Foon Chen's Research Journal Entries

Link: http://www.greenbook.org/marketing-research.cfm/does-marketing-research-have-a-responsibility-to-society-39830

This article is about the responsibilities that market research takes on. Market research and research in general are done so researchers can figure out a way that will ultimately benefit society. Whether it is mental illnesses or the inability to do something because of a challenge, market research can help. This ties in with being ethical. People have the power to do things for good. In this article, they focus on the positive side and improving people's lives. They say that they are obligated to do this. If people don't like something about the world, they have no right to complain because there is an option. That option is do something about it and conduct research to find something new and better. This will improve and make a difference in the world.

Link: http://www.greenbook.org/marketing-research.cfm/mobile-research-smarter-devices-greater-opportunities-03185

This article talks about the opportunities many companies have now that society relies and do so much on their phone. It is a fast and easy way to target many different kinds of people. And it is a lot cheaper for a more effective way. Though this kind of research is not a replacement for traditional research. There are many benefits to mobile researching but there are also downsides. You wouldn't be able to see how people are acting and if it they are being truthful. People tend to lie. Especially over the Internet where they don't seem to think things thoroughly before answering because that's just the kind of pace mobile life is. People's attention spans are also not very long so they won't sit and ponder to think about it. Sometimes if they get confused or it takes too long, they just plain won't respond. There are a lot of things to be worried about with this method of research but it is all in how you plan out the study.

Link: http://www.greenbook.org/marketing-research.cfm/three-reasons-to-leverage-online-focus-groups-for-research-03185

This article talks about how online focus groups can be more beneficial than traditional focus groups in three distinct ways. The first reason is that researchers do not need to leave their offices to conduct this focus group. It can easily be done over the Internet. People have busy lives. Not only will this make their lives easier, but also respondents are more likely to answer when there is less of a hassle.

The second reason is that it saves time and money. This focus group can be conducted fast and efficiently without costing a dime because it's free online. Also, the results will be faster as well since researchers will be able to analyze the information right after they are done conducting the studies.

Last, researchers can reach a diverse population or hard to reach populations. Since everyone is connected through Internet, it will be easier to get people from other states or even other countries to participate if necessary. This is a good way to get the true random samples and therefore, accurate results.

In our course, we have talked about the different ways people are conducting focus groups. Some are in modernized and hip settings and some are over the Internet. We talk about the benefits and downside of both kinds ways to conduct the focus groups as well. In our groups, we each found a couple of different kinds of way companies conduct focus groups and compares these differences in class.

Link: http://www.greenbook.org/marketing-research.cfm/social-media-a-wealth-of-information-03185

This article talks about what we do with the information we find on social media once we have it. It also talks about the benefits of finding information from social media. Nowadays, you can almost do anything on social media platforms such as pitching a story, connecting with people, finding out tons of information, and more. But most importantly, people are able to do this whenever and wherever they want. It's fast, easy, and reliable (for the most part). This is because social media is connected to people directly. Opinions, thoughts, and any type of feedback or comment are made from the consumer themselves. This is great for researchers because it is a fast, non-hassle way to get lots of information without using lots of money or time. Though this is not something to replace traditional research studies, it definitely is helpful. In fact, it is more common now to integrate the two types of studies done (through traditional and social media) to get accurate results.

In our course, we talk a lot about how social media affects each type of industry and especially in strategic communications and business. More people are finding ways to use this tool so that it is beneficial to them or their organization. Social media is now just another tool for researchers to use. Even though this seems like a great tool to use, anyone in any industry should know the cautions of it. Social media is uncontrolled so people don't know what will happen on it. People can post anything and everything on these platforms. So it is important to know how to use it well to try and prevent situations from arising or at least understand how to handle it. From a researcher's perspective, I would be careful on what types of information is accurate and what is not. Deciphering between that would give their studies a better outcome.

Link: http://www.greenbook.org/marketing-research.cfm/changes-in-grocery-shopping-patterns-driven-by-demos-and-technology-11906

This article talks about how there is a dramatic change in how we buy groceries. As the Millennial generation increases and the Baby Boomers begin to die out, so has shopping habits in groceries. The Millennial generation is more price sensitive and not as loyal to brands. They are more open to buying private-label products. which is cheaper. The Nufer Marketing Research is trying a new approach in using technology to facilitate shopping and food decisions. Because the Millennial generation is so involved with technology, this might be a good way for them to engage more with their foods and brands. However, there are weak spots for buying groceries online because fresh produce just doesn't work well online.

This is interesting because marketers are trying to reach new target markets in a new way that seems relevant and relatable to these certain types of people. As we talked about in class, finding ways to target audiences is important especially in marketing. I think more research is necessary if people want to see this idea succeed. It's just not as common and different than what we are used to. People also tend to reject new ideas because they are comfortable with what they are familiar with. I think conducting appropriate surveys with well-developed questions can be a good idea to further the studies of this topic.

Link: http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/30/health/medical-marijuana-children-time/index.html?hpt=he_t5

This article is about if medical marijuana is safe for children to use. A 7-year-old girl named Mykayla Comstock uses medical marijuana as part of her treatment for cancer. Her mother did this without the knowledge of Mykayla's doctor. Though it is legal in Oregon (where she lives), people are concerned with kids using it. Comstock actually went into remission while using the drug. It was only until remission, did the doctor know about the use of marijuana. Many components of marijuana show anti-cancer activity in its early studies. Though it seems to have helped Comstock, the American Academy of Pediatrics opposes the use of marijuana to treat young children.

This relates to our course because it involved the ethics of research. The idea of children using marijuana as a treatment for cancer is definitely something that is new. But with the negative connotation that society perceives of marijuana, it raises questions about children using it. Though this is something interesting that researchers will want to test about, it will raise some controversy mainly with if this is ethical or not. I think this will be a very interesting study if conducted but it might cause a huge uproar with society.

Link: http://www.greenbook.org/marketing-research.cfm/latinos-and-innovation-in-qualitative-research-35051

This article is about studying people of different cultures and races in the United States. In this case, it specifically talks about Hispanics and what products mean to them in a "real way." Researchers conduct an in-home interview with a translator to experience what the family and their culture are like. This way, the researchers can see what exactly the product mean to them in how they use it and such.

This relates to our research course because it talks about ethnography and the importance of it as a qualitative research tool. One of our lectures in class talks about how we obtain information and the way we observe. Perhaps the presence of someone may change how the way the interviewee or person acts. That is one of the things to keep in mind about when conducting an observation like the one in the article. The setting is important. Though in some cases, it is possible to get the accurate observations, it all depends on the individual person or people.

Link: http://www.greenbook.org/marketing-research.cfm/online-market-research-is-in-your-hands-40562

This article talks about how question framing impacts market research. It shows a graph with countries and their percentages of people who are organ donors. Some are really high and some are really low but there is definitely a drastic difference. The reason for this is question framing. The countries that showed lower (gold color) percentages framed their question as "opt-in" where you check the box if you want to donate. The countries with higher percentages (blue color) framed their questions as "opt-out" where you check the box if you don't want to donate.

This is relevant to our course because we talked about how framing a certain question can suggest a certain answer. Also, framing a graph or results a certain way can suggests different answer such as the organ donors' example. The point is that researchers can manipulate data and frame it a certain way to make their ideas seem accurate when in reality it may not. It is important to look at how questions are framed to judge the accuracy yourself.

Link: http://www.npr.org/2012/11/30/166184008/victory-or-defeat-emotions-arent-all-in-the-face

This article is about a new research finding in facial expressions. Hillel Aviezer, a psychology researcher at Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel found that emotions aren't really displayed in the face of athletes but their body language. He said that when you look at a person with a winning point, their full gesture looks like a victory. But then he erased everything but the face and found that, without the body, it was uncertain if the person's emotion was positive or negative. He found that emotions are actually expressed through the body and not the face. The body gesture is what shows the emotional message. These new findings challenge the long-held assumptions about the importance of facial expressions.

This is relevant to our course because it talks about the importance of emotions when it comes to research. In class, we talked about how researchers use the facial expressions of participants to describe things such as how they feel when it comes to a particular ad and such. But with this new finding, it might switch up the game in what researchers should pay more attention to. Maybe now, the researchers should look at body gestures to look for more accurate emotional expressions because sometimes the facial ones look the same. In addition, people tend to put on a "poker face" to hide how they feel. If we look more closely at the body language, it might give us some light or interesting findings.

Link: http://www.greenbook.org/marketing-research.cfm/sleep-innovations-case-study-08738

This article is about how Sleep Innovations wanted to get feedback from their hard to reach respondents and consumers to see how they like the products and what they can improve on to bring more innovations to the market. Sleep Innovations conducted an online survey so that their respondents will be more likely to answer. In addition, it reduces the time and expense for recruitment. They continued to this survey overtime so that they can see the trend of it. They created a template for the surveys in order to maintain consistency. Overall, they paid attention to careful details of the research to get the most accurate answers and results.

In relation to our course, this article talks about the kinds of survey that is appropriate to the specific target market. It also talks about what the best approach is in order to save time and money. The company also made this research into a trend study by expanding the research program. Overall, this saved the company money because they did research. This brings us back to day one in class when we talked about the point of research and the perception people had of it. Some thought it was a waste of time and some thought it would save the company money if done appropriately. In this case, it saved the company money.