Abstract:

In this chapter, we examine how market researchers set about designing market research studies. Market researchers will rarely be able to pursue their ideal’ design, so it is a process of compromise. Decisions have to be made about what degree of precision is needed and how much depth of understanding is required. This trade-off also needs to be balanced against the time and budget available for the study. Furthermore, market researchers must take into account the practicality of different approaches, whilst ensuring the study is ethical and also complies with the ICC/ESOMAR International Code of Marketing and Social Research Practice as well as the codes of conducts of national societies. To help the reader make informed trade-offs in designing a study, in this chapter we systematically work through the research design process, beginning with the critical issue of clarifying the exact nature of the problem to be researched. But first, some scene-setting is presented.