Week 1: Introduction to (consumer) research
Research fundamentals
What is research?
● Research: a systematic process of searching for and gathering information.
● How can you come up with a question? → observation, prior research, professional
literature, peers
Definitions
● Theory: a statement of concepts and their interrelationships that shows how or why a
phenomenon occurs.
● Hypothesis: a proposition or prediction about a phenomenon/state of the world.
● Research question: a question that can be answered by conducting a research study.
● Experiment: a form of research in which one or more factors are manipulated to see their
effect on an outcome.
● Ethnography: a form of naturalistic inquiry (observation, participation, interviews) that has a
specific interest in culture.
Why do we conduct research?
● To solve problems, answer research questions, and advance knowledge.
How can we conduct research?
● We can use existing theories to derive hypotheses and test them.
● We can create new theories based on observation and inquiry.
Research paradigms
What is a research paradigm?
● Research paradigm: a lens or way of thinking about reality.
What characterizes different research paradigms?
● Ontology:
○ Beliefs about the nature of reality, influences our perception of truth. What we think
we can know about reality characterized by “what is?” questions.
● Epistemology:
○ The study of knowledge, it determines how we can know reality (a researcher’s
approach to knowledge generation) dictated by ontological beliefs.
● Axiology:
○ The study of value, it deals with the nature of what is valuable and ethical, what you
value or aim for in your research (goals).
● Methodology:
○ General research strategy, it outlines how the research is conducted and identifies
the methods used. How knowledge is discovered and analyzed systematically.
,How do research paradigms dictate (consumer) research?
● They determine what we define as truth, how we can obtain this truth, what values guide
our truth, and our general research strategy
Methodology ≠ method
● Methodology: approaches that guide how data is gathered and analyzed
○ Includes decisions about data gathering, research design, subjects, analysis, etc.
● Method: a particular research tool or data-gathering technique
○ Experiments, interviews, questionnaires
What is consumer research?
What is consumer research?
● Consumer research: the study of people operating in a consumer role.
● Seven premises:
○ Consumer research studies consumer behavior
○ Consumer behavior entails consumption
○ Consumption is the acquisition, usage, and disposal of products
○ Products are goods, services, events, ideas, etc. that provide value
○ Value arises when a goal is achieved or need fulfilled
○ Such achievement leads to consummation
○ Consumer research is the study of consummation
● Influenced by three different disciplines:
○ Behavioral economics (perceptual biases, framing effects, judgment, and
decision-making)
○ Social & cognitive psychology (attitudes, information processing, perception,
self-identity, personality)
○ Sociology & anthropology (consumer culture theory)
, Why do we need consumer research?
● Because other fields fail to study all stages of consumption and neglect the unique
circumstances faced in marketing
What is the goal of contemporary consumer research?
● To generate theoretical and practical insights into consumer-relevant issues that are
meaningful for researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and consumers alike
Quantitative vs. qualitative methods
What is the difference between quantitative and qualitative methods?
● Quantitative: all about data & statistics (mostly associated with positivist paradigm)
● Qualitative: all about meaning & context (mostly associated with interpretive paradigm)
What are the characteristics of quantitative and qualitative methods?
● Quantitative: structured, closed questions, numerical data, large samples
● Qualitative: flexible, open questions, visual & verbal data, small samples
What quantitative and qualitative methods are out there?
● Quantitative: experiments, surveys, archival data, etc.
● Qualitative: interviews, ethnography, focus groups, etc.
Sampling
Knowledge creation
Knowledge creation in consumer research
Research fundamentals
What is research?
● Research: a systematic process of searching for and gathering information.
● How can you come up with a question? → observation, prior research, professional
literature, peers
Definitions
● Theory: a statement of concepts and their interrelationships that shows how or why a
phenomenon occurs.
● Hypothesis: a proposition or prediction about a phenomenon/state of the world.
● Research question: a question that can be answered by conducting a research study.
● Experiment: a form of research in which one or more factors are manipulated to see their
effect on an outcome.
● Ethnography: a form of naturalistic inquiry (observation, participation, interviews) that has a
specific interest in culture.
Why do we conduct research?
● To solve problems, answer research questions, and advance knowledge.
How can we conduct research?
● We can use existing theories to derive hypotheses and test them.
● We can create new theories based on observation and inquiry.
Research paradigms
What is a research paradigm?
● Research paradigm: a lens or way of thinking about reality.
What characterizes different research paradigms?
● Ontology:
○ Beliefs about the nature of reality, influences our perception of truth. What we think
we can know about reality characterized by “what is?” questions.
● Epistemology:
○ The study of knowledge, it determines how we can know reality (a researcher’s
approach to knowledge generation) dictated by ontological beliefs.
● Axiology:
○ The study of value, it deals with the nature of what is valuable and ethical, what you
value or aim for in your research (goals).
● Methodology:
○ General research strategy, it outlines how the research is conducted and identifies
the methods used. How knowledge is discovered and analyzed systematically.
,How do research paradigms dictate (consumer) research?
● They determine what we define as truth, how we can obtain this truth, what values guide
our truth, and our general research strategy
Methodology ≠ method
● Methodology: approaches that guide how data is gathered and analyzed
○ Includes decisions about data gathering, research design, subjects, analysis, etc.
● Method: a particular research tool or data-gathering technique
○ Experiments, interviews, questionnaires
What is consumer research?
What is consumer research?
● Consumer research: the study of people operating in a consumer role.
● Seven premises:
○ Consumer research studies consumer behavior
○ Consumer behavior entails consumption
○ Consumption is the acquisition, usage, and disposal of products
○ Products are goods, services, events, ideas, etc. that provide value
○ Value arises when a goal is achieved or need fulfilled
○ Such achievement leads to consummation
○ Consumer research is the study of consummation
● Influenced by three different disciplines:
○ Behavioral economics (perceptual biases, framing effects, judgment, and
decision-making)
○ Social & cognitive psychology (attitudes, information processing, perception,
self-identity, personality)
○ Sociology & anthropology (consumer culture theory)
, Why do we need consumer research?
● Because other fields fail to study all stages of consumption and neglect the unique
circumstances faced in marketing
What is the goal of contemporary consumer research?
● To generate theoretical and practical insights into consumer-relevant issues that are
meaningful for researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and consumers alike
Quantitative vs. qualitative methods
What is the difference between quantitative and qualitative methods?
● Quantitative: all about data & statistics (mostly associated with positivist paradigm)
● Qualitative: all about meaning & context (mostly associated with interpretive paradigm)
What are the characteristics of quantitative and qualitative methods?
● Quantitative: structured, closed questions, numerical data, large samples
● Qualitative: flexible, open questions, visual & verbal data, small samples
What quantitative and qualitative methods are out there?
● Quantitative: experiments, surveys, archival data, etc.
● Qualitative: interviews, ethnography, focus groups, etc.
Sampling
Knowledge creation
Knowledge creation in consumer research
