Types of Research Methologies in Marketing - Assignment Example

Methodology 1 Observational research The representativeness of this approach is fair; this is because of the sample selected, every fourth person visiting Gold Class. With a rate of 50 visitors, it means that about 12 of the visitors will actually participate in the research process. The draw back on representativeness of this methodology is that, of the visitor number drops, then the sample will significantly drop and hence not giving a real view of the situation. Since this approach involves following the visitor around in the hotel, there will be no response on issues such as experience of the visitor, attitude and so forth, this are non-responsive issues that may occur if this particular method is selected for the research process (Earl R. Babbie, 2010). The quality of the data in this case will also be fair despite the fact that it will not be very conclusive since the areas that the visitor may visit in the particular day of research may vary depending on what is available in Gold Class (like the theme of the cinema), the particular mood of the visitor that day may also affect what the visitor does during the visit. This methodology also lacks specific focus since it only studies the visitor’s activities in Gold Class but does not interact with them to get more useful data. This approach can be improved by integrating visitor interaction such as asking the services and places that the visitor likes and the reasons for the same. This is particularly imperative in improving the services of Gold Class. Methodology 2 Self-completion  The representativeness of this approach is good since it attracts voluntary participation from the visitors (sample) through motivational incentive of winning a 10 movie ticket if the visitor participates in the research. There is a likelihood of increased response rate from the visitors concerning the interview process. The rationale for this is because of the voluntary participation through motivation. Non-response issues may likely be minimal because larger sample participation can be achieved, through achieving a larger sample, the research error is minimized, and this will therefore result in high quality data that is useful for Gold Class decision making process. This methodology will however be affected and limited by the quality of the questionnaires presented to the visitors; this is because questionnaires are closed in nature with a Yes or No answer at the end of the question. This approach may thus attract response errors since the closed questions and answers lack alternative explanation for the same. Another issue that may arise in this case is response biasness; this is because the participants may try to be more positive when answering the questionnaires with the hope of being selected a winner of the 10 movie tickets (Kothari 2008). This motivation to participate may thus turn to be an obstacle. This approach can however be improved in many ways, one way is ensuring that that the motivation to participate does not lead to participant biasness in response. It should thus be made clear that the aim of the motivation is to encourage participation rather than to attract positive response towards the issues being addressed in the questionnaires. In the design of the questionnaires, the questions asked should have more options as well as inclusion of more explanation on some specific issues including recommendations to Gold Class. This data will thus be more useful for Gold Class as compared to closed and minimal answers questionnaires (Víctor 2006). Methodology 3 Short advertisement  This methodology is also appropriate in the sense that it increases chances of response rate; the participants will be encouraged by the motivation to win a weekend in Robe by simply participating in the research process. There will be less likelihood of non-responsiveness in the research as more participation will be achieved and thus increasing the sample size of the research. A larger sample size means quality of the data collected, this is because the errors will be minimized as well as the view of many people will contribute positively to the decision making of Gold Class in improving its services. This approach is thus more likely to yield positive results and hence quality data from the correspondence as a result of the motivation to visit robe for a weekend. The drawback of this methodology is the reluctance of the participants to participate in a survey in the middle of the cinema viewing session; they would prefer to take a rest instead (Keith 2005). The motivation may also result in biased response as the participants will respond to please instead of giving their genuine feelings/contributions towards the research process. There are ways available on improving this method, one is by ensuring that the questionnaires are well designed to address the core issues, they should also be made simple to comprehend as well as short and with alternatives that provide the participants give additional view if they need to do so. Since the questionnaire is supplied online, the link to the questionnaire should be easy to open, load faster and be clear in terms of the font type and size used. Methodology 4 Questionnaire This face to face methodology is probably the best approach of getting response from the participants. The rationale for this assertion is based on the fact that participants are more likely to open up to the conversation, give their opinion about the research in a detailed way, this approach is therefore likely to have the highest representativeness. In terms of likelihood of response, this method is particularly more effective as it is involving; it also takes a considerable amount of time and hence making it even more effective. The researchers will have the time and better strategy on ways of approaching the research; such issues include better ways of selecting participants, involving the participants as well as getting their detailed view about the most appropriate approach to use in the research process. Because of the nature of this approach, less non-response issues will be experienced and hence making this approach by far better than the others (Ranjit 2005). The data collected in this methodology will also be of high quality since the participants will have the opportunity to explain their view about the questions asked in the interview. More so, the researcher will be in a position to select the best participant willing to participate in the research process. Another important aspect that makes this approach the best in terms of collecting quality data is the fact that there are important aspects of participant’s views that cannot be extracted from a structured questionnaire. This useful emotional and experiential aspect can only be extracted using a face to face approach. Additionally, the researcher can be able to read and determine participant’s biasness through gestures and level of concentration. This is also important in determining which data to use and which ones not to use. It is thus recommended to use the advantages of face to face approach to filter useful and non-useful data in this case. The major drawback of this approach is the time it will take for it to be completed, assembling data will also be more difficult as compared to a structured survey (Knowles 2011). Methodology 5 pop-up survey  This methodology is easy to implement and it may also attract a considerable representativeness of the research group. The rationale for this is based on the fact that the survey will be accessible from anywhere; this will increase the likelihood of participation from willing participants. The likely response rate is therefore expected to be sizeable in using this approach. This will however depend on the nature of the survey questions as well as the time it takes to complete the survey. The non-responsive issues can arise if the questions in the survey are ambiguous or not well structured (McQueen 2002). The quality of this approach will also depend on the way the questions are structured; it is however expected that adequate participant’s feedback will be acquired using this approach. It is thus recommended to ensure that the questions in this approach are very clear and options for the participants to tick are also available in the page. Shorter and fewer questions will be particularly important when using this approach. The participants can also be allowed to fill in their opinion about any particular issue of importance at the end of the survey questions. This will accommodate the issues that may have been overlooked while constructing the survey questions (Hatten 2011). Methodology proposal My proposed methodology for Gold Class to get the most of the research is using a hybrid of two approached identified above. The first one is the face to face approach every weekend and the second one is a questionnaire survey to 1 out of every 4 participants. This approach will enable the research to acquire both qualitative and quantitative approach. The analysis of this form of data will provide more quality and useful data much needed for the research. Face to face approach will provide data that cannot be acquired using a structured approach while the structured approach will provide easy and analyzable data that can provide a detailed insight about the feelings of the participants about various services offered in Gold Class (Benedetto 2001). References Benedetto, J & Paulo, F2001, Modern Sampling Theory: Mathematics and Applications, Birkhäuser, Switzerland . Earl R. Babbie, 2010, The Practice of Social Research, Cengage Learning, Boston. Hatten, T 2011, Small business management: entrepreneurship and beyond. Mason, South-Western Cengage Learning, Mason. Pp. 263-266. Jennifer Mason, 2002, Qualitative Researching, SAGE, California. Keith,P, 2005 Introduction to social research: quantitative and qualitative approaches, SAGE, California. Knowles, R 2011, Small business: an entrepreneur's plan, Nelson Education, Toronto. Pp.16-20. Kothari, CR 2008, Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques, New Age International, London. McQueen. R &Christina, K 2002, Research methods for social science: a practical introduction, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Ranjit, K 2005, Research Methodology: A Step-By-Step Guide for Beginners, SAGE, New Delhi. Víctor, J 2006, The Sage Dictionary Of Social Research Method, Pine Forge Press, California. Read More