What is Research Design?
Research design involves the creation of a blueprint or roadmap that lays out the process for collecting, measuring, and analyze relevant data used to answer an important research question. The two types of research design, quantitative and qualitative, are discussed below.
Quantitative Research Design
Quantitative research design looks at how consumers respond to the same catalysts, helping to reduce bias in an analysis.
However, it also ignores both the cognitive and emotional reasons behind consumer reactions.
Furthermore, quantitative research design is usually only accurate when a company has access to large samples because the responses are numerically sorted in order to identify patterns and trends through statistical analysis.
Qualitative Research Design
Qualitative research design looks at why consumers respond to the same catalysts, analyzing the motional and cognitive drivers in determining market behavior.
However, this format is much more expensive and prone to bias as compared to quantitative designs.
Furthermore, specialized training and/or expertise is generally necessary to draw reasonable inferences from data gathering methods—though bias is still possible even with highly trained experts.
Integrated Research Design
To access the most accurate information on market segmentation, researchers must identify how and why consumers respond to stimuli. As such, a research design that integrates both qualitative and quantitative research is generally able to deliver a more holistic picture. This generally means investing a little more in the research design process, but the resulting return on investment of an integrated approach is usually the smart choice when quantitative data cannot answer the why in addition to the how.
Why is Research Design Important?
A good research design does several things:
- identifies everything that researchers need to estimate
- considers the best way to collect necessary data
- identifies the relevant business decisions that need to be made
Essentially, research design helps a company to structure its research and helps identify how to solve a problem through gathering information that will help a company make the best and most informed decisions going forward. In marketing, research designs are most commonly used to gather the most accurate information possible on market segmentation. When improperly done, a company may market its products incorrectly and miss out on considerable revenue. However, when marketers correctly utilize research design, they will be able to better identify motivational drivers and, thus, implement a more effective marketing strategy.
Post Inspiration: https://www.sogolytics.com/blog/research-design-and-marketing-strategy/