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1. What are basic and applied research? A research think-tank is conducting rese

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Question

1. What are basic and applied research? A research think-tank is conducting research in an attempt to predict the type of transportation options consumers will desire in the year 2050. Is this basic or applied research? Explain.

2. What are the three types of marketing research designs? Indicate which type each item in the list below illustrates. Explain your answers.

a. Establishing whether higher advertising of beer leads to higher sales
b. Identifying target market demographics for a shopping center located in Omaha,

Nebraska.
c. Testing the effect of the inside temperature of a clothing store on sales of outerwear.
d. Discovering the ways that people who live in apartments actually use vacuum cleaners,

and identifying cleaning tasks for which they do not use a vacuum.

3. Assume that you are interested in opening a fast-food Mexican restaurant in Seattle, WA. You are unsure of its acceptance by consumers and are considering doing a marketing research study to evaluate their attitudes and opinions. In your search for secondary data, you find the following studies:

Study A was recently conducted by a research agency for a well-known fast-food chain. To securea copy of this study, you would be required to pay the agency $350. The study evaluated consumers’attitudes towards fast food in general based on a sample of 500 stay-at-home moms for the cities of Boise, ID, Seattle, WA, and Spokane, WA. The findings indicated that respondents did not view fast food favorably. The major reason for the unfavorable attitude was the nutritional value of the food.

Study B was completed by a group of students 5 years earlier as a requirement for their Market Research course. This study would not cost anything: it is available in your university library. The studyevaluated consumers’ attitudes towards various ethnic fast foods. The respondents consisted of aconvenience sample (which is a not a random sampling approach) of 200 students from the University of Washington, Seattle. The findings indicated a favorable attitude toward two ethnic fast foods, Italian and Mexican. Critically evaluate the two sources of data. Which of them do you consider better? Why?Discuss the data in terms of the criteria one would use to determine which set, if either, is correct. Assume that you are forced to make the determination on the basis of the information in front of you. Which would you choose?

Explanation / Answer

1 Basic research gives the idea of the things and options that certainly not required as of now or things we don’t know. It adds some more knowledge in our box. It is tested without any practical application. Examples would be study of human mind in near future or some effect of something on humans.

Whereas, the applied research is something which solves the query in the present real world. It is tested and applied that gives some result which could be applied in future. Like making of medicines and its application on animals.

The given question is basic research as this is the research based on future uncertainty and human mind which is subjective and doesn’t apply anywhere in present world.

2 The three types of marketing research are Exploratory, Descriptive and Casual.

a. Establishing whether higher advertising of beer leads to higher sales – It is Descriptive which is checking whether the advertisement affects the sale volume.

b. Identifying target market demographics for a shopping center located in Omaha, Nebraska – This is Exploratory research which is collection of ideas and thoughts to get into the insights of proposed business plans.

c. Testing the effect of the inside temperature of a clothing store on sales of outerwear – This is casual which is trying to check the effect of inside temperature which is a independent on the sales.

d. Discovering the ways that people who live in apartments use vacuum cleaners, and identifying cleaning tasks for which they do not use a vacuum. – It is the combination of Exploratory in the sense of getting into clear picture and doing initial research and descriptive which is checking on present scenario of the market.

3 Assume that you are interested in opening a fast-food Mexican restaurant in Seattle, WA. You are unsure of its acceptance by consumers and are considering doing a marketing research study to evaluate their attitudes and opinions. In your search for secondary data, you find the following studies:

Let's discuss about both the data one by one – The first experiment which is conducted officially following all guidelines and methods must be professional research I would say, conducted on house wives. Which I consider the sole reason for its rejection. Mom in house do not consider fast food habitually, they rather go for nutrition and healthy food for their children. This can be the reason for negative feedback for fast foods. If you don’t hit the right target, you will not get the right results, simple.

On the other hand, research conducted by the students unofficially subject to their best knowledge which is obviously gives some doubt, is conducted on students that is the age of youngers who are the lovers of fast food. They hit the target right.

When we compare both the study, it is clear our aim is to get the market research for fast food, now second question would who the target customers and target market are. The answer here is clear youngsters and target market could be appealing market or the area where students stays. So, second experiment hit the target right and study on Mexican lovers sounds good to me.