2. By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
Discuss the importance of research in social marketing
Explain the navigational and empathic roles of research
Discuss the role of the story in social marketing research
Outline the research decisions social marketers have to make
Model the research steps and methodologies that can help
guide them
Outline the dangers of an over-reliance on research,
stultifying decision making and hindering progress.
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3. In social marketing, research is a strategic tool: it guides the planning process (Chapter
4) and helps maintain the creative, competitive, collective and (all-important) client
orientations (Chapter 2). Strategic planning, building successful behaviour ,change
programmes as we discussed in Chapter 4, is like climbing a Himalayan peak- with a
resulting need for maps, compasses and careful route planning. Research fulfils the role
of these navigational aids. It helps us get our bearings; establish achievable objectives
and staging posts towards these; check our progress; adjust our route; and determine
when we have reached the summit.
This long-term perspective emphasizes the need for progressive learning, not just within
but also between initiatives, and ties in with our discussion of social marketing planning.
Client orientation. This brings us to the primary of social marketing (refer back to
Chapter 2), the drive to see the world through the eyes of our clients and stakeholders.
As we have already noted, clients, stakeholders and even competitors are all free to
choose whether or not they do business with us. The decisions we make about
constructing our marketing plan, therefore, have to be driven by an understanding of
these actors, their motives and lifestyles. This is sometimes referred to as adopting an
experiential view and value co-creation, taking in the thinking, feeling and doing or the
head, heart and hands of potential exchanges.
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5. This strategic purpose, combining long· term
planning with empathy for people's stories
encourages social marketers to draw on both
positivist and humanist research traditions.
1) The first builds on the notion that there is an
objective reality out there that we are trying to
measure and influence. This pushes us towards
quantitative methods, theory to build on
previous insights, establishing cause and effect
and hypothesis testing.
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6. 2) The second recognizes that the world - or
at least the social and behavioural bits of it in
which We interested - is actually much
messier than this, and will not succumb to
scientific analysis, however rigorous and
highly powered.
As a result, social marketers, like their
commercial cousins, adopt a pragmatic mix
of methodologies that they feel will best aid
decision making and help them get a better
(though always imperfect) understanding of
what makes people do what they do.
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7. Social marketers then will do all sorts of research at every
juncture of the social marketing planning process. The
point is to get the best possible grip on the client’s
perspective (both rational and emotional) so that we can
make intelligent decisions about how to build and
maintain good relationships with them. The trick is to
work out what sort of information we need when, from
whom and why to guide our decision making and actions.
Before looking at these issues in detail, however, we need
to know more about methodology. This section will touch
briefly on secondary research (the use of existing
research data), and then qualitative and quantitative
interviewing. It is not intended to provide a
comprehensive discussion of methodology or a do-it-
yourself guide; there are other sources for this.
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8. Any research exercise should begin by seeking out and
analyzing existing relevant studies. This can be done with
great rigour and precision using the systematic review
(SR) procedures or more flexibly using more conventional
narrative reviews (NR) (see Box 5.4, p.130).
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9. Secondary sources can help answer crucial questions
about the prevalence and prominence of a particular
social or health problem.
Using a narrative review, secondary sources can also
reveal how previous campaigns and initiatives have fared,
providing valuable clues about the best way forward.
Note we are not now talking simply about whether
previous interventions worked, but the broader questions
we identified above about how they were received and
why.
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10. Thus both systematic and narrative reviews have
a role to play in social marketing research: the
rigour of the first helps identify cause and effect;
the flexibility and pragmatism of the latter helps
us move forward. Furthermore, it is wasteful and
risky to start on primary research until existing
secondary sources have been exhausted.
However, primary research is usually essential
once we need to know about how today's target
group will respond to a specific intervention, the
objectives it can realistically fulfil and how it
should set about doing so.
Broadly speaking, primary research comes in two
forms: qualitative and quantitative.
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11. Qualitative methods can cover a range of
techniques such as ethnography, grounded
theory, case studies and participatory
research.
Qualitative interviewing is typically done
in-depth with small samples that have
been selected through non-random
procedures; it can take various forms
including individual in-depth interviews,
paired interviews, small group interviews,
key informant interviews, and focus
groups.
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12. Detailed questionnaires are not used, although
interviews may be guided by a schedule of
'points to be covered' or 'questions to be asked'
or a ‘script’. Respondents can be interviewed
individually or in 'focus' groups of 4-12 people.
The main advantage of qualitative interviewing
comes from the depth or quality of the data it
provides. It enables the researcher to approach a
subject in a completely open-ended manner,
starting from the perspective of the respondent;
using their language and concepts to develop the
discussion and relying on their experiences to
illustrate it.
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13. Thus, in contrast to questionnaire-based
research, there is no need to make assumptions
about what the important issues are, how to label
these or the type of responses that might be
expected.
Qualitative interviewing procedures also allow a
range of responses to be examined. For example,
when checking reactions to media materials,
fairly straightforward matters such as
understanding of the language used, or its ability
to communicate clearly, can be assessed, as well
as more complex issues, such as likes and
dislikes, audience identification and other
emotional responses.
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15. Qualitative procedures also improve the quality
of the data collected by enabling the researcher
to monitor how things are said. Tone of voice,
context and non-verbal cues can all be important
here.
For example, when researching the potential for
using the female condom as a contraceptive
among Glasgow women, their hilarity at the idea
spoke very articulately about how awkward the
product made them feel and how unlikely they
were to use it without a considerable amount of
persuasion. Again, it is difficult for quantitative
methods to provide this kind of insight.
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16. Qualitative procedures permit the examination of
delicate and embarrassing topics because they
enable the researcher to build a rapport with the
respondent. This makes it possible to discuss
subjects that are socially unacceptable.
As well as the quality of the data it provides,
qualitative interviewing also has at least three
important practical advantages. First, because it
is flexible, a range of unfinished materials can be
researched. Second, qualitative research projects
can be conducted quickly - within a week if
necessary. Third, because small samples are
involved, qualitative research is often relatively
cheap.
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17. The main disadvantages of qualitative research concern its
statistical validity. In statistical terms, both the sampling and
interviewing procedures are flawed. The former is typically too
small and selected incorrectly to be representative and the latter
is not standardized, thereby precluding the summation of
responses. Consequently, it is not possible to use qualitative
methods to produce estimates of population prevalence to any
calculable degree of accuracy.
Qualitative procedures are also criticized because they put
respondents in an artificial situation. For example, in asking them
to respond in great detail to a particular leaflet or service, you are
probably asking them to do something they would not normally
do in everyday life. However, this criticism is true of any research
procedure - qualitative or quantitative – that examines the
response to an initiative by prompting the subject with examples.
It does not invalidate such methods; it just means findings have
to be interpreted with caution.
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18. A final criticism commonly levelled at qualitative interviewing is
that it is very dependent on the researcher conducting the
interview well and analyzing the data correctly. All too often, it is
argued, excessive subjectivity contaminates the process…
Two points can be made in response to this criticism. First, the
objectivity of statistical data is often more illusory than real. Just
as with qualitative data, they are greatly influenced by the
researcher - they design the questions, attribute meanings to the
answers and numbers to the meanings.
Second, it is questionable whether researcher influence is a bad
thing. Researchers are typically highly qualified, skilled and
theoretically informed - a bit like extreme positivism, we end up
so distrusting the subjectivity of humankind that we overlook its
benefits.
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19. Both approaches have strengths and weaknesses.
Individual in-depth interviews provide a clear and
longitudinal view of each person's perspective, avoid
the problems of peer and group pressure, and permit
the discussion of extremely intimate issues.
The strengths of focus groups, on the other hand,
stem from the interaction that takes place between
respondents.
So, again, individual and group interviews each have
strengths and should be used as appropriate.
Indeed, in many instances, a combination of the two
approaches may be the best option. Exactly the same
points apply when considering quantitative methods.
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20. Quantitative methods put a great emphasis on descriptive and
numeric data (e.g. 45% of people eat fruit and veg 5 times a
day; 24% of all nurses had a flu vaccination within the past
year; I in 2 will die from tobacco-related smoke). Quantitative
research is dependent upon sample selection and questioning
procedures.
Sample selection - Samples have to be collected in a way that
ensures they are representative of a particular population.
Ideally, random selection procedures should be used, because
this ensures that each potential respondent has an equal
chance of being included in the study. Quota sampling
methods sidestep this issue by identifying the key
variables(e.g. gender or ethnic origin) and ensuring that these
are adequately represented in the final sample. As a result,
they lack a certain degree of statistical rigour, but provide a
pragmatic way through.
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21. Representative sampling also usually requires large
numbers. Whereas a qualitative study might typically
measure its sample in dozens, a quantitative one will
do so in hundreds or thousands.
This can be a complex and expensive process; at the
very least, it assumes you have an accurate 'sampling
frame' or list of the population in question - which
may not too difficult to find…
Questioning procedures - The second key
quantitative challenge is with the standardization of
questioning. It is vital that each respondent is asked
exactly the same set of question is, in the same
order and, as far as possible, in the same way.
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22. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Linkedln, social
networking sites, apps, gamification and other digital
platforms contain massive quantities of information across
almost limitless topics, exposing researchers to the array of
issues associated with the behavioural change including many
of the colloquial terms used by the target audience.
Tools such as Google's Campaign planner, Google Trends and
Keyword Planners are examples of digital place analysis
possibilities to identify client segments, partners, key online
influencers and channels, and understand the client's journeys.
Such interactions can be a valuable source of data relating to
issues that are inappropriate raise directly with certain
populations. For example. discussing alcohol perceptions
positioning with young teens in a research context may
unintentionally normalize drinking behaviour (Jones et al.
2017).
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23. The advantages of online research are self-evident;
for example, the task of data entry, a costly and time
consuming process involved in traditional offline
research, is avoided as data are collected
automatically, saving time and money while
eliminating coding errors and interviewer bias.
But online research has its own pitfalls; some
groups, such as over-65s, do not use the Internet,
Twitter, Facebook etc. to the same degree as others.
Countries have varying degrees of broadband
coverage affecting the social marketer's ability to
utilize the internet, particularly in primary research.
Furthermore, there are ethical issues of trust and
privacy to consider.
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24. Social marketers, then, have a range of methodologies from which to choose. To
select the right one - or more likely the right combination - is going to depend on the
decisions we have to make. Exercise 5.5 (p.141) will help you think through what
those decisions might be. Figure 5.3 presents the answer to Exercise 5.5 as a diagram,
which we will now explore step by step.
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25. In the first place, research can help define the problem
(see stage 1 in Figure 5.3) from the target group's
perspective. exploring their perceptions of the
particular issues being considered, such as smoking or
cancer - or in this case, antisocial behaviour.
Problem definition research can also clarify who the
key target and stakeholder groups are.
Methodologically, the first stop here is with secondary
research to check what already known from past
studies and official statistics about the problem.
If existing sources are inadequate new primary
research might need to be commissioned: qualitative
to give us ideas about the target group's perceptions
and quantitative to more statistical data, such as the
prevalence of particular behaviours.
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26. Assuming this problem definition
research suggests the need for an
intervention, further primary research
can guide its development. In reality,
stages of research - typically
qualitative - may be needed to perfect
and hone the campaign. Essentially,
the need is to identify key intervention
ideas and work out how they can best
be executed.
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27. During implementation (see stage 4 in Figure 5.3),
our questions concern what is being delivered (how
many training courses were run or leaflets handed
out) and the extent to which it matches the program
objectives and expectations (Flora et al. 1993). It
also assesses the extent to which implementation is
internally consistent across different sites and over
the duration of the intervention period, and identifies
the factors that can aid or hinder delivery. This is
particularly important where there are many
contextual and other factors that can affect how a
programme is run - and, in turn, how effective it is.
In terms of methodology, both qualitative and
quantitative research can be used.
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28. Evaluation research occurs before, during and after a
program
There are essentially two kinds of objectives. First,
there are those concerned with the target's reactions
to an initiative - whether they are aware of it, have
participated in understood it and so on. Second,
there are objectives concerned with changes in the
target population - whether, for example, there are
fewer accidents as a result of an initiative, or
whether, following a seatbelt promotion campaign,
the target population has become aware of the value
of seatbelts. more in favor of them or more likely to
use them. These two types of objectives require
different evaluation procedures.
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29. Measuring reactions to an initiative is fairly
straightforward. Once the initiative is complete,
the target audience simply has to be asked the
relevant questions (e.g. have they seen the
relevant advertising, or visited the youth club?)
Provided that the research methodology is
sound, reliable data will result. However, it may
be argued that objectives and evaluations that
are restricted purely to response are too limited.
Furthermore, if social marketing aims to bring
about social change, then, arguably, change is
what should be measured when evaluating its
effectiveness.
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30. It is important to recognize that research does not make
decisions for us; it is not a matter of delegating the tough
choices to a focus group or a survey. The target group's
expertise is in responding, not social marketing or intervention
design.
For example, fear campaigns are frequently justified on the
grounds that target audiences ask for them, opting for some
variant on the blackened, cancerous lung or bloody car smash
- the gorier the better. This misses the point of pre-testing.
Smokers and drivers have a great deal to tell us about what it
is like to be on the receiving end of our interventions, but they
do not know which ones are most effective. They are clients,
not consultants. In other closely related spheres, we readily
accept this argument. We recognize, for instance, that most
people are not experts in human behaviour, not even their
own.
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31. Indeed, there are times when decisions have to be made
without any research. Good marketing has to cope when
there are no data available and good marketers leave space
for imagination, lateral thinking and educated guesses. For
the truth is all research can do is lessen the risk that we get
things wrong. It can reduce uncertainty; it cannot produce
certainty.
Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Blink (2005), reminds us of
the power of intuition. Gladwell does not conclude that we
should therefore abandon science and go back to
guesswork.
Indeed, he points out that gut feelings can be just as
misleading, and in any case the experts will have educated
their instincts with years of scientific rigour. He simply
argues that we should leave space for intuition in our
decision making. Marketers agree.
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