In marketing research, qualitative research should come before quantitative research as it provides essential insights that shape the research problem and inform subsequent data collection and analysis methods.
Whenever a new marketing research problem is addressed, quantitative research must be preceded by appropriate qualitative research. Qualitative research involves exploring issues, understanding phenomena, and answering questions by analyzing non-numerical data like text, video, or audio. It helps form and refine research questions by providing insights into a problem. Quantitative research then measures the phenomena by quantifying data and generalizing results from larger sample sizes.
To design an effective research approach, sociologists and marketers alike may begin with a general question, which becomes more focused as more information is understood. They may choose from various methods such as surveys, interviews, or content analysis, tailored to the unique aspects of their research goal. This process encompasses a detailed research design that acts as a framework to collect both anticipated and surprising data.
Conclusively, prior to the selection and execution of research methods, a robust understanding of existing literature, through a scholarly research step that reviews existing studies, is fundamental for formulating new research that builds upon the established knowledge base.