Research Designs

Currently in the Indian market, we have two new so-called healthy products - Vegetable Atta Noodles and Dal Atta Noodles, mostly targeted at children.

Now, are they really healthy like the advertisements proclaim?

Research Design
Definition: Blueprint or detailed plan for conducting a study Purpose, Review of Literature & Framework Study Design in terms of
Research context Nature & size of sample Data sources

How to Choose a Research Design

Does it adequately test the hypothesis?
Does it identify & control extraneous factors?

Are results generalizable?

Can the hypothesis be rejected or retained via statistical means?

Is the design efficient in using available resources?

Exploratory Research

Formulate problems more precisely Develop Hypotheses Establish priorities for research Eliminate impractical ideas Clarify concepts

Descriptive Research

Describe segment characteristics Estimate proportion of people who behave in a certain way Make specific predictions

Causal Research

Provide evidence regarding causal relationships

Types of Research Designs

Experimental Designs
Investigate cause-and effect relationships
Expose one or more experimental groups to one or more treatment conditions Compare the results of one or more control groups not receiving the treatment

Major feature is random assignment of subjects to conditions

Research Design Symbols

R = Random assignment X = Experimental treatment O = Observation (data collection period) and also called the outcome measure (pre & post)

After- Only Designs

Measures of the independent variable are only taken after the experimental subjects have been exposed to the independent variable A common approach in advertising research where a sample of target customers are interviewed following exposure to an advertisement and their recall of the product, brand, or sales features is measured The chief problem with after-only designs is that they do not afford any control over extraneous factors that could have influenced the post-exposure measurements

O1

Before- after designs

Involves the researcher in measuring the dependent variable both before and after the participants have been exposed to the independent variables.

An improvement upon the after-only design, in that the effect of the independent variable, if any, is established by observing differences between the value of the dependent variable before and after the experiment

O1

O2

Before- After Control Group

Involves establishing two samples or groups of respondents: - an experimental group that would be exposed to the marketing variable and - a control group which would not be subjected to the marketing variable under study Collect data both pre and post intervention Subtract post score from pre score within groups Compare gain score between groups

R R

O1 O3

O2 O4

After-only with control group

Involves establishing two matched samples or groups of respondents

There is no measurement taken from either group before the experimental variable is introduced and the control group is not subsequently subjected to the experimental variable
Measures are taken from both groups and the effect of the experimental variable is established by deducting the control group measure from the experimental group measure

R R

O1 O2