and products are the center of attention; the investigator asks the subject to tell what is happening in the picture(s) now and what might happen next.TAT + In TAT a series of pictures presented in which the examinee is requested to create a story about the picture. a) current situation ; + what is happening at the moment? b) thoughts and feelings of the character (s); + what the characters are feeling and thinking? c) preceding events; + what has led up to the event shown in the picture? d) outcome ; * what was the outcome?A boy is sitting at a table looking at a violin placed on the table in front of him.Depth Interviews + An in-depth interview is a type of qualitative data collection where you can obtain more in-depth information from each respondent. * While a questionnaire focuses on collecting a large number of data, an in-depth interview has advantages in collecting deeper information: * An in-depth interview involves direct and one-on-one engagement between interviewer and participant so the question can be expanded as you want. In-Depth Interview Advantages 1. Insightful Result 2. Body Language Observation 3. Fewer ParticipantsBAY ol-\MolmletDicleluenaie-laule\ny 1. Structured Interview: The interview guide is detaiied and specifies question order, and the way questions are to be asked. These interviews permit more direct comparability of responses and maintain interviewer neutrality. 2. Unstructured Interview: There are no specific questions or order of topics to be discussed. Each interview is customized <6 each participant. 3. Semi-Structured Interview: There are a few standard questions, but the individual is allowed to deviate based on his or her answers and thought processes. The interviewer’s role is to probe. Most qualitative research relies on the unstructured or semi-structured interview format.estion Hiera Broad Issue What do pafieipants consider entertaining? icipants consider most entertaining? Narrow the topic: What do parti find most entertaining about action movies? Narrow to the Within action me ‘action sequent t's specific interest: .0w do the computer-enhanced or computer-generated ute to the movie's entertainment experience?* Recommends topics and | Develops pretasking questions activities * Controls interview * Prepares research tools * Plans location and facilities + Supervises transcription * Proposes criteria for i * Helps analyze data drawing sample + Draws insights * Writes screener * Writes report * Recruits participants