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1.0 Introduction介绍
研究方法主要指研究人员收集数据和分析数据的方法（Burns，2000；Saunders，Lewis和Thornhill，2007）。一般来说，研究方法包括问卷调查、访谈、焦点小组等（Kumar，1999年；Creswell，2003年）。不同的研究方法基于不同的认识论和方法论（Bechhofer和Paterson，2000年；Saunders、Lewis和Thornhill，2007年）。例如，问卷调查基于实证主义认识论和客观主义方法论，访谈和焦点小组基于解释主义认识论和结构主义方法论（Creswell，2003；Saunders，Lewis和Thornhill，2007）。问卷调查得到的数据通常是定量分析的，访谈和焦点小组得到的数据通常是定性分析的（Creswell，2003年）。每种研究方法都有其自身的优缺点，研究者应以研究哲学为基础，研究目的是确定最合适的研究方法（Burns，2000年）。
Research methods mainly refer to the methods that researchers use to collect data and analyze data (Burns, 2000; Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2007). In general, research methods include questionnaire, interview, focus group, etc (Kumar, 1999; Creswell, 2003). Different research methods are based on different epistemology and methodology (Bechhofer and Paterson, 2000; Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2007). For example, questionnaire is based on positivism epistemology and objectivism methodology, while interview and focus group are based on interpretivism epistemology and structuralism methodology (Creswell, 2003; Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2007). The data obtained by using questionnaire are usually quantitatively analyzed, and the data obtained by using interview and focus group are usually qualitatively analyzed (Creswell, 2003). Each research method has its own advantages and disadvantages, researchers should be based on research philosophy, research aim to determine the most appropriate research methods (Burns, 2000).
实证研究是指研究者通过观察、实验和调查研究对象来获取客观材料，从而找出对象的本质属性和发展规律的一种研究方法（Kumar，1999；Burns，2000）。问卷调查是设计师通过使用统一的问卷来收集大量受访者信息的一种调查方法（Creswell，2003年）。通常情况下，调查问卷的研究方法应用于实证研究（Saunders、Lewis和Thornhill，2007年）。解释主义认识论主张通过研究人口的经验和观点来实现对复杂世界的感知（Burns，2000；Saunders，Lewis和Thornhill，2007）。解释主义研究是针对一小群精心挑选的样本，它不要求研究结果具有统计意义，但借助研究者的经验以及定性分析方法，它可以有效地洞察研究对象的行为和动机，以及他们的行为和动机。R可能的影响（Creswell，2003；Saunders，Lewis和Thornhill，2007）。面试是指面试官通过面对面的交流来了解被面试者心理和行为的心理学基本研究方法。焦点小组是通过一个训练有素的主持人与一组受访者以非结构化的自然形式进行沟通，以深入了解一些问题。通常，访谈和焦点小组应用于口译研究（Creswell，2003年）。Empirical research refers to a research method that researchers use to obtain objective material, so as to find the essential attribute and the development law of an object by observing, experimenting and investigating the research object (Kumar, 1999; Burns, 2000). Questionnaire is a survey method used by designers through using a unified questionnaire to collect information from a large number of respondents (Creswell, 2003). Normally, the research method of questionnaire is applied to positivist research (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2007). Epistemology of interpretivism advocates that the perception of a complex world is achieved through the study of the experience and perspectives of the population (Burns, 2000; Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2007). Interpretivism research aims at a small group of carefully selected samples, it does not require that the research results should have statistical significance, but by virtue of the experience of researchers, as well as qualitative analysis methods, it can effectively insight into the behavior and motivation of the research object, as well as their possible impact(Creswell, 2003; Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2007). Interview refers to the basic research method of psychology that interviewers are through face to face communication to understand the psychology and behavior of interviewees. Focus group is through a trained host’s communication of an unstructured natural form with a group of respondents to gain in-depth knowledge of some of issues. Often interview and focus group are applied to interpretivism research (Creswell, 2003).
The three research methods are research methods commonly used in research on marketing, this essay takes the following researches as examples to discuss whether their choice of research methods are correct, and flaws in the selected research methods. The research from Furue and Washida (2016) belongs to the category of positivism research. They mainly examined the differences in the expectations of employees of different occupations for NPD strategy. The research method used is questionnaire. Vinerean, Opreana and Tichindelean’s (2014) research belongs to interpretivism research, it attempts to suggest on how to improve consumer engagement in the future Internet era. This study used interview as the research method. The research from Qudah et al. (2015) also belongs to the category of interpretivism. The researchers hoped that “the user express what others really like”, and then according to the user's comments to improve “the design of the adaptive online advertisement system MyAds” (Qudah et al., 2015). The method used is focus group.
The research aim of this essay is to compare the research methods used in the three cases to understand how the researchers should choose a correct research method according to research philosophy and research aim, and to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each research method, as well as to understand what kind of way should be taken to make up for the lack of each research method. The author hopes that this essay can provide valuable reference for researchers to choose correct research methods in future researches on marketing.
2.0 Main body
2.1 Application of questionnaire
The study from Furue and Washida (2016) examined the different expectations of employees in different occupations for NPD strategy. From the point of view of research aim, they face several challenges. Firstly, the researchers need to investigate the views of different groups on NPD strategy, and they need to collect enough data and information with a limited amount of time and money. Secondly, in the course of the investigation, the researcher should ensure that the research objects can freely express their true views. Finally, the researchers need to take appropriate analysis methods to analyze the large amount of information collected, and to effectively dig out the valuable information.
Furue and Washida (2016) adopted questionnaire to address the above-mentioned three aspects of the challenge, which is helpful for other researchers. First, they examined the views of 89 research objects’, if they make use of interviews, focus group and other methods for data collection, the researchers need to spend much more than using questionnaire, as questionnaire can help researchers to collect enough data and information within a short period of time (Creswell, 2003). Second, questionnaire survey is a structured survey, the form of its expression of the questions, the order of questions, the answers are fixed, and it is a way of communication through writing, so, for the researchers and those being investigated, in general, it is not possible to bring subjective bias to the survey (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2007). At the same time, the respondents will not be disturbed by others in completing questionnaire, they fill in questionnaire individually to freely express their attitudes and opinions, and the questionnaire finished does not require signature (Burns, 2000). In this way, it is beneficial for the respondents to bare the truth, and the researchers can understand the real objective facts through the questionnaire (Kumar, 1999). Finally, questionnaire takes positivism as methodology, one of the basic ideas of positivist methodology is the use of natural science methods to study a society (Bechhofer and Paterson, 2000). Furue and Washida (2016) transformed the data collected from questionnaire into quantitative data, and through the method of data analysis, it can not only understand the views of the respondents, but also through the data comparison to find the existence of statistical differences in the views between two groups of respondents, so as to get valuable research results.
Furue and Washida (2016) investigated the views of employees of different occupations o NPD strategy. The formation of these views involves the psychological processes of the employees’ motivation, thinking, and intention, and it is necessary for the researchers to understand how the psychological process is carried out (Bechhofer and Paterson, 2000), because understanding this process helps business managers to balance the conflicts of views of employees of different occupations on NPD strategy. However, it is difficult to investigate the psychological process of forming the opinions of the employees’ by using questionnaire, and using interview can solve this problem. The researchers can understand how the staff forms these views by interviewing and communicating face-to-face with the research objects, and what is the special situation in which employees have these views.
2.2 Application of interview
Vinerean, Opreana and Tichindelean’s (2014) research aim was to “determine which programs can be used to implement and pique mess engagement in an e-setting”. This research was carried out for a quantitative study of future researches, it determines the feasibility of relevant researches, “this pioneering research on consumer engagement has concentrated mostly on the underlying programs that can be implemented by marketing executing” (Vinerean, Opreana and Tichindelean, 2014).#p#分页标题#e#
Vinerean, Opreana and Tichindelean (2014) considered that “consumer engagement is a multidimensional concept comprising cognitive, emotional, and/or behavioral dimensions, and plays a central role in the process of developing long lasting relationships with mutual benefits for companies and their customers.’ From the above point of view, consumer engagement in the Internet age is a fairly complex concept, and at the time when there is the absence of sufficient theoretical research, it may not be possible to construct a representative questionnaire, and interview can provide a more comprehensive knowledge of consumer engagement in the Internet age as much as possible to researchers. Because interview is highly flexible (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2007), depending on the needs of the study, interviewers can decide whether they need to ask further questions about the subject of the survey at any time. In addition, interviewers can prepare different questions for different interviewees to understand that in different contexts, whether the views of the study objects are different (Burns, 2000; Creswell, 2003). Moreover, as interviewers usually communicates directly with the research objects, they can guide interviewees to tell the more valuable knowledge and information needed for the study and explain some deep-seated questions to make the information obtained more real and reliable (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2007).
Vinerean, Opreana and Tichindelean’s (2014) research is a pioneering study, showing that the authors believed that there was no mature theoretical framework for consumer engagement programs in the Internet age, it required the researchers to determine a mature theoretical framework for future quantification research to take as a basis. Considering from the research strategy, the use of induction was proper. Induction is from the individual to the general, that is, researchers are from an individual phenomenon to sum up the law of development, and then through deductive methods to verify whether these laws are prevalent in other phenomena (Bechhofer and Paterson, 2000; Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2007). Interview is an effective way to collect data for induction, because interview can collect a lot of more qualitative information about a research topic than questionnaire, and researchers can summarize the qualitative information to obtain preliminary view to lay the foundation for later quantitative research (Creswell, 2003). Vinerean, Opreana and Tichindelean (2014) were through induce the interview information to conclude that the implementation of consumer engagement programs in the Internet age should not only include promoting sales but also include brand awareness, establishing a community, or fan retention, and other contents. In future, Vinerean, Opreana and Tichindelean can make use of quantitative study to verify that whether their plan is really able to get consumer awareness in the Internet age and to improve consumer engagement.
Compared with questionnaire, it needs to pay more time, manpower and material resources for interview (Kumar, 1999). As interview is time-consuming and costs much money, it is difficult to carry out on a large scale, so in general, interview sample size is small (Burns, 2000). The study from Vinerean, Opreana and Tichindelean (2014) also has only 17 samples. Less samples make research results lack sufficient representativeness, thus it requires researchers to take more samples in the future to improve the credibility and the representative of research results.
2.3 Application of focus group
Qudah’s et al. (2015) research aim was “revisiting the design of the adaptive online advertisement system MyAds.” The researchers need to know “users opinions and perceptions about online advertisement”, and allow “the user express what they actually like.” Therefore, the researchers hoped to use a research method that can better motivate respondents to express their true opinions.
Qudah et al. (2015) used focus group to collect data, because in group forum, there will often have a "snowball" effect, that is, a person's comments will encourage other people to actively be involved in the discussion. As the level of excitement of discussion on the issues in the group increases, the desire of participants to express their views and feelings will also be enhanced (Burns, 2003; Creswell, 2003). In focus group, people researched are free to express their opinions, so the participants will feel more comfortable and be willing to express their views and feelings, and they are more able to accurately express their views. Compared with one-on-one interview and questionnaire, focus group is more likely to inspire people investigated to have ideas. Qudah et al. (2015) used focus group to collect data, which is very good to achieve the research aim of understanding the respondents’ online advertising preferences and get some valuable research conclusions, such as “agreeing on using Amazon as a motivational blueprint for the new design and generated a list of requirements from users, in order for their acceptance level of personalized online advertisements to increase” (Qudah et al., 2015).
Limitations of Qudah’s et al. (2015) using focus group lie in that, first, the results of focus group are more likely to be judged erroneously than the results of data collected by using other methods. Because focus group makes respondents be specially easily affected by other members and researchers, and perhaps the views expressed by some members may not be their true thoughts. Second, there are usually less people involved in focus group, and there were only 17 people researched in this study, so the results may lack representativeness and it requires more research to support them.
3.0 Discussion and conclusion
Empirical study is a kind of research method which is based on a large number of observation, experiment and investigation towards a research object to acquire objective material, so as to deduce the individual attribute and development law of a thing from the individual to the general (Bechhofer and Paterson, 2000; Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2007). The use of questionnaires is very appropriate for empirical research, it is first because questionnaires can help researchers to collect enough data and information in a short period of time (Burns, 2000). Second, questionnaire is a structured survey, so both researchers and investigators are generally unable to bring substitute subjective bias into the investigation and study, the results obtained will be more objective and true (Creswell, 2003). Finally, it is generally through questionnaire survey to obtain quantitative data for quantitative analysis, and the conclusions deduced are more clear and objective. However, questionnaire can not achieve the direct communication between the researchers and the researchers, thus it is difficult to investigate the respondents’ deep psychological process and motivation. Moreover, questionnaire uses a unified questionnaire, which is also inadequate for the investigation of impact of special circumstances on respondents.
For a pioneering study, due to the lack of sufficient theoretical basis, the researchers need to sum up a mature theoretical framework for future quantitative research as a basis. Interview is an effective way of data collection in terms of induction because interview is highly flexible and the interviewer usually communicates directly with the research objects and directs the interviewees to tell the more valuable knowledge and information needed by the study, and the interviewees are asked to explain some of deep-seated problems, which makes the information obtained more real and reliable (Burns, 2000; Creswell, 2003). Therefore, compared with questionnaire survey, using interview can collect a lot of deep qualitative information about a research topic, and the researcher can summarize and conclude the qualitative information to obtain preliminary view to lay the foundation for the later quantitative research (Creswell, 2003). It is worth noting that using interview has to pay more time, manpower and material resources than using questionnaire (Kumar, 1999). As interview survey is time-consuming and costs much money, it is difficult to carry out on a large scale (Creswell, 2003), so in general, interview sample size is small, the representativeness of the research results is relatively low.
Qudah et al. (2015) hoped to adopt a research method that can better motivate respondents to express their true opinions. It is appropriate to use focus group to collect data, as the desire to express their views and feelings will increase as the level of excitement in the group's discussion on the issues discussed in the group is enhanced. Through focus group, those researched are free to express their opinions, so the participants will feel more comfortable and be willing to express their views and feelings, and they are more able to accurately express their views (Burns, 2000). Compared with one-on-one interview and questionnaire, focus group is more likely to inspire ideas of people investigated (Kumar, 1999). However, the limitations of using focus group lie in that first, the results of focus group are more likely to be judged erroneously than the results of data collected by using other methods (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2007). Because focus group makes it particularly vulnerable to the influence of other members and researchers for those investigated, and perhaps the views expressed by some members may not be their true thoughts (Burns, 2000; Creswell, 2003). Second, there are usually less objects investigated in focus group (Burns, 2000), so the research results may lack representativeness.
References
Bechhofer, F. & Paterson, L. (2000) Principles of Research Design in the Social Sciences. London: Routledge.#p#分页标题#e#
Burns, R.B. (2000). Introduction to Research Methods (4th edition). London: Sage.
Creswell, J. (2003). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. London: International Educational and Professional Publisher.
Furue, N. and Washida, Y. (2016). A Qualitative Research on the Difference of Expectation to NPD Related to Two Occupational Categories in Japanese. Proceedings of PICMET '16: Technology Management for Social Innovation.
Kumar, R. (1999) Research Methodology: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners. London: Sage.
Qudah, A. et al. (2015). Designing an Adaptive Online Advertisement System: a Focus Group Methodology. In: The 10th International Conference on Computer Science & Education, Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University, UK, 22-24 Jul 2015 (In Press).
Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2007). Research Methods for Business Students (4th, ed.).Essex, Pearson Education Limited.
Vinerean,S., Opreana, A. and Tichindelean, M. (2014). Analyzing Consumer Engagement Programs from the Perspective of a Qualitative Research of Marketing Executives. 21st International Economic Conference 2014, IECS 2014, 16-17 May 2014, Sibiu, Romania.
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