writing a phd research proposal(appendices)_tcm6-19449

8/3/2019 Writing a PhD Research Proposal(Appendices)_tcm6-19449

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Appendices

There are two appendices to this document. The first is an example drawn from the

market research discipline to show the processes of research. The second contains

some important explanations of the differences between quantitative and qualitative

research. Both appendices are intended as supporting information to help you in yourthinking when you write your research proposal.

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APPENDIX 1

Stages in the Marketing Problem Solving & Cost

Research Process Benefits to the Client

Evaluation

Feedback

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Define the Problem

- from a marketing audit

assessment

- from a review of whether initial

marketing objectives were met

- from exploratory research to

clarify problem areas or as a

precursor to a full-scale survey

Specify Research ProcessFormulate the research objectives or

hypotheses

Formulate the Research Proposal

- devise the research plan

- estimate time and costs

Data Search

Specify information requirements.

Explore available resources from individuals

& organisations.

Search for information from secondary sources

(published & on-line) and primary sources.

The Research Design

Create a research design: descriptive, diagnostic,

predictive.

Choose an appropriate data collection method survey,

observation, experimentation.

Sampling: decide onsampling technique

- probability or non-probability.

Data collection & processing

Data analysis interpretation of findings

Research conclusion: evaluating & presenting results.

Problem Solving

Will the researchoutcomes help to

solve the problem?

Cost/benefitanalysis

Justify costs of

the research

undertaking &

establish the

benefits to the

client.


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Define the Problem

A typical starting point for the research process is the problem definition stage which

sets out what choices an organisation is face with in its marketing activities in a

particular situation and what it wants to achieve or to solve.

- Companies, which have periodic and systematic formal marketing audits, will

have updated qualitative and quantitative assessments of their internalorganisational and external business environments (For descriptions of marketing

audits see McDonald5). A S.W.O.T. (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and

threats) analysis can supplement the audit to determine the organisational

strengths and weaknesses of the organisation commissioning the research and to

identify opportunities and threats to its business from external environmental

forces (e.g. political, economic and social forces).

- A review of whether past marketing objectives have been met can be determined

from an assessment of organisational activities which will assist companies in

setting out their new agendas for research, such as the commissioning of market

surveys and to set out new research objectives.

-Exploratory research can be used to clarify the problem areas for research. As anexample, initial qualitative research as a pre-cursor to an expensive full-scale

quantitative survey can be undertaken if a company wants to undertake a risk

assessment about whether resources for the survey should be spent and whether

the original marketing objectives need modifying.

Specify The Research Process

Problem definition does not necessarily have to be about identifying threats to a

company's business and how to resolve them. A company can be faced with how to

plan its growth because of the desire to diversify into new products or new markets or

to acquire new brands and new distribution outlets by merging with or acquiring other

companies. Such changes to a company's marketing efforts or operational status will

require new studies of its market to be carried out since previous information may

become inadequate or inappropriate in the changed circumstances. In this context,

new research objectives will have to be set. These should be clear, measurable and

achievable.

An example of a research objective can be to establish whether there is an

opportunity for a new brand in a particular product field. Research investigations can

then be carried out on a brand name for a product and the associations which potential

customers can make towards the brand image. The brand image can then be

developed in advertisements and in all the other communications associated with the

product, including its packaging for the market.Hypothesis testing starts with a hypothesis in a null form, which meansformulating a statement that a population parameter has a particular value or set of

values. If for example, the managers of a cinema pondered on the problem of

attracting larger audiences to its film shows and wanted to start with an investigation

of its target market, they would need to know what the mean age of its cinema goers

was.

If the managers thought that the mean age of its cinema goers was 23 years

old, the null hypothesis (H0)would be:H0: = 23The managers would then set out to test whether this hypothesis can be

accepted or if rejected, what alternative hypothesis can be accepted.

As another example, one can hypothesise that the level of sales in a number ofretail outlets within a given geographical region will rise by a stated amount in

proportion to a commensurate amount of discount or incentive schemes.

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In simple terms, the major purposes of marketing research are to find the

information for marketing decisions and the solutions to marketing problems. So the

necessary questions at the outset are:

Do we need this piece of research?

Will the value of the research more than pay for itself?

What is the type of research to be carried out?

When should this piece of research be done and concluded?

Who are the people who will carry it out?

What additional resources are required to carry out the research?

The Research Proposal

If the answers are yes to the first two questions, then the Research Proposalshouldhave some answers to the last four questions.

The research proposal will contain an outline of the research requirements. It

contains the blueprint for the proposed creation of a systematic and logical research

activity, which will include time and cost inputs, the equipment and computing

software when required. The Research Proposal is more like a guide so that both

parties, the research agency and the client know where they stand and what they have

in principle agreed to. In the course of conducting research it could transpire that more

resources are needed at different stages. In general, researchers should aim to keep the

costs of research within the budgeted constraints, though in practice this might not

always be the case.

The people responsible for bidding for the work from the client need to take

account of client personalities and objectives in presenting their proposals, both to

convince the client and to win the contract for the research proposal to be put into

practice.

Careful planning in the initial stages of the research process will be of benefit

in guiding decision-makers in problem solving. This will reduce the difficulties

between the research agency and the client, and the risks involved if business

decisions do not work out as planned.

Data Search

Having made the decisions about why the information is sought for in the first place,the data search stage is important to determine what information critical to the

problem at hand may exist within the organisation and outside of it.

Secondary and primary sources of information are investigated. These are

explained in Chapter 3.

The Research Design

The research design consists of choosing the survey method to be adopted, samplingtechnique, data collection, data analysis, interpretation and evaluation of findings and

the presentation of research work to a client organisation. The research design stages

constitute a big part of the research activity.

The research design stages are set out at the beginning of Chapter 4 andexplained there. This chapter also contains the discussion of the data collection

methods.

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APPENDIX 2

1.7 Divisions of research: Qualitative and Quantitative

There are, generally speaking, two main groups of market researchers, those who usethe methods of quantitative research and those who conduct qualitative research.

There are others who use both types of research so the distinctions between the two

groups can be blurred, and rightly so. There are merits in both approaches and they

should be seen to be mutually supportive rather than to exist as the exclusive domain

for the adherents of each type of research. Since quantitative research has the

advantage of reliability in numbers, that is aiming to produce the statistical evidence

for a study, qualitative research can sometimes have a bad press because of its

informality and exploratory nature. However, there is a richness in qualitative studies

in throwing much light on the way respondents think, feel and behave, rather than the

quantitative analysis of people as reliable estimates subjected to being measured in

terms of statistical calculations.

1.7.2 What is Quantitative Research?

Quantitative research is carried out to investigate how many people have similar

characteristics and views. When there are large numbers of people to be studied, it is

more cost effective to carry out a quantitative survey to collect the data, often by

questionnaires, which could be posted, faxed or put out to respondents on the

computer.

The broadest example of the collection of data is the tradition of having full

scale census surveys which are quantifiable, to collect information for governmentsall over the world, particularly within the developed economies, to aid their planning

and forecasting.

A census provides reliable statistical information about population

characteristics and householders for all parts of a country.

The United States census is akin to a huge motherload of data. Not all

countries have censuses because of the problems associated with civil strife, high

levels of poverty and illiteracy, and spread of populations across difficult to access

terrain, for example, mountainous regions and large numbers of islands. For example,

there are reputed to be over seven hundred islands in the Philippines. The census in

the UK is carried out every ten years, since 1801, apart from 1941, and the next one

would be in 2001.It is impossible for many organisations to draw data from every member of the

population in the way a census does. This is because respondents can refuse to

participate and there would be huge costs involved. A sample survey would draw data

on a portion of the population though we could obviously lose something when we

sample because of uncertainties in the data. For explanations of how to conduct

sampling, see Chapter 5. A truly representative sample should have the same

distribution of relevant characteristics as a census. Quantitative research is appropriate

for the examination of specific data from large numbers, for testing hypotheses,

leading to statistically rigorous analysis, which nowadays have been helped by the

development of computer aided simulations and database applications for marketing.

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So quantitative research by taking in large samples of the target population answering

very structured questions so that the findings can be statistically analyse with precise

estimations, has the result of being considered valid and reliable.

Since it deals with hard data, as contrasted to soft data for qualitative

research, reponses to questions are processed to create proportions of people in

different categories based on the sample drawn. For example, in geodemographic profiling where profiles of target customers are created by matching household

locations and size with peoples lifestyles and habits so that marketers can direct their

efforts at attracting such groups. The degree of statistical significance is normally

attributed within a known margin of error.

Quantitative research tends to focus on what is now, that is what

respondents intuitively know and have the facts of, including what respondents have

done. So it can be akin to a snapshot. Its strength lies in the way the science of

mathematical analysis and modelling can be used to explain marketing phenomena by

showing the key constructs, their inter-relationships and their relative strengths within

these inter-relationships. Marketers can base their decisions on statistically proven

facts with known margins of error.Quantitative data can be easier and cheaper to collect by post, telephone or

computer aided interviewing systems than qualitative data which would be costly for

the same number of people.

However, quantitative research has been criticised for scraping the surface of

peoples attitudes and feelings. The complexity of the human soul is lost through

the counting of numbers. The advantage of qualitative research over that of

quantitative work is that it guards against the sin of omission, that is, the failure to

research a topic in greater detail through probing and understanding of respondents

attitudes, motivations and behaviour. Qualitative research attempts to go deeper,

beyond historical facts and surface comments in a snapshot approach, in order to get

to the real underlying causes of behaviour. Many factors and influences affect peoplein their everyday lives so that qualitative research to seek out and to understand the

complexities surrounding the underlying causes of behaviour is in such cases, more

appropriate than quantitative research methods.

For example, while quantitative data can be gathered about how much is

bought, when and where? qualitative research seeks to discover how people intend

to purchase and what factors would change their attitudes. The research should try to

find out how their behaviour has been modified by personal and social experiences or

by adopting/not adopting the values of their peer and reference groups.

The validity of research methods in both the quantitative and qualitative

approaches is ultimately down to the integrity of the researchers concerned. The

issues of validity and reliability are of fundamental importance. By entrusting the

researchers with their projects and their money, client organisations need to know that

they can rely on the researchers findings and that the results are valid for making

crucial managerial decisions about their marketing strategies and their markets.

Qualitative market research methods using in-depth one-to-one interviewing

and focus groups are popular. Other examples of qualitative methods are consumer

panels, personal observations, microcameras, mystery shoppers and tape recordings.

The problem for qualitative researchers is that the validity of their findings can be

called into question by a variety of experts taking different stances or who approach

the problem of research from different perspectives or disciplines. Psychologists,

sociologists, behaviourists, marketers, economists and statisticians, for example, willuse different ways of measuring attitudes and opinions. Validity is proven where the

concept or characteristic has been capable of being measured by the method used in a

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systematic way. Since it is dependent upon the skills of the interviewer or the

moderator in the charge of a focus group, qualitative research can be call into question

if bias, misuse of stimuli and mistakes of interpretation are present. For example, if

focus group members are not able to formulate their own thoughts and articulate their

motivations the hope of achieving an objective viewpoint is lost.

The problem for qualitative market researchers is that whilst there is muchgood work, as exhibited by the growth of the market research industry as a whole, any

adult can set up as a qualitative researcher and a bad press about rogue qualitative

researchers can tar the good name of the industry. In the final analysis interpretation

relies on the judgement and integrity of the qualitative researcher. The quantitative

researcher is fortunate in being able to count on the safety of numbers.

The two approaches, quantitative and qualitative should be seen as mutually

supportive, since there are core strengths in both approaches in benefiting the

problem-solving and decision-making processes for clients.

(Source: Extract taken from The Marketing Research Process by L.T. Wright andM. Crimp., (2000), FT Prentice Hall, 5 th edition, p18-19).

2.2 Differentiation of Qualitative Research from Quantitative Research

Despite this diversity, however, there are distinctive features about qualitative

research in general, which clearly differentiates it from the other survey discipline,

quantitative research.

Both seek to understand and explain what is happening in the market place, butwhereas quantitative research uses measurement and number, qualitative research

uses description by words and pictures.Quantitative research is a science, with clearly defined parameters of what is

good and what is unacceptable practice. Qualitative research tends to be more of a

craft, where the quality of the findings is largely dependent on the skills of the

individual researcher, and is often judged in terms of its utility for the client.

The difference between the two is most immediately seen in the difference

between the type of reports that each produces. A typical quantitative report consists

of numerical data and analysis and a brief commentary, whereas a qualitative report

usually consists of a descriptively written report, often with consumer verbatim, and

illustrations.

Underlying each is a different conceptual framework. Quantitative research

is carried out within the framework of a scientific method, an approach that uses

objectively agreed criteria and procedures to achieve results that have statistical

reliability. It achieves this reliability through the use of large sample sizes, large

enough to represent certain sectors of the population and usually involving hundreds

or thousands of respondents. Standardised questionnaires are used to collect the data,

which are then formally analysed and presented in a numerical format.

Qualitative research is focused on trying to represent the consumer and their

world as accurately as possible, and in such a way that helps decision-makers in

marketing or social policy.The qualitative researcher acts as an interpreter between the consumer and the

client.

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What this means in practice is that the qualitative researcher finds out about the

consumer and the market place through some form of contact and then represents the

consumer back in the clients world: in the advertising world its known as bringing

the consumer into the agency.

There are various different ways of making that contact. Most of todays

qualitative research involves face-to-face interviewing, either with individuals orgroups of respondents. But the types of questions asked and the tasks employed (such

as product sorting, collage building, role-playing, etc.) during those interviews vary

from job to job, and can produce very different sorts of information. Observational

techniques are also gaining in popularity, particularly participant observation, which

allows the researcher to experience the consumers world and, thereby, be able to

represent it in a more empathetic and accurate way to the client. Data collection can

also take place by the telephone (sometimes augmented by the fax for showing new

materials) and, increasingly, by interviews and discussions on the Internet.

The underlying discipline is not a statistical method, but problem-solving

through the use of a wide number of data-collection methods and the application of

diverse conceptual frameworks. Moreover, in qualitative research the attitudinalstance is as important as the intellectual approach used. Quantitative research isconstrained by the explicit discipline of statistics; qualitative research has to be more

self-regulatory. Honesty and objectivity, at whatever cost, should guide the

qualitative endeavour.

Theprimary goalof the qualitative researcher is to be honest in adhering to

the formal contract set up between him or herself and the client, and the informal

contract between researcher and respondent. (The Market Research Society of Great

Britain in their publications Qualitative Research Guidelines and their more general

Code of Conduct are converting this informality into a more explicit code).

The objectivity of the qualitative researcher is more difficult to achieve, many

would say impossible; any qualitative study must be subjective, because the datacollection and the analysis is determined by the researchers themselves, not by any

explicit discipline. It is, after all, often described as a people business. In theory,

the researcher cannot remove his or her influence from the research. But inpractice,qualitative researchers understand the problem and try, as far as is humanly possible,

to separate out their own preferences and values from those of the respondents they

are representing. Even more importantly, objectivity means to reality-test hypotheses

and prejudices, and be prepared to modify or abandon favourite theories in the face

of the evidence of the data. The data must be evaluated in terms of their quality, but

always respected. If they dont fit the preconceptions, then that misfit must be (1)

acknowledged and (2) examined and resolved.

This representation of the consumer can be purely descriptive (although

inevitably it will be selective) with the researcher providing reportage of the data.

The great bulk of qualitative research these days is of this type. It is of particular

value in communications research (say, advertising creative development), where

understanding the general marketing context (the environment in which people use the

brand, the way they are behaving, what sort of language is used about the brand, etc)

helps the advertiser communicate with his or her audience.

Or, the representation can not only describe the data but analyse it, using

secondary constructs taken from the social sciences (or in fact any established body of

knowledge) in order to provide an understanding. Its important to note here that

when qualitative methodologies were first being developed, there was a strongreliance on the social sciences for providing a conceptual framework.

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As research markets matured, and the basics about consumer behaviour were

established and became widely known, so the body of knowledge generated by the

research industry itself, contributed increasingly to the way the data were analysed.Few studies these days need to rediscover the basic dynamics of consumer behaviour,

(such as theories about motivation, psychoanalytic theory, cognitive dissonance, etc).

Much of this is already common knowledge taught in marketing schools. What isneeded now is knowledge of these basic theories andfamiliarity with the theories in

use within the marketing and research environment, such as the adoption process, the

planning cycle, value studies, the different classifications of culture, etc.

Moreover, many large client companies now have their own established body

of knowledge about the behaviour of consumers in their own particular marketplace.

It is common for the qualitative researcher to be asked to work within the clients

constructs, for example, when working on needs-mapping or brand-positioning or

assessing a global campaign.

Thus, it is rare these days for a qualitative researcher to be valued who works

only with the theories from his or her degree subject. The primary need today is

knowledge of consumer marketing, and an ability to work with its many constructs.Nevertheless, many analytic rather than just descriptive researchers have

qualifications and training in one particular social science, for example, psychology,

sociology or anthropology. Although few are conversant with the theories of more

than one discipline. Thus, the client should have some awareness of what sort of

information they need for a particular study before deciding which type of analytic

researcher would be most appropriate. Some small companies specialise in a

particular conceptual framework, but the majority tends to have multi-disciplinary

teams.

Although the information from (well-conducted) qualitative research can be

said to be usefuland even valid (see Section 3), it does not have statistical validity.

The reasons for this are three-fold:

i. The method of sampling, which in qualitative is purposive rather thanrepresentative.

ii. Thesize of the sample which are usually (but not always) too small to provide

statistical significance. Typically a project might consist of data from 30-40

people.

iii. The approach to data collection, which in qualitative research is exploratoryand non-directive, rather than pre-determined and standardised.

The quantitative interviewer works from a questionnaire, where the

form of the questions, the sequence in which they are asked, and usually, the

options in terms of what sort of answers can be given, are strictly pre-

determined.

The qualitative researcher uses an interviewer guide, which identifies

which topics should be raised and roughly in what order. But the guide allows

the researcher/interviewer to vary the way in which they ask their questions

and to follow up on any relevant new topics introduced by the respondent.

Whereas the format of the quantitative interview is determined entirely in advance offieldwork, the actual process of the qualitative interview is determined during

fieldwork, by the interaction between interviewer and respondent.

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There are four important aspects about the history of qualitative research:

Multi-disciplinary . It has diversified from being an application of psychology, to

include, in more recent years, many other theories and disciplines. Growing diversity of application . Whereas its use was once largely confined to

fast-moving consumer goods marketing, it is now applied to the marketing of

many different goods and services, and also, in the non-commercial context of

social research and public policy-making.

Global Reach . Although it started in the USA, there are now practitioners in

nearly every country in the world, and many countries have caught up, and some

would say overtaken the USA in terms of the sophistication of their approaches.

Consumer-driven . In highly competitive market places, methodologies are

focused on recording what consumers do, rather than on what theysay they do.

(Source: Extract taken from The Marketing Research Process by L.T. Wright and

M. Crimp., (2000), FT Prentice Hall, 5 th edition, p374-376).

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