And Interpretation of Data - Research Proposal Example

Name Institution Lecturer Course Date Research and Interpretation of Data Task 1: Primary and Secondary Research Plans Primary Research The task is to carry out a thorough investigation into the viability of new Heinz product. The new product instant noodles. Therefore, I will be using people who have already purchased the new products as the population because they are the ones who can give opinions about the new products. As such, the inclusion criteria for this the primary research study is that participants must have purchased and used the new products. Once the selection criteria is selected, the next task will be to decide on how to select specific participants of the study also known as study subjects. I may collect data from all the members of the population. This means that I may decide to collect data from all the people who have purchased and used the new products (census) or I may decide to collect data from some of the members of the population (sample) (Cottrell and McKenzie 125). In deciding whether to go the census or sample way, I should consider the following factors: population size and its geographic distribution, time available and money set aside to conduct the primary research. I will go the sample way because my population is large and diversified, which is not suitable for census method because it will require excessive amount of time and money. In addition, sampling will enable me to focus on my target market. There are two sampling techniques, probability and non-probability sampling. In probability sampling, the researcher selects study participants randomly from the study population so that every member of the study population has an equal chance of participating in the study (Cottrell and McKenzie 127). On the other hand, nonprobability sampling does not involve random selection of study subjects in that the researcher just selects participants (Cottrell and McKenzie 127). I will use random sampling because randomisation will help me to eliminate selection bias by giving every member of the study population the opportunity to participate thereby increasing internal validity of the research study. In addition, randomisation will help in distributing confounding factors uniformly within study groups, which will help in increasing internal validity of the study. I will also use non-probability sampling especially focus group because I want to hear the opinions of some people who have extensively used these products. Probability sampling might strike them out which means that I might not be able to get opinions from ardent users of the products. Types of probability sampling include random sampling, systematic sampling, stratified sampling, multi-stage sampling and cluster sampling. In random sampling, also known as simple random sampling, every subject has an equal chance of being selected (Cottrell and McKenzie 127). For example, I may assign all the members of the population a number. Then I can use a program for selecting random numbers so that people whose assigned numbers coincide with the randomly selected numbers are selected for participation in the study. In systematic sampling, the researcher uses a list to select subjects at a constant interval (Cottrell and McKenzie 127). For example, I may ask the members of the study population to write their names on a paper. after this, I may decide to select every 4th person on the list. This means that I will select numbers 1, 5, 9 and so forth. Stratified sampling could be non-proportional or proportional. In proportional stratified sampling, the researcher subdivides the population into strata and then selects study subjects from each strata based on the numerical strength of the strata in the study population (Cottrell and McKenzie 127). For example, I may classify my study population on the basis of ages as follows: 18-22, 23-26, 27-30 and so on. If age group 27-30 is the largest, I will have more subjects in these strata than others. However, in non-proportional stratified sampling, I would just select subjects from each stratum randomly. Cluster sampling would involve clustering the study population into clusters and then randomly selecting clusters instead of individuals (Cottrell and McKenzie 127). For example, I can cluster my target population based on age and then randomly select age groups from the clusters. Finally, multi-stage sampling involves selecting study subjects in stages (Cottrell and McKenzie 127). For example, I can decide the first criterion is being a woman from which I randomly select subjects. The second criterion would be having purchased the products from which a randomly select the final study subjects. I will use simple random sampling because it is easy and fast to carry out. In addition, it will help me ensure that the sample is a faithful representation of my population because any person who satisfies the outlined selection criteria has an equal chance of participating. Non-probability sampling techniques include quota sampling, judgment sampling, convenience sampling, observation and focus group sampling. Quota sampling is used when the researcher wants the sample to represent specific characteristics of the population as much as possible but is unable to come up with a probability sample. Therefore, the researcher selects a sample proportionately to the traits of the population (Cottrell and McKenzie 134). For example, if there are more users in the 18-22 age bracket who have consumed the products than the 23-26 age bracket, my sample will have more people of the former bracket and the latter. In judgment sampling, also known as purposive sampling, the researcher’s judgment is used to determine subjects which represent certain traits (Cottrell and McKenzie 134). Convenience sampling involves selecting any person who meets the set out criteria (Cottrell and McKenzie 134). For example, any person who has purchased the product under consideration within the last two weeks will be selected. Observation sampling involves observing the population and selecting individuals who are seen to meet certain criteria. For example, I may get into a busy shop and observe which products customers prefer. Then I will select only those who use Heinz’s products. Finally, a focus group is a small group mostly made up of between six to ten people who engage in discussion about an issue so that the researcher is able to collect their opinions as they discuss (Cottrell and McKenzie 134). For example, I may invite a number of consumers into guided discussion about Heinz’s products. Of these non-probability sampling methods, I will use focus group because it is easy to select participants. In addition, focus group discussions will help me to collect opinions from users of the products. Research Method- Questionnaire This is my questionnaire. I have designed it this way because I want it to be small enough not to take a lot of people’s time yet enable me to collect the data I require to perform sufficient analysis and draw valid conclusions. In my questionnaire, I will have open-ended, closed-ended (multiple) questions and scaled questions. Multiple choice questions will help me guide the participants on the answers required, which will help in analysis. Open ended questions will provide participants with the opportunity to express their views and opinions while scaled questions will help me perform necessary analysis after data collection. I will use 5-point Linkert scale for scaled questions whereby 1 will represent total disagreement and 5 will represent total agreement. The questionnaire will be one-page which I believe will have enough questions to collect required data yet small enough not to scare participants away. Sampling Method The sampling methods I will use are random and focus group sampling. Random Sampling Random sampling will help me to increase internal validity of the research because I will eliminate sampling bias through randomisation. In addition, I will reduce confounding effect by distributing confounding factors through randomisation. I will conduct the research on one of the universities where I will get enough students to participate on the research. I will randomly select the course from which to get the participants. Then I will randomly select a year/class. From the class, I will randomly select students to participate in the study. The class to select must have at least 50 people who live independently from their parents. In case there is no class which fulfills this criterion, I will combine a number of randomly selected classes. I will conduct this research between February and May because during this time, students will be at school. Focus Group I will select a focus group of 10 students from my sample. These are the questions which I will ask my focus group: Why do you prefer Heinz’s noodles over others? What don’t you like about Heinz’s noodles? How can you compare Heinz’s noodles with others? I ask these questions because they will help me collect opinions from the participants about Heinz’s noodles. Secondary Research Secondary research involves gathering data from secondary sources such as research articles, journal articles, websites and books on a similar or closely related issue. Secondary research is done for two reasons. Firstly, if the researcher does not have time or money to conduct primary research, he can perform secondary research. Secondly, a researcher can conduct secondary research prior to conducting primary research in order to gain a general understanding of the issue under consideration, which gives the researcher the opportunity to design the primary research appropriately. Research Method In conducting secondary research, I concentrated on product development. The first issue which I considered extremely important is rate of success for new product development. I found that success rates are high although bottom performers are recording lower than 50% success rates. Data also shows that failure rates are significant (Edgett). This information shows that Heinz should be very careful with these two products. It also shows that I have to be careful in conducting this research so that I can make valid conclusions which will help Heinz to be successful with these two products. I also researched the reasons behind new product development failure. Top two reasons were associated with market research. This means that I have to be extremely careful with the primary research so that I can help Heinz to target the right market and do the right positioning (Greenbook). In another study, the acquisition of knowledge about the market was found to significantly reduce new product development failure rates, which means that I must try to collect as much data as possible in order to develop the necessary knowledge about the market (Yu, Chen and Nguyen 413). Further, although Castellion and Markham (977) call it a common believe, previous studies show that new product development failure rates are indeed high. This means that Heinz must do everything necessary to understand the market so that it will be successful. As such, my research is very important because it will determine whether Heinz will be among the numerous companies failing to introduce new products or among the few companies showing successful new product developments. Part 2: Evaluation In this section, I will evaluate my proposed research methods with the research methods used by Heinz when they were planning to launch their Farmers Market soup. This evaluation will help in benchmarking my proposed research method with the research method which Heinz used. Questionnaire To identify if the market for the new noodle product would be viable for Heinz, I used a questionnaire as my first research method. One of the benefits of using a questionnaire is that it will help me to collect a lot of information within a short period of time because I can assign it to different people who will fill the questionnaires and then I collect them. In addition, it will be very easy to quantify the answers given in the questionnaires especially scaled answers, which will make analysis easy. Further, questionnaires are tangible compared to interviews. Therefore, the researcher can always make reference to the questionnaires. However, questionnaires have some weaknesses as follows. Firstly, questionnaires will not help me to collect some qualitative data such as emotions and behaviour which might be important during analysis. In addition, when respondents fail to understand questions asked in the questionnaires, they may give wrong information which will reduce the validity of the findings and conclusions drawn. Moreover, there is no way to ensure that the respondent is telling the truth. The use of questionnaire is similar to Heinz as they used an online questionnaire for the Farmers Market campaign. This is similar to mine because Heinz asked almost similar questions to what I have asked in my questionnaires. In addition, the two questionnaires share the types of questions used which include open-ended, multiple choice questions and scaled questions. Further, the length of the questionnaire used by Heinz is similar to mine, both of which are one page in length. However, Heinz’s questionnaire is different from mine because Heinz’s questionnaire was assigned online. On the contrary, I will be assigning my questionnaires offline in that I will assign the questionnaire to students physically. Students will fill in the questionnaires and then return them drop them in a collection box which I will place outside the classroom(s) compared to Heinz’s questionnaire whereby participants filled in the online questionnaires and then returned them online. Overall, I believe using a questionnaire for my research was appropriate because it helped me to meet my research objectives, which was the determination of consumers’ opinion about Heinz’s nodules, which in turn helped me to determine whether the target market was viable for Heinz. The questionnaire also helped me to reach my target population effectively which comprises of young, busy people. However, to improve this research, I could have expanded my research population to include working class people and family people so that I can get more information about the market for the new products. Overall Conclusion Heinz used better research methods than me because they reached a wider population than me. Therefore, they managed to get more information about the market than me. Nevertheless, resource limitation could not allow me to reach such a wide market. Given more resources, I would also try to reach a wider market so that I can draw more valid conclusions. Works Cited Castellion, George and Markham, Stephen K. “Perspective: New Product Failure Rates: Influence of Argumentum ad Populum and Self-Interest.” Journal of Production Innovation Management. 30.5(2012): 976-979. Cottrell, Randall R and McKenzie, James F. Health Promotion & Education Research Methods: Using the Five-Chapter Thesis/Dissertation Model (Second Edition). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. 2011. Print. Edgett, Scott J. Latest Research: New Product Success, Failure and Kill Rates. 2015. Web. June 11, 2015. Greenbook. Top 10 Reasons for New Product Failure. 2015. Web. June 12, 2015. Yu, Xiauyu., Chen, Yi and Nguyen, Bang. “Knowledge Management, Learning Behavior from Failure and New Product Development in New Technology Ventures.” System Research and Behavioral Science. 31(2014): 405-423. Read More