The Research Plan

ow we will discuss the remaining phases of planning research. At this point the rest of the planning tasks will be summarized. Also we will discuss briefly the proposal to conduct the study and the process of obtaining approval to proceed with it.

Design of the Research: A research design is the determination and statement of the general research approach or strategy adopted for the particular project. It is the heart of the planning. If the design adheres to the research objective, it will ensure that the client’s needs will be served. Developing the particular design for a certain study, a researcher will be anticipating the needs and circumstances of  the  proposed  study

This should adhere to the objectives, the subject last discussed. We dealt with objectives for conclusive research, which is more critical and needful of being formally designated. The three other types of research (monitoring, preliminary and exploratory) also should have explicit designs, but more simple ones. And will specify in advance what to obtain and what to do.  All this should adhere to the objectives, the subject last discussed. We dealt with objectives for conclusive research, which is more critical and needful of being formally designated. The three other types of research (monitoring, preliminary and exploratory) also should have explicit designs, but more simple ones.

Then, we shall present various kinds of data that might be specified in a design. Since a research design would be tailored to the particular decisions and situation, there can there can be a great variety. They can be categorized, however, into certain classification.

Proposing and Approving a Project

Any project that entails significant costs to an organisation is going to require approval at higher levels. Approvals also must be given to projects conducted by any outside organisation. Although proposals and approvals normally take place after all a project’s methods have been decided, we insert a brief description of them now, for an advance understanding of what a researcher must plan for a project.

Proposing a project: The first part of the tasks dealt with here is primarily the researcher’s; the second part is the client’s in their interface. There are six tasks, which are charted in Figure given below.

For every study that is considered, two critical questions are faced: (1) What are its probable costs? and (2) Will its benefits or profits b     e greater than the costs? Often a new study involves similar methods to the organizations past experience. This bound to happen in a big marketing research department

Most projects differ somewhat—and some radically –from those of past experience, and our two questions are challenging. A sort of cost/benefit analysis should be made, in which the costs usually are the easier part to estimate. Any marketing research firm or department should have developed a formula for doing this.

A project’s value or benefit is capable of being described when its plans have developed systematically. They would have been clarified in the dialogue between client and researcher. However, quantifying them to calculate a cost benefit ratio is an exacting process. Evaluation of a study’s value may be just an informal judgment for a project of low cost. Large ones, instead, usually must be approved at levels above the client, which means that a formal justification in writing is required. For those, there must be a careful evaluation and rationale.

The evaluation may have any of the three following approaches.

• Intuition which could be right but is not explicit and recorded
• Calculated judgment. Using explicit and stated reasoning
• Decision theory, which applies modern decision models that incorporate the decision maker’s best assessments of uncertainties and their probabilities or occurrence these assessments are quantified so that there is a numerical basis of decision.

The Proposal serves as the justification for a project. If client and researcher have themselves concluded that it is well worth conducting, there remains the convincing of the executives who have power of approval or rejection. This is important for a research department within a firm, but it is an absolute requirement for outside agencies, if they are to be awarded the research job. Preparing a proposal is therefore a meticulous task. There usually is a standard format in which they should be written.

A proposal written by an inside research department should include:

• Statement of the problem and why the study is desired
• Objective—questions to be answered and data inputs
• Methodology, including demonstration that the data will provide suitable conclusion
• Requirements (funds and time) and scheduling

An outsider research agency needs to cover more in its proposals. They would include qualification of the agency, the person who will direct the project, verification procedures, exactly what will be reported, financial arrangement, and security measures. Approval The evolution of the project would lead to writing a proposal for its adoption, which we have covered. Then it should be evaluated and approved by the client. If the researcher is part of the in-house marketing department and has collaborated with the client during its developing plans, approval at that level is basically assured. If it is an outside agency that submits the proposal, approval by the individual client definitely is required. Then the proposal goes “ up the line” to whoever is designated to authorize the proceeding and the budget for the project.

Many studies may be requested of marketing research by various managers, normally more than can be funded. In the practical work, getting budgetary approval is key to undertaking any project (in research of elsewhere). There probably will be established procedures for such decisions, and those should include

Who is authorized to give approval?

Whose budget will be charged for the work?

When are projects to be approved? What are the criteria for approving a project, which usually are printed on forms that are sent up the time for approval?

If a project is approved, the marketing research department has the task of setting up schedules. Arranging and charting schedules and then keeping control of progress are among the necessary tasks of every department or firm in marketing research. If the authorizing person does not approve, as Figure shows, the proposal is simply rejected or held for resubmission when the situation is more favourable for adoption.