Marketing Research

1
Marketing Research

• Week 4
• Questions, Questions
• Interviewing Techniques

2
Session Objectives

• attributes of a good questionnaire
• importance of good question phrasing
• identify and define the major question formats
  (Proctor 2005)
• question formats which can be used for measuring
  attitude
• good interviewer techniques and the ethical
  considerations for the interviewer (MRS 2000)

3
Stages in Questionnaire Development (Wilson 2006)

• Develop question topics
• Select question and response formats
• Determine sequence
• Design layout and appearance
• Pilot test
• Undertake the survey

4
Question Topics

• Go back to research objectives
• Results of qualitative and secondary research
• Classification data
• Age, income, gender, home owner etc
• Dont ask the question if you dont need the
  answer!

5
Question Wording and Phrasing

• Avoid ambiguity
• Regularly, frequently be specific
• Avoid two questions in one
• What do you think of our prices and product
  quality
• Avoid leading or loaded questions
• Should the council spend money repairing the poor
  state of our roads
• Avoid assumptions
• When driving do you listen to your CD player
• Avoid generalisation
• How much do you usually spend on beer in a week

6
Response formats

• Open ended
• Allows free answer or free response
• May test the memory
• Relies upon accurate recording of answers
• Analysis more time consuming
• Good for unstructured interviews

7

• What do you do think in general about the
  restaurant?
• .

If you ask woolly questions youll get .
8

• For which of the following purposes have you used
  the restaurant during the last year?
• interviewer note can tick more than one
• breakfast
• lunch
• dinner
• snack
• other .(please specify)

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What do think about the following aspects of the
restaurant?

• Quality of food
• Price of the food
• Variety of menu
• Seating
• Cleanliness
• Service

10
Are there any other comments you wish to make
about the restaurant?..
11
What are the restaurant staff good at, which you
are pleased with and which you would recommend to
your friends?.
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Response Types

• Closed
• dichotomous
• Simple, two choices, yes/no, good/bad
• Useful as filter questions

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Have you used the library for any reason during
this current semester?

• Yes/No Dont Know

14
Are you a student of Ashcroft International
Business School?

• Yes/No Dont Know

15
Demographics
16
Which (if any) of the following activities have
you done in the last 3 months in Cambridge?
  Walked along the River Yes/No
DK Visited the Grafton Centre Yes/No DK
Visited Parkers Piece Yes/No DK
Taken a leisure walk in Cambridge Yes/No
DK Taken a leisure cycle ride in Cambridge
Yes/No DK Used sports facilities Yes/No
DK Used the swimming pool Yes/No DK
Eaten in a restaurant Yes/No DK Had a
take-away meal Yes/No DK Visited a pub
Yes/No DK Visited the Corn Exchange Yes/No
DK
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Response Types

• Multi choice
• Need pilot work to ensure alternatives enable
  valid answers
• Allow for dont know, other categories

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How often do you attend your place of
worship? More than once a week ? Once a
week ? Once a month ? Once a year
? Weddings and funerals only ? Never
? Other ?
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Response Types

• Single Response
• Respondent is asked to opt for one answer only
• Simple to analyse
• Can be leading
• But can be used to indicate importance

20

• Which one of the following was the most important
  factor in your decision to come to Anglia Ruskin
  University?
• The Library facilities o
• The new building o
• The Course o
• Modular structure o
• International university o
• Location (Chelmsford) o
• Low entry requirements o
• Fees o
• None o
• Other(s) o

21
Response Types

• Multiple Response
• Allows respondent to choose more than one answer
• Takes longer to code
• But can add value to final results

22

• Which of the following (if any) helped to
  motivate you to come to Anglia Ruskin University?
  (you are able to answer more than one)
• The Library facilities o
• The new building o
• The Course o
• Modular structure o
• International university o
• Location (Cambridge) o
• Low entry requirements o
• Fees o
• None o
• Other(s) o

23
Measuring Attitude

• Nominal scales
• Strongly Agree
• Agree
• Neither Agree nor disagree
• Disagree
• Strongly Disagree
• No formal measurement, no scale, no reference
  point, purely subjective
• Forced scale allows no middle ground

24
Can you think about the last piece of advertising
you saw about Anglia Ruskin University. Can you
indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with
the following statements
Strongly Agree Neither
Disagree Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree

nor disagree The
information was informative o
o o o o The advertisement was
attractive o o o o
o The advertisement was truthful o
o o o o
25
Attitude Scales

• Ordinal scales or ranking scales rank according
  to certain characteristics
• Attempt to rank but without measurement between
  differences
• Rank these products in order of your preference
• Aero, Crunchie, Kit Kat, Mars Bar
• Rating scales attempt measurements of attitude by
  using a numerical scale
• Likert Scale, semantic differential

26
Likert Scale

• Can you please look at the following statements
  and indicate whether you
• (1) Strongly Agree
• (2) Agree
• (3) Are Uncertain
• (4) Disagree
• (5) Strongly Disagree

27
Semantic Scale

• Expensive 1 2 3 4 5 Inexpensive
• Effective 1 2 3 4 5 Ineffective
• Modern 1 2 3 4 5 Old fashioned

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How satisfied are you with the following aspects
of the new extension to the Coslett
building?
Very
Very

Satisfied Satisfied Neither
Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Colour Scheme
1 2 3 4 5 Furnishings 1 2 3 4 5 IT Lounge
1 2 3 4 5 Café extension 1 2 3 4 5 New
lobby area 1 2 3 4 5 Overall Ambiance
1 2 3 4 5
29
Diagrammatic Scales
Thermometer scales Smiley face scales simple,
juvenile research language, education
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Sequencing and design layout and appearance

• Funnel sequenced (Wilson 2006)
• Spaced effectively
• Font size
• Error free
• Range question types
• Interviewer instructions clearly distinguishable
• Skip and filter questions
• Coding included

31
Funnel Technique

• From most general questions gradually focussing
  down to specific and restricted questions
• Have you seen any advertisements for cars lately?
• Were any of these advertisements for imported
  cars?
• Were any of these advertisements on TV?
• Were any of these advertisements for brand X
• What did the advertisements say?

32
Questioning Approach

• Introduce the nature of the survey
• Show card of authorisation
• Invite respondents cooperation
• Dont coerce respondent, be tactful
• Ensure opening question is interesting and easy
  to answer
• Succeeding questions should open up discussion,
  pleasantly and logically

33
Questioning Approach

• Dont adopt a judgemental attitude to any
  responses
• Be polite and tactful but persistent
• Thank respondent for co-operation and assure them
  of confidentiality

34
Pilot Test

• Important
• Test understanding, interpretation
• Face to Face or telephone
• Small sample
• Make changes
• Dont waste questions!

35
Seminar

• Sample Questionnaires
• Video What is Market Research?
• Review of Topics and Groups