Defining the research problem and research objectives is often regarded as the most difficult step in the marketing research project. Although this step is challenging, it is critically important because it is impossible to solve problems that have not been clearly defined. With the research problem defined, researchers must decide on the type of research they will pursue to generate the data they need. The three types of research (also called objectives) are exploratory, descriptive, and causal Classify the problem description into the type of research that would most likely be used to generate the appropriate data.
1. Exploratory
2. Descriptive
3. Causal
a. Thirsty athletes: Greg needs to understand how the consumption of sports drinks varies by geographical region.
b. Hypotheses help: Joe's research problem is still not clearly defined, and he needs to generate some hypotheses for his research.
c. High heels: Sophia wants to know if she can increase the sales of shoes in her boutique by moving the display from the back of the store to next to the registers.
d. Yoga love: Gema wants to open a yoga studio in her hometown, but first she wants to understand how her hometown's residents feel about practicing yoga.
e. Price hike: Wei wants to understand what would happen to his sales if he increased the cost of his app from $0.99 to $1.99
f. Distinctive coffee: Sierra wants to expand her menu by offering specialty coffees and needs to come up with ideas for creative flavors.

Research Types

Classification of problem description into the type of research that would most likely be used to generate the appropriate data:

a. Thirsty athletes: Greg needs to understand how the consumption of sports drinks varies by geographical region.

Causal Research

b. Hypotheses help: Joe's research problem is still not clearly defined, and he needs to generate some hypotheses for his research.

Descriptive Research

c. High heels: Sophia wants to know if she can increase the sales of shoes in her boutique by moving the display from the back of the store to next to the registers.

Exploratory Research

d. Yoga love: Gema wants to open a yoga studio in her hometown, but first she wants to understand how her hometown's residents feel about practicing yoga.

Exploratory Research

e. Price hike: Wei wants to understand what would happen to his sales if he increased the cost of his app from $0.99 to $1.99

Causal Research

f. Distinctive coffee: Sierra wants to expand her menu by offering specialty coffees and needs to come up with ideas for creative flavors.

Descriptive Research

Explanation:

a) Causal Research: This research establishes causal relationships, that is, cause and effect, between two or more variables. For example, Greg wants to establish how the geographical region affects the consumption of sports drinks.

b) Descriptive Research: This research type describes a population, situation, or phenomenon that is being studied.  It focuses on answering the how, what, when, and where questions of a research problem, rather than the why.  For example, Joe's research problem is still not clearly defined, and he needs to generate some hypotheses for his research.

c) Exploratory Research: This type of research investigates a problem which has not been studied before. It usually provides a better understanding of the existing problem, but doesn't necessarily lead to a conclusive result.  An example is the study of how the residents of Gemma's hometown feel about practicing yoga.

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