Let's Talk Research at 10am!

RESEARCH BRAINTEASER
For the next 5 minutes, I want you to write down everything you know about writing and presenting a research report. Your write up will count toward your case study participation points, so please put time, thought and effort into your response.

Research "Field Study Day" - Tuesday, April 28th!

No online research class will be held today due to the research "field study" day. Instead, come over to the Ethics blog where we will conduct our Ethics online class from 10am-11am.

Let's Talk Research at 10am!

RESEARCH BRAINTEASER

You are conducting a research study on consumer attitudes towards a local home improvement store. You plan on creating a survey and you know, from your research classes, that measurement is a vital part of an effective survey in order to achieve reliable and valid results. You realize that measuring "attitudes" is hard as attitudes can't be directly observed. So, how do you measure consumer feelings?

QUESTION
What is "measurement"?

Let's Talk Research at 10am!

RESEARCH BRAINTEASER

Your client, Fido Dog Food, wants to test out its new line of dog food prior to spending $ on a full-scale product launch. As the researcher, you realize that you must conduct either an experiment or engage in a test market to determine whether or not consumers will purchase this new line of dog food.

QUESTION

What is the difference between an experiment and a test market?

Research "Field Study" Day - Tuesday, April 7th!

No online research class will be held today due to the research "field study" day. Instead, come over the Ethics blog where will we conduct our Ethics online class from 10am-11am. Following this hour, you will have time to work on your semester long research project.

Remember to bring in "evidence" of what you've worked on during the "field study" day to get your attendance/participation points to Thursday's class!

Let's Talk Research at 10am!

RESEARCH BRAINTEASER

Your client, Fido Dog Food, wants to test out its new line of dog food. As the researcher working on this account, you decide to select 100 dog owners who feed their dogs canned food, 100 dog owners who feed their dogs dry food, and 100 dog owners who feed their dogs semi-moist dog food.

QUESTION

Is this an example of a probability or non-probability sampling design?

Let's Talk Research at 10am!

RESEARCH BRAINTEASER

There are a myriad of over-the-counter, non-prescription cold medicines available to consumers whenever the cold bug bites. However, your client has created the latest and greatest cold remedy. Your task is to conduct research for this new non-prescription cold medicine. You know the first thing on your research To Do list is to develop a sampling plan. (Hint: refer to Chapter 10 if you cannot remember.)

QUESTION
When developing your sampling plan, what is the first step?

Let's Talk Research at 10am!

RESEARCH BRAINTEASER
You have been tasked with developing a questionnaire about a new cereal for Kellogg’s. This new cereal will have a health-focus with a concentration on low carbs and sugar-free. This cereal already faces some competition from similar products on the market, although Kellogg’s taste tests have revealed that their cereal is more tasty than the competition.

Question
What is the first step the researcher must do when developing a questionnaire?

Let's Talk Research at 10am!

RESEARCH BRAINTEASER
Last week, you commented on a school research assignment in which you conducted a focus group to gather qualitative data to assist the school’s cafeteria in planning upcoming menus. This is a continuation of that same question.

After conducting your cafeteria menu focus group, you realize that you want even more data to substantiate what you learned in the focus group. You feel that some sort of survey would be applicable. You don’t have the money to mail a survey to staff and students nor do you have the help to telephone all staff and students.

Question
What type of survey method would be applicable for this research and why?

Let's Talk Research at 10am!

RESEARCH BRAINTEASER
Please comment on the following statement:

You have been given a school research assignment that asks that you gather qualitative data to assist the school’s cafeteria in planning upcoming menus. Most of your classmates are just going around campus asking people their opinions on menu ideas. You realize that to be of service to the cafeteria (and your growling stomach) you need to better understand what makes people run to or run away from the school’s cafeteria. You decide to put together a focus group of students and staff members.

Question

Why is a focus group a good qualitative approach for this assignment?

Let's Talk Research at 10am!

RESEARCH BRAINTEASER
Please comment on the following statement:

You just landed a summer internship at a local advertising agency. Being the newbie at the agency, you have been asked to locate background information and research on a client: Jenny Jeans. Jenny Jeans wants to expand her line of designer men’s and women’s jeans as well as get her jeans into more stores across the southwest. You begin your information search by logging in to Google.

Questions

Based on your knowledge of secondary data, where else should you look for research?

Let's Talk Research at 10am!

RESEARCH BRAINTEASER
Please comment on the following statement:

As part of a school assignment, students were to conduct research on a particular topic. One of the students immediately drew conclusions about the topic and bypassed doing the research. Another student determined that this topic has been studied before and relied solely on others research. The third student decided to research the competition to see what they were up to.

QUESTION:
Are any of the student methods the correct way to begin a research project?

Let's Talk Research at 10am!

Get your research thinking caps on this morning!

Please comment on the following statement by the owner of a restaurant:

“I see customers every day whom I know on a first-name basis. I understand their likes and dislikes. If I put something on the menu and it doesn’t sell, I know that they didn’t like it. I also read the magazine Modern Restaurant to keep up with industry trends. That is all the advertising research I need to do.”

QUESTION
What are your thoughts on the restaurant owner’s type of market and customer research? Is he doing enough for the success of his restaurant?