Quantitative research methods in consumer psychology paul m w hackett, routledge, 2019 scan

Topics covered are quantitative research techniques, measurement theory and psychological scaling, mapping sentences for planning and managing research, using qualitative research to elu

Quantitative consumer research has long been the backbone of consumer psychology producing insights with peerless validity and reliability This new book addresses a broad range of approaches to consumer psychology research along with developments in quantitative consumer research Experts in their respective fields offer a perspective into this rapidly changing discipline of quantitative consumer research The book focuses on new techniques as well as adaptations of traditional approaches and addresses ethics that relate to contemporary research approaches.The text is appropriate for use with university students at all academic levels Each chapter provides both a theoretical grounding in its topic area and offers applied examples of the use of the approach in consumer settings Exercises are provided at the end of each chapter to test student learning Topics covered are quantitative research techniques, measurement theory and psychological scaling, mapping sentences for planning and managing research, using qualitative research

to elucidate quantitative research findings, big data and its visualization, extracting insights from online data, modelling the consumer, social media and digital market analysis, connectionist modelling of consumer choice, market sensing and marketing research, preparing data for analysis, and ethics The book may be used on its own as a textbook and may also be used as a supplementary text in quantitative research courses

Paul M W Hackett’s main area of research is in the theory and application

of categorical ontologies Paul has developed the qualitative or philosophical facet theory approach He has almost 200 publications, including 10 books Paul is a visiting professor at the Universities of Suffolk and Gloucestershire,

a visiting researcher in psychology at Cambridge University and teaches at Emerson College

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

METHODS IN CONSUMER

PSYCHOLOGY

First published 2019

by Routledge

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and by Routledge

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© 2019 Taylor & Francis

The right of Paul M W Hackett to be identified as the author of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced

or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,

or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or

registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Hackett, Paul, 1960– editor.

Title: Quantitative research methods in consumer psychology :

contemporary and data driven approaches / edited by

Paul M W Hackett.

Description: 1 Edition | New York : Routledge, 2019 |

Includes bibliographical references and index |

Identifiers: LCCN 2018030734 (print) | LCCN 2018031723 (ebook) | ISBN 9781315641577 (master eb) | ISBN 9781317280415 (epub) | ISBN 9781317280422 (pdf ) | ISBN 9781317280408 (mobi) | ISBN 9781138182691 (hb : alk paper) | ISBN 9781138182721 (pb : alk paper) | ISBN 9781315641577 (eb)

Subjects: LCSH: Consumers—Psychology | Quantitative research Classification: LCC HF5415.32 (ebook) | LCC HF5415.32 Q36 2019 (print) | DDC 658.8/3420721—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018030734

To my wife, Jessica Schwarzenbach, who in so many ways, is significantly responsible for the completion of this book.

List of Figures, Tables and Boxes ix

Acknowledgments xvi Preface xvii

1 Quantitative Research: Its Place in Consumer Psychology 1

Cathrine V Jansson-Boyd

2 Using Contemporary Quantitative Techniques 22

Or Shkoler

3 Measurement Theory and Psychological Scaling 59

Daniel P Hinton and Tracey Platt

4 Identify, Interpret, Monitor, and Respond to Quantitative

Dr Amy Jauman, SMS

5 Alternative Research Methods: Introducing Market

Sensing—A Qualitative and Interpretive Perspective

David Longbottom and Alison Lawson

CONTENTS

viii Contents

6 Big Data: Data Visualization and Quantitative Research Apps 166

Vaidas Lukošius and Michael R Hyman

7 Exploring Ways of Extracting Insights From Big Data 194

Peter Steidl

8 Contemporary Approaches to Modelling the Consumer 222

Debbie Isobel Keeling

9 Connectionist Modelling of Consumer Choice 247

Max N Greene, Peter H Morgan, and Gordon R Foxall

10 Uniting Theory and Empirical Research: Marketing

Melvin Prince, Gillie Gabay, Constantinos-Vasilios Priporas,

and Howard Moskowitz

11 Ethical Issues in Conducting Psychological Research 298

David B Resnik

12 A User-Friendly Practical Guide to Preparing Data

Kerry Rees

13 Integrating and Writing Up Data-Driven Quantitative

Research: From Design to Result Presentation 376

Paul M W Hackett, Lydia Lu and Paul M Capobianco

Index 407

FIGURES, TABLES AND BOXES

Figures

2.2 Model for a Covariance/Correlation Type Relationship 34

2.5 Model for a Conditioned (‘Moderated’) Relationship 34 2.6 An After-Only Experimental Design Illustration 47

5.1 Exploratory and Explanatory Research Designs 127 5.2 Deep Value Mining Depth Gauge (Hancock & Longbottom, 2017) 148

6.1 Process for Extracting Insights From Big Data 170

8.1 The (Simplified) Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, 1991) 224

x Figures, Tables and Boxes

8.2 Delineating the Model Building Blocks of the Simplified

8.3 A Simplified Version of the Kano Model (1984) 230 8.4 A Simplified UTAUT2 Model with Standardised Coefficients 234 9.1 Schematic Biological and Mathematical Neurons 249 9.2 NN Architecture That Includes Three Layers: Two Nodes

in the Input Layer, Five Nodes in the Hidden Intermediary

9.3 Receiver Operating Characteristic Curves 258 12.1 Example Data Labels in Variable View IBM SPSS 327 12.2 Using the Values Tab to Create Codes for Levels of a Variable 328

12.6 Examples of Histograms With a Normal Curve Overlaid on

12.11b Descriptives Output: Skewness and Kurtosis 341 12.12 Testing Distribution for an Independent Variable With Three

12.17 Selecting Homogeneity Tests for Independent Designs 348

12.24 Preparation for Multiple Regression Analyses 354 12.25 Selecting Options Using the Statistics Menu 355 12.26 Selecting Distances: Identifying Bias in the Multiple

12.30 Output: Assessing Multicollinearity Using Collinearity Statistics 358

Figures, Tables and Boxes xi

12.31 Output: Mahalanobis Distance and Cooks Distance 359 12.32 Output: Assessing Casewise Diagnostics Using the

12.33 Output: Assessing the Assumption of Normally Distributed Errors 361

12.35 Output: Assessing the Durbin Watson Test 362

12.37 Generating Regression Slopes for Each Level of an

12.39 Participants Scores in Each Group of the Independent Variable 366 12.40 Chart Editor: Add Fit Lines at Subgroups 367 12.41 Chart Editor: Selecting the Required Relationship to Be

12.42 Output: Regression Slopes for Each Level of the Independent

Variable 369

12.44 Creating the Interaction Term to Assess Homogeneity of

12.45 Output: Assessing Homogeneity of Regression Slopes 370

Tables

1.1 Differences Between Quantitative and Qualitative Research 6 2.1 Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches and Their

2.3 A Comparison of Observational Methods’ Utility 45 3.1 Summary of Response Formats in Psychometric Scales 69 3.2 Common Measures of Fit Used in CFA (From Hu &

5.1 Comparing Research Philosophy: Positivist and Interpretive 130 5.2 Comparing Research Philosophy: Positivist and Interpretive

5.4 Approaches to Research: Inductive and Deductive 133

5.6 Traditional Research Strategies for Qualitative Research 136

xii Figures, Tables and Boxes

5.8 Further Research Strategies for Qualitative Research 141

5.12 Levels of Questioning: Trust and Time Relationships 149 5.13 Levels of Questioning: Style Implications 149

5.16 Example Summary Derived From Transcript 156 5.17 Example Further Summary Analysis Using Cross Tabular Methods 158 5.18 Example of Horizontal/Thematic Analysis 159

6.1 5Ps and Big Data Analytics (Fan, Lau, & Zhao, 2015) 174 6.2 Marketing Perspective on Big Data (Sheng et al., 2017) 175 6.3 Foundational Technologies and Emerging Research in Big

8.2 Cases Matched to Model Group 2 by Propensity 236 10.1 The Performance of the Elements Based Upon Responses

From Total Panel and the Three Emergent Mind-Sets

10.2 Strongest Performing Elements for the Three Segments and

the Performance of the Same Element for the Total Panel 283 10.3 Linkage Between Elements (Rows) and Feelings (Columns)

Linkage Values Around Five to Six Represent Random

Associations Linkages of 10 or Higher Represent Associations

10.4 The Mind-Typing Questionnaire to Assign a New Patient to

One of the Three Adherence Mid-sets for HF 287 10.5 The Communication Guide to Patients Identified as

Boxes

3.1 Types of Reliability and Validity Relevant for Scale Development 61 3.2 A Case Study Focusing on Positive Affectivity 64

Paul M Capobianco has a degree in Marketing Communications His research interests include religion, philosophy, economics, marketing and as a research assistant he explored the dynamics between creativity, data and strategy.

Gordon R Foxall is the Distinguished Research Professor at Cardiff Business School and Visiting Professor of Economic Psychology at Reykjavik University

He holds PhDs in industrial economics and business studies and in psychology and a higher doctorate (DSocSc) He is the author of some 300 refereed papers and chapters and 35 books He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS), a Fellow of the British Psychological Society (FBPsS), and a Fellow of the British Academy of Management (FBAM) His principal research interests include consumer behavior analysis and the theory of the firm (both fields which

he inaugurated) and the philosophical implications of consumer neuroscience

Gillie Gabay is a Senior Lecturer and a Co-author of the New Novum Organum: Policy, Perceptions and Emotions in health She studies health psychology, the study of psychological and behavioural processes in health, illness and healthcare

Max N Greene comes from an interdisciplinary research background, trained

in marketing and industrial/organizational psychology, and focused on ling consumer behaviour with artificial neural networks for his PhD research Currently, he is a Data Scientist in industry, involved with global business intelli-gence and marketing transformation programmes, and holds a Visiting Researcher position in the Marketing and Strategy Section at Cardiff Business School

model-CONTRIBUTORS

xiv Contributors

Daniel P Hinton is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of verhampton His expertise focuses on assessment, psychometrics and scale development within organizational settings His research has been published in world-leading academic journals

Wol-Michael R Hyman is Distinguished Achievement Professor of Marketing at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces and has numerous journal articles, confer-ence papers, four co-authored/co-edited books, etc

Cathrine V Jansson-Boyd is a Reader in Consumer Psychology at Anglia Ruskin University Cathrine has written two books on consumer psychology, co-edited

the International Handbook of Consumer Psychology and many research articles.

Dr Amy Jauman, SMS, is a Speaker, Professor, a Certified Social Media Strategist and Certified National Institute of Social Media Instructor She has published two books and has a doctorate in organization development

Debbie Isobel Keeling is Professor of Marketing at the University of Sussex She has a background in psychology and extensive research and teaching experience She has authored more than 100 scientific papers, reports and chapters

Alison Lawson is Head of Discipline in Marketing and Operations at Derby Business School Alison teaches research methods and the use of interviewing, case study and appreciative enquiry approaches

David Longbottom is a Reader in Marketing at the University of Derby He has

published more than 50 academic papers and is co-author of Alternative Marketing Research Methods: Market Sensing.

Lydia Lu is a Student at Emerson College and has conducted market research and academic research into areas, such as quick service restaurant industry and the technology industry

Vaidas Lukošius is Associate Professor of Marketing at Tennessee State sity in Nashville, Tennessee He has published in many notable journals, and his research interests include consumer behaviour

Univer-Peter H Morgan is Reader in quantitative analysis at Cardiff Business School where he teaches quantitative methods and researches into sampling methods for consumer price indices, consumer behaviour and neural networks and other adaptive data analysis techniques

Contributors xv

Howard Moskowitz has a PhD in experimental psychology from Harvard University and is a graduate of CUNY He founded Mind Genomics Associates, promoting the new science of Mind Genomics

Tracey Platt is Reader of applied psychology at the University of ton, United Kingdom She has 46 journal articles, book chapters, etc., and won the 2011 Humour Society’s Graduate Student Emerging Scholar award

Wolverhamp-Melvin Prince is Professor of marketing, Southern Connecticut His publications are in innovative methodological analyses, focus groups and survey research He has published over 80 articles on a wide range of topics

Constantinos-Vasilios Priporas is a Senior Lecturer in marketing at Middlesex University Business School, United Kingdom He has published 45 peer-reviewed research papers, 1 co-edited book, 5 book chapters and 25 papers conference papers

Kerry Rees is interested in nonconscious influences on thoughts, feelings and behaviours Specifically, Kerry investigates the role of identity, culture and social values on individual’s decision making and emotional experience

David B Resnik has an MA and PhD in philosophy and has published over 250 articles and 9 books on philosophy and bioethics He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Or Shkoler is an Independent Researcher whose research interests span statistics and data analyses, quantitative research methods, individual differences, organiza-tional behaviour and aspects of work behaviour

Peter Steidl has an MBA and PhD from Vienna University and has been a manent staff member in Austria and Australia His recent publications include, books, book chapters and articles principally on neuromarketing

per-An edited collection of essays stands and falls on the consistence of scholarship and writing embodied in its separate chapters Therefore, the most important acknowledgment I can make is to thank all the authors who invested their time and other resources to ensure the quality of their chapter.

I also thank all the staff members at Routledge who assisted me in the tion of this book, from the initial proposal through to the finished book I offer particular thanks to Julie Toich and Christina Chronister

produc-I decided to assemble this book after finding a need for the information it contains I recognized this need whilst teaching at the Department of Marketing Communication, Emerson College and the Van Loan School, Endicott College

I am extremely grateful to all the students I had the privilege to teach and without whom this book would not have come about

As always, I thank Jessica, my wife, for her unending support

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Why do people select one specific product or brand over another?

Why do some consumers take a long time selecting between different ucts, services and brands, whilst other customers appear to make almost instant decisions?

prod-What are the motivators behind an individual’s consumer related choices?What are the roles of thoughts and emotion in the decisions that consumers make?

In what ways do social groups (from groups of friends to societies) influence the decisions that individual consumers make?

What are the roles of advertisements and other forms of promotional materials that influence consumers’ choices and their other behaviours?

What Is Consumer Psychology?

The earlier questions are typical of the concerns of consumer psychologists and the types of questions they may ask From these questions it is apparent that a large amount of research in consumer psychology addresses the choices that individuals and groups of people make in situations where they are customers or consumers

It is also obvious from these questions that consumer psychology is a branch of theoretical psychology that is concerned with processes such as attitudes, thoughts and emotions However, consumer psychology is also extremely applied in that its focus is on the selection and use by customers of services and products that companies and individuals make available within a market Consumer psychol-ogy is an applied branch of social psychology; however, it is a discipline that uses methods that are drawn from many areas of psychological research to investigate

PREFACE

Division 23 of the American Psychological Association: The Society for sumer Psychology, defines consumer psychology simply as follows:

Con-Consumer psychology employs theoretical psychological approaches to understanding consumers

(American Psychological Association, (undated))

The Encyclopaedia Britannica defines consumer psychology in a slightly broader senses as being a branch of social psychology1 that is interested in the behaviour of consumers in a market situation Consumer psychologists examinethe preferences, customs, and habits of various consumer groups; their research on consumer attitudes is often used to help design advertising cam-paigns and to formulate new products

(The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2018)

Consumer psychology also incorporates considerations regarding how sumers perceive products and services, the information they get about these and the manner in which this information has an effect on how we think, feel and act towards products and services To develop both theoretical and applied knowledge

con-in the field of consumer psychology, researchers adopt a large and varied selection

of research procedures, and the quantitative methods they may employ are the subject matter of this book

Research in Consumer Psychology

Traditionally, within the field of quantitative consumer research, there has been

a long tradition of researchers employing quantitative methods in their research This may well have been because qualitative approaches have a much more recent pedigree in psychological research However, quantitative methods have consti-tuted the backbone of consumer psychology research, as these forms of research are able to produce clear results and insights that have unequalled validity and reliability Some psychologists may also argue that quantitative methods have a much greater predictive power than qualitative approaches In this new book,

I have brought together a series of authors to contribute chapters, each of which

Preface xix

addresses a specific area or orientation towards quantitative consumer psychology research When taken together, the book addresses a broad and fairly comprehen-sive range of approaches to consumer psychology research Moreover, the book

is up to date and presents some of the more recent developments in the area of quantitative consumer research, as well as covering important more established aspects in the area

Synopsis of Chapters

In each of the 13 chapters in this book, an expert, or experts, in consumer chology present a clear and concise account of a selected quantitative research approach or methodology as it may be used on consumer psychology research The chapters offer an expert perspective into this rapidly changing discipline of quantitative consumer research In each chapter, the authors focus on new tech-niques as well as adaptations of traditional approaches Ethics are also addressed, especially as they relate to contemporary research approaches

psy-The first chapter, “Quantitative Research: Its Place in Consumer Psychology”, Cathrine V Jansson-Boyd introduces the ways in which contemporary quantita-tive research approaches are employed in consumer psychology This chapter is placed at the start of the book as it introduces the reader to the book’s main themes, which are further explored in later chapters She presents an overview

of the varied features of quantitative research methods that consumer gists have to consider in their research Jansson-Boyd makes the argument that the quality of any consumer psychology research is dependent upon three things: the theories that underlie any specific piece of research, the knowledge that the researcher possesses and brings to the research process and the way a researcher understands how research must be conducted

psycholo-Or Shkoler is the author of Chapter 2 He presents a thorough review of how contemporary research approaches may be used by consumer psychologists Shkoler sets the scene for his writing by considering the differences between quantitative and qualitative research He notes the fact that consumer psychology

is a branch of social science research and then goes on to examine the ties and properties that the researcher has when deciding on research method-ologies, processes and research designs The author uses the term “empirically sane research” and subsequently sets clear parameters for defining enquiries and hypotheses whilst evaluating relationships between associations, causality and hypotheses Shkoler stresses the importance of developing good hypotheses in relation to which he stresses the need for using a well-established theoretical background to provide the foundations for good hypotheses and research Fur-thermore, he distinguishes between null hypothesis and the alternative/research hypotheses, primary data and secondary data sources and explores measurement, operationalization and sampling

possibili-Chapter 3 is by Danny P Hinton and Tracey Platt on measurement ory, psychological scaling and psychometrics, as well as using tools to measure

Social media and digital market analysis are the subjects Dr Amy Jauman, addresses in Chapter 4 She starts by noting how social media offers marketers unique insights into the psychological processes of consumers Then in her chap-ter she outlines four steps that the author proposes should be followed by anyone wishing to evaluate a brand’s digital presence, and she continues by demonstrating how the results of such evaluations can be utilized in a social media strategic plan Understanding social media has become central to the activities of consumer psy-chologists and marketers alike, and in her chapter, Jauman emphasizes the impor-tance of this media when she claims, “The savvy marketer knows how to identify relevant information on social media sites, interpret the findings, monitor data over time, and respond to consumers and competitors in a way that’s most likely

to be beneficial to their business.”

The authors of Chapter 5, David Longbottom and Alison Lawson, pursue a slightly different line of thought to the rest of the book’s content when they consider qualitative research However, they do not view qualitative research as an approach on its own but when it is used to elucidate quantitative consumer psy-chology research findings They present alternative qualitative research methods and initially explain the context and philosophy behind this type of research They then continue by taking the reader through the sequentially presented process of strategy, planning, data collection, data analysis and data presentation

Digital media are again at the heart of the research approaches discussed

in Chapter 6 Authors Vaidas Lukošius and Michael R Hyman address what is known as big data and the use of apps to visualize this type of information con-tained in that data The learning objectives put forward for the chapter provide

a clear understanding of its content The authors start by defining big data and describing the assumptions that are associated with this form of data They then progress by describing the processes that may be used to extract insights from big data, and they explain and illustrate how big data is currently used, with reference

to marketing research The next section of their chapter considers how emerging research in big data analytics may be appraised, and they conclude by suggesting dimensions for troubleshooting the transition from small data to big data

Chapter 7 is by Peter Steidl who explores how insight may be extracted from online data He commences his exploration by focusing not on technical com-ponents of data extraction but on the prerequisites that facilitate the successful exploration and use of data Instead of simply providing a list of facts and asser-tions, the author makes the content of his writing more engaging when he “tells his own story” about his research experiences Steidl notes how the changes that have happened in software may have made previous understanding obsolete He

Preface xxi

stresses that domain-specific experience is required in order not to miss tant patterns, meanings and the significance of researchers’ findings Peter stresses that to identify new and better ways to address the challenges of understanding consumers, the researcher needs to be wary of outdated conventions that could distort analyses to confirm their pre-conceptions Illustrations of specific projects and a case study are provided Finally, artificial intelligence is forwarded as an optimization tool and differences between traditional statistics and AI are noted from a user’s perspective

Debbie Isobel Keeling claims in Chapter 8 that modelling plays an tant role in consumer psychology and that this may provide understanding about consumers in many diverse contexts Modelling, Keeling claims, is also funda-mental to our understanding of consumer decision making and the willingness

impor-of consumers to take risks In her chapter, she therefore considers rary approaches to modelling the consumer, and she provides examples such as the modelling of consumer profiles She notes how consumer psychologists are able to model consumer attitudes, peer influences and individual differences in personality and health status so as to enable the design of advertising campaigns that encourage healthy living practices Modelling, she claims, may also be used

contempo-to effectively segment consumers incontempo-to groups that then allows marketing munications, products, services and recommendation systems to be tailored to the segments’ needs Central to the chapter is the assertion that the term modelling when used in consumer psychology must involve a complete process that involves defined objectives, design, data collection and analysis If conceived in this man-ner, modelling, she states, allows the development and/or testing of theories relat-ing to why consumers behave as they do Furthermore, Keeling suggests that modelling yields results that may be analysed using path models, equations, charts, matrices and many other ways to facilitate a holistic indication of the interactions between the important influencers on consumer behaviour

com-In Chapter 9, Max N Greene, Peter H Morgan and Gordon R Foxall proffer

a connectionist modelling of consumer choice Their principle aim in this chapter

is to propose connectionist models as explanations for consumer behaviour In doing this, they concentrate on feedforward artificial neural-network models, and,

by using connectionist constructs, they associate this with the theoretical work of the Behavioural Perspective Model The research presented came out of

frame-a project which exframe-amined frame-a lframe-arge number of neurframe-al-network models of vframe-arying complexity which were evaluated in terms of their ability to predict consumer behaviour The authors also compared their results to logistic regression Based upon their results, the authors claim that when studying consumer behaviour, neural networks are useful and offer enhanced understanding to the methods that are usually used in consumer behaviour analysis and connectionist models dem-onstrate potential for predicting and explaining consumer behaviour

In the tenth chapter, Melvin Prince, Costas Priporas, Gillie Gabay and Howard Moskowitz present an approach for uniting theory and empirical research with market sensing and marketing research Market research, they say, when viewed

xxii Preface

within the context of market sensing, is able to play a role in the organization and extension of knowledge regarding markets and their consumer Marketing research is able to perform in this way through the production of raw data that may be assembled and analysed in order to provide useful information upon which actions may be based This data may also allow the estimating of the way

in which the market may respond to such actions and allow recommendations regarding marketing actions and the allocation of a company’s resources

Chapter 11 is entitled “ Ethical Issues in Conducting Psychological Research”

In this chapter, David B Resnik provides information that should be required reading for all quantitative consumer psychology researchers (and as this informa-tion is applicable outside of consumer psychology, for researchers in a more gen-eral sense) The chapter provides a review of the ethical issues that are associated with psychological research Resnik emphasizes that many forms of psychological research raise ethical issues Amongst these issues are generic research concerns, such as how to avert and regulate misconduct, how to manage data, issues with authorship and conflicts of interest He also considers issues associated specifically with psychological research, such as the deception of human subjects in behav-ioural experiments

In Chapter 12, Kerry Rees provides a user-friendly practical guide to paring data for analysis in the form of a hands-on guide to thinking about and screening data He stresses the importance of considering data preparation, as, he says, this influences the results of statistics used and has a direct impact on the ability to infer from results Rees commences by noting that statistical tests focus

pre-on significance that support or reject the hypothesis(es) at a given level of nificance of confidence In his chapter, Rees concentrates on parametric tests and their assumptions Analysis, Rees says, is, at a basic level, rooted in the decisions that we make that are based upon our understanding of the data and based upon this understanding the researcher plans data collection and analysis He states that his chapter is a guide for making these decisions when preparing data for analysis

sig-In the final chapter, Paul M W Hackett, Lydia Lu and Paul Capobianco sider the end point in a quantitative consumer psychology research project: inte-grating the findings from multiple research procedures in a coherent manner They state that they will

con-attempt to both unite and conclude the writing in the previous chapters and to provide a framework for researchers to use to bring together their quantitative research projects in a coherent manner that does not impose

an artificial structure upon their research design, writing and conclusions.The authors commence by claiming that research planning and research design have a profound effect on the research conducted through to the point at which the research will eventually be written up They address how multiple research procedures within a single research study may be coordinated and integrated

Preface xxiii

Hackett and colleagues propose that to achieve an integrated research design through to write-up, the mapping sentence offers a tool that will enable such coherence They provide illustrations of several mapping sentences, including the research design mapping sentence, the project planning mapping sentence and the traditional and declarative mapping sentences within complex quantita-tive consumer psychological research Mapping sentences, they say, are especially well suited for facilitating coherence within quantitative consumer psychological research, as the mapping sentence provides a flexible structure for the research that may be adapted to a specific research context

Using the Book

It has been my intention in compiling this book that it should form a text that is appropriate for use with university and college students at all academic levels In order to make the book applicable to undergraduate through to doctoral students,

I have attempted to ensure that the author for each chapter provides both a retical grounding in the contents of the chapter and also that they provide applied examples of the use of the approach and methods they describe in consumer settings The text is made more appropriate for use as a textbook as exercises are provided at the end of each chapter to test student learning of the chapter’s contents The book may be used on its own as a textbook and may also be used

theo-as a supplementary text to more general textbooks in quantitative research We have attempted in this book to provide readers with information about the major quantitative research approaches that are used in consumer psychology along with details of some new approaches that they may consider employing in their research

Note

1 It should be noted that some consider consumer psychology to be a branch of industrial and organizational psychology.

References

American Psychologival Association (undated) Society for Consumer Psychology Retrieved

June 26, 2018, from www.apa.org/about/division/div23.aspx

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (2018) Consumer psychology Encyclopædia

Bri-tannica website, Encyclopædia BriBri-tannica, inc August 24, 2017 Retrieved June 26,

2018, from www.britannica.com/science/consumer-psychology

The rapid development of models and theories within consumer psychology

is a parallel progression to the expansion of the field as a whole Such sion is applicable both to the number of people conducting research within the area and the integration of ideas and methods from related disciplines With the rapid growth, research has become ever more competitive as researchers strive

expan-to move our understanding of this discipline forward Now more than ever it is essential to have a good and clear understanding of research methods as well as

an in-depth knowledge of the specific areas that are being investigated This is particularly important as consumer behaviour is becoming increasingly complex The complexity stems from the fact that consumer psychology has become a field in which the theoretical underpinnings are drawn from a wide range of sister disciplines (e.g social psychology, neuroeconomics, cognitive psychology, marketing, economics, advertising, sociology and neuroscience) This means that researchers now need a broader knowledge base in order to ensure that they have a good understanding of their favoured research topic, with the result being that consumer psychology is a truly applied research area However, it does pose

2 Cathrine V Jansson-Boyd

some difficulties, such as that researchers need to have a broader understanding of human behaviour in order to understand how their own work fits This opens up new opportunities for using different types of research methods that may be bor-rowed from a related discipline Venturing into using new techniques and equip-ment may require training Thus, researchers are faced with different research skills requirements to those needed previously

This chapter will introduce you to the idea that theory has an important role

to play within consumer psychological research It will provide you with an all perspective of why consumer scientists need to distinguish between quantita-tive and qualitative research methods Furthermore, the chapter will explain how quantitative methods set themselves apart from qualitative methods, as well as why consumer psychologists have increasingly relied on quantitative methods as their preferred method of investigation The chapter will outline how traditional quantitative approaches have changed to include what are seen as less traditional techniques that are often based on techniques used by related disciplines such

over-as neuroscience ‘Borrowing’ quantitative research methods from related areover-as has undoubtedly helped deepen the understanding of consumer behaviour by encouraging systematic investigation of consumer psychology Hence the chapter will outline the significance of having a good understanding of different types of methodologies as well as statistical comprehension

Chapter Learning Objectives

The main take away message from this chapter is that quantitative research is fundamental to consumer psychology However, as with any scientific discipline, there is also room for qualitative work depending on what is being investigated Thus, it is not proposed that taking a quantitative approach to consumer research

is the be-all and end-all Once you have read this chapter, you should have an appreciation that consumer psychological research should be driven by a clear and coherent understanding of the topic investigated You should recognize that

it is the concepts that you wish to investigate and the suited theoretical pinnings that should guide the research processes and chosen methodology As a scientist, it is imperative to recognize that one cannot take the approach that ‘one model fits all’ kinds of research Many scientists appear to prefer to repeatedly use certain types of methods However, science progresses better when ensuring that the methods used are fit for purpose Hence, it may at times mean that you will have to step out of your comfort zone and that you will have to use a quantitative

under-or qualitative methodology under-or even a mixed methods approach that you have not previously used Undoubtedly, it can be difficult to come to grips with different paradigms and perspectives (Kuhn, 1970) Nonetheless, consumer psychologists should embrace the idea that research is a creative process and never be afraid of experimenting with new techniques if this is what is going to give you the most robust results

Quantitative Research 3

The role of theory

A theory is effectively a set of interconnected ideas, definitions, and

proposi-tions that explains or predicts events or situaproposi-tions by specifying the relaproposi-tionship among variables (Campbell & Pennebaker, 2017) It is a key ingredient in the research process, and it is essential to know how you should use theories, as it will make you more successful when it comes to generating research questions How theories are developed differs, as some are based on a conceptual framework whilst others have empirical underpinnings Increasingly, ‘testability’ of a theory

is important, in particular in consumer psychology, as it otherwise may lack life application and thus cast a shadow of doubt on the usefulness of the theories After all, consumer psychology deals with real-life concepts, so it is therefore important that the theories are ecologically valid

real-For all consumer theories, the idea of generality and/or broad application is important Hence, a theory is by its very nature abstract and not topic specific Some theories may emphasize or address the same general ideas However, each theory is unique by the terminology used to communicate the factors deemed

to be important

For most research topics, successful interventions are clearly dependent on the use of appropriate theory Different theories may be better suited to different types of research such as, for example, groups, individuals or organizations Also, ask yourself if the theories you intend to draw upon provide your work with the insight required to make your research findings more ecologically valid

Consumer psychology as a discipline has been under fierce critique that it is often working within a narrow framework Pham (2013) has even labelled the restrictive ways of working as a consumer a psychological sin Such labelling stems from the fact that the discipline has traditionally focussed too much on three specific theoretical paradigm, which are cognitive psychology, social psy-chology, and behavioural decision theory (Pham, 2013) Narrow frameworks can restrict the applicability of research findings to anything other than academics and in some cases not even other researchers (Pham, 2013) This is unfortunate,

as consumerism is very much a part of our everyday lives, and thus research within this field should genuinely investigate what happens in real life Con-sumer psychology should also aim to keep pace with the rest of the scientific community, and there has globally been a shift to emphasize real-life application This is something that is evident from funding calls made by research councils

as well as research-based governmental funding (e.g the Research Excellence Framework (REF) in the UK) Ideally, as an applied researcher, your work should aim to reach far and wide, and it is therefore essential to pick the ‘right’ theo-ries that can help you to achieve such an aim This may mean that you at times need to be ‘bold’ in your decisions and look for new and novel theories that you may wish to borrow from other (related) disciplines Recently, within con-sumer psychology, there has been an increasing amount of work that is drawing

“baby is not thrown out with the bathwater” Researchers should, at least for now, be encouraged to make use of sound theoretical knowledge, though they should be bold in their choices and branch out to look for underpinnings that can aid the exploration of new and exciting areas.

Theories, Be-All and End-All?

There is no doubt that the use of theories has advanced the field of consumer psychology Equally, they are a critical tool in providing researchers with a good framework for further testing However, by continuing to use the same theo-retical structure as before, it is possible that consumer psychologists may hamper progress or at least decrease the pace at which we further the understanding of the discipline This is because there can be an overreliance on theories, ultimately constraining researchers from thinking outside the box and exploring different perspectives that could lead to a new theoretical framework that may take us in

an entirely new and different direction That is not to suggest that theories are redundant but rather that researchers may at times need to be brave enough to deviate from what is currently considered to be the norm Alba (2012) has noted that some of the more exciting findings within the area of consumer behaviour have come from work that can be described as descriptive For example, Dickson and Sawyer (1990) observed supermarket shoppers and found that they have poor awareness of the prices of products they have just purchased It is findings such as the aforementioned that have led to the proposal that consumer psy-chologists should more commonly consider broadening the epistemology used (Pham, 2013)

Quantitative Research 5

What Method?

There is a long-standing debate within the scientific research community in regard to the method that should be employed when conducting research Usu-ally, this debate is centred on whether to use a quantitative or qualitative approach

to research, which is a somewhat crude and broad definition, as it undermines some important differences of each methodological approach Consumer psy-chology as a discipline has moved towards the use of quantitative methods, some-thing that has been paralleled with an advanced understanding of the discipline and increased sophistication in statistical analysis A high number of published studies use experimentally based research structures and thus use statistical means

to analyse the data Effectively, an experiment tries to measure the effects of X

on Y by controlling X and measuring Y, while at the same time keeping thing else constant Hence, X (usually called the independent variable or IV) and

every-Y (usually called the dependent variable or DV) will need to be predetermined

A quick search in the Journal of Consumer Psychology (which is devoted to

psy-chological perspectives on the study of the consumer) reveals that the majority

of the papers published in the last ten years are in fact using quantitatively based methodologies Equally, a high number of consumer-based studies, published in other related journals, also predominantly employ a quantitative approach for investigative purposes Many areas lend themselves particularly well to be inves-tigated by using experimental designs, such as the role of touch in consumption (e.g Jansson-Boyd & Marlow, 2007) or how emotions influence consumers (e.g Gorn, Pham, & Sin, 2001)

A significant proportion of quantitatively based studies make use of naires to gather information about the consumers they wish to target Question-naires often allow researchers to gather a great deal of specific information Just

question-as with experimental studies, these will also be analysed by using statistical means There are, however, those who question if the use of questionnaires is genuinely an effective tool when it comes to measuring consumer responses (e.g Reid, 2013) This critique is largely based on the fact that consumers provide socially desirable answers to questions Equally, questionnaires often fail to measure more subtle aspects that consumers are unaware of, such as implicit thoughts and emotions

Distinguishing Between Quantitative

and Qualitative Research

In order to have a clear appreciation for quantitative methodologies and see how they are best suited for your research, you also need to understand the fundamental key differences between qualitative and quantitative methods Broadly, both quan-titative and qualitative concepts refer to the typology of the research in meanings

of technique, instruments, data gathering, and analysis of the data collected For key differences between quantitative and qualitative methods, see Table 1.1

6 Cathrine V Jansson-Boyd

Quantitative data generates numerical data or data that can be put into

catego-ries, such as ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers For example, a scientist may use a Likert scale

(a rating scale) to measure participants’ responses The fact that quantitative data can be interpreted with the use of statistics means that it is viewed to be scientifi-cally objective (Carr, 1994; Denscombe, 2010)

Experiments typically yield quantitative data, as they are structured to ured specific outcomes It is worth bearing in mind that experimental methods limit the ways in which participants can react to and express appropriate socially linked behaviour, which is something that often influences consumers in real life Thus, the outcome of an experiment is context bound and simply a reflection

meas-of the assumptions originally made by the researcher when structuring the study Consequently, the ecological validity of the study may be called into question However, as previously mentioned, experiments are not the only option, and scientists can also make use of questionnaires and even controlled observations, as both produce quantitative data

Quantitative methodologies usually require larger sample groups A larger ple size is important in that smaller sample sizes can make the study less reliable because of the low quantity of data (Denscombe, 2010) A smaller sample size would also hamper the ability to extrapolate the findings to a wider audience However, this can also be the case when the testing population is a very specific sample group which may behave or respond differently to the population at large.For quantitative methods, the collected data is mostly quantifiable Statistics helps us to summarize our data, describing patterns, relationships, and connections

sam-TABLE 1.1 Differences Between Quantitative and Qualitative Research

Quantitative method Qualitative method

Features • Data is collected through

measuring different aspects

• Quantifiable data

• Statistical measurement

• Positivist theory

• Concerned with understanding human behaviour from an individual perspective

• Describes the nature of a phenomenon

• Statistical analysis (e.g

regression, ANOVA, t test)

• Data is analysed by extracting information from information gathered

• Thematic analysis

• Content analysis Adapted from Minichiello, Aroni, Timewell, and Alexander (1990)

Quantitative Research 7 Statistics can be descriptive (when the data summarizes a given data set so that patterns may emerge from the data) or inferential (allows the researcher

to identify statistically significant differences between groups and make sions about the data set) Researchers are usually interested in causal relation-ships between different concepts and by doing so can accept or reject hypotheses

conclu-A great strength of using quantitative research is that it can be—for example when using questionnaires—an efficient way to get great coverage in terms of participa-tion, and it is also relatively economic

It is important to understand that all research methods have the capacity to be flawed In addition to the already mentioned experimentally based limitations, they also don’t allow participants to explain their choices or their understanding

of the questions (Carr, 1994) Black (1999) has pointed out that the researcher him or herself can also be an obstacle to conducting quantitative studies success-fully, in that poor knowledge of the area researched can lead to a poor structure

of the actual study Equally, a poor understanding of the application of statistical analysis may negatively affect the analysis and subsequent interpretation

Quantitative methodologies have become the research paradigm commonly

employed by those studying consumer behaviour A paradigm, in this context,

is a group of researchers sharing common assumptions about a specific topic, using similar methods, and dealing with comparable problems (Kuhn, 1970) Supporters of a paradigm share a common view of ‘the consumer world’ and methods employed to explore this world view are guided from the common perspective (Thompson, Locander, & Pollio, 1989) Many consumer psycholo-gists currently believe that quantitative methods are essential as they are designed

to ensure objectivity and reliability This development is a reflection of the fact that many researchers have a need to view human beings in a reductionist man-ner, as it simplifies predictions of consumer behaviours Presumably, this is also largely driven by the fact that specific recommendations can be made in regard

to factors that can be altered to change behaviours and communicate effectively with consumers This is something that is difficult to do on the back of qualita-tive research, as there may be ‘multiple’ solutions to one question Quantitative techniques can be sharply contrasted with qualitative perspectives, such as the existential- phenomenological view Using this approach, consumer researchers are challenged not to interpret human behaviours through quantitative means, as

it is deemed to be a narrow framework (Thompson, Locander, & Pollio, 1989) Existential-phenomenological psychology is humanistic in its approach and argues that humans should be looked at through the meanings that people make

in their lives that are subsequently reflected in the choices they make and iours they engage in This particular qualitative approach is closely associated with the philosophical teachings of Sartre (1962/orig 1943), Heidegger (1962/orig 1927), and Merleau-Ponty (1962/orig 1945) However, philosophical underpin-nings are also the basis for other qualitative research methods, such as phenom-enology and ethnomethodology There is a lot to be said in favour of using an

behav-8 Cathrine V Jansson-Boyd

existential-phenomenological approach or indeed any qualitative approach in consumer sciences However, the impracticalities of doing so is one reason why psychology has been driven in the direction of positivist approaches whereby rig-orous testing is key to achieving a clear understanding of behaviour One reason

is that qualitative methodologies are usually not as cost-effective as quantitative methodologies They also require a fair amount of time to conduct Even though qualitative designs do not make use of large sample sizes, researchers usually spend

a considerable amount of time with each research participant Furthermore, it

is difficult to replicate any contexts, situations, events, conditions, and tions that are studied Neither can you make generalizations to a wider context, something that is particularly important when studying consumer behaviour, as consumer psychologists are usually interested in knowing what the vast majority

interac-of people do

What About Business-Led Research?

Increasingly, businesses have shown an interest in conducting consumer psychology– based research in order to further the understanding of human behaviour, ulti-mately in the hope of increasing their business profits Unilever, Chrysler, Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, and Johnson & Johnson are all big organizations that have both funded and published research based on the outcomes of their research Large companies are often interested in being innovative in their work

to give them an advantage over competitors Not all work conducted within business organizations is suitable for publishing Some may only wish to conduct research that is quick and that provides a snapshot of different aspects of consumer behaviours, whilst others may not make use of research tools properly, and there can be some ambiguity in regard to results Such work also requires (just as more detailed work) a clear (and often broader) understanding for other related work previously conducted

Nevertheless, business-led research can help us get a better in-depth perspective

of consumer behaviours as well as provide scientists with potential testing grounds for academic theories Bearing in mind that consumer psychology is a discipline that focuses on ‘real-life’ behaviours, it is important to have a good relationship with the business world in order to ensure that we work within the parameters of ecological validity Ideally, there should be a continuous flow of information between indus-try and academia to avoid researchers becoming detached from how the business world operates Thus, we should be interested in considering how the use of specific methods might have an influence on whether businesses find our findings useful

In many cases, organizations find quantitative research more valuable, as it allows them to get an overview of how larger consumer groups may act, feel, and think

It is logical that quantitative methodologies will dominate business-led, based research, as being able to change even a small percentage of a large number of consumers can be hugely profitable Furthermore, some quantitative methods, such

consumer-Quantitative Research 9

as surveys, are easy and quick to conduct, which can also be beneficial, as time may

be limited if a fast turnaround is required

Consumer Neuroscience: An Extended Family Member

The fact that businesses have shown an interest in neuroscience (e.g Nielsen and Unilever) may have accelerated the incorporation of it into the discipline of consumer psychology The methodologies used within consumer neuroscience now has a role to play in shaping the methods used in consumer psychology Over the last couple of decades consumer researchers have been forced to ask themselves whether they are approaching different lines of investigation from the correct angle Especially as the area of neuroscience has progressed rapidly and highlighted that there are still unexplored areas to tap into As a result, in the last decade it appears that consumer psychologists are keen to incorporate elements

of neuroscience into the field and hence consumer neuroscience is now emerging

as a new field

Consumer neuroscience investigates problems of consumption and marketing through methods and findings from neuroscience (Lee, Broderick, & Chamberlain, 2007; Fugate, 2008) However, this pose a challenge for consumer psychologists more broadly as they need to get to grips with the field of neuroscience, an area that was previously largely ignored

The discipline of consumer neuroscience has mainly emerged from the discipline of neuroeconomics and thus methodologies are also borrowed from the way in which they conduct research (Camerer, Loewenstein, & Prelec, 2005; Braeutigam, 2005; Fehr, Fischbacher, & Kosfeld, 2005; Kenning & Plassmann, 2005; Singer & Fehr, 2005) The incorporation of neuroimaging tools in con-sumer psychological research is relatively new and deemed to be an exciting development (Ariely & Berns, 2010) This includes methods such as electroen-cephalography (EEG), positron emission tomography (PET) and functional mag-netic resonance imaging (fMRI)

sub-EEG measures voltage fluctuations on the scalp This is done by placing trodes on the skin which can detect electrical potentials that are produced by neurons As with a lot of research tools, there are limitations, and this has sparked a debate about the usefulness of EEG (Knight, 2004) Nevertheless, there are some interesting consumer-based studies that have made use of EEG that shows that

elec-it can be effectively employed to further the understanding of consumer iour For example, Young (2002) used it as an investigative tool to look at ‘brand-ing moments’ in television commercials He found that there was a correlation between moments identified by brain waves and moments identified by use of

behav-a behbehav-aviourbehav-al, behav-attention-sensitive method of picture sorting Thus, showing thbehav-at brand moments are important in television commercials

PET and fMRI both provide a different perspective, as they allow a direct observation of brain processes (Plassmann, Ambler, Braeutigam, & Kenning, 2007)

10 Cathrine V Jansson-Boyd

and such brain imaging techniques are currently the most commonly used scientific tools (Camerer et al., 2005; Logothetis, 2008; Logothetis, Pauls, Augath, Trinath, & Oeltermann, 2001) across the neuroscientific field fMRI is perhaps the most promising technology used in neuroscience (Shamoo, 2010) as typically

neuro-it compares a person’s brain activation under two condneuro-itions, a control condneuro-ition and an experimental task condition This allows for a comparison in activation between the two conditions Usually, there are multiple trials that are averaged when conducting statistical analysis (Kenning et al., 2007; Huettel et al., 2009).There are different strengths and weaknesses to each neuroscience-based tool

In order to generate more robust findings, it may be an idea to combine two or more types of methods Similarly to a game of Sudoku, different clues can assist

in filling in the other gaps, thus learning from other tools (Kenning & Linzmajer, 2011) Undeniably, the use of different neuroscience tools provides consumer psy-chologists with opportunities to investigate different aspects to consumer behav-iour that could otherwise not be explored At times, such measures may provide

a more objective perspective, at least comparatively to self-assessment methods (Huettel, Song, & McCarthy, 2004) It opens doors for the integration and testing

of different theories that are based on neural mechanisms Drawing more broadly

on biology-based areas may help to address areas of consumer research that have

a high level of unexplained variance (Riedl et al., 2010a, b)

In particular, it is worth remembering that many consumer behaviours pens with minimal or no awareness (Kahneman, 2003), and thus neuroscience-based methods may provide insight into matters that we simply can’t just ask consumers about One aspect that can be difficult to investigate is pricing, as consumers often fail to remember a price (Vanhuele & Drèze, 2002; Evanschitzky, Kenning, & Vogel, 2004; Ofir, Raghubir, Brosh, Monroe, & Heiman, 2008) There are also other difficulties with asking about pricing, as similar price levels can

hap-be perceived differently depending on the type of product Higher prices can hap-be perceived as a sign of good quality; however, it can also deter consumers from purchasing something if an increase is perceived as something they must give up and consequently experience a sense of loss (Lichtenstein et al., 1993; Völckner & Hofmann, 2007) One example of how such difficulties can be overcome can be noted from a study conducted by Knutson et al (2007) They used an fMRI scan-ner to examine “whether distinct neural circuits respond to product preference versus excessive prices as well as if anticipatory activation extracted from these regions could independently predict subsequent decisions to purchase” (p 148) Firstly, they showed participants an image of a product, this was followed by the same image but this time with a price from which they had to determine if they wished to purchase the product The findings revealed that product preferences correlated with the activation of the nucleus accumbens (triggered by anticipation

of gains) whilst the insula (associated with anticipation of losses) was correlated with excessive pricing These findings are consistent with other neuroimaging studies in terms of which areas are activated by the anticipation of gains and losses

Quantitative Research 11

Furthermore, Knutson et al., also noted that the medial prefrontal cortex was correlated with reduced prices It was found that the activation of these regions predicted subsequent purchase much better than the self-report measures used Thus it seems that there are specific neural representations, i.e the insula, that can reflect negative price effects Other studies, just like Knutson et al., have also demonstrated that pricing activates the medial prefrontal cortex This was found

by Plassmann et al (2008) when their participants evaluated more expensive wine

as being more pleasant Thus suggesting that the change of price can influence neural representations of the pleasantness experienced by consumers What Plass-mann et al.’s (2008) and Knutson et al.’s (2007) studies essentially show us in terms of research methods is that using a neuroscience-based method can help consumer psychologists to overcome some of the difficulties we face when wish-ing to tap into subconscious influences It also shows the importance of having a good understanding of quantitative methods as they correlate the neuroimaging with other quantitative measures

Other positive aspects of looking to neuroscience for solutions, even though a relatively minor point, is that these sort of studies overcome the problem of social desirability, as participants can’t control their brain activity (Camerer et al., 2005)

It may seem that neuroscience-based studies are the solutions to many of the problems we face as researchers However, it is worth remembering that they are very expensive to conduct and can be very time consuming (e.g Ariely & Berns, 2010; Riedl et al., 2010b) As there are a limited number of studies conducted to date, there is a need to conduct more in order to validate and further the under-standing of consumer neuroscience (e.g Kenning & Linzmajer, 2011; Vul et al., 2009) Equally, the small number of participants used, usually due to the costs involved in using a high number, raise some concern in regard to whether the findings can be extrapolated onto the wider population (e.g Kenning & Linz-majer, 2011) However, this may be offset by the fact that different researchers seem to have come to the same conclusions regarding brain activation, regard-less of where the studies have been conducted, and with the use of different types of experimental approaches (e.g Ambler et al., 2000; McClure et al., 2004; Koenigs & Tranel, 2007; Kenning et al., 2007; Plassmann et al., 2007) Even so, the argument has been made that the consistency in findings may be a problem

in that the brain seems to process semantic variations between different brands in

a similar fashion and hence indicate that the methods employed are too crude to accurately measure more subtle brain activations that may constitute significant brand differences (Savoy, 2005) Undoubtedly, fMRI is a very complicated research method to employ (Savoy, 2005) and thus even more reason as to why a researcher needs to be entirely at ease with the research literature prior to embarking on designing a new research programming that is reliant on using neuroscientific data It is not within the realms of this chapter to go into detail about EEG, PET, and fMRI Should you wish to find out more about these tools, there are several overviews that can provide a good starting point for further exploration (e.g Lee,

12 Cathrine V Jansson-Boyd

Broderick, & Chamberlain, 2007; Camerer et al., 2005; Kenning & Plassmann, 2005; Kenning et al., 2007; Lee et al., 2007; Perrachione & Perrachione, 2008; Riedl et al., 2010a)

Difficulties Using Quantitative Methods in Consumer Sciences

Statistical methods have become increasingly sophisticated but, essentially, they are only as good as the method employed If the method is not robust, then it does not matter what analysis is used, as the outcome will still be flawed Using the cor-rect quantitative method is imperative to a successful research outcome It starts with the research design, and it is important to carefully consider that the method employed will closely fit with the analysis that the researcher intends to use

If you choose to use an experimental design, you should aim to be as objective

as possible Researchers should be emotionally indifferent about the respondents, and you should test variables in fully controlled conditions (Mesly, 2015) To do

so effectively, two ‘identical’ groups are needed One group to test one particular variable and another to act as a control group In addition, all the other variables would need to be exactly the same This is simply not possible when working with human beings, as they are not the same, and thus one can never have a con-trol group that is identical to the experimental group Naturally, one way of over-coming such a problem could be to employ a repeated measure design whereby you have one group of participants that takes part in two or more measures and allows you to compare whether individuals produce a different outcome depend-ing on the variables introduced

Other problems with quantitative research methods resides within potential sources for method bias (see Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Lee, & Podsakoff, 2003, for

an overview and additional biases), and in particular when using questionnaires,

a tool commonly used within social sciences In particular, there are two types

of bias that researchers need to overcome: social desirability bias and ency motif Self-report methods can be difficult in creating ‘genuine’ responses,

consist-as people often respond in a socially desirable way Social desirability is when

people have a “need for social approval and acceptance and the belief that it can be attained by means of culturally acceptable and appropriate behaviors” (Crowne & Marlowe, 1964, p 109) It is not uncommon that people wish to present them-selves in a favourable light This may be something that younger generations are particularly prone to, as they are often avid users of social media and thus virtu-ally brought up thinking about their self-images and how to control them When people’s responses to questions reflect how they wish to be perceived, rather than answer truthfully, it can distort the relationship between one or more variables (Ganster, Hennessey, & Luthans, 1983) Thus it can skew or even hide the real relationships that a researcher is hoping to tap into

People also tend to maintain consistency between their attitudes and cognitions (e.g Heider, 1958; McGuire, 1966) when answering questions, something that has

Quantitative Research 13 been referred to as ‘consistency motif’ ( Johns, 1994; Podsakoff & Organ, 1986;

Schmitt, 1994; Podsakoff et al., 2003) People do so because they wish to appear rational and therefore search for similar features in the questions so that they can respond in a similar fashion on those questions The problem with this (similar to the social desirability bias) is that it produces associations between questions that may not otherwise exist The consistency motif becomes particularly apparent

in situations whereby they are asked to provide information about feelings and behaviour a while after they have experienced them (Podsakoff et al., 2003) Pre-sumably, people then fail to remember accurately what they thought at the time

or why they did something and thus wish to present a rational account

Creative Methods

Not only has there been a move towards the use of quantitative methods but also

a move towards creatively overcoming previous problems in research to extract genuine responses from participants This is often done by the use of technology, and one great example of this is the Implicit Association Test (IAT)

The relationship between attitudes and behaviour is an important one to sumer psychologists in that we would like to have a clear understanding how people’s attitudes can be influenced (in terms of marketing) Hence, we have seen

con-a strecon-am of investigcon-ations thcon-at hcon-ave con-attempted to explore this (e.g Ajzen, 1991; Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980; Ajzen & Madden, 1986; Bargh, Chen, & Burrows, 1996; Fazio, 1989, 1990; Fazio, Chen, McDonel, & Sherman, 1982; Fazio & Zanna, 1978a) Such work has often been correlational in nature, and the work itself has involved asking participants about their attitudes and specific behaviours (e.g., Bagozzi, 1981; Bentler & Speckart, 1981; Davidson & Jaccard, 1979; Fazio & Williams, 1986; Fazio & Zanna, 1978b; Lavine, Thomsen, Zanna, & Borgida, 1998) The problem is that such work does not necessarily demonstrate whether attitudes predicts behaviour A problem is that we can’t know for certain that we are indeed tapping into peoples’ genuine attitudes by asking them to respond to questions about different topics People are not always conscious of the attitudes they hold and may therefore not be captured by self-report measures (e.g Bargh & Chartrand, 1999; Dovidio, Kawakami, Johnson, Johnson, & Howard, 1997; Fazio, Jackson, Dunton, & Williams, 1995; Greenwald & Banaji, 1995; Hetts, Sakuma, & Pelham, 1999; Jones, Pelham, Mirenberg, & Hetts, 2002; von Hippel, Sekaqua-ptewa, & Vargas, 1997; Wittenbrink, Judd, & Park, 1997) This is why the IAT has been a welcomed addition to the research scene, as it has the capacity to measure implicit aspects of attitudes Basically, the test measures strengths of associations between concepts by detecting response latencies in computer-based categoriza-tion tasks This enables researchers to test attitudes to topics that people may not otherwise be able to or want to admit to For example, the IAT has been used

to measure racially based attitudes The IAT is now relatively commonly used

14 Cathrine V Jansson-Boyd

amongst social science researchers and has been found to be a reliable measure across different domains, including consumer psychology (Hao & Wang, 2013)

Don’t Be Afraid to Replicate

As quantitative data is based on measured values, it can be fairly easily checked

by others, as it is less open to ambiguous interpretation (Antonius, 2003) This is (at least partially) why some concerning discoveries have been made within the scientific discipline of consumer sciences There has recently been many public debates about whether some research studies are ‘genuine’ or whether they con-tained manufactured results (e.g Singal, 2017; Jha, 2012) This means that you should consider replicating studies for two reasons; firstly, because you want to ensure that you can generate the same results as previously conducted studies Secondly, because you want to help create a suitably standardized knowledge base in which your own work is fittingly integrated The fact that researchers have found themselves in a scientific landscape whereby their work is being scrutinized has led to encouragement of pre-registration of work that is yet to

be conducted This system has been developed as a means to combat able research practices Basically, the pre-registration system is an opportunity to submit the research rationale, hypotheses, and design, and how the data is going

question-to be analysed prior question-to conducting the work This can then be submitted question-to a journal that is engaged with a pre-registration system, and the researcher can receive feedback on their intended work If accepted for publication, researchers can continue their work knowing that it is more likely to be published when completed There are some concerns that this process may act as a hindrance for exploratory work as well as lead to bias in terms of methods used (Gonzales & Cunningham, 2015) and as such may stifle research that is taking a different and creative approach

Sophisticated Statistics

Consumer scientists (the same as most other scientists) are expected to be able to communicate their results through a carefully thought through analysis, something that pre-registration may help with (Gonzales & Cunningham, 2015) As the meth-ods have progressed, so also have the ways in which we analyse data One example

of data analysis progression can be noted from the use of structural equations elling (SEM.) Rather than just using correlations or regressions, we may consider using SEM, something that Iacobucci (2009) has described as a “natural extension

mod-of factor analysis and regression” (p 673) Even though SEM is available as a smod-oft-ware package called Amos through SPSS (probably still the most commonly used statistical package by psychologists), Lisrel is a package that is more comprehensive (Iacobucci, 2009) and thus a slightly better tool to use This emphasizes the need

soft-Quantitative Research 15

for consumer psychologists to think about learning additional or different statistical packages to those they already know or are more familiar with

Software for Conducting Analysis

It is important for a consumer psychologist to have a good understanding of at least one type of statistical software, if not two These days, sophisticated statistical software programmes removes much of the need for prolonged data analysis, espe-cially when it involves large data sets (Antonius, 2003) Most psychologists make use of SPSS, but there are undoubtedly other equally, and in some instances better (as already mentioned in regard to SEM), statistically based programmes that can

be used for analytic purposes Sometimes, especially for researchers who are not affiliated with a university and thus need to pay for the statistical packages they use, it may be better to make use of a free statistical tool Currently, there are some that can be downloaded and used, and JASP is one that can be used pretty much as SPSS but may lack some of its flexibility There is also another free package called PSPP (note similarity in name to other statistical software), which is faster but has restricted capability compared to SPSS or JASP Another free software programme worth exploring is R, which is often deemed by many as a more powerful tool than SPSS However, when using R, it is essential to be familiar with writing code

It is worth noting that there are academics who have spoken out in favour of the use of R (Datahowler, 2016)

Regardless of which statistical package you decide to use as a researcher, the tool will only be as good as you are, and it can only be used appropriately if you have a clear understanding of the statistical concepts required for the research you are conducting

Conclusion

There are many factors that have come together to make quantitative methods the dominant choice in consumer psychology What is apparent is that scientists today face an increasingly challenging research climate Not only are they expected to come up with new and exciting ideas but also be willing to learn and embrace complicated methods and tools Because of the increasing complexity of the field,

it is essential for researchers to carefully consider what underpinnings to use to drive their research forward

Currently, when many questions are asked in regard to the authenticity of lished work, quantitative methods may be more important than ever The results are expected to present good scientific findings and be replicable, irrespective of who the researcher is, so that retesting can take place, if so needed However, it is worth bearing in mind that what may currently seem like the best approach to science may not hold up in 20, 30, or even 40 years’ time Investigative science