3 Types of Marketing Research Designs (Exploratory, Descriptive, Causal)

There are 3 types of marketing research designs, and they are: exploratory, descriptive, and casual.

Exploratory research is used in obtaining preliminary information that will help identify the problem and hypothesis. It is done to understand what is happening and why something is happening. Some of the most common methods of exploratory research are focus groups, interviews, literature research (library, newspaper, magazines, trade publication and online), and case analyses. Group interaction interview is the difference between a 1-person interview. Individuals in a focus group should match the target market or audience that the client desires to get insight from.

Descriptive research is used to identify the marketing problem and/or the potential for a market. This type of research is used to identify the characteristics of the target group or the average user of the product or service. Descriptive research will allow us to make specific predictions and notice a correlation among variables.  There are 2 types of descriptive studies, and they are: cross-sectional study and a longitudinal study. A cross-sectional study involves a sample of the market population at a certain point in time. A longitudinal study involves a panel or fixed sample of element at a certain point in time. An example of a longitudinal study would involve the manufacturer, distributor, individual sores, and consumers. Any one of these elements can be replaced with another. In other words, the distributor can be of new management or the department store can a competitor.

In a longitudinal study, there are 2 types of panels, and they are: continuous panels and discontinuous panels. In most scenario, panels members are compensated in one fashion or another for their efforts. In a continuous panel, the study relies on a fixed sample of respondents who are measured repeatedly over time under the same conditions. In a discontinuous panel, the study relies on a fixed sample of respondents who are measured under various conditions over time.

Casual research is marketing research done to test a hypothesis; the cause and effect of a hypothesis. For example, causal research may be used in a business setting to quantify the effect that a change will have on its current operations, and what it will have on future production levels to assist in the business planning process.

Source:
https://wmbamarketing.wordpress.com/2016/04/08/3-types-of-marketing-research-designs-exploratory-descriptivecausal/#:~:text=There%20are%203%20types%20of,and%20why%20something%20is%20happening.