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Example research essay topic: 2 Nd Ed Focus Groups - 1,639 words

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... one in this project (Craig and Douglas, 2001). International research is often treated a simple extension of a company's domestic activity but researchers must consider cultural factors when designing questionnaires (Zikmund, 2000). 5. 2 Questionnaire The questionnaire must be designed to be clear and concise and avoid any ambiguity (Smith & Fletcher, 2001). Postal surveys using self-administered questionnaires are non-personal, which is the reason why this method of data collection is selected. It will be used to generate quantitative data. It is useful in the sense that questions are standardised and so minimizes the incidence of interviewer bias.

This is particularly important considering the objectives of the research. But a problem with this method of data collection as noted by Zikmund (2000) is that there is no opportunity for feedback when the respondent is filling out the questionnaire. In this situation they could fill out the questionnaire based upon their own interpretation of the questions. Postal surveys are notorious for poor response rates. However, incentives have been shown to lead to "significantly raised responses from recipients of industrial mail questionnaires" (Jobber and O'Reilly, 1996) and hence, entering respondents in a prize draw would likely appeal and overcome the problem of response rates.

But this also means that more care will have to be taken in the design of the questionnaire. Chisnall (2001) supports this view "because of the impersonal nature of mail enquiries, the drafting of effective questions is more important than ever. These must be clearly worded and easily understandable; only one interpretation should be possible." He also adds that, "the content and design of the questionnaire is important if a high response rate is to be achieved." Posing a sensitive or provocative question early in a survey can linger on and influence the respondent throughout the rest of the exercise as well as putting an individual off from completing and returning the questionnaire. The questionnaire should lead with interesting or non-threatening questions to get people started in a neutral and positive state of mind. 5. 3 Focus Groups Malhotra and Birks (2000) believe that " the value of the technique [focus groups] lies in the unexpected findings that emerge when respondents are allowed to say what they really feel." It is therefore important to ensure the focus groups are well run with a moderator who allows and encourages all participants to express themselves.

Smith and Fletcher (2001) point out that, " The interaction that takes place between group members can spark off new ideas." Quantitative research, such as the questionnaire carried out would be able to identify the marketing activity which may have initially caught the attention of the current students but cannot determine why those factors were influential. If the budget had been greater it would have been worth considering doing more focus groups. This would ensure that a wider cross-section of students were represented. Having more than one group would also help to assess the validity of the findings.

If the findings were consistent across two or more groups then they are more likely to be accurate. Focus group discussion is needed to get qualitative feed back from respondents. The focus group will be constituted of 10 people drawn from the group of Irish students out the university and will represent a cross section of the market. The group will be selected to provide a mix of sexes, Years of study, previous institution / geographical home location and subject of current study. While 10 has been chosen as a significant but manageable group researchers do not seem to agree on the number necessary for maximum efficiency.

Zikmund (2000) says " the group consists of six to ten participants who discuss a single topic" but Chisnall (2001) suggests that " it appears that, generally between five to seven people are able to participate constructively in group discussions." However both recognise that the actual size of the groups tend to be a compromise between the ideal and budgetary and / or time constraints. Focus groups are selected as a method of collecting qualitative data because as Zikmund (2000) puts it " the primary advantage of focus groups are that they are relatively brief, easy to execute, quickly analysed, and inexpensive. In an emergency situation, three or four group sessions can be conducted, analysed and reported in less than a week." Zikmund (2000) advises, "homogeneous groups seem to work best. Selecting homogeneous groups allows researchers to concentrate on individuals with similar lifestyles, job classifications, experiences and communication skills." This method of investigation, albeit useful, has its critics. Wendy Gordon (1999) admits, "that there is a growing media suspicion of qualitative research and she cites the growing cynicism about focus groups findings based on the views of 'eight ordinary people' who are deemed to be representative of the population at large." The issue is not so much as in statistical uprightness as it is of the quality of the responses. Zikmund (2000) cautions that "it must be remembered, however that a small discussion group will rarely be a representative sample, no matter how carefully it is recruited.

Focus group interviews cannot take the place of quantitative studies." The other problems with focus groups is that there could be dominant members of the groups and these people will need to be controlled so that they do not bias the quality of the data. This will largely depend on the skill of the moderator. 5. 4 Depth Interviews Frontline staff often have an understanding of problems and simple solutions that mangers are not aware of. These interviews are designed to be confidential so that all issues can be raised without fear of reprisals and to see if there is any insight among staff at the University. Information could be gathered by survey or focus group. In a focus group people may be less forthcoming in front of their colleagues. A survey is not able to widen the scope in the same way an interview can and explore issues raised.

Therefore, depth interviews have been proposed. This is the qualitative method of data collection to be used for staff at the University. However, Zikmund (2000) warns that " the analysis and interpretation of such data is highly subjective and it is difficult to determine the 'true interpretation'. 6. Analysis and conclusion The objectives of the research are going to be achieved by using postal questionnaires, interviews and group discussions to generate both quantitative and qualitative data. As the research problem that needs solving will have significant resource implications it is important to have quantitative findings to gauge the decision making of present students and the impact, if any, of current marketing activity. A combination of research methods has been used to help solve the research problem.

Chisnall (2001) contends that " research strategies should be designed to meet the identified requirements of specific studies... a sound research strategy is concerned not so much with what method is best as to what set of methods are likely to result in objective findings." The reliability and validity of the findings are important in order to aid sound decision making as a result care ought to be taken in question phrasing; recruiting of samples; skills of the interviewer and moderator together with critical analysis will lead the objectives of the research being achieved. Because qualitative research does not generate numerical data that can be statistically analysed it is necessary for the researchers to define how they will analyse their results. Smith and Fletcher (2001) have developed what they term a 'Holistic' approach. This takes a mixture of inductive i. e.

top down, theory led and deductive i. e. bottom up, data led methods, develops a partial theory at an early stage then tests the theory using each subsequent finding or observation. This approach attempts to assimilate all types of data quantitative and qualitative into the analysis. The nature of the problem and the constraints on the budget suggest that exploratory and diagnostic research may yield the most useable results.

The results should give managers insight into the Irish Market and practical suggestions for developing its marketing strategy. The findings will not give a detailed market assessment, but should give insight into impact and behaviour towards marketing campaigns, which can influence and guide the marketing strategy. There will always be room for managers to exercise judgement, skill and initiative, in so far as research will always be plagued by biases, decisions will always be made with limited and perhaps inaccurate information. The responsibility of the professional researcher therefore is to make a conscious effort to minimise the biases that seem to be inherent when conducting research studies whilst acting ethically. Bibliography Chisnall, P (2001) Marketing Research (6 th ed. McGraw-Hill) Craig, C Samuel & Douglas, Susan P (2001) Conducting international research in the twenty-first century, International Marketing Review (Volume 18, Issue 1) Gordon, W (1999) Good thinking: a Guide to Qualitative Research (Admin, Henley-on-Thames) Hague, P & Jackson, P (1999) Market Research - A guide to planning and evaluation (2 nd ed.

Kogan Page) Jobber, D & O'Reilly, D (1996) Industrial mail surveys: techniques for inducing response, Marketing Intelligence and Planning (Volume 14, Issue 1) Malhotra, N. K & Birks, D. F (2000) Marketing Research - An applied approach (3 rd ed, Financial Times Prentice Hall) Malhotra, N. K & Peterson, M (2001) Methodological issues in cross-cultural marketing research, International Marketing review (Volume 13, Issue 5) Proctor, T (2000) Essentials of marketing research (2 nd ed. - Financial Times Management) Reynolds, N (2000) Benchmarking international marketing research practice in UK agencies - Preliminary evidence, Benchmarking: An International Journal (Volume 7, Issue 5) Smith, D. V. L & Fletcher, J.

H (2001) Inside Information - Making sense of marketing data (John Wiley & Sons Ltd) Zikmund, W G (2000) Business research methods (6 th ed. Dryden)


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