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Chapter 3: Research Design


 * 2.2 To which type of research design are focus groups best suited? Why do you say that?**

Focus groups are best suited for exploratory research designs because they allow small groups of participants to come together and discuss openly amongst each other, which allows the researcher to learn valuable information. The focus group is formed so that the researcher can gain some insight on a particular research problem which is the main goal of exploratory research designs.


 * 3.1 What are the differences between longitudinal and cross-sectional studies?**

Longitudinal and cross-sectional are two basic classifications of descriptive research studies. Longitudinal studies constantly measure the same sample units of a population over a period of time. A cross-sectional study is the opposite of longitudinal because it is a measure of a sample population at only one point in time. Cross-sectional studies are more popular and out number longitudinal students. They are also known as a “snap-shot” because they are one time measurements. Longitudinal studies involve multiple measurements over a period of time so they are often called as “movies,” researchers must have ongoing access to the participants (called a panel) so they can take repeated measurements.

Continuous panels are more suitable when: - when the study is being conducted over a long period of time - firms are gaining insight into consumer attitudes and behaviour over time
 * 3.2 In what type of situation would a continuous panel be more suitable than a discontinuous panel? In what type of situation would a discontiuous panel be more suitable than a continuous panel?**

eg. brand switching studies can use continuous panels to collect data to show how panel members switched brands from one time period to another

Discontinous panels are more suitable when: - there is a need for a quick study that can be used for a variety of studies (omnibus panels) - it can represent a large group of research subjects who are matched demographically for representativeness


 * 4.1 What is the objective of good experimental design? Explain why certain designs are called quasi-experimental.**

The objective of a good experimental design is to allow experimenters to control for the effects on a dependent variable by an extraneous variable. Certain designs are called quasi-experimental because some experimental designs do not properly control for the effects of extraneous variables on the dependent variable.